Just four months after taking office, the BJP-run state government announced a plan for a massive expansion of educational facilities linked to the Hindutva movement, in open competition with Christian and Islamic schools. Even the patriotic song "Vande Mataram" is becoming a source of controversy.
Ten years after the canonisation of Sri Lanka’s saint, pilgrims from India travelled to his shrine on his feast day. Bishop Emeritus Vianney Fernando of Kandy expressed gratitude for his gift, urging seminarians to learn to “be zealous missionaries” like him.
The Chapel of St Therese of the Child Jesus in the village of Chokragaon was set on fire, a few days after the ordination of two local priests. The authorities have opened an investigation. The bishop of Tezpur praises the "intense solidarity" and "unity" among Christians following the incident.
Despite existing legislation, kilns are places of "inter-generational slavery", circles of violence from which it is almost impossible to escape. Minority activist Joseph Janssen freed 32 people from six Christian families. Naseem, Mehwish and Safia and their relatives tell stories of decades of a hellish life. “We want justice, not only for our families, but also for those who still work there,” said Habib, one of the survivors.
Trump, who takes office on 20 January, opposed visas for highly skilled jobs, but changed his mind after comments from Elon Musk, whose companies rely on Indian labour. Yet, many US companies have cut job offers, while others have warned their foreign employees against travelling outside the United States to avoid not being able to return.
The British journalist of Afghan-Pakistani origin in a documentary recounts the work of the Italian NGO Emergency, which since 1999 has accompanied the many dramatic pages of life in the country with its assistance to the wounded and sick. “After the bombs, today the problem of domestic and family violence emerges more and more.” Filippo Bongiovanni, anesthesiologist-reanimator: “Disproportion between care needs and available resources.”
During the celebrations in Hindu temples and Christian churches, school material was handed out to 175 pupils from the disadvantaged Malaiyaha community. The initiative, by the Voice of Plantation People (VOPP), combines faith and cultural identity; particularly this year, which marked 200 years since the arrival of the first Tamils from India to work in local plantations.
The strict imposition of the uniform on the girls in class X even on the last day of school has become a pretext to accuse the Carmel School that has been operating for 70 years in the Dhanbad district. The headmistress told AsiaNews: ‘Only 2% of the students are Christian, education in the service of all’. Former students' stance: “Grateful to those who made us what we are”.
About 13 people have been killed in armed clashes between gangs and criminal groups in the past three months alone. In 2023, 61 people were killed and 47 wounded. Experts believe the phenomenon is facilitated by political connections.
Under pressure from an Islamist group, the National Textbook Commission removed an image that referred to indigenous groups and symbolised the unity and diversity of the country. The accusation: ‘It evokes separatist ideas’. Tribal groups: ‘It goes against Yunus’ promise to build a non-sectarian and inclusive Bangladesh’.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai spoke out against Afghanistan's treatment of women at the International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities hosted by Pakistan. At the end of the meeting, a 17-point declaration was signed in defence of women's education.
In January, diocesan and religious ordinations were held in several villages, presided over by the archbishop of Imphal, Mgr Linus Neli. Meanwhile, in the parish of Tuibuang, new houses were delivered for those displaced by the violence, built thanks to the solidarity of Catholic communities from all over India.
On 6 January, Vijitha Herath, Minister of Foreign Affairs, launched the initiative as part of the digitisation process initiated by Dissanayake. A pilot project is active in seven embassies, including Japan, Qatar and Kuwait. Jasintha Subasinghe, Sinhalese in Italy: ‘Visits to the homeland were races for documents’. Cases of abuse of power by officials in some countries.
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