The top court of a central Indian state has quashed a cri-minal case of child trafficking against a Protestant leader, say-ing it was ill-intended and meant to damage his image. The Jabalpur bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court “quashed the false case on Sept. 23,” said Shashank Shekhar, a lawyer representing Ajay Lall, founder of the Central India Christian Mission. The high court noted that the case against “the petitioner is sugar-coated with ill-intention and made to belittle his image in the soci-ety,” Shekhar told. Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district charged Lall in August with committing various offen-ses under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Child-ren) Act. Lall was accused of not sharing details of two children who stayed at his orphanage 15 years ago, which led to the registration of a case of child trafficking. The bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi sla-mmed the police for registering the false case. He said the action was initiated against Lall without a complaint or obje-ction from any children or their parents. The high court also noted the arbitrary role played by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory federal body to protect the rights of children. “A well-orchestrated campaign and negative media coverage was carried out to malign the image of an insti-tution that extends a helping hand to poor children,” said Daniel John, a Catholic leader based in the state capital Bho-pal.

Catholic women religious in India have enhanced their youth ministry, with the aim to bring young people closer to the church and their traditions. “This involves not only working on their faith formation, skills training or academic excellence, but [also] understanding and accepting them as they are with their dreams, weaknesses and strengths,” said Apostolic Carmel Sister Maria Nirmalini, who heads the women’s wing of the Conference of Religious India. Young people in India, she told Global Sisters Report, are losing their trust in an adult-dominated world and migrate to foreign countries in large numbers for freedom and growth, leaving their parents and their Christian heritage. Youth distancing from the church was first studied by the National Youth Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India in 2012, which found that church attendance had dropped during the teen and young adult years: Only 29 percent of youths continued attending church frequently while in college, and 40-50 percent of students in youth groups reportedly struggle in their faith after graduation. “It is high time we recognized this dangerous trend and be with the youth,” said Sister Nirmalini, who led the Conference of Religious India until May. “Youth are not going away from the church, but the church is moving away from them,” added the nun, who has spent decades as an educator. The women religious’ youth ministry received a boost in May at the conference’s triennial national assembly, which voiced concern over Catholic youths’ distancing from the church, as well as their mass migration. (According to the 2023 Indian Student Mobility Report, about 1.3 million students from India went overseas for studies in 2022, and the report’s authors predict that about 2 million students from India will be studying abroad by 2025.)

Gorakhpur diocese in Uttar Pradesh state has been asked to pay for ‘encroaching’ on land it took on lease from govt.
An Indian diocese has decided to appeal against a court order to pay compensation to a villager for occu-pying his land in a northern state.
The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh on Sept. 10 asked the Gorakhpur diocese to pay along with the state government a compensa- tion of 1 million Indian rupees (US$11,910) to Bhola, the land owner who was identified by a single name.
“We are going to challenge the high court order in the Supreme Court [the top court in the country] as we do not agree with its findings that the diocese illegally encroached upon the land,” said Gorakhpur diocese spokes-person Father Justin Cheruparambil.

A ban imposed after protest by women and students from the Meitei Hindu community turned violent on Sept. 9
A five-day ban on internet services came into force on Sept. 10. in India’s Manipur state where tribal Christians and majority Hindus have been fighting for over 16 months.
The “temporary suspension” started on Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. and will end on Sept. 15 at 3 p.m., said the state government led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Sept. 9, women and students from the Meitei Hindu community held a protest in the capital Imphal, which turned violent. The protesters wanted removal of top police officers and resignation of lawmakers for their failure to end the ethnic strife that claimed over 220 lives.

A young man who resigned a job in a multinational firm to join a semi-nary has died after he accidentally fell into a river and drowned. Brother Noel Felix Thekkekkara was doing his regency in an estate of Kalyan diocese in Sawantawadi, a town in Maharashtra state’s Sindhudurg district when the tragedy occurred. He was 29.

A professional youth group of company secretaries and chartered accountants in Siliguri marked this year’s Teacher’s Day by honouring school principals and senior teachers. Among the educators honoured by Marwari Yuva Manch was Salesian Father C.M. Paul, a lecturer of Sesian College Siliguri, West Bengal. Recognition was handed over on Sept. 8 by Inspector General of Sashatra Seema Bal, North Bengal, Sudhir Kumar, at an event held in Hotel Surya Grand Siliguri. The plaque given to Father Paul reads, “‘Saman’ proudly presented to Fr. C. M. Paul, SDB, Vice Principal of Sciences, Salesian College, on Sept. 8; in recognition of your selfless contribution as an educator.” After completing postgraduate studies in Mass Communication and Journalism from Fordham University New York and Salesian University Rome, Father Paul has been a lecturer at institutions such as St. Anthony’s College Shillong, Calcutta University Journalism Department, as well as Assam Don Bosco University and Salesian College Sonada Darjeeling, where he founded Mass Communication and Journalism departments. His professional contributions include being a reporter for South Asia Religious News (1981-1989), Union of Catholic Asia News (1989-2012), and Matters India (2013), as well as being accredited to the Vatican Press Office (2007-2010). Father Paul was editor of The Herald weekly Calcutta (1989-1991) and director of Salesian News Agency Rome (1992-1995), as well as two terms president of national Catholic media institutions for radio, television, and cinema (1999 to 2004), as well as serving on Central Board Film Certification Kolkata (2006-8). All India Marwari Yuva Manch is one of the largest volunteer organisations of youth in India, with chapters in major cities. Its primary goal is to support young people in contributing to community and country irrespective of caste, colour, or creed. The Manch was founded as a non-profit voluntary youth organisation on October 10, 1977, at Guwahati, Assam.

On this teacher’s day, a school in Odisha, which is the lifeline of many students and a ray of hope for many teachers, Vidya Jyoti Girls High School, Kahupani, a tribal hamlet in the Kutra Block of Sundargarh district, was established in 1982. The hamlet is some 20 km from the nearest town. Transport and communication facilities are remote in this area. Basked in the natural beauty, Kahupani has both traditional folks and migrating youth.The school’s inception was the locals’ dream, as their children could not get admission in schools in the city. Bishop Alphonse Bilung of Rourkela supported the local people in realising their dreams. In 1982, the Holy Spirit Sisters arrived in Kahupani and got involved in the school. It began as Janta School, hoping for the government’s aid in further development. However, to keep up the standard of education, the Catholic Sabha was entrusted with the school management. The school began to receive full grant aid in 1989. The goodwill didn’t last long. Soon, the school management was caught in a power struggle. The tussle among the staff led to the ceasing of grants-in-aid in 1995. That was a big blow for the school. Many staff members sought transfers and went away. But the generosity of a few teachers upheld the school. They decided to work for the students. Some worked for a meagre 400 rupees a month. But they had faith that the storms would clear one day and they would receive their rightful salaries.Their faith didn’t go in vain. After two decades in 2017, they received the grand-in-aid scale salary again. Within a couple of years, some of them retired. Their dedication to the cause was commendable. They literally did their duty without expecting the return.Sister Aloysia Lugun captained the school during those difficult years. It took a long legal battle to restore the grants in aid. Even though many bureaus turned their files down, she kept trying. A year before her retirement, the much-awaited salary issues were rectified. She stepped down with the feeling of doing justice to the school and her faithful colleagues. The school has not only contributed to nation-building but also provided a good number of vocations to the church. Nearly 100 of its alumni now serve as missionaries all over the world. The decisions of the locals, the bishop, and the dedicated teachers had helped them. Nothing much has changed even after four decades. As part of the T5 initiative of the previous government, the school has received minimum facelift with smart boards and a few infrastructural additions. The school now functions with minimum staff and a repeated history—a few get full salary, while others teach with the hope that one day their hard work will be paid. On Teachers Day, the country honours teachers for their dedicated service and their role in nation-building. They play the primary role in moulding socially responsible citizens. However, the teachers’ day is not the same for every teacher, even if their mission is similar. The differences such as government, private, aided, unaided, and semi-aided schools make a huge impact on the quality and productivity of the students and the teachers.

A Hindu group’s plan to campaign against cow slaughter in India’s Christian-majority Nagaland has invited criticism from several quarters, including the state’s ruling alliance. National-level Hindu leaders, such as Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Maharaj of Jyotirmath, are scheduled to arrive for the Gau Dhwaj Yatra (cow protection march) set for Sept. 28. However, the state’s political parties say such a march would go against the sentiments of the 1.97 million people in the state, where the majority—88 percent—are Christians. A statement from the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), which leads the state’s ruling alliance, said the “event would go against the sentiment of the majority of people.” m The march could disrupt the socio-religious harmony in the state, the statement added. Alliance partner, the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged the organisers “to reconsider the proposal.” The cow is a revered animal under Hinduism, and 20 of 28 Indian states have laws banning or regulating cow slaughter. The NDPP statement said the Nagaland legislature had already decided not to ban cow slaughter. The party observed that Nagaland became a state in 1963 under constitutional provisions safeguarding the social practices of its people, called the Nagas. In a statement, BJP Nagaland president Benjamin Yepthomi said the government of Nagaland should uphold the special provisions of the constitution. Two state legislators belonging to the Baptist Church also opposed the proposed event. Kuzholuzo Azo Nienu of the Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) expressed “shock” at the announcement of such an event in Nagaland, where beef is a staple for most Naga people. The march would be “tantamount to infringement on freedom of individual rights to choice of food.” In 2017, the NPF organised a “beef festival” in the state capital, Kohima, to protest the move to ban cow slaughter. Lawmaker Imkong L. Imchen from the BJP said the proposed march will not aid the cause of the right-wing party in Nagaland. “Beef is the most delicious food for the Nagas,” he told UCA News. As many as 20 Indian states have laws regulating the act of slaughtering cows. Leaders of religious minorities, such as Christians and Muslims, say cow vigilante groups have stepped up violence since Modi came to power in 2014.

An Indian prelate says his diocese has foiled an attempt by the student wing of the country’s ruling party to install a Hindu deity’s statue in a church-run college with police help. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (All India Students’ Council), affiliated to the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, insisted on installing Lord Ganesh’s statue at St. Mary’s P.G. College in Sagar diocese, in Madhya Pradesh state, on Sept. 7 the birthday of the elephant-headed deity. “It is true right-wing activists wanted to install the statue of Lord Ganesh, but we did not permit it because it is not our practice,” Bishop James Athikalam of Sagar told UCA News on Sept. 9. It is wrong on the part of right-wing Hindu groups and students “to force their religious practices on minority education institutions,” said Bishop Athikalam, citing India’s constitution. “We function as per the provisions of the law,” Athikalam added. Along with Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Parsees, Christians are grouped as a minority, and the constitution gives them freedom to practice and propagate their religion in their educational institutions. “We are not bound to follow religious practices of other religions on our campus,” Athikalam said. “It does not mean that we are against other religions.” We summoned the police against “a totally illegal act on our campus,” and they discouraged the students, the prelate said. As a compromise, the students were allowed to install the statue outside the campus. Hindus believe worshipping Lord Ganesh will help them overcome obstacles. The student wing of the BJP insisted on installing the statue in the more than two-decade-old Catholic college as the majority of students are Hindus. Its leader, Shalini Verma, told the media that “close to 90 percent of the students in the college are Hindus, and it is wrong to hurt their religious sentiments by denying permission to install the idol of Lord Ganesh.” We are grateful to the police for their support, the prelate said, adding we don’t “disrespect any religion.” Church-run educational institutions have been facing harassment from the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh, which has enacted a sweeping anti-conversion law, according to church leaders. On July 27, members of the All India Students’ Council forced their way into St. Peter Higher Secondary School in Jhabua diocese and demanded the removal of statues of St. Peter and Mother Mary and wanted portraits of Goddess Saraswati in their places. The ruling party’s student wing also created problems at St. Thomas Higher Secondary School in Mansuar district in the same diocese on June 27. A few days before, they entered the premises of Vandana Convent School under the Sagar diocese and sought action against the nun principal for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Christians make up a mere 0.27 percent of 72 million people in Madhya Pradesh, most of them Hindus. Most Christians are from indigenous and lower-caste communities, which make up about 30 percent of the population of Madhya Pradesh.

Gloom has spread over the archdiocese of Tellicherry in Kerala after one of its young priests died of electrocution on August 15. Father Mathew (Shince) Kudilil was dismantling a pole erected to hoist the national flag in the morning as part of the Independence Day celebration in the premises of Infant Jesus Church at Mulleria in Kerala’s Kasaragod district. After the mandatory lowering of the flag at sunset, the 29-year-old priest was removing the pole when it accidentally touched a high-tension electrical line passing near the church premises. He was declared brought dead at a hospital in Mulleria, a village on the Kerala-Karnataka border and some 70 km south of Mangalore. Father Kudilil was ordained a priest three years ago. He came to Mulleria on May 14, 2023. He had earlier served as the assistant vicar at St George Church, Chempanthotty in Kannur district from February 6, 2021, to January 25, 2022. He was the assistant vicar of St Sebastian’s Church Nellickampoil, also in Kannur, until February 3, 2023. He was in Fathima Matha Church, Kudiyanmala, Kannur, for three months.