A nun, who was very outspoken about the treatment of India’s local tribal people, was brutally murdered in the Dhumka region.

Valsha John, an ordained nun of Sister of Charity of Jesus and Mary, was from the Kerala's Ernakulam district. She was a leader who championed the rights of the local tribe's people displaced by a private company that wished to mine the coal-rich region of Pachwara village in Pakur district.

According to reports, Sister John was attacked by an unidentified man who beat her with a stick and then used an axe to finish the brutality. The man was taken in to custody and was formally charged, according to a statement by Pakur Superintendent of Police Amarnath Khanna. more >>

Evangelist Franklin Graham is in the south Indian city of Hyderabad where tens of thousands are coming to hear the Gospel message despite calls by rightwing Hindu groups to ban his four-day festival.

On the second night of the Hyderabad Festival Friday, about 50,000 people poured into Lal Bahadur Stadium in the capital city of Andhra Pradesh state, which was under a tight security cover. And on the weekend, the number was expected to rise even higher.

“I heard about the Graham family when I lived in Virginia, but I didn’t know what they did really – just something religious,” said Jayesh, a youngster who had just returned to India after attending college in the United States. more >>

NEW DELHI – Police in India’s Kashmir Valley detained and beat converts from Islam and were expected to arrest Christian workers after Muslim leaders alleged that Muslim youth were being “lured” to Christianity.

Police in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley picked up seven converts who were recently baptized in All Saints Church in Srinagar, a local Christian who spoke to the converts after their release on Nov. 2 told Compass. Srinagar is the summer capital of the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir and the main city of the Kashmir Valley.

The source, who requested anonymity, said police beat the converts and asked if Christians had given them money for their conversion. Most of the converts were from Budgam district, about 18 miles from Srinagar, and pastors there fearful of being arrested were in hiding, he added. more >>

Sushil Kumar has become the first ever man to win India’s $1 million grand prize on its version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.”

The story closely resembles that of the inspirational 2008 Academy Award winner “Slumdog Millionaire.” Kumar, from the poor East Indian town of Bihar, is employed as a computer data entry operator and earns barely enough to get by. He shared that he grew up without as much as a television set, as his family could not afford one.

His win has made him a national icon who gives hope to millions of India’s poor that rising above one’s situation is indeed possible. It is said he was encouraged by neighbors who were impressed by his ability to answer the questions on TV to go on the actual show and give it a try. more >>

A tribal cult leader in Mizoram, India has fathered nearly 100 children and married close to 40 women. However, the Hindustan Times reported that he’s not finished procreating yet. Plus, he hopes to tie the knot with new women.

According to the Indian News Service, 67-year-old Zionnghaka Chana isn’t content with his 33 grandchildren. Not only does he want to be a grandfather again and again, he’s hoping to expand his roles as husband and father.

According to Indian News Service, Chana’s family lives together in the village of Baktawng where all the community members belong to one single family of 181 members. They all live together in a 100 room four-storied building where the youngest wife sleeps next to Zionnghaka’s bedroom with the remainder of the wives operating on a rotation system to share his bedroom. more >>

As a quickly developing nation, much of Indian society is caught between the trap of traditionalism and modernization.

A special report will be aired over the weekend on how Indian charities are working to stop the tradition of sex trade in their country.

The two-part segment, which will air on CNN Saturday and Sunday, is called “Trapped by Tradition,” and will be narrated by “Slumdog Millionaire” star Anil Kapoor. more >>