Anand Grover is a lawyer from India who is known for his legal activism in Indian law relating to HIV. He is a co-founder member of the Lawyers Collective and has been UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health since 2008. He spoke with the Citizen News Service (CNS) team as the 11th International

Some days ago, someone emailed me a set of questions about Islam and Arab culture. Was there any relationship between the two, he wanted to know. If Islam is universal in its scope and appeal and so transcends ethnic and linguistic boundaries, what about the tendency on the part of some Muslims to p

Pakistan - with a Muslim majority, the country’s Christian population is quite small, about 3-5 percent is Christian. Among them, 98% are living below poverty line. In rural areas, they live under the pressure of their landlords and in urban areas most of them work as laborers and could barely make

While efforts are underway to make a peace conference on Syria possible, the surrounding atmospheres are not encouraging as opposition groups in the Syrian conflict seem to still have reservations and preconditions. The Western-backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the main opposition group in exi

Subaidath was a Muslim student of India. She was not having peace of mind. One day, she read a Christian tract in her dormitory. Lord Jesus Christ showed Himself to her, touched her with His nailed hands and spoke to her with mild voice, “Do not be worried and upset. Believe in God the Father and al

Author: Haroon Khalid, Publisher: Westland, Chennai & New Delhi, Year: 2013, Pages: 330, Price: Rs. 395, ISBN: 978-93-83260-23-2, Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand
At the time of the Partition, religious minorities accounted for around a fourth of Pakistan’s population. Today, they account for just thr

I eagerly listened to him as he went on. He was sharing with me the ‘spicy’ story of the private life of a mutual acquaintance. I probed him for more ‘juicy’ details. I wanted him to go and on! At that moment, I wish he would never stop! The shocking details that he revealed stirred in me a perverse

The 64th anniversary of the death of S P Singha was recently marked by Christians in Pakistan but if I said his name outside of Christian circles, few would know him. That is because the role of Christians like Singha in the formation of Pakistan has been largely airbrushed out of our national hist

The emerging of Christian leadership in Central India can be better understood against the background of Anti-Christian violence in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. The taking over of Uma Bharati as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in 2003 boosted the Hindu fundamental organizations to attack

Despite a 26% overall reduction in new HIV infections in Asia and the Pacific since 2001, the epidemic still outpaces regional responses. According to a new UNAIDS report on HIV in Asia and the Pacific, the rate of new infections remains the issue of most concern. According to the report, the fastes

My name is Jadavedan Potty (Pronunciation as Yaadhavedhan Potty; it means ‘priest born in Scriptures’; Scriptures means Hindu Vedas). I belong to a Hindu Brahmin (priestly) family in India. From childhood I was an idol worshiper. I used to go to temples. I used to get up at 4 in the morning and doin

Scotland is a rich tapestry of diversity. Many people from around the world have chosen to make her their home, and whilst they bring with them many differences, one of the beauties of Scotland is that she takes everyone in and makes everyone her own.
And within that tapestry, the tartan of faith c

Gulf and Western powers have proved time and again that they can collectively overthrow leaders but after this then enormous vacuums often emerge. Failing overthrowing the targeted government, then the same forces can cause untold mayhem and misery and this is currently happening in Syria. Prior to

As Christians of Youhanabad are celebrating Golden Jubilee of this most populous Christian town in Pakistan, the social media is condemning one Muslim vegetable vendor in this locality on abusing Christian women patrons of his shop.
Fr. Hennery, a Catholic missionary laid foundation of this town n

Shia Muslims all over the world should be solely focused on the martyrdom of Imam Hussein during the religious festival of Ashura. However, for Shia communities in nations like Iraq and Pakistan, then it is also a time which is fraught with danger because of Sunni Islamic terrorists. Sadly, this yea