Priyadarshini Sen

Priyadarshini Sen is an author at Religion News Service.

All Stories by Priyadarshini Sen

Modi silent on Muslim philanthropist’s offer of medical supplies for India

By Priyadarshini Sen — May 24, 2021

NEW DELHI (RNS) — Modi once called on South Asian countries to 'chalk out a strong strategy to fight the coronavirus,' but his plans have foundered on mistrust and hostility between Pakistan and India.

Outcry over Jesuit priest Stan Swamy’s arrest tests Indian authorities’ anti-terror sweep

By Priyadarshini Sen — December 8, 2020

(RNS) — Swamy is among 16 writers and activists who have been arrested by the ruling BJP government for allegedly inciting caste-based violence.

Faith leaders pair with health officials to save India’s largest slum from COVID-19

By Priyadarshini Sen — December 1, 2020

(RNS) — The densely populated shantytown was the most vulnerable spot for the virus to spread, but Dharavi’s rate of infection is down to 11 cases a day.

A Catholic priest takes on interfaith fight against COVID-19 in a sacred Hindu city

By Priyadarshini Sen — September 21, 2020

(RNS) — Though anchored in Christianity, Mathew draws from a broad swath of spiritual traditions to reach his fellow citizens, including Mahatma Gandhi's ideas of cosmic consciousness.

India’s pioneering transgender activist defends gains in pandemic

By Priyadarshini Sen — July 7, 2020

(RNS) — After helping win a landmark court case for India’s transgender people, Ranjita Sinha has mobilized to counter the community’s drastic loss of jobs and health care during the coronavirus pandemic.

Making his kitchen his pulpit, Indian priest highlights the pandemic’s hungry

By Priyadarshini Sen — May 21, 2020

(RNS) — D’Souza’s ‘Food for the Soul’ show has gained over 6,000 subscribers across India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown.

Woman Sufi saint inspires Badr Baabou, an LGBTQ activist in Tunisia

By Priyadarshini Sen — January 8, 2020

(RNS) — Badr Baabou, a Muslim LGBT activist and head of the Tunisian Association for Justice and Equality, draws inspiration from the 13th century Sufi saint Aisha Al-Manoubya.

Hindu nationalists open self-styled religious courts as a rebuke to Sharia law

By Priyadarshini Sen — October 4, 2019

ALIGARH, India (RNS) — Last year, the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha Party demanded the closure of all Muslim Sharia courts in India. When their petition was denied, the party set up its own unsanctioned courts across Uttar Pradesh, based on Hindu principles of justice.

A school where Muslims and Hindus pray together stirs strife in divided India

By Priyadarshini Sen — September 11, 2019

ALIGARH, India (RNS) — Founded to help poor children of both of India's predominant faiths, the Chacha Nehru's inclusivity has irked Muslim and Hindu leaders alike.

Pollution of a sacred river becomes a symbol for India’s environmental challenges

By Priyadarshini Sen — August 15, 2019

BANGALORE, India (RNS) — This city's early 1990s tech boom outstripped its waste management plans, leaving its Vrishabhavathi River choked with industrial waste.

In Kashmir’s war-torn landscape, imams take up the environmental cause

By Priyadarshini Sen — July 8, 2019

SRINAGAR, India (RNS) — After years of conflict that have harmed the Kashmir Valley’s natural beauty, locals here have more faith in religious leaders to protect their heritage than they do the government.

Atheist ashram on Lord Krishna’s home turf roils India’s Hindu nationalists

By Priyadarshini Sen — June 19, 2019

(RNS) — Two brothers who once devoutly supported the Hindu nationalist agenda have turned to rationalism, attracting attacks from religious leaders and politicians.

Refurbishing holy site, India’s Modi levels ancient spiritual landscape

By Priyadarshini Sen — April 22, 2019

VARANASI, India (RNS) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 'dream project' at an 18th-century shrine to Lord Shiva has swept up monasteries, old-age homes and shops that had existed for generations.

India’s Hindu prime minister touts hometown’s Buddhist links as vote nears

By Priyadarshini Sen — April 11, 2019

VADNAGAR, India (RNS) — Is Indian Prime Minister Modi's interest in Buddhist antiquities genuine, or just a play for votes among his country's dispossessed?

India’s Hindu nationalists vow to restore deity’s birthplace to former glory

By Priyadarshini Sen — February 26, 2019

AYODHYA, India (RNS) — Local politicians are attempting to remake a town whose name is synonymous with anti-Muslim violence into a tourist destination for Hindus from India and around the world.

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