North East Catholic Research Forum

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A reflection on the All Souls Day

Opinion | Articles | Benjamin Chang |

There are three major reasons that helped me grow in Faith after coming to Shillong. All Souls Day is one of them. In the past, I always found it odd to see people love having their photos taken on the tombs and in the graveyard. Stories and talks related.....

Does God play Games?

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

Last night (30th October) my wife and I sat to watch the last two hours of the semi-final match between India and Australia in the ICC Women’s One Day World Cup. It is headlines today. Australia was defeated after 7 years, that too despite piling on a mas.....

Impending SIR in West Bengal and its nitty gritty

Opinion | Articles | Isaac Harold Gomes |

According to Anandabazar.com (24.10.2025), the Election Commission of India (ECI) is on the verge of finalising its preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Voters’ List of West Bengal which goes to polls (Assembly Elections) in 2026......

Kings or No Kings

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

Both Kings and No Kings are in the news for very different reasons. First there is King Charles III of England who just visited Pope Leo in the Vatican and held a joint prayer service with him. The other is the No King rally in the USA on 18th October whe.....

Film Fanaticism is Cultural Obsession for Youth

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan |

The following news sent shock waves all over the country: “On September 27, 2025 at least 41 people were killed and around 100 others were injured in a crowd crush during a political rally in Karur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The rally was hosted by the .....

Called 'To Mission'

Opinion | Articles | Cedric Prakash |

‘The Mission’, is a 1986 British period drama film, about the experiences of a Jesuit missionary in 18th-century South America. The film is a rather complex one, though compelling and spiritually stirring. In essence, it is about the stand, which the Span.....

Christianity and the Contemporary Naga Society

Opinion | Articles | Jonas Yanthan |

Religion has tremendous impact on people and ultimately the society. The truth is believers act and behave in the way each individual or society believes. We know that bad theology and shallow belief system can turn believers into mediocre or fanatic peop.....

An MSMHC Nun from Mizoram did the North East Proud

Current Updates | NE Brief | NECARF Rep |

Sr Rose Paite

October 14, 2025: Sr Rose Paite, an MSMHC nun from Mizoram, received the prestigious National Award from the Catholic Mental Health Ministry (CMHM) at the World Mental Health Day Conference in Kerala. The prestigious award was handed over to the recipie.....

Religions are Commercialized

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan |

Just recently I hired an autorickshaw in Bengaluru. While traveling in the autorickshaw I noticed a printed caption above the driver’s seat. It read: “Price the Lord”. My mind said that there is a typo. The word “Praise” has been wrongly spelt as “Price”......

The Capacity of Human Brain to Retain Data on Social Contacts

Opinion | Articles | Isaac Harold Gomes |

Picture of Human Brain

We humans are social creatures and therefore we need ‘social bonds’ to survive on earth. However, our brains have their limits to sustain countless contacts. According to researchers our brains can effectively store a maximum of 150 relationships in our .....

The Three Idiots of Ladakh

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

The block buster Amir Khan movie “Three Idiots” is to some degree inspired by Sonam Wangchuk of Ladakh, the same person whom the Government has now arrested under the draconian National Security Act and lodged in far away Jodhpur jail. Ironically, till re.....

On Living the Legacy of Fr. Stan Swamy

Opinion | Articles | Cedric Prakash |

Fr Sten Swamy

Late evening of 8 October 2020, Fr Stan Swamy was summoned from ‘Bagaicha’ in Ranchi (the Social Centre he founded in 2006 and where he lived) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials, to their local headquarters in Ranchi city. He was immed.....

Did Jesus speak Latin?

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

Readers will pardon me for asking another audacious question. They will also note that I often write in response to current issues. This time it is a riposte to an article “Reviving the Old Latin Mass would be a colossal mistake” published in Union of Cat.....

Hard earned Sports Diplomacy wasted by India and Pakistan

Opinion | Articles | John Dayal |

India and Pakistan, two nations scarred by Partition, five wars including one this year, seem to have yet again used a cricket field in distant Dubai as a surrogate for the battlefield. India won the two matches the cricket teams played, but it was the u.....

Editorial

The Culture of othering is an unhealthy trend

A German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller, was against the Communist ideology and also against Semitism. His distaste for them made him a natural ally and supporter of Rudolf Hitler. When Hitler ultimately assumed power and insisted on the supremacy of t.....

Persecutions in the land of Tagore, Vivekananda, and Gandhi

India is fortunate to have given birth to three outstanding sons, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, and Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired generations not only in India but across the world. Apart from their liberal thinking, their thoughts on religious f.....

The determination was written on every Indian player’s face

On the intervening night of November 2nd and 3rd, the Indian women’s cricket team created history by winning the ICC Women’s World Cup for the first time at the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. They defeated South Africa, a team dubbed by many cricketing.....

Zubeen Garg unites people even in his death

Many ordinary people who are not connected to music and art might not have even heard of Zubeen Garg, despite being an iconic artist and a person who cared for others. However, after his unfortunate and untimely demise on September 19, 2025, social media.....

How serious are educational Institutions about the mental health of young people?

During the monsoon session of the Parliament in July 2025, Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar informed the house that student suicide cases accounted for 7.6 per cent of all suicide cases reported across India in 2022, showing a slight.....

Religious Persecutions in the Land of Vivekananda and Gandhi

The dictionary meaning of ‘persecution’ reads as ‘unfair or cruel treatment based on race, religion, or political belief’. Therefore, persecution can occur through racial discrimination or political exploitation and is not necessarily limited to the relig.....

From a Murderer to a Pilgrim of Faith

Prior to June 27, 2025, not many people in this country and elsewhere would have heard of Chengu@Sudharsan@Chandu Hansda, who at the age of 13 turned into a murderer when he joined the mob that brutally burnt alive an Australian missionary, Graham Stewart.....

Ominous Signs and the Catholic response

India is a country that boasts staggering diversity—a colourful mix few in the world have the privilege of sharing. Since independence and the enactment of the constitution, freedom, liberty, and equality before the law has always been our treasured right.....

The New Pope and His Message

This time, 1.39 billion Catholics across the globe were fortunate to see the white smoke come out of the Sistine Chapel chimney on the second day as Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected by the cardinal conclave in the fourth round of voting, one less than .....

The Pope didn’t Sulk or Shun

The Vatican News released a video of Pope Francis extending Easter greetings to a multitude of people at St. Peter’s Square in Rome, which was one day before his final journey to the eternal world. A close look at that video reveals that the Holy Father w.....

The CBCI blinks yet again

The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), regarded as a father figure by an estimated 23 million Catholics in this country, has yet again shown lack of wisdom while taking decision on crucial matters. While the organization may like to downplay som.....

Persecution as an Opportunity

The history of the church is replete with stories of persecution; the crucifixion of Christ itself being the greatest of all. Rome, where the Vatican, the supreme seat of the Pontiff, stands today, in fact was one of the foremost places where Christian pe.....

Previous Articles

Dilution, Clericalism, overshadow National Syntheses

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

The Synod on Synodality was kick-started in October 2021.The first phase, the national level, was to conclude by 15th August 2022 and the National Syntheses (NS) were to be sent to the Synod Secretariat at the Vatican. A communiqué from Rene Reid, Direct.....

Prime and Prejudice

Opinion | Articles | Victor Ferrao

The number theory is profoundly educative. Some of the mathematicians call it as the queen of mathematics. Within the numbers, the Greek identified the prime numbers. Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), made great contributions to nu.....

Brief History of Moyon Women Organization (BSR) in Manipur

Opinion | Articles | Penny Rose Chinir

Brief History of Moyon Women Organization (BSR) in Manipur The Moyon tribe is one of the thirty-three recognised STs of Manipur enlisted in 1956. They belong to the Indo-Mongoloid group of races and speak the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan gro.....

Easter: The life of God's Spirit within us

Opinion | People's Edit | Myron J Pereira

Easter, like Christmas, is full of symbols — empty tombs with angels around, soldiers falling down helplessly, eggs, lilies, empty crosses on the Calvary hill. Why is this so? Whenever we touch a truth too intense for words, we use symbols. We cry, we dan.....

Anti-Conversion Laws: Some Thoughts and Suggestions

Opinion | Articles | Isaac Harold Gomes

Of late various church journals have been dwelling on Anti-Conversion Laws (currently prevalent in 12 Indian states) in view of the latest hearing in the Supreme Court of India on 16 September 2025, after a hiatus of two and a half years. It must be poi.....

Silent Slaves

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan

Last week an NGO Director in Tamil Nadu sent me a news clipping. It said that in just one-day three young girls were missing in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The report mentions about the network of human traffickers, including bus drivers and co.....

New Delhi – New York, Via Newcastle

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

What’s new? In recent times, a lot. Let me begin with the adage “Don’t carry coal to Newcastle”. This is because Newcastle, in north east England, was known for its industry and coal fields. Hence any attempt to send coal there would be superfluous. Can.....

NECCOD Continues to engage it Member through Online Activities

Current Updates | NE Brief | NECARF Rep

In an effort to continue engaging its members with online activities during the Covid-19 Lockdown, the North East Catholic Community, Delhi (NECCOD), conducted a Bible quiz, Painting and Essay writing competitions, which received massive response from the.....

Digital learning in today’s World

Opinion | Articles | Joseph M Thohrii

The 21st century is an era of digital transformation, a change that would remain in our activities of learning and pursuit of knowledge. The digital transformation brings unparallel change to the growth of communication and development. It is believed tha.....

Moving Back to the Middle Ages

Opinion | Articles | Thomas Menamparampil

Tagore dreamt of an India where the citizens would have the courage to hold their “heads high”. Martin Luther King dreamt of a homeland that would give equal respect to every citizen. An Iranian composer longs for a civilized culture in her country where.....

Uniformity, Conformity, or Deformity?

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

TV Debates and newspaper headlines are replete with news and views on the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC). They have generated more heat than light. That, sadly, may be what the UCC is all about. Let us go b.....

Current Updates

ICF Writes to the President of India

Editorial Pick | Editorial team |

Hon’ble Smt Draupadi Murmu, PRESIDENT OF INDIA Rashtrapati Bhawan New Delhi presidentofindia@rb.nic.in 31st December 2025 Respected Rashtrapatiji, Sub: Christmas attacks on Christians Namaskar! I respectfully place before you some of the.....

Attacks aginst Christians increased by 500% since 2014: Rights Groups

Editorial Pick | Editorial team |

Attacks Against Christians Increased by 500% Since 2014: Rights Groups New Delhi: On November 4, Christian rights activists assembled at the Press Club of India to release a report about an alarming and sustained annual surge in incidents of violence a.....

An MSMHC Nun from Mizoram did the North East Proud

NE Brief | NECARF Rep |

Sr Rose Paite

October 14, 2025: Sr Rose Paite, an MSMHC nun from Mizoram, received the prestigious National Award from the Catholic Mental Health Ministry (CMHM) at the World Mental Health Day Conference in Kerala. The prestigious award was handed over to the recipie.....

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez’s address

Editorial Pick | Editorial team |

Synodality: Why No, and Why Yes Some have hoped that our new pope would ease up a little on this matter of synodality. Instead, Pope Leo has expressed a strong desire to continue along the path of synodality. For example: “Synodality becomes a mindset, .....

North East Catholic Community of Delhi puts up a Glittering show

NE Brief | NECARF Rep |

Mr Lalduhoma and Archbishop Anil J T Couto, with other dignataries

The North East Catholic Committee of Delhi (NECCOD) accorded a warm welcome to their new members who had joined them in the Delhi NCR region with spiritual and a social gathering worthy of the colours mix of the region they come from. This was the 33rd oc.....

NEIRBC Gets a new Education Commission Team

Editorial Pick | Editorial team |

Guwahati, June 25, 2025 – The Northeast Bishops Council’s Commission for Education has appointed a new leadership team, with Fr. Dr. Paul Pudussery, a Holy Cross priest, taking the helm. This transition marks the third leadership handover since the commis.....

Education

Job Fair in Don Bosco Kohima

College | NECARF Rep |

Job Fair Notice

For kind attention of young boys and girls who are interested in getting recruited in different Comnpaies......

Step in to the World of Journalism and Mass Media

College | NECARF Rep |

Niscort Media College

For those who aspire for the world of Mass media.....

Avail Early Bird Discount in Media Studies

College | NECARF Rep |

Admission Notice

NISCORT, one of the Premier Media Colleges in the National Capital area, announces admission for several graduate and post-graduate level courses in Media studies. Interested students may visit www.niscort.com for details......

NISCORT Announces three different courses in Journalism and Mass Communication

College | NECARF Rep |

aa

For those Interested in Journalism studies, the above affordable courses comes as a boon.....

NICORT Media College Announces Short Courses in Media fields

College | NECARF Rep |

Annoucment

NICORT Media College Announces Short Courses in Media fields.....

For those interested to make a Career in Mass Media and Journalism, NISCORT provides the opportunity

College | NECARF Rep |

NISCORT opens Admissions for Course in Mass Media and Journalism

NISCORT opens Admissions for Course in Mass Media and Journalism.....

Opinion

As Thick as Thieves

Articles | Chhotebhai |

There are some common English sayings like – “As thick as thieves”, “Birds of a feather flock together” and “Fools seldom differ”. By now an intelligent reader like you would have guessed where this is going. It’s pointing to Trumpeting Trump and his cote.....

The Culture of othering is an unhealthy trend

Editorial | John S. Shilshi |

A German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller, was against the Communist ideology and also against Semitism. His distaste for them made him a natural ally and supporter of Rudolf Hitler. When Hitler ultimately assumed power and insisted on the supremacy of t.....

History of Lakhuti Catholic Church: 1951 to 2026 (75th Anniversary Jubilee

Articles | Abraham Lotha |

The story of the Catholic Church in Lakhuti evolved from “dhorum khicho” (took religion) to “Catholic dhorum hansi yicho” (brought Catholic religion) to “Catholic kümcho” (became Catholic). This unfolded at the confluence of British colonial expansion in.....

Let there be CHRISTMAS

Articles | Cedric Prakash |

Let there be Christmas to help us realise that Joseph together with his young, pregnant wife had to trudge a long distance to get themselves registered in Bethlehem due to a Roman decree by Caesar Augustus, which required everyone to return to their ances.....

Persecutions in the land of Tagore, Vivekananda, and Gandhi

Editorial | John S. Shilshi |

India is fortunate to have given birth to three outstanding sons, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, and Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired generations not only in India but across the world. Apart from their liberal thinking, their thoughts on religious f.....

A Conspiracy to Disempower Christian Adivasis

Articles | John Dayal |

The organisers had instructions for speakers to not criticise the top political leaders, the government or the ruling party in the "National Christian Convention" at the New Delhi's Jantar Mantar protest site, but that did not stop Dalit and other speaker.....

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