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Mumbai, Dec 1, 2021: The Indian Catholic Press Association (ICPA) on December 1 expressed deep concern over the media’s failure to become the watchdog of governance in the country. Media, the fourth pillar of democracy has failed in its sacred duty of scrutinizing the government’s policies and programs. Instead it has turned out to be a pliable institution trying to live out of the ‘favors’ dished out by the government, bemoaned the association at its 26th national convention held at St. Paul’s Media Complex at Bandra in Mumbai. The theme of the convention was “Hit the Streets: Listen, Encounter, Engage” based on Pope Francis’s message this year for the World Communications Day that focuses on “Come and See (Jn 1:46): Communicating by Encountering People Where and as They Are.” Speaking at the inaugural function, Justice Aloysius Aguiar, a former Judge of Bombay High Court, said, “A good journalist is one who hits the street in pursuit of truth despite all the hardships and threats to life. But unfortunately the fourth pillar of democracy in the country has failed in its sacred duty of scrutinizing the government’s policies and programs. Instead it has turned out to be a pliable institution trying to live out

An excerpt from ‘Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy’ published on Scroll.in. To read this article in SCROLL.IN where it was originally published please click here. In March 2018, investigative reporters revealed the existence of a committee tasked by the culture minister, Mahesh Sharma, to revise India’s history. This fourteen-member committee (including archaeologists, bureaucrats, and ideologues) was commissioned by the minister to produce a “holistic study of origin and evolution of Indian culture since 12,000 years before present and its interface with other cultures of the world.” The idea that the age of Hindu civilisation is three or four times greater than what has been established by contemporary historiography aimed to achieve two explicit goals. First, it was coupled with the persistent effort by Hindu nationalists to present their mythology as history. Mahesh Sharma himself told Reuters: “I worship Ramayana and I think it is a historical document.” And he added, in keeping with the tried-and-true method of strategic emulation, “If the Koran and Bible are considered as part of history, then what is the problem in accepting our Hindu religious texts as the history of India?” Second, uncovering evidence from ancient history aimed “to prove that today’s

IN A VIDEO FILMED IN THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH, THE SWAMI PARMATMANAND, IN THE PRESENCE OF LOCAL BJP LEADERS, SAYS: "IN OUR VILLAGES WE KEEP HATCHETS AT HOME". DIVINE WORD MISSIONARY FR JOSPEH: "EVERY LIMIT HAS BEEN EXCEEDED" Raipur (AsiaNews) - "Behead all those who come to convert you". In a shocking video circulating on social networks, the Parmatmanand swami, a Hindu religious leader in the State of Chhattisgarh, shows no qualms in calling for beheadings to resolve an alleged "wave" of conversions to Christianity. According to the Indian website The Wire, the speech, which openly calls for violence, was delivered during a demonstration "against conversions" held in the district of Surguja. Prominent figures from the BJP, the Hindu nationalist party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were also present on stage at the event. The video shows the former chairman of the National Commission for the Disadvantaged Castes, Nand Kumar Sai, applauding the words of the swami Parmatmanand. In his disconcerting speech, the Hindutva exponent says: "Keep the sticks in your home. People in the cities don't, but in our villages people keep hatchets. Behead them when they come to perform religious conversions". He added: "You may wonder why a holy man

A MOB OF HINDU EXTREMISTS DRAGGED TWO URSULINE FRANCISCAN NUNS TO A POLICE STATION ALONG WITH A GROUP OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS WHO WERE PRAYING AT A PRIVATE HOME. The religious sisters were released after six hours. For Christian leader, “In today's political climate in India, wearing a religious habit means being marked out as a target.” Varanasi (AsiaNews) – Police arrested two nuns in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, and held them for a few hours in the latest anti-Christian incident caused by Hindu extremists. The two religious sisters were catching a bus, when they were forcibly grabbed by a group of radicals who took them to a police station along with another fifty Christians, accused of abusive conversion activities. “The incident took place in Mau, a district in eastern Uttar Pradesh,” said Fr Anand Mathew, of the Indian Missionary Society, speaking to AsiaNews from Varanasi. “Around noon, a mob of extremists attacked a group of Christians gathered for the Sunday celebration. "The two women religious, Sister Gracy Monteiro and Sister Roshni Minj, of the congregation of the Ursuline Franciscans, were not part of the group, but were waiting at a nearby stop for a bus to Varanasi,” Fr Mathew explained; however, they too “were

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