Cardinal George Alenche-rry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, says India is going through a period of transformation in the democratic practice and the balance of power between major political fronts, essential to a democracy, has been lost.
But he is sanguine about pluralistic forces asserting themselves in a bid to cement the unity of the country through its diversity in the no-so-distant future. “India is a diverse country, but hardly any Indian would not like to be identified as one. Therefore, I am sure that the politically intelligent people will find ways and means to surmount this crisis. The pluralistic forces have to assert themselves to keep India’s democracy and that’s already emerging,” Card. Alencherry said in a free-wheeling chat with The Hindu on the prevailing sociopolitical climate.

“People have a right to demonstrate peacefully and authorities need to let them do so,” said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary General of the United Nations on December 5, on being asked about the farmers’ movement that has continued despite talks with the Government of India.
The comment is the latest addition to a show of support for farmers who have been protesting in the outskirts of the national capital for the last ten days. The remark from the U.N. comes a day after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described Canadian Prime Minister Justin Tru-deau’s support to the protest as “unacceptable interference.”
The comment from the United Nations came even as 36 British Members of Parliament sent a joint letter to U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, calling upon him to bring up the concerns of British citizens over the protests in Punjab and in the outskirts of Delhi. In a two page letter, Tanmanjeet Dhesi, Member of Parliament for Slough, expressed concern about the well-being of the protesting farmers and said, “…These new laws (in India) present the Punjabis with a huge problem, with some describing it as a ‘death warrant’.”

Pope Francis on November 9 accepted the resignation of Jesuit Archbishop William D’Souza of Patna.
This led to the automatic elevation of Coadjutor Archbishop Sebastian Kallupura as Patna’s metropolitan archbishop.
This was made public at 4:30 pm in India, says a press release from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), the national body of the Latin rite bishops in the country.

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 unions on Nov. 29 threatened to block all roads to New Delhi if they were not allowed to demonstrate on a public ground within the city.
They want the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unconditionally withdraw the laws enacted on Sept.20 as part of farm reforms.
“These laws are not meant for the welfare of the farmers, and if they are implemented in the current form, it will be disastrous for the small and medium-level farmers,” said Bishop Alex Vadakumthala, chair of the Indian bishops’ commission for labour.

New York: Leading American and global human and civil rights activists have come together to reinforce the demand to designate India as a “country of particular concern” to prevent and combat ongoing persecution of its religious minorities.
The November 16 discussion was organized by the Indian American Muslim Council in collaboration with Hindus for Human Rights, Students Against Hindutva Ideology, Dalit Solidarity Forum, India Civil Watch International and International Christian Concern.
Anurima Bhargava, the vice-chair of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), said that as an ally and as a friend of India, the United States “needs to take steps to make sure that India upholds the rights guaranteed to all of its citizens as enshrined in its own constitution.”
“We saw this process play out in Assam. Many Indian citizens had their citizenship questioned and challenged by local authorities who excluded them from the national register of citizens despite their families having lived in India for generations.”
“And for that reason,” she added, “We made the recommendation to the State Department of the United States that India should be designated as a ‘country of particular concern,’” based on the deterioration and concerns about new state policies of the Narendra Modi government on religious minorities.
Joanne Lin, National Director, Advocacy and Government Affairs, Amnesty International USA, spoke about Amnesty India being forced to shut down its operation in India in October 2020 after two years of relentless threats, intimidation, and harassment by the Indian government.

Sr Teslin Poovathanickal is proud of the wounds on her face. “Oh, they are my Ruby’s gift,” the 43-year-old member of the Preshitharam Sisters says as she runs her fingers over the marks.
Ruby, a 26-year-old woman with speech and hearing impairment who gets violent occa-sionally, scratched Poovathanickal’s face in a fit of anger a few months ago. But the sister saw the incident as part of her mission.
“She beats and spits on us. But after some time, she would come and say, ‘Sister, sorry,’ and we forget our pain,” says the nun, who works in Sanjoe Bhawan (House of St. Joseph), a rehabilitation centre for women age 18 and older with various handicaps.
Sanjoe Bhawan is part of Sanjoepuram (City of St Joseph) Children’s Village in Chandpur, one of the few institutions in India that offer inclusive educa-tion. Poovathanickal serves there with 17 other nuns from four congregations, all members of the Syro-Malabar Church.
The village currently shelters 64 girls and women, ages 10-36, with disabilities, such as speech, vision and hearing impairment, cerebral palsy and developmental disorders. Some residents are orphans or children of prisoners.
The complex includes the Infant Jesus Senior Secondary School, where students from neighboring villages study with the Sanjoepuram children up to the 12th grade.
The school has 522 boys, all day students, and 368 girls, including 39 from Sanjoepuram.

The Latin-Rite dioceses of India will mark “Communio India” Sunday on November 29 (first Sunday of Advent) with the theme “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13: 34). “This year we observe Communio India Sunday amidst the suffering and the challenges created by the Covid-19 pan-demic. Nevertheless, the missionary journey of the whole Church continues, despite all the challenges facing us, be-cause the Risen Lord accompa-nies us on our way,” said Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão, President of Conference of Catholic Bishops’ of India (CCBI). “Communio India” is an initiative of the CCBI to assist all Dioceses and Religious Congregations working in rural and mission areas, in their pastoral ministry, said Fr Ste-phen Alathara, deputy secretary general.
The resources generated by Catholics will be used for poor communities in many parts of the country. “The aims of “Communio India” are to assist dioceses and religious congregations working in the missions; to build a culture of sharing among our people to express solidarity with the needy,” said Archbishop Ferrão.

A Jain businessman, who funded the publication of Bible reflections running to ten volumes eight years ago, died in Indore, Madhya Pradesh State.
Ajit Kumar Kasliwal passed away on November 19 after a prolonged period of illness. He was 84.
Father Alengaden says the Jain businessman was a sign of hope when India experiences tension and conflicts among followers of various religions. Kasaliwal not only learned about other faiths but motivated others to do the same, the priest adds.
“The root cause of these conflicts is prejudice and lack of understanding each other. An intense desire to learn about other faiths, especially the original source- the scriptures and the teachings contained in them- is essential to get liberated from prejudices and misunderstanding about the other faiths,” asserts Father Alengaden.

The Protestant Church of North India (CNI) has reinstated a bishop three months after it laicized him for breaking away and declaring his diocese autonomous. The CNI Synod, the church’s top decision-making body, on Nov. 19 decided to revoke its decision to laicize Bishop Basil B. Baskey of Chotanagpur Diocese in eastern India’s Jharkhand State. The Synod on Aug. 11 removed Bishop Baskey from office and withdrew his ordination as a priest and a bishop after an internal probe found the bishop guilty of acts of revolt and indiscipline. “The Synod has revoked its Aug. 11 decision and agreed to reinstate Bishop Baskey as the bishop of Chotanagpur Diocese,” said Suresh Jacob, a senior member of the Synod executive committee.