Easter is the most important religious celebration for 2.6 billion Christians worldwide. On this day, they commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day of His being put to death on the cross. Christ's Resurrection forms the crux of the Christian faith: the victory of life over death, of good over evil, of human salvation and hope in eternal life.

Without Resurrection, Christianity would be futile (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). The impact of Christ's Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection was so powerful that not only was the veil of the temple torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, but it also brought down the entire Roman Empire. There is every likelihood of this telling impact being repeated for nations which show scant respect for human lives, a country's sovereignty, and ironically quote Psalm 144 during a press briefing to justify war and mass annihilation.

The Gospel Accounts of the Resurrection
The Gospel accounts of Jesus' Resurrection give us differing details about who and where they saw Him first. According to Matthew (28:1-10), an angel showed the empty tomb to Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" and instructed them to tell the disciples, who were totally panic-stricken after Christ's crucifixion, to go to Galilee. While still in Jerusalem, the two Marys saw Jesus, who told them the same thing. He appeared once more to the disciples in Galilee.

According to Luke (24:1-49), however, while the disciples remained in Jerusalem, the women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and "the other women") found the empty tomb. "Two men in dazzling clothes" told them that Jesus had risen. Later, Jesus appeared to two followers on the road to Emmaus (near Jerusalem), then to Peter, and later to the disciples.

The True Meaning of Easter: Resurrection, Hope and Christian Beliefs
Easter is a joyful affirmation of our belief that through Christ's conquest of death, the whole of humanity (irrespective of their religious affiliations) will share in His salvific mission, which is victory over sin, death, and the Devil.

Jesus rose from the dead so that everyone can have a meaningful relationship with God the Father – the Creator of the Universe. Because of His victory over death, we too can experience a new life right here on earth and in Heaven with God. This is the reason we call ourselves "Pilgrims of Hope." Through His Resurrection, Christ offers everyone hope, joy, and the promise of peace amid our daily struggles, fear, uncertainty, unemployment, heartbreaks, despondency, and all the crises in our lives.

In this context, we must remember that contrary to popular notion, Jesus did not preach Christianity and, as a corollary, the rituals of the hierarchical Church. We must also note that the early Christians did not have any hierarchy which has entrenched itself in today's Church. Jesus only preached the Good News of salvation to the poor, and the religion of love and service to the needy through Servant-leadership.

Jesus was a non-conformist. He challenged several Jewish traditions/interpretations of Mosaic Law, observance of the Sabbath and purity rituals. He healed on the Sabbath multiple times - including a man with a withered hand (Matthew 12) and a blind man (John 9). He was a firm believer in "Laws are for men, men are not for laws" and asserted that the Sabbath was made to serve human needs, not to entrap people in rules.

Jesus and Socrates, the great Greek philosopher (born 470 BCE, died 399 BCE), shared common attributes. Both questioned the system. Therefore, both were perceived as an affront to authority. Even an 84-year-old human rights activist, Fr Stan Swamy, was incarcerated under UAPA! The same perception is being perpetrated today by the USA ostensibly for regime change.

Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection in Today's Context
We experience all these phenomena in our life situations, trials and tribulations. Examples are:
1.    When someone is repeatedly heckled, his/her basic human rights to shelter, drinking water, food and personal dignity are stripped off; that is a reenactment of crucifixion. Extrapolate this on a larger scale in Gaza, Africa, Iran and Lebanon, and it's crucifixion.
2.    The growing practice of keeping contractual employees, and their exploitation in Church-run institutions, under threat of termination without gratuity and retirement benefits, is a clear instance of daily crucifixion. Taking away tribal land and uprooting them without commensurate compensation to suit mining/business barons is a clear case of crucifixion.
3.    Prolongation of the above situations over a protracted period, including long incarceration in jail without trial, will lead to the certain death of the victimised.
4.    We also come across situations of spiritual death (Genesis 2:17 and 3:8), the death of conscience of today's superpowers/politicians, bureaucrats and hardened criminals; the death of a person's/community's cherished dreams by systematic subjugation.
5.    On Sunday, March 8, 8.09 lakh candidates appeared for the Group-D state-level selection test in Kolkata to vie for 5,444 Peons' posts in secondary and higher secondary schools! It will be a resurrection for those candidates who get these government jobs.
6.    On March 8, more than fifty women, cutting across religious and social barriers, broke bread together at Deeniyat Muallima College, Santragachi, at an inter-faith Iftar. This is a resurrection from today's increasing sectarian polarisation/conflict and social divisions.
7.    The Telegraph Calcutta (March 10, 2026) mentioned America as the largest exporter of arms (42% of global exports). The world would be a much safer place if this self-defeating practice in the name of boosting its economy were done away with. This will certainly be equivalent to Resurrection from the ashes of superpower-engineered destruction.
8.    On March 9, St Xavier's College, Raghabpur Campus, launched Project Udaan to enable rural women to rise above financial death and suppression through skill-based training and livelihood opportunities. This project is a clear example of Christ's Resurrection in today's situation - the rise of rural women from societal suppression and financial death.
May Christ's Resurrection and His message of peace bring an end to the US-Israel vs Iran war.