South Asian Jesuits are seeking collaboration with secular groups and marginalized people to make the region more tolerant and peaceful. ‘Collaboration and network for harmony’ was the theme that 112 leaders of Jesuits in Social Action (JESA) discussed on October 13-15 in Pune, western India. Program organizer and JESA secretary Father Stanislaus Jebamalai told ucanews.com the meeting focused on the ideals of freedom, justice and tolerance. JESA was started in 1973 to coordinate the work of Jesuit social workers in South Asia. The Pune gathering came two months after the Jesuit Conference of South Asia circulated a document that stressed South Asian nations were struggling against economic inequalities, caste discrimination and cultural hegemony. The statement noted that in India and Pakistan fundamentalist forces threatened religious minorities as well as progressive individuals and organizations.

Justice Bhuyan Calls for Protection of Dissent and Personal Liberty
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has expressed concern over the growing trend of treating peaceful dissent and ordinary actions as criminal offences. Speaking at a


