Thousands of people cutting across religions have demanded the repeal of all anti-conversion laws in India.
The demand comes ahead of February 14 when the Karnataka government plans to table the Anti-Conversion Bill in the state’s Upper House.
Prominent signatories of the petition to the Indian president of India included among others Admiral L Ramdas, former Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, Mallika Sara-bhai, accomplished dancer and choreographer, Medha Patkar, social activist, Anand Patwardhan, film Maker and Mani Shankar Aiyar, former federal minister.
They assert the new anti-conversion law is unnecessary, since the Indian Constitution has enough provisions to curtail fraudulent religious convers-ions. ‘Wherever the anti-con-version law, ironically officially called Freedom of Religion Act, was passed, it became a justification for the persecution of the minorities and other marginalized identities” the petitioners explain.
They also say the attacks on the minorities has grown sharply in recent years since this law was used as a weapon targeting the dignity of Christians and Muslims particularly belonging to Adivasis, Dalits and women.
The petition urged people to join the campaign to defend the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution and protect human rights of the minorities and other marginalized sections in India.

An order by a top court in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh upholding an interfaith marriage has been welcomed by minority communities.
The Jabalpur bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court confirmed the rights of a Hindu woman married to a Muslim man while preventing the government from criminalizing the marriage by invoking the anti-conversion law.
The order delivered on Jan. 28 was welcomed by Father Maria Stephen, public relations officer of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, and Maulana Umar Quasim, a Muslim cleric.
Judge Nandita Dubey’s order came in response to a habeas corpus petition by Gulzar Khan seeking custody of his wife who had been con-fined in a house by her parents and other relatives after they were informed of their marri-age and her religious conversion.
The court in its order held the young woman was a grown-up and had willingly married a person after converting to Islam. “She has made a categorical statement that she was never forced into conversion and whatever she has done was as per her own wishes,” it said.
The government’s lawyer had sought that the marriage should be declared “null and void” as it was not legally tenable under the provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.

A Catholic parish was reopened for the public after 22 years in the eastern Indian state of Odisha with the help of the civil authorities.
The Chandiput parish of the diocese of Berhampur was closed after a priest refused to accept his transfer and stayed on defying the local bishop.
On February 2, the parish celebrated its feast with its parishioners.
“It was a moment of great joy to celebrate Mass in the church after nine years,” Fr Kabiraj Bastaray, the current parish priest, told on February 3.
He was appointed the Chandiput parish priest in 2013, but could not enter the church or presbytery as its former priest Joseph Pani refused to vacate the place.
“I have been staying in a house offered by the villagers and offering Mass in an open space or in a convent,” he explained.

Pope Francis on Feb. 2 appointed Msgr Thomas J Netto as the new head of the Trivandrum Latin rite Archdiocese.
The Pope has also accepted the resignation of Archbishop M Calist Soosa Pakiam, who headed the archdiocese since February 2, 1990.
These details were made public at noon time in Rome, says a press release from Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India, the national body for Latin rite bishop in the country.

Father A. Pitchaimuthu, a practitioner of Siddha medicine famous for composing the Catholic liturgy in folk style, died January 30 in Tamil Nadu, southern India. He was 82.
The death of the priest, who was also an educationist, occurred at 5:30 am in Viruthachalam town in Cuddalore district, some 225 km southwest of Chennai, the state capital.

Jesuit canonist and lawyer and a former professor in Delhi’s Vidyajyoti theologate died of Covid-19 January 26 in Dindigul town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was 69. Fr. Jeyaseelan Thomas Barnabas suffered a massive heart attack and died at 7:30 am as he was taken to a hospital for Covid-19 treatment. He had fever and cold for the past few days and was tested Covid positive.

The Syro-Malabar Church on January 15 appointed new prelates for its Tellicherry archdiocese and Palghat diocese.
The Oriental Catholic Church’s bishops’ synod promoted, with the papal approval, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry as the archdiocese’s new prelate. He replaces Archbishop George Njaralakatt, who has retired.
Similarly, the synod has appointed Palghat Auxiliary Bishop Peter Kochu-purackal as the diocese’s new bishop. He replaces Bishop Jacob Manathodath, who too has retired.