ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: THE PURSUIT OF PEACE

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas that began with a brutal terror attack by the latter and the disproportionate retaliation by the former has so far led to the death of about 9,000 individuals including a substantial number of women and children, 25,000 wounded, 200 plus Israeli hostages and the displacement of lakhs of …

“WHY TRY?”: A REFLECTION ON WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO DISRUPT THE ‘PEACE’

I was pretty exhausted and brain-fried after a day’s work and two hours of class when a participant in TRACI’s Gender and Biblical Equality Course brought this up. We were on our 7th session and she asked a question that most of us would probably have had for a while: If the church and society …

CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY IN THE MIDST OF PERSECUTION

Christians in some parts of India have been facing growing persecution on account of their faith at different times due to the rise of religious fundamentalism and the proliferation of hate against religious minorities in India. In 1998, Christians in the Dangs District of Gujarat suffered intense persecution and attacks on Christian institutions. In 2008, …

GENDER CONCERNS AND BIBLICAL EQUALITY

Socially constructed gender norms have produced gender inequalities which clip wings and dwarf personalities. While gender injustice is the fallout of the Fall, deep-rooted gender prejudices masquerading as Scriptural arise from a failure to let Scripture interpret itself to reveal God’s big story. The overarching narrative of Scripture is God’s kingdom being lost to humans …

The image is of Pandita Ramabai

Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922)

Ramabai was born as the sixth child to Anant Shastri Dongre and Lakshmibai. Her father earned his living by rendering Vedic recitals in temples, teaching and narrating Puranas in public platform and other similar activities as performed by a devout Brahmin. The family lived under severe economic strain. with famine sweeping the region the economic …

The image contains the Indian flag

Idea of India

One of the placards held by one of the protesters in the Citizens March organized on the 9th of January caught my attention. it said, “Will someone return to me the country that I was proud of as a Child.” the words somehow resonated with me, stirring in my mind the pictures of that India …

The image is of a white cross in the distance made blurry by the snowfall

Christmas Vignettes

For the last several weeks and months, every morning I open the newspaper to read that the economy is doing badly; that the Indian economy grew by less than 5 percent in 2019 and that perhaps worse is yet to come. Newspaper headlines come to life in other ways; at the market, a lot of …

There is hand in the image that is holding a silver bejewelled Christmas bauble

Treasuring Up

With Christmas round the corner, carols cannot be far behind. In an old BBC programme on Christmas carols that I was listening to the other day, the anchor asked the singers what Christmas meant to them. The response usually was, ‘It is a time to be with family and friends.’ The season resonates with such …