Cover Stories

Criminalising Conscience

You may believe what you wish, provided you first tell the government, survive the suspicion and prove your innocence. Maharashtra’s new law places the machinery of the State between citizens and thei

Fr. Gaurav Nair Fr. Gaurav Nair
31 Aug 2026

The Targeted Hate in the Maharashtra Law

Maharashtra's anti-conversion law does not protect religious freedom; it places conscience under surveillance. By making voluntary faith a bureaucratic and potentially criminalised act, it empowers vi

John Dayal John Dayal
31 Aug 2026

Articles

You may be supremely happy that your Freedom of Religion Bill has received the President's assent and has now come into force in Maharashtra. But there is an irony that you may not have noticed.

A. J. Philip A. J. Philip
31 Aug 2026

India's children are discovering the power of protest. Their demands are modest. Safe classrooms, clean water, toilets, teachers and dignity. If governments silence those who expose these failures rat

Jacob Peenikaparambil Jacob Peenikaparambil
31 Aug 2026

Gonsalves was born on April 5, 1954, in Munnar, nestled in the Western Ghats in Idukki District of Kerala, into a prominent Anglo-Indian family from Pallippuram in Kochi's Vypin. He was the eldest son

Renjith Leen Renjith Leen
31 Aug 2026

A "church-free Odisha" must not become a cause for fear or retaliation. Christians must respond with truth, courage and peace, remembering that our strongest witness is faithful service: building brid

Archbishop John Barwa, SVD Archbishop John Barwa, SVD
31 Aug 2026

Vande Mataram once united Indians against colonialism. Its appropriation today seeks to turn a shared national symbol into a test of Hindu nationalism and patriotism, diverting attention from governan

Oliver D'Souza Oliver D'Souza
31 Aug 2026

Recent cases of infants abandoned in Haryana, Karnataka and Jharkhand expose a legal system built for children who can speak, not infants who cannot. Strict criminal penalties for abandonment push par

Vidyadhar Prabhudesai Vidyadhar Prabhudesai
31 Aug 2026

The smartphone may be the millstone of our age: a pocket-sized idol that promises connection but breeds distraction. When we surrender ourselves to its endless pull, children learn to imitate us. True

Fr. Anil Prakash D'Souza, OP Fr. Anil Prakash D'Souza, OP
31 Aug 2026

Dolly's faith was heard not only in gospel songs but also in her generosity. Through her Imagination Library, she placed millions of books into the hands of children. She did not merely sing about lov

Robert Clements Robert Clements
31 Aug 2026

A democracy must distinguish between an armed insurgent and a questioning citizen. Calling critics, students, academics or activists "Dimaagi Naxals" is unacceptable. Strength lies not in silencing di

Dr Martin Valiyaparambil VC Dr Martin Valiyaparambil VC
24 Aug 2026

As I watched, I could not help remembering the interview I did with your father, NKP Salve, for Jain TV in the 1990s. Goswami, I presume, was then still "studying for some time in a Jesuit-run school,

A. J. Philip A. J. Philip
24 Aug 2026

After years in abeyance, Justice Sunday returns at a moment of profound national crisis. From poverty and exclusion to attacks on minorities and environmental destruction, the Church is called to recl

Cedric Prakash Cedric Prakash
24 Aug 2026

Israel has transformed from the biblical David into a heavily armed Goliath. Self-defence cannot justify occupation, mass displacement and civilian suffering. The world must find the courage to act.

P. A. Chacko P. A. Chacko
24 Aug 2026

Pellet guns were fired at protesting students, and nobody can say who ordered it. The issue has transcended one incident. Power remains concentrated, but responsibility is endlessly dispersed.

Oliver D'Souza Oliver D'Souza
24 Aug 2026

Beneath India's boasts of growth and power, a deeper restlessness is spreading. Jobs vanish, institutions weaken, citizens move, dissent is silenced, and trust collapses; the CJP's rise reflects this

Thomas Menamparampil Thomas Menamparampil
24 Aug 2026

Sanatan borders bruised me In caste societies. Left Ideologies crushed me In European societies. Sharia societies Erased my skin.

Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla
24 Aug 2026

Unity is beautiful, but only when united around what is right. Otherwise, unity merely allows everyone to become lost without feeling lonely.

Robert Clements Robert Clements
24 Aug 2026

Bengal once welcomed missionaries who built schools, hospitals and presses, enriching the region's education, healthcare and reform. Today, priests are told to leave their parishes. The irony is devas

CM Paul CM Paul
17 Aug 2026

With Christians constituting barely 2.3 per cent of India's population, the charge of mass forced conversion defies logic. Yet anti-conversion laws pivot charity into "allurement," suspicion and crime

Chhotebhai Chhotebhai
17 Aug 2026

Dr RB Sreekala's work brings out something beautiful in Koodashappana: how a German Jesuit, Kerala's Malayalam tradition and Sanskrit learning came together to tell the story of Jesus in the language

A. J. Philip A. J. Philip
17 Aug 2026

Eighty years after Independence, the question is whether Indians remain free. With increasing threats to citizenship, dissent, faith and liberty, Swaraj demands a second struggle to defend freedom for

Jacob Peenikaparambil Jacob Peenikaparambil
17 Aug 2026

The Old Testament is insistent on this point almost to the point of severity. When Moses approached the burning bush, he was told, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on

Dr K. M. George Dr K. M. George
17 Aug 2026

Nehru's Cabinet was surrounded by persons who did not share his ideology. They were retained mostly out of a sense of loyalty to old colleagues, persons who fought side by side for Independence.

G Ramachandram G Ramachandram
17 Aug 2026

You think I am a forbidden fruit, unworthy of your love. But I never think You are a forbidden fruit, Even though India forbids your Nagalim.

Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla
17 Aug 2026

The truly confident leader does not need ridicule. He does not humiliate opponents or turn every speech into a performance about his own greatness. His strength is visible in restraint, fairness, humi

Robert Clements Robert Clements
17 Aug 2026

Political independence was never Gandhi's final destination. He envisioned a Republic rooted in constitutional values, social justice and human dignity. Every Independence Day invites a single questio

Joe Eruppakkatt Joe Eruppakkatt
10 Aug 2026

The Arthashastra counsels engagement, accountability and informed leadership—not disappearance. A government that retreats from Parliament while students demand justice betrays not only democratic con

A. J. Philip A. J. Philip
10 Aug 2026

It should not be surprising when a generation denied its future by governments prioritising identity and ideology over employment, education, and opportunity transforms frustration into resistance and

Jacob Peenikaparambil Jacob Peenikaparambil
10 Aug 2026

The battle over eggs is really a battle over India's priorities. A nation serious about defeating child malnutrition cannot allow ideology, caste prejudices, or religious taboos to determine what its

John Dayal John Dayal
10 Aug 2026

Branding the youth as "misled" is rich coming from a regime whose greatest political asset has been relentless propaganda. Social media narratives can manufacture consent, but they cannot manufacture

Oliver D'Souza Oliver D'Souza
10 Aug 2026

You appeared like a moon-flower in 2002, you shone like moonlight until 2004. Where did you go from Pondicherry? For so long, I searched for you among the moon-flowers.

Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla
10 Aug 2026

During his visit to Seychelles, Modiji is reported to have spent time meeting the oldest living animal, a 194-year-old tortoise. But in India, he has no time to listen to the younger generation, the u

Thomas Menamparampil Thomas Menamparampil
10 Aug 2026

Old men of India, listen carefully. The world has changed. Go home gracefully. And if you have no home to return to, build an old folk's home together. Sit comfortably, play recordings of how obedient

Robert Clements Robert Clements
10 Aug 2026