Catholic Union: Hounding of young climate change activists is 'deeply worrying'

Disha Ravi

By A Representative
The All-India Catholic Union (AICU) has said that it is deeply disturbed and worried at hounding of young activists, insisting, “civil society is vital for healthy nation.” The 101-year-old organisation, in a statement, said it is particularly worried “at the hounding of young climate change and environment activists in the country.”
It said, “What makes it more critical is that this form of persecution comes from both state and non-state actors, and at a time when the nation is struggling to come out of the medical and economic catastrophe of Covid, natural calamities in the Himalayan region, and the crisis in agriculture as reflected in the strike by the country’s farmers.”
“The AICU considers itself a part of civil society in the country and believes that a vibrant civil society is vital to the overall health of the nation, its plural heritage and its constitutional guarantees”, the statement adding, “As a representative body of ordinary Catholic communities across the country, AICU understands the importance of civil society in defending and projecting freedom of faith, expression and fraternity.”
“Any action by governments and others, that erodes any of these freedoms seriously impacts every group, especially religious minorities”, AICU national president Lancy D Cunha said. “Whether in religious communities or national movements on education, health, environment protection and grassroots level economic rejuvenation, the burden lay on the shoulders of the young”, added AICU national spokesman Dr John Dayal.
“Their drive, patriotism and concern for the future was unparalleled. Their knowledge of mass media, social media and advocacy had made them engines of change internationally. In India, irrespective of ideologies, the young were in the lead, giving courage to the rest”, he insisted.
The statement, he said, is made in the context of the Delhi police arresting 22-year-old Disha Ravi on on February 14, 2021 alleging her involvement in a Google document that the young international climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in support of farmer protests in India. The police are also seeking arrest of Shantanu Muluk from Beed, Maharashtra, and lawyer Nikita Jacob from Mumbai.
Jacob is a volunteer with Extinction Rebellion India, a branch of a global climate advocacy youth group founded in the UK in 2018. The Bombay High Court has granted Muluk 10-day transit bail, while Jacob has been granted protection from arrest for the next three weeks.

Comments

GreenTech Summit claims NCR as key green building hub, without pan-India comparison

By A Representative The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under the Confederation of Indian Industry, held its GreenTech Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where industry representatives, policymakers and sustainability professionals discussed the adoption of climate technologies in India’s built environment.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Beyond India-China borders: Economic links expand, political gaps persist

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Despite growing trade between India and China, a persistent trust deficit continues to shape their bilateral relationship. Expanding economic engagement has not fully resolved political differences, many of which stem from historical legacies as well as contemporary geopolitical concerns. Border disputes—often traced to colonial-era arrangements—remain a significant obstacle to deeper cooperation, while differing strategic alignments in global affairs add further complexity.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

India has been getting its economic growth wrong for two decades, say top economists

By Jag Jivan* India's official GDP figures have misrepresented the trajectory of the world's fifth-largest economy for the better part of two decades, according to a major new working paper published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). It finds that India overstated annual growth by up to two percentage points after 2011 — and understated it during the boom years of the 2000s.

Operation Epic Fury: Making America great at the world’s expense?

By N.S. Venkataraman* The decades-long enmity between Iran and Israel is well-documented, but historically, their direct confrontations have been brief, constrained by the logistical and economic limitations of sustained warfare. The current conflict in the Middle East, however, marks a radical and dangerous departure from this pattern.

Beyond the election manifesto: Why climate is now a kitchen table issue

By Vikas Meshram* March has long been a month of gentle transition, the period when winter softly retreats and a mild warmth signals nature’s renewal. Yet, in recent years, this dependable rhythm has been disrupted. This year, since the beginning of March, temperatures across vast swathes of the country have shattered previous records, soaring to between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius in some regions. This is not a mere fluctuation in the weather; it is a serious and alarming indicator of climate change .

As India logs historic emissions drop, expert warns govt against 'policy blunders'

By A Representative In a significant development that underscores the rapid transformation of India's energy landscape, new data reveals the country recorded its largest drop in power sector emissions in 2025. However, a top power sector analyst has urged the Union Government to view this "silver lining" as a stark warning against continuing to invest in new coal, large hydro, and nuclear projects, which he argues could become "redundant" stranded assets.

Search This Blog