Catholics in Odisha have mourned the death of Malakias Nayak, a renowned poet who wrote Odiya liturgical hymns and prayers.

Nayak died on April 24 in his residence at Bodopada of Gajapati district of Odisha. He was 75.

He hailed from Aligonda parish of Berhampur diocese.

The writer had under-gone a brain surgery a few months ago and was undergoing treatment since January.

The poet was survived by his wife Jahida Khan, a Muslim-convert to Catholicism, four sons and three daughters. His second son, Jesuit Father Mahesh Nayak, conducted the funeral Mass at 4 am on April 25 in their parish church.

“It is heart breaking news for me because he was my favorite teacher in all respect,” says Martin Pradhan, a student of Nayak. “He was not only a teacher but also a good writer, poetics and dramatist,” Pradhan told Matters India over phone on April 25.

Amravati, April 22, 2020: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, on April 20 announced that all places of worship in the state would be given 5,000-rupee assistance.

He made this announcement during a video conference with the District Collectors and Muslim religious leaders on the measures being taken to contain COVID-19. He thanked the religious leaders for accepting his request to urge the community to offer prayers at homes during the holy month of Ramadan.

Reddy said despite the financial constraints — loss of 1.5 billion rupee revenue a day — due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, the government would provide 5,000 to every mosque, covered during Ramadan last year.

The mosques not covered last year, and churches and temples would also be provided with the aid.

The chief minister said his government belonged to all sections of people and had been implementing schemes for the welfare of people irrespective of religion, caste and region.

He said despite the financial issues the government had given Rs 1,000 to each family and providing ration thrice a month.

The Archdiocese of Bombay has asked its priests to follow the directives of the municipal commissioner and cremate Covid-19 victims rather than bury them.

“In a video message to priests, Cardinal Oswald Gracias suggested in view of the extraordinary circumstances they would respect the call of the municipal commissioner and cremate any novel coronavirus victims,” Father Nigel Barrett, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Bombay, informed the Times of India.

Early this week, municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi had issued a directive under the Epidemic Act, 1897, stating all victims of Covid-19 would be cremated and, if a family insisted on a burial, then it would have to be done outside the city.

The circular was, however, immediately withdrawn after Minority Affairs minister Nawab Malik objected to it. An amended circular issued a few hours later said burial would be allowed if the burial grounds were large enough so as not to create the possibility of the virus spreading in the neighbouring areas. Father Barrett said in view of the amended circular, a family would be granted a burial if they insisted as long as they followed WHO guidelines.

Meanwhile, former Congress minister Naseem Khan, in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, noted the anger in the Muslim community over a Covid-19 victim not being allowed burial at Malwani on April 1. He said the government must earmark a portion in all kabrastans across the state for victims of the pandemic.

Christian charities in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state have been forced to abandon their food distribution among the poor after the state tightened up social distancing norms to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The state government imposed a curfew in capital Bhopal on April 6, stopping all social workers, including church groups, from distributing free food to the poor and daily wage workers.

Thousands of daily wage earners, street dwellers and migrants lost their income to buy food after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown until April 15, shutting down all public activities and transport.

Christian charities helped Bhopal’s poor with food. “But now we are forced to stay at our homes as we cannot go out to distribute the food,” said Sister Lizy Thomas. The curfew came after a sudden spike in positive cases in Bhopal, where at least 12 people tested positive for Covid-19 on April 7, taking the city’s count to 74, the state’s chief medical officer Sudhir Dehariya told media.

I complete 50 years as a priest today, April 14. I started off my priestly life celebrating with glow at least three Masses in as many places on Sundays.

But my life’s main mission is living and sharing life with Indigenous Adivasi People. I accompany them in their struggles against forcible unjust displacement, deprival of their rights over their natural resources, and denial of their due share in the rich dug out literally from beneath their feet. And to add insult to injury, when they stood up to protest against injustice meted out to them, they were thrown into jails in umpteen numbers.

Started asking myself what ‘priesthood’ would mean in this heart-rending reality.

Was reminded of what an eminent liberation theologian said: “What is offered in most of our churches and by most of our priests is the ritual of the Mass, but it is not the sacrifice of Jesus.”

What would his sacrifice mean if not his whole life was a life that brought him to his death, killed by the powers that be for he stood up against oppression of the poor and the weak?

I then decided to take on the oppressive but mighty State, filed a case on behalf of the thousands of under-trial prisoners, most of whom, everybody knows, are innocent. It was then the State decided to put me out of the way. Multiple cases filed against me, cases as serious as ‘sedition,’ not a small solace to remind oneself that Jesus was also accused of ‘sedition’ and paid the supreme sacrifice of his life.

Arrest-warrant was issued on me; I was declared an ‘absconder,’ my work-cum-living premise raided three times (August 2018 – October 2019), and all my personal belongings (computer to mattress and pillow) confiscated. I now have only three things I can call my own: my body, my mind, my conscience. If I was not a Jesuit, would be literally on the street. Life is now with uncertainties, like a swinging pendulum. In one case, ‘arrest warrant’ is still live; can be activated anytime but for the change in political regime.

In the second case, I can be ‘promoted’ from being a ‘suspect’ to ‘accused’ and thrown behind bars. But one thing certain, I feel privileged to walking the Way of the Cross with Jesus and our people being crucified. Earnestly hoping that I will share his death, a death that brought life, a new life, the life of the Resurrection.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, head of the Catholic Church in India, on March 20 urged his people to cooperate wholeheartedly with the people’s curfew called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to contain coronavirus epidemic. Cardinal Gracias lauded the prime minister’s public appeal to India’s more than 1.3 billion people to observe a self-imposed curfew on March 22.

“Last evening the prime minister made an appeal to all of us to stay at home on Sunday March 22 in a self-imposed curfew. It is evident that the deadly coronavirus is spreading posing an extremely danger to all,” Cardinal said in a video message circulated through YouTube channel and the Bombay archdiocese’s website.

The cardinal said he has decided to heed the premier’s call and cancel all public Masses in the archdiocese of Mumbai from March 20 to April 4, “in the larger interest of safety of our people which is truly paramount.”

On March 19 at 8 pm, the prime minister appealed Indians to observe the “Janata curfew” (people’s curfew) as a test run for social distancing over the next few days to fight the spread of coronavirus. As part of the self-curfew, Modi said everyone must stay home from 7 am to 9 pm that day and abide by it.

The premier also cautioned citizens against hoarding and panic-buying, assuring that there would be no shortage of essentials like milk, medicines and food.