Political row in Indian state sparks debate on land rights for Dalits
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation A spat between two political parties in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu over a piece of land has cast a spotlight on the mismanagement of land earmarked for lower-caste Dalits across the country, according to human rights activists. The state secretary of India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, […]
Call for prayer as southern India faces water shortages amid crippling drought
Christian organisation GFA World has called for Christians around the world to pray as a drought in southern India puts hundreds of millions at risk. GFA World, formerly known as Gospel for Asia, says that as many as 600 million people – almost half of India’s population – face acute water shortages with the city of […]
India rescues bonded workers after voting awareness campaigners raise alarm
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Authorities in south India rescued dozens of bonded labourers from a farm on Friday after a tip-off from awareness campaigners that they had been banned from voting in a national election. The campaigners said they were trying to raise awareness of the importance of voting when they realised many migrant workers […]
Christian women’s prayer meeting broken up in India – report
A Christian women’s prayer meeting was disrupted in India on Sunday when a mob of Hindu hardliners verbally abused them and threatened to attack them if they meet again for prayer, sources have told religious freedom advocacy CSW. About 30 women were at the meeting held in a pastor’s home in Vairichettipalayam village in Tamil Nadu […]
Promised land and homes, Sri Lankan refugees to return from India
Thomson Reuters Foundation Thousands of Sri Lankan refugees living in India are ready to return to their homeland decades after fleeing civil war, according to a rights group that said returnees will receive a plot of land and other assistance. Nearly 4,000 of more than 62,000 refugees living in camps in the south Indian state […]
‘Call Me Priya’: film sparks debate about India textile industry abuses
Thomson Reuters Foundation A film about a young textile worker in southern India is sparking debate in rural communities at the heart of an industry that campaigners say is plagued by exploitation and abuse. Call Me Priya tells the story of a young woman in Tamil Nadu state, where about 400,000 people are employed in […]
Indian Christians protest after part of church demolished to make road wider
World Watch Monitor Part of a Protestant church in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has been demolished to make way for a wider road, despite the local court being yet to announce its verdict on the proposal, AsiaNews reports. A wing of the Emmanuel Church, which belongs to the Church of South India, and some adjacent houses were […]
“Total impunity” in India, as Muslims and Christians “bear brunt of ruling ideology”
World Watch Monitor Frequent reports of violent attacks against India’s religious minorities show the “total impunity” enjoyed by their Hindu nationalist attackers, says one civil rights activist. In one recent attack, a pastor, his wife and their congregation were attacked at their ‘house church’ in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state on Sunday, 8th July, advocacy […]
Global initiatives failing to stop labour abuses in India, activists say
Thomson Reuters Foundation International efforts to make it easier for garment workers in India to speak out against sexual harassment, dangerous working conditions and abuses are failing, campaigners said on Tuesday. The US-based certifying agency Social Accountability International and Britain’s Ethical Trading Initiative – an alliance of unions, firms and charities – are not enforcing procedures they […]
Rescued from slavery, Indian workers unite to stop bonded labour
Thomson Reuters Foundation Indians rescued from slavery are coming together to free others from bonded labour in brick kilns, rice mills and factories throughout the southern state of Tamil Nadu. About 500,000 labourers in 11 industries in Tamil Nadu are trapped in debt bondage, in which people must work to repay debts to employers and […]