South Asia

In Madhya Pradesh a misunderstanding during a school lesson is exploited by Hindutva group to attack school run by the Sisters of Sain t Elizabeth. Bishop Athikalam slams the shameful violence against women who have been serving the community for 50 years, “working towards nation-building.”

On the continent, the percentage of people afflicted by food insecurity and malnutrition has stabilised at 8.1 percent. After Africa, the highest levels of food insecurity are in South Asia. According to the FAO, today's data are comparable to those of 2008-09 and the goal of Zero Hunger appears unattainable by 2030.

The bishop of Rajshahi, president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, spoke to AsiaNews, calling for an end to the curfew that shut down the country, harming the poor above all. Those killed deserve justice, but order must be maintained. While Dhaka has been trying to get back to normal this morning, the death toll has risen to at least 197. Students say that some of their leaders are missing following the wave of arrests. The government blames the opposition and foreign "accomplices".

After Jaranwala, the violence against Christians in Pakistan does not cease. The report ‘Persecution Watch’ released by the NGO Dignity First lists the cases of 140 families affected in the first half of 2024. Attacks are not only physical, but also economic, while convictions and arrests for alleged blasphemy continue.

While an Internet and communications blackout continues, the number of arrests topped 2,500. Unlike in the past, dissatisfaction with the government affects all segments of society. This has to do with a stagnant economy and changes to the workplace, Fr Gian Paolo Gualzetti reports. The PIME missionary runs a youth labour centre outside the capital Dhaka.

The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has revoked a rule in place since 1966 that prevented civil servants from being members of the RSS, a paramilitary group that promotes the Hindutva ideology. Originally, the ban also prevented membership in the Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist organisation, but the latter is not mentioned in the ban revocation. INC members speak out against the government’s decision.

With an uncontrolled spread of firearms, the country is experiencing an unprecedented escalation of violence, linked to drug trafficking. Sri Lanka is now a global hub for the transit of heroin from South Asia to Europe. The shadows of the civil war that ended in 2009 weigh heavily. The most vulnerable, poor and unemployed young people are affected.

The vice president, who is now running for the White House after Joe Biden bowed out, has never shied away from her roots in Tamil Nadu. Meeting Modi last year, she said that she got her passion for democracy from her grandfather in Chennai. The very story of her mother Shyamala Gopalan epitomises the rise of the Indian-American community in the country. And Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of the Republican vice-presidential candidate, is also of Indian origin, from the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The percentage of posts in the public sector reserved for descendants of combatants in the war of independence was reduced from 30% to 5%. The curfew has been partly relaxed, but students are demanding the release of leaders and the resignation of some ministers. Unlike in the past, today the discontent with the government led by PM Hasina is more generalised.

Soldiers have been deployed in the streets, while gatherings have been banned and the Internet is still down. Some sources claim that at least 105 have died with 1,500 injured in clashes. A prison was attacked and set on fire with inmates allowed to escape. What started as a protest over public employment quotas has quickly morphed in an all-out battle. Hundreds of Indian students have been repatriated, while India is not taking any position over the clashes.

Following a Supreme Court ruling, the calendar of Sri Lanka’s presidential election is expected in days. The Christian advocacy group urges candidates to limit the powers of the presidency and work on healing the wounds still left open 15 years after the end of the civil war.

Students, who have been protesting for days demanding the abolition of quotas in public hiring, set fire to the state TV headquarters and other government offices in response to a harsh police crackdown. Yesterday alone 32 people were killed. The protest is acting as a catalyst against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was re-elected in January but in a vote boycotted by the opposition who accuse her of authoritarianism.