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Church supports Indian farmers’ struggle against lopsided laws

Catholic Church leaders have pledged solidarity with thousands of Indian farmers who are protesting on the borders of New Delhi demand-ing the repeal of three controversial farm laws enacted two months ago. Thousands of farmers from Punjab have blocked entry and exit points to New Delhi after police stopped their march to the national capital. Farmer […]

6-year-old Dalit child raped and murdered in magic ritual

A 6-year-old Dalit girl has been found dead in Kampur (Uttar Pradesh). The little girl had disappeared on the eve of the Deepavali festival (last November 15) from the Ghatampur area. She was found with signs of torture, rape, with an open ribcage and stolen lungs. Police say the little girl’s lungs were removed to […]

Christian marriage registrations halted in Mumbai after officer’s retirement

The registration of Christian marriages in Mumbai has come to a halt after the retirement of the marriage officer in July. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, newlywed couples are forced to travel to Pune to get their marri-age certificates stamped by state government authorities. Activists Godfrey Pimenta and Nicholas Almeida of the Watchdog Foundation have urged […]

India escapes US watch list, Pak sanctions on religious freedom issues

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s intervention led to Pakistan escaping sanctions for lack of religious freedom and India stopped from being listed on a Special Watch List, said US Ambassador-at-Large for Inter-national Religious Freedom, Samuel Brownback. “There were several reco-mmendations that the Secretary [Pomoeo] did not follow, and this was one of them,” he […]

BJP leads reconversion of Christian families in India

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the southern Indian State of Karnataka has reconverted 23 people from five Christian families to Hindu-ism. A reconversion ceremony on Nov. 29 was organized by Anant Kumar Hegde, a BJP leader and MP for Uttara Kannada district. “Hegde was handpicked by the Hindutva hierarchy to create communal divisions and tension in […]

Assam wants couples to disclose religion

Assam is planning a law that will require the bride and groom to declare their religion and income in official documents a month before the wedding. Against the backdrop of many other BJP-ruled states bringing in laws to check “love jihad,” the Assam government says its aim is to “empower our sisters.” The ruling BJP’s […]

BJP fields 500 Christian, 112 Muslim candidates in Kerala

The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded 500 Christian and 112 Muslim candidates for the local body elections in Kerala. If the BJP manages to win at least municipal corporations in these elections, it would brighten the party’s chances in the Kerala assembly elections scheduled to be held in 2021. Kerala will elect its local bodies […]

Pope to visit Iraq in March 2021

Pope Francis will travel to Iraq next year. The Holy See Press Office director Matteo Bruni made the announcement on Dec. 7. Following the invitation of the Republic of Iraq and of the local Catholic Church, Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Journey to Iraq on 5-8 March 2021. The pontiff will visit Baghdad, the […]