(OPINION) As South Africa’s first Black Anglican archbishop and Nobel prize winning human rights advocate, the Rev. Desmond Tutu tapped into India’s freedom struggle and learned organizing strategies from Mahatma Gandhi. Today, Indian church leaders are leaning from Tutu’s example to heal divisions of caste, class and religion.
Read MoreIndia’s recent rise in Hindu nationalism can be seen playing out in multi-million-dollar projects funded by both government and private donations to build some of the world’s tallest statues of Hindu heroes, including not just an independence leader and Hindu gods but also a Hindu warrior king who defeated Muslim forces.
Read MoreHindu nationalists are trying to stop a Catholic parish’s proposed 114-feet-high granite Jesus statue atop a hill in rural South India, sparked by a large Christmas land donation from a Hindu politician. The archbishop of Bangalore sought the state chief minister’s intervention this week to continue the $1.5 million project.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) India’s general election opens polls April 11 to May 19, with the final count expected May 23. Leaders of India’s minority faith communities are telling their flocks to elect candidates committed to pluralism and respect for everybody’s faiths amidst growing intolerance blamed on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Fake news and biased reporting characterizes the military conflict between India and Pakistan, with some news channels parroting government claims that haven’t checked out.
Read More(COMMENTARY) An American film releasing Feb. 1 marks 20 years after the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. An anti-Christian Hindu fanatic murdered the trio by burning them alive while they were asleep in their station wagon in the early hours of Jan. 23, 1999.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Twenty-six years ago, Hindu nationalists destroyed a 16th century mosque. Today, the right wing’s campaign issue is how to build a temple on that site.
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