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