No Other Land
Many years ago, there was a popular American song which one gustily sang at camps, picnics and other get-togethers. Thanks to its very catchy tune, it was always a hit.…
Cedric Prakash
Saluting Zakia Jafri; Remembering the Gujarat Carnage 2002
February will always be a painful month for some particularly the Jafri family: on 28 February 2002, Ehsan Jafri, a former Member of Parliament and an authentic and much-loved citizen…
Destroying Secularism
On 28 January 2025, the well-known Calcutta daily ‘The Telegraph’ carried an article entitled ‘Rub your eyes: Hindu Rashtra Constitution to be unveiled at Mahakumbh on Basant Panchami’. The seemingly…
Celebrate Diversity
It is late evening, the day after Uttarayan (15 January), traditionally called ‘vasi uttarayan’. It has been a dull, cloudy day; the wind has been fairly good though. Since yesterday…
For my birthday, you are organising in my name, INVITE as Chief Guest…!
Dear Leaders of the Christian Community in India, Greetings of peace, love, joy and hope- to each one of you, as you prepare to celebrate my birth once again! I…
The Poor cry out to Us: Do we respond?
About a month ago, on 15 October, the 2024 Global Hunger Index was released. India ranks 105out of 127 countries; with a score of27.3, India has a level of hunger that…
Upholding Gandhian Values of Truth, Justice and Nonviolence for Journalism Today!
This is the essence of a talk given at the ICPA National Convention of Christian Journalists held in Mangalore on 2 October 2024 It is good to be here at…
India Cries for Freedom!
India cries for Freedom: Thanks to the relentless struggles and sacrifices of our freedom fighters, on 15 August 1947, India made her tryst with destiny! After years of colonial rule,…
TODAY, is WORSE than the ‘EMERGENCY!’
India will and should never forget that infamous night of 25/26 June 1975, when, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared all over the country.…
Criminalising ‘Conversions’!
On 1 July 2024, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal of the Allahabad High Court in a bizarre comment said, “if this process (religious conversion) is allowed to be carried out, the…
Celebrating the Spirit of Stan Swamy
When on 5 July 2021, the fascist regime of India, killed Jesuit Fr. Stan Swamy, they succeeded only in destroying the frail body of an 84-year-old Catholic Priest. Today, three…
The Hug of a Humbug!
Few will not remember Judas Iscariot and the role he played in the betrayal of Jesus For those who don’t know or don’t remember, these passages from Sacred Scripture will help put things in perspective:…
Nothing ‘Right’ about India’s Human Rights Commission
The accreditation review of the National Human Rights Commission ofIndia (NHRCI), is scheduled to take place in the last week of March 2024 and in the last week of April 2024. This…
India Needs a ‘Romero’ Today!
This year, 24 March, is pregnant with meaning! For a large percentage of Indians, it is ‘Holika Dahan’, the start of the great festival of Holi! For most Christians, it…
Constitutional Challenges
In a short time from now, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the General Elections 2024! The citizens of India are aware that this is a…
Bilkis Bano Vindicated!
On 8 January 2024, Bilkis Bano stood vindicated! Her relentless quest for truth and justice met with triumph, as the Supreme Court of India, quashed the Gujarat Government's decision to…
Towards 2024: Citizens’ Responsibilities
It is Constitution Day once again! We, the people of India, gratefully remember 26 November 1949 when the Constitution of India was passed and adopted by the Constituent Assembly. The…
Celebrating Constitutionality!
Rosary School in Vadodara (Baroda) Gujarat is one of the premier educational institutions of the State. It is co-educational and run by the Society of Jesus. It caters to about…
Rights of Older Persons must be fulfilled!
On 1 October, the world will once again observe the ‘International Day of Older Persons’. It is the 33rd commemoration of this United Nations Day. Such days are often relegated…
Speak Truth to Power and Pay the Price!
These are critical times in India’s history: in fact, whether we would like to accept it or not, it is a break or make moment! At stake is the future…
Foisting A Bluff on the Nation!
On 31 August, the Government called for a special session of Parliament for five days beginning on 18 September. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi tweeted, “Special Session of Parliament…
Mother Teresa Epitomised The Complete Teacher
Teachers, and very sadly so, are today in the news, for all the wrong reasons! In Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, a school teacher made the students of her class come up…
The Challenge to Live Fr. Stan Swamy’s Legacy Today!
Times are bad in India: Manipur has been burning for two months now. Millions of citizens all over are denied their fundamental rights. Corruption and crony capitalism are rampant. Opposition…
Manipur Burning!
To say that ‘Manipur is burning’ is not merely a gross understatement, but belies the terrible reality which has gripped the tiny State in North-East India since 3 May. For…
Letter to Bishops of India from Fr Cedric Prakash
To Most Rev. Andrews Thazhath, President; and to ALL Office-Bearers and ALL Members The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, Your Lordships, Greetings to…
CRIMES and COMPLICITY!
The first eleven days of May 2023 have, in many ways, been a defining period of Indian history! Plenty has happened in a rapid-fire stream of events. Ironically, each one…
Karnataka Calls For Change!
Karnataka has gone silent today after a high velocity and vicious election campaign reaching deafening crescendos till yesterday. With Assembly Elections 2023 just a couple of days away on…
Freedom of Expression: Driver for All other Human Rights
Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 Nobel Prize recipient in Economic Sciences said, “Free speech and a free press not only make abuses of governmental powers less likely; they also enhance the…
Earthly Birthday Greetings to Stan Swamy in Heaven
Dear Stan, It is your birthday today here on earth! You would have completed eighty-six years, if you were around. Well, that was not to be; on 5 July 2021…
Political Opportunism!
‘Opportunism’ is normally defined as “the practice of using situations unfairly to get an advantage for yourself without thinking about the consequences, of how your actions will affect other people”.…
Selling One’s Soul – The betrayal of Christ and Constitution
For the past couple of days, electronic and print mainstream media in the country, have been highlighting the public ‘promise’ made by the Archbishop of Tellicherry. During a protest rally…
Women must Arise Now and #EmbraceEquity
On 13 February, a mother and her daughter were burnt alive during an encroachment clearing drive in Dehat village of Kanpur; the incident that killed a 44-year-old mother and her…
India Cries for Justice
In India, the cries for justice, are becoming louder and longer! They come from different segments of society and particularly from those who continue to be exploited and excluded! These…
Fraternity @ Frontiers
On December 21, 2020, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution – co-sponsored by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – proclaiming February 4 as the International Day of…
Celebrating the Republic @ 74!
At a Press Conference held in Delhi on 18 January, the Government spokesman said, “The Nation will celebrate its 74th Republic Day on January 26, 2023. The celebrations include the traditional…
The Constitution belongs to ‘We, the People!’
It was ‘Constitution Day’ once again on 26 November, as the nation remembered with profound gratitude the day in 1949, on which…
Exposing the ‘Forced Conversions’ Lie!
Srinivasan Jain, the popular TV anchor with NDTV, has done a tremendous service to the Constitution of India and thereby, to the people of India! In a hard-hitting exposé on…
Challenges on ‘World Day of the Poor’!
On 17 October 2022, the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), released its annual Global Multidimensional Poverty Index(GMPI) report ‘Unpacking deprivation bundles to…
The Tree of Life!
November 3, 2022, was a special day indeed! On that day, Pope Francis began a four-days historic visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, where he…
“Let there be Light”!
India today, is enveloped in darkness! As the nation embroils itself from one issue to another, the burden is felt by the ordinary citizen, as never before and in more…
The shame of a nation: The tragedy of Bilkis Bano!
India completed 75 years of independence on 15 August 2022! That ‘special day’ however, was one of the blackest days in the history of post-independent India. It was indeed a…
Whose FREEDOM@75?
The official propaganda states that, “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence and the glorious history of…
August Ninth Spells “Freedom”
As another ‘Ninth August’ slips into history and perhaps into oblivion (as some would certainly like it to be), it is important that we bask in the significance of the…
Fr. Stan Swamy: his legacy lives forever!
A year ago, on 5 July 2021, when Father Stan Swamy left us, the world mourned the death of a great human being who epitomised compassion, courage, collaboration and commitment!…
International Day for Countering Hate Speech
On all counts, the decision by the United Nations General Assembly to declare 18 June as the International Day for Countering Hate Speech (beginning this year 2022) is significant. It…
Environment Matters: ‘Only One Earth!’
Come 5 June, the world will once again be ‘celebrating’ ‘World Environment Day’! There will be the usual plethora of events, plenty of fanfare and with many competing for ‘photo-ops’…
‘Sedition’ Must Go!
The ‘sedition’ law in India is repressive and regressive, archaic and obsolete, draconian in nature and blatantly violative of the freedoms guaranteed to every citizen of the country in the…
Birthday Greetings to [email protected]
Dear Stan, It is your earthly birthday! You would have certainly felt embarrassed and even winced at the thought of anyone wishing you, leave alone celebrating your birthday today! In…
Towards Human Fraternity
On all counts 4 February 2019 was a memorable day for the world! On that day, Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayyib, met in Abu Dhabi,…
‘Abide With Me’ will Stay Forever!
Outside the St. Michael’s Church in Mahim Mumbai is a powerful slogan. “God will always abide with me, even if I retreat!” In many ways this creative caption sums up…
Hounding Christians!
‘The Quint’ (3 January 2022) has an article ‘Events on Christ will end with “Jai Sri Ram”: Behind Church Attacks in Haryana’. The article speaks about the slew of anti-…
Persecution of Christians in India: The case of attacks on the Missionaries of Charity
It has been happening with frightening regularity all over India and particularly, in states run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): the bashing of Christians! It is a well-orchestrated campaign…
Let us learn from our farmers!!
Our farmers know the way, go the way and show the way! Thanks to their relentless struggle and their great sacrifices, for all of us – the three anti-farmer laws…
Gifts are Parables!
Pope Francis is an excellent communicator! Like his Master Jesus, he also uses stories, real life examples, the burning context and even parables! Gifts are also parables. Jesus illustrates this…
Give us Today our Daily Food
Come 16 October – and the world once again is together as one, to focus on the most basic need for a person’s survival: food! The first ‘World Food Day’…
We Must Act NOW to Defend Democracy!
The institutional murder of 84-year-old Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy, who died on 5 July 2021 while still in judicial custody, has shaken the very foundations of democracy in India.…
Thank you, dear Fr. Stan, you will live forever!
Dear Fr. Stan Swamy, On 5 July, you completed your pilgrimage here on earth! Thousands feel your loss everywhere; a light has gone out of our lives and there is…
Together A Cry For Justice
Aisha Sultana, a native of Lakshadweep’s Chetlat island, is today one of India’s visible faces in the cry for justice! She is a well-known actor and director and an activist.…
WANTED: Immediate Justice in the Bhima-Koregaon Conspiracy
It was the virtual ‘midnight knock’! The irony was that the knock took place in broad daylight, and expectedly in a blatantly unjust, uncivilised and unconstitutional manner. On 6 June…
We Need To Breathe!
It was a scene which will forever be etched in the memory of millions the world over: on May 25 2020, on a street in Minneapolis, US- a white police…
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