Nineteen U.S. companies, including Facebook, Google and Yahoo, have been ordered by two Indian courts to remove materials considered religiously offensive and obscene, which has sparked accusations that the government is attempting to censor the Internet in the country.

One court in Delhi issued summons to the tech companies to stand trial for offences relating to distributing obscene material to minors, after it was shown images deemed offensive to Hindus, Muslims and Christians, reported Reuters. Another Delhi court earlier reportedly ordered the companies to remove photographs, videos or text which might hurt people's religious sentiments.

The websites were given until Feb. 6 to remove the "anti-religious" content, according to other sources. more >>

Christians in India are still waiting for justice three years after the massacres in Orissa in 2008, and the All India Christian Council (AICC) is demanding that more people be punished for the uncounted murders and rapes that occurred in the region.

Around 4,000 Christian homes and 400 churches were destroyed in a string of violence in the remote eastern region of India between August and September of 2008. Angry Hindus reportedly organized against Christians who were converting Indians to Christianity and urging them to leave their caste system.

Many of the Hindus that had converted were Dalits, or "Untouchables," who are the lowest caste in India and make up around one-fifth of the population. Dalits are treated as less than human, and reportedly see converting to Christianity as a way to escape their low class status. more >>

At least 19 people were killed as a powerful cyclone tore across the eastern coastline of India on Friday.

The storm, named Cyclone Thane, slammed into the coastline of India’s Tamil Nadu state with winds as fast as 78 mph.

As a result of the dangerous storm, ports and schools in the area were forced to shut down and fishermen have been warned to stay indoors and not go out to sea. Roads have been flooding across the region and travel has been compromised in some areas due to downed trees. more >>

NEW DELHI – A fact-finding mission to India’s Kashmir Valley found that Muslim leaders’ increasingly shrill opposition to conversions has instilled fear among the Christian minority, which has been threatened as Christmas nears.

Christians in Srinagar, the summer capital of India’s northern-most state of Jammu and Kashmir, are “really scared,” said Dr. John Dayal, a member of the National Integration Council and part of the fact-finding team. “Christian men, women and children are in a state of panic, fearful of their security, uncertain of the future, uncertain of their jobs.”

The Rev. Chander Mani Khanna, pastor of All Saints Church in Srinagar, was arrested on Nov. 19 on charges of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims after several youths were baptized; he was released on bail on Dec. 1. But the pastor of the Church of North India denomination, who is due to retire early next year, may never be able to go back to his church due to security concerns, Dayal said. more >>

As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Burma’s capital, Naypyidaw, last week in a show of support for authorities’ ostensible reforms to discuss minority rights, government troops killed civilians and burned houses in a Christian-majority state about 450 miles away.

On Wednesday (Nov. 30), the day Clinton arrived, Burmese soldiers killed a woman and injured six other villagers as they fired four rounds of mortar shells at civilians in the Tarlawgyi area of Kachin state’s Waingmaw Township, Kachin News Group reported.

Another battalion burned down 10 homes in Nam Wai village and five more in neighboring Hpa Ke village, both in Dawhpumyang sub-township in Bhamo district, the Thailand-based news agency added. The killing and arson followed two explosions that killed a student and injured another the previous night (Nov. 29) in the state’s capital, Myitkyina. Local residents suspected government agents planted the bombs, a Kachin journalist told Compass by phone on condition of anonymity. more >>

NEW DELHI – Charges that a pastor in Jammu and Kashmir state “lured” Muslims to Christianity by offering money are false and have put the lives of the clergyman and other Christians in danger, according to Bishop Pradeep Kumar Samantaroy of the Church of North India denomination.

Following the arrest on Saturday (Nov. 17) of the Rev. Chander Mani Khanna, pastor of All Saints Church in Srinagar, Bishop Samantaroy told Compass by phone that the time has come for the church to speak up against the “discriminatory action” by authorities in India’s Kashmir Valley.

The bishop of the Amritsar Diocese said the pastor told him his life was in danger, as the charges have angered area Muslims. The government must provide protection to the pastor, churches and Christian institutions “immediately,” he said. more >>