Press Coverage and Releases

• NCCI condemns the Burning of Dalit Huts in Odisha; Demands Immediate Action
The Commission on Dalits in the National Council of Churches in India vehemently condemns the heinous act of the 'upper caste' people in Odisha, who burnt down around thirty houses of Dalits. The inertia of the government in taking action against the culprit and protect the Dalits is strongly criticised by the Commission.

• NCCI demands 'White Paper' on Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant from Government of Tamilnadu
The National Council of Churches in India, the apex body of 30 Protestant and Orthodox Churches representing 13 million people, is deeply anguished to learn that the women in Trinelveli, South India who had peacefully assembled this morning to submit a memorandum to the Chief Executive of the District Administration in his office premises, asking for stopping the process of commissioning the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in South India, were attacked by goons belonging to Right Wing Fundamentalist Groups such as 'Hindu Munnani' and 'Hindu Nationalist Congress'.

• NCCI condemns the conferring of Gallantry Award to Ankit Garg by the State
It is most shocking that Mr. Ankit Garg, the Superintendent of Police from Chhatisgarh State has been given the Gallantry Award during the 63rd Indian Republic Day Celebration. This award has been given for the anti-Naxal operations he has carried out. However this very person Mr. Ankit Garg has been named by Ms. Soni Sori in several letter to the Supreme Court, for ordering and supervising her torture and being sexually violated on the night of October 8, 2011 when was in his custody at the Dantewada police station, being accused of acting as a Maoist courier.

• Corruption and its Impact on Dalits: An Indian Panorama
"The ocean of corruption that has engulfed human beings and especially the Indian society is the result of the absence of the value of justice in the society. Dalits are the ones who are affected severely by this phenomenon of blatant corruption in India. Only prophetic voices and effective programmes can change this scenario", so said Rt. Rev. Thomas K. Oommen, the bishop in CSI Madhya Kerala Diocese.

• Kudankulam People are the Change Makers said NCCI General Secretary
'You are the challengers and change makers‘. Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad said to the people of Kudankulam today during his solidarity visit to Kudankulam along with the General Secretary of Student Christian Movement of India and the General Secretary of the Tamilnadu Christian Council.

• NCCI condemns communalisation of education and society
The Chief Minister of Karnataka Mr. C.V. Sadananda Gowda announced on 8th January 2012 that Government was seriously considering a proposal to introduce Bhagavad Gita in Schools.

• The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: 18-24 January 2012
This is to inform you that the National Council of Churches in India will observe the “The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” from 18-25 January 2012. We invite you to participate in the same. We are living in times when Unity among churches is very important. Christian Unity is necessary for witness to the gospel. Christian Unity is also essential for addressing challenges which churches encounter in pluralistic society. Christian Unity facilitates fellowship, empowerment and joy of all disciples of Jesus Christ.

• Dalit Visions of the Church
Metropolitan Dr Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, Bishop of the Malankara Jacobite Orthodox Church in India rightly pointed out that “Churches that practice or remain silent on caste discrimination cannot ascribe themselves the status of holiness”, in the four days long International Seminar on “Dalit Visions of the Church” held at SCEPTRE Centre, Kolkata during December 13 to 17, 2011. The Seminar was organised by the Just and Inclusive Communities programme unit of WCC, NCCI Commission on Dalits, SCEPTRE and Bishop’s College, Kolkata.

• Maharashtra Chief Minister participates in NCCI Christmas Prayer Service
“Christmas is the greatest message of liberation the world has ever heard”, opined the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, while he participated in the Christmas Prayer Service organized by the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) at its Secretariat in Nagpur. He highlighted that the Christian society has always been the vanguard of peace, fraternity and communal harmony. The Church has made very significant contributions to the cause of Education and Health Care in the country. Even though the challenges posed by today’s world are grave, Christians can play a great role in addressing the challenges, drawing inspiration from the Christmas event.

• NCCI on Mullai Periyar
The National Council of Churches in India expresses its deep concern about the restlessness among the people of Tamilnadu and Kerala in the recent days over the Mullai Periyar Dam dispute which is a life and livelihood issue of the people of both states.

• MPs from across the Political Parties supported the demand of Dalit Christians & Dalit Muslims
The Joint Action Committee for securing equal rights to Muslims and Christians of Scheduled Caste origin conducted a dialogue between Members of Parliament and the leaders of Christian and Muslim Communities on 30th November 2011 at the CNI Bhavan at 6:30 p.m. The Joint Action Committee consisted of representatives of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, the National Council of Dalit Christians and Muslim organizations for Social Justice.

• Pilgrims' Progress in Solidarity, Sociability, & Sensitivity:
We, the participants of National Seminar on "Building Theologies of Solidarity:Interfacing Feminist theology with Dalit theology and Tribal/Adivasi theology", organised by the Board of Theological Education Senate of Serampore College (BTESSC), National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and Student Christian Movement of India (SCMI) came together for the very first time in an interface to commemorate the 30th Year anniversary of the famous first articulation of 'Shudra Theology' by Rev. Dr.A.P.Nirmal at the Carey Society public lecture in 1981 and acknowledge how those seeds have taken fruition over the year...

• NCCI demands the immediate release of Rev. C.M. Khanna of the Church of North India-Amritsar Diocese
The delegation of church leaders consisting of Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad, General Secretary of the NCCI, Mr. Alwan Masih, General Secretary of the Church of North India Synod and Mr. Suresh Koshy, Hon. Treasurer of the NCCI, met the Minister of State for Home, Government of India, Mr. Mullapally Ramachandran, on 23rd November and handed over a memorandum demanding the immediate release of Rev. C.M. Khanna of the CNI Amritsar diocese.

• Solidarity amongst the Vulnerables: An important Result of Bangalore Seminar
The novel proposal for a solidarity forum made the Seminar on "Interfacing Feminist Theology with Dalit Theology and Tribal/

• ::04-12-2011::IDEA:Disability Advocacy Sunday
The United Nations have declared 3rd December as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Persons with disabilities make up an estimated 15 percent of the world's population. Almost one-fifth of the estimated global total of persons living with disabilities (around 110-190 million), encounters significant difficulties. Furthermore, a quarter of the global population is directly affected by disability, as care-givers or family members.

• Christian Community’s Response to Lokpal Bill
The Churches and the ecumenical movement in India are concerned about corruption in public life. Corruption adversely affects the whole system of Governance, having a negative influence on the relationship between those who govern and the governed, especially the poor and marginalised communities.

• 11-12-2011: Dalit Liberation Sunday
Dalit Liberation Sunday will be jointly celebrated by the member churches and organisations of the National Council of Churches in India and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on the 11th December 2011 aiming at the empowerment of the local congregations for Dalit liberation. Dalit Liberation Sunday has been observed on the nearest Sunday to the International Human Rights Day (IHRD December 10th).

• The NCCI demands the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been operative since 1958 in the North Eastern states of India - first in Manipur and Assam and then in 1972 it was extended to Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura; and again in 1990 it was extended to Jammu and Kashmir.

• A Delegation of NCCI, CBCI & NCDC called on the UPA Chair person Ms. Sonia Gandhi
A 5-member delegation representing NCCI, CBCI and NCDC met the UPA-2 Chairperson and Congress President Ms. Sonia Gandhi on 1st November at her residence, 10 Janpat in New Delhi.

• Celebration of Liberation- Dalit Liberation Sunday 11.12.2011
The Dalit Liberation Sunday will be celebrated all over India under the auspices of the Commission on Dalits in the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the Office for Scheduled Castes (Dalits) and Backward Classes in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) on 11th of December 2011.

• NCCI concerns over growing violence against the North East people in Delhi
The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) condemns the violence against North East Indian people in Delhi. Recently, a Naga girl from Manipur was sexually assaulted by a local man in Delhi. For long, North East people have been facing discrimination in their work place, school, university and neighborhood and particularly girls from the region face sexual abuse. However, the law enforcing authorities are reluctant to take action against offenders. The state authorities are biased against the North East Indian people.

• Freedom of Speech: NCCI's concern over growing intolerance
The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) is concerned about the growing intolerance in the society of the freedom of speech and of the way in which some right wing groups have been taking the law into their own hands.

• Report of the Workshop on “Indigenous Theology”
“My livelihood is maintained by my environments – home, land, food, water, vegetations, insects and animals around us; it is therefore an imperative call to the Church to keep a constant and conscious efforts in order to maintain our symbiotic relationship with our environments while addressing and attempting to do authentic Indigenous (Tribal) Theology...” says Rt. Rev. P.K. Samantaroy, Bishop of Amritsar Diocese, Church of North India.

• Statement by the Indian Ecumenical Network-Kairos Palestine (ISEN-KP) on the impending United Nation
The Indian Solidarity Ecumenical Network- Kairos Palestine (ISEN-KP), strongly endorse the communiqué of the Patriarchs and Heads of local Christian churches in Jerusalem in anticipation of the impending vote at the United Nations general Assembly in their bid for Palestinian Statehood.

• Ecumenical Initiative for Peace - Nagpur
The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. By creating the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted itself to worldwide peace and encouraged all of mankind to work in cooperation for this goal.