National
Indian Christians step up protests against anti-conversion law
More than 50,000 Christians in India’s Arunachal Pradesh state gathered to protest a government plan to revive a stringent 40-year-old anti-conversion law, fearing its misuse to target and victimize them.
“We oppose the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978 because it curtails our religious rights,” said Tara Miri, the president of the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF).
Christians from all 29 districts and different church denominations turned up for the March 6 protest and “filled all our 50,000 chairs” in an open ground state capital, Itanagar.
“There are 46 Christian denominations in the state, and members of all of them joined the protest because we feel the state government should not implement the law,” Miri said.
The anti-conversion law was first introduced in 1978 to protect the traditional religious practices of indigenous communities from external influence or coercion.
But it remained dormant for over 45 years as successive governments failed to frame the rules.
On Sept. 30 last year, the Gauhati High Court’s permanent bench in Itanagar directed the state government to finalize the rules within six months after a public interest litigation by a citizen against the government’s failure to enforce the law.
The law prohibits religious conversion “by use of force or inducement or by fraudulent means” and has provision for a two-year jail term or a fine up to Rs 10,000 if found guilty.
The law also mandates that every conversion has to be reported to the deputy commissioner, a top officer in the state’s districts. A failure to report an intended conversion shall attract a penalty.
The current push to implement the law represents a significant shift in policy, raising questions about religious freedom and cultural preservation in the northeastern state, said ACF.
Pema Khandu, the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, defended the move by saying his government is simply complying with court orders.
“The draft rules are being prepared as per legal directives,” he said, urging the public not to misinterpret the intent.
The ACF has been vocal against the Act, staging an eight-hour hunger strike on Feb. 17 in Itanagar, followed by a meeting with Mama Natung, the state home minister, on Feb. 21.
The discussions with the minister remain inconclusive, it said.
As tensions rise, the state government has assured further dialogue with religious leaders while proceeding with the rule-framing process as mandated by the court.
Meanwhile, a section of the indigenous faith followers is holding marches to support the implementation of the anti-conversion law.
“This act is for people of all faiths in Arunachal Pradesh. It will serve all. This is not at all unconstitutional,” Kamjai Taism, an indigenous faith leader, told media people.
Christians make up 30.26 percent of state’s 1.4 million people, while Hindus are 29.04 percent, indigenous faiths 26.20 percent, Buddhists 11.77 percent, and Muslims 1.95 percent.
Sources:ucanews
National
ഐ.പി.സി. നേര്യമംഗലം സെന്റർ യുവജന ക്യാമ്പ് പെരുമ്പാവൂർ കീഴില്ലത്ത് വച്ച് ഞാറാഴ്ച 6 pm ന് ഉദ്ഘാടനം നടത്തപ്പെടുന്നു
IPC നേര്യമംഗലം സെന്റർ PYPA യുടെ ആഭിമുഖ്യത്തിൽ ഞാറാഴ്ച 6 pm ന് കീഴില്ലം ഇവാഞ്ചലിക്കൽ റീ ട്രീറ്റ് സെന്ററിൽ വച്ച് സെന്റർ ക്യാമ്പ് സെന്റർ പാസ്റ്റർ: സണ്ണി മാത്യൂ ഉദ്ഘാടനം ചെയ്യുന്നു: PYPA സെന്റർ പ്രസിഡന്റ് പാസ്റ്റർ: ഫ്രീ ജോ ഫ്രാൻസിസ് ആദ്ധ്യക്ഷത വഹിക്കും.
തുടർന്ന് 24, 25 തീയതികളിൽ പാസ്റ്റേഴ്സ്: ഉമ്മൻ പി ക്ലമെന്റ് സൺ, ബിനു വടശ്ശേരി ക്കര, മാത്യൂ വർഗ്ഗീസ്, ഇവ: പി.സി. ജെ ബു, ഷാർലെറ്റ് പി. മാത്യൂ തുടങ്ങിയവർ വിവിധ സെക്ഷനുകളിൽ ക്ലാസ്സ് എടുക്കുന്നു.ഗാനശുശ്രൂഷകൾക്ക് നേതൃത്വം നൾക്കുന്നത് പാസ്റ്റർ സോജൻ സി.എസ്, ജീസൺ ജോർജ്ജ് എന്നീവരാണ്.
സമയം വിണ്ടെടുക്കുക (Redeem the time) എന്നതാണ് ചിന്താവിഷയം.
ഇവാ: ജെയ്സൺ സാബു (സെക്രട്ടറി), ജോബ് പി. ഏലിയാസ് (ട്രഷറാർ ) ബിബിൻ ബി ജ്ജു (പബ്ളിസിറ്റി ) തുടങ്ങിയവരുടെ നേതൃത്വത്തിൽ വിവിധ കമ്മറ്റികൾ പ്രവർത്തിച്ചു വരുന്നു.
25 ന് 1 pm ന് നടത്തപ്പെടുന്ന സമാപന സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ ഐ.പി.സി കേരളാ സ്റ്റേറ്റ് കൗൺസിൽ അംഗങ്ങൾ, സെന്റർ എക്സിക്യൂട്ടിവുകൾ തുടങ്ങിയവർ പങ്കെടുക്കും സെന്ററിലെ 21 സഭകളും പ്രവർത്തന മണ്ഡലങ്ങളും ഏറണാകുളം, ഇടുക്കി ജില്ലകളിലായി സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു.
Sources:cchintha.in
National
72-ാമത് നെഹ്റു ട്രോഫി ജലമേളയിൽ അരോമ ചുണ്ടൻ ജേതാക്കളായി.
ആരോമലായി അരോമ, പുന്നമടയിൽ പുതിയ താരോദയം! കന്നിയങ്കത്തിൽ ഫോട്ടോ ഫിനിഷിൽ നെഹ്റു ട്രോഫിയിൽ മുത്തമിട്ടു.
72-ാമത് നെഹ്റു ട്രോഫി ജലമേളയിൽ അരോമ ചുണ്ടൻ ജേതാക്കളായി. പുന്നമടക്കായലിൽ നടന്ന വാശിയേറിയ ഫൈനൽ പോരാട്ടത്തിൽ ഫോട്ടോ ഫിനിഷിലാണ് അരോമ ബോട്ട് ക്ലബ്ബ് തുഴഞ്ഞ അരോമ ചുണ്ടൻ കന്നി കിരീടം ചൂടിയത്. 4 മിനിറ്റ് 23.328 സെക്കൻഡിൽ ഫിനിഷ് ചെയ്താണ് അരോമ ജലരാജാക്കന്മാരായത്. 4.23.44 സമയത്തിൽ ഫിനിഷ് ചെയ്ത നടുഭാഗം ചുണ്ടൻ രണ്ടാം സ്ഥാനവും, വീയപുരം, മേൽപ്പാടം ചുണ്ടനുകൾ യഥാക്രമം മൂന്നും നാലും സ്ഥാനങ്ങളും നേടി. ചമ്പക്കുളം മൂലം വള്ളംകളിയിലെ വിജയത്തിന് പിന്നാലെയാണ് സ്വന്തം ക്ലബ്ബിന്റെയും ചുണ്ടന്റെയും കന്നി സീസണിൽ തന്നെ അരോമ നെഹ്റു ട്രോഫിയും സ്വന്തമാക്കുന്നത്.
ഉച്ചയോടെ മുഖ്യമന്ത്രി വി.ഡി. സതീശൻ ജലമേള ഉദ്ഘാടനം ചെയ്തു. കർണാടക മുഖ്യമന്ത്രി ഡി.കെ. ശിവകുമാർ, കേന്ദ്രമന്ത്രി ഗജേന്ദ്ര സിംഗ് ഷെഖാവത്ത്, രമേശ് ചെന്നിത്തല, കെ.സി. വേണുഗോപാൽ എം.പി. തുടങ്ങിയ പ്രമുഖർ ചടങ്ങിൽ പങ്കെടുത്തു. മന്ത്രി പി.സി. വിഷ്ണുനാഥാണ് ചടങ്ങിൽ പതാക ഉയർത്തിയത്.
http://theendtimeradio.com
In Keralam, Aroma Chundan has won the 72nd Nehru Trophy Boat Race in a nail-biting finish at Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha. In one of the closest contests in the history of the legendary water festival, Aromal Chundan crossed the finish line in 4 minutes, 23 seconds, and 328 milliseconds to secure the coveted trophy.
Nadubhagom Chundan finished a close second with a time of 4 minutes, 23 seconds, and 448 milliseconds, while Veeyapuram Chundan took third place, clocking in at 4 minutes, 23 seconds, and 770 milliseconds.
The high-octane race was the highlight of a grand event that featured 71 boats, including 22 traditional snake boats, competing across various categories. Thousands of spectators, including race enthusiasts and foreign tourists, gathered along the backwaters to witness Keralam’s iconic sporting and cultural spectacle, for which a local holiday was declared across government offices and educational institutions in Alappuzha district.
http://theendtimeradio.com
National
Indian court says Christian woman can file for divorce where she lives
Church leaders have welcomed a ruling by a provincial top court in southern India allowing a Christian woman to seek dissolution of her marriage in a family court where she currently resides after moving out of her matrimonial home.
The Kerala High Court’s Aug. 19 ruling came on an appeal filed by a Christian woman seeking legal separation from her husband due to domestic violence.
The woman, who resides at her parental home in Kerala state’s Wayanad district, had challenged a family court order directing her to file her application in Kasargod district, where her estranged husband and his family live.
Global Catholic
The British-era Indian Divorce Act of 1869, which governs judicial separation and marriage dissolution, among other things, for Christians in India, makes it mandatory for women to approach a family court in the place where “the marriage was solemnized, or the husband and wife reside or last resided together.”
In her appeal to the High Court, the Christian woman argued that this restriction resulted “in serious prejudice to Christian women who intend to file for divorce.”
The woman had earlier challenged the family court order before a single bench of the Kerala High Court on the grounds that she was not in a position “to travel long distances, in protracted litigations in a hostile jurisdiction.”
She pointed out that women were allowed to approach family courts where they resided under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as well as the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which enables marriages between individuals of any religion, caste, or nationality, but not under the law governing Christian marriages.
The single-judge bench, in a June 30 ruling, agreed with her contentions but refused to grant her relief, holding that amending the law was the only solution and leaving it to the Indian Parliament to decide.
The judge, however, directed that the order be sent to the federal government, recommending it to amend the 1869 law.
The High Court’s division bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Preeta A K, whom she approached later, allowed her appeal.
It ruled that she could file her application before a family court “having jurisdiction over the place where she is currently residing, even if that place is different from where the marriage was solemnized or where the couple last lived together.”
Church leaders hailed this Aug. 19 ruling as a “landmark decision” based on “a wise interpretation of a contentious clause.”
Father Ebigin Arackal, secretary to the Commission for Canon Law of the Kerala Region Latin Catholic Bishops’ Council, said, “We are glad that the top court, through its wise interpretation of a contentious clause, has ended decades-old discrimination against Christian women.”
Aleykutty P T, a lawyer in Kerala’s Idukki district, said Christian women were often forced to travel to places where their husbands were based, which made them insecure and sometimes even posed a threat to their lives.
“Now with this order, they can obviously choose a place where it’s safer and they get support,” she told UCA News on Aug. 20.
Govind Yadav, a lawyer at the Supreme Court in New Delhi, said this order for Kerala can become a precedent for other states to follow.
“But as long as the federal government fails to amend the colonial-era law, this discrimination against Christian women will continue,” he added.
Christians make up 2.3 percent of India’s more than 1.4 billion people; about 80 percent of whom are Hindus.
Sources:ucanews
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