Goanet Digest, Vol 21, Issue 188

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Today's Topics:

   1. Read: "Hours Before News of Cease-Fire, Pope Leo XIV Issues
      Strong Rebuke of Trump" (Vivek Pinto)
   2. Read: "Am I not Indian, is my passport also invalid? Asks
      Imran Zaki after his name struck off electoral roll" (Vivek Pinto)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2026 12:27:40 +0900
From: Vivek Pinto <[email protected]>
To: Goanet <[email protected]>
Subject: [Goanet] Read: "Hours Before News of Cease-Fire, Pope Leo XIV
	Issues Strong Rebuke of Trump"
Message-ID:
	<CAH3OY9wmZkpVPJ-vVWsC8LyWqgk3ebAx0L95uz8j5jPuJVGjBQ-JsoAwUIsXosN+BqQ9rBEUg@public.gmane.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

By: Ephrat Livni
Published in: *The New York Times*
Date: April 7, 2026
The first U.S.-born pontiff has consistently called for dialogue to resolve
the war in the Middle East. He referred to Trump?s Iran threats as ?truly
unacceptable.?

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, issued a rare rebuke of
President Trump on Tuesday, saying it was ?truly unacceptable? to threaten
to wipe out Iran?s ?whole civilization.?

He did not mention the president by name, but it was clear whom he was
referring to.

?Today, as we all know, there has also been this threat against the entire
people of Iran. And this is truly unacceptable,? the pope told reporters
Tuesday evening in Italy, hours before an announcement by Mr. Trump that a
two-week cease-fire had been reached. ?There are certainly issues of
international law here, but even more, it is a moral question concerning
the good of the people as a whole, in its entirety.?

Mr. Trump had earlier threatened to destroy every bridge and power plant in
Iran if Tehran did not allow commercial ships to pass safely through the
Strait of Hormuz. The deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure is
forbidden under international law. Mr. Trump?s threat drew widespread
condemnation from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as United
Nations officials and others around the world.

In his first year as pontiff, Leo has largely avoided wading directly into
U.S. politics, but he has consistently called for an end to the
U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and a return to dialogue to resolve the
conflict. He has also pointedly rejected efforts by some in the Trump
administration to frame the war in Christian terms.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in March called on Americans to pray for
victory in battle and the safety of their troops ?in the name of Jesus
Christ
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/us/politics/hegseth-christianity-military.html>
.?

The pope soon after warned against invoking the name of Jesus
<https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260329-palme.html>
 for battle, saying that Jesus ?does not listen to the prayers of those who
wage war, but rejects them.?

In a homily
<https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2026/04/02/260402a.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
 during a Mass before Easter last week, Leo said that the Christian mission
had been ?distorted by a desire for domination, entirely foreign to the way
of Jesus Christ.?

Then, on Easter Sunday, he renewed his call for peace
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/05/world/europe/pope-leo-easter.html>. ?On
this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict,
domination and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world
ravaged by wars,? Leo told tens of thousands of faithful gathered in St.
Peter?s Square.

Mr. Trump had imposed a Tuesday evening deadline for Iran to open the
Strait of Hormuz or face devastation. Leo pressed for diplomacy. ?Come back
to the table. Let?s talk,? Leo said Tuesday evening. ?Let?s look for
solutions in a peaceful way.?

Hours later, shortly before his 8 p.m. deadline, Mr. Trump made the
announcement about the cease-fire agreement. In a post on social media, Mr.
Trump also claimed to be ?very far along with a definitive Agreement
concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.?
Elisabetta Povoledo and Motoko Rich contributed reporting.
Ephrat Livni is a Times reporter covering breaking news around the world.
She is based in Washington.


------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2026 18:20:33 +0900
From: Vivek Pinto <[email protected]>
To: Goanet <[email protected]>
Subject: [Goanet] Read: "Am I not Indian, is my passport also invalid?
	Asks Imran Zaki after his name struck off electoral roll"
Message-ID:
	<CAH3OY9xd5d9PZLde8feS9a-XmFTNDaN0ko+pfOF6j2Mf-NpCuw-JsoAwUIsXosN+BqQ9rBEUg@public.gmane.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

By: Debraj Mitra
Published in: *The Telegraph* *Online*
Date: April 8, 2026
Source:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/kolkata/am-i-not-indian-is-my-passport-also-invalid-asks-imran-zaki-after-his-name-struck-off-electoral-roll-prnt/cid/2155073

*A Calcuttan who had travelled to more than 50 countries on his Indian
passport learnt on Tuesday morning that he was no longer an Indian voter. *

*Imran Zaki, 58, a successful businessman and social worker, said he was
scared and ashamed. ?I take pride in asserting my nationality and now, I
feel that identity is being questioned,? he said.*

*Zaki is among millions whose names were struck off the revised electoral
rolls in poll-bound Bengal. Many of them are from marginalised sections who
have a fraction of the resources or social standing that Zaki does.*

*But Zaki?s example shows the unfairly exclusionary nature of this
so-called revision. He said he had produced all possible papers that a
credible Indian national could have. But that was evidently not enough.*

*A former voter in the Chowringhee Assembly constituency, Imran Zaki shared
his exasperation with The Telegraph*

Several questions struck me after I saw my name deleted. Am I not an
Indian? What about the numerous stamps on my Indian passport? Is my
passport also invalid?

When my BLO said my name had been flagged for a logical discrepancy, he
could not specify its nature. I have no clue why I?m not eligible to vote
on April 29.

My 81-year-old father has also been removed from the rolls. He is too
shocked to speak. My brothers have the same documents as I do. But their
names have been approved.

At this moment, I desperately want an audience with the judicial officer
who adjudicated my case.

Ironically, I was also part of voter awareness campaigns organised by the
Election Commission in the past. I want to show the pictures from those
campaigns to the judicial officer.

I want to ask him on what ground my name was deleted. I want to show him
the stamps on my passport.

I am a staunch believer in a secular and inclusive India. I have actively
promoted interfaith amity. My daughter is married to a Punjabi. My nephew
is married to a Gujarati Hindu.

>From that perspective, what pains me immensely is the realisation that this
SIR exercise is not only problematic. It is deeply divisive. It reeks of
bias against one community. Our ancestors chose India over Pakistan. My
grandfather came to Calcutta from Siwan in Bihar in 1918.

Our family home on Weston Street was home to scores of people who came to
Calcutta from Bihar, looking for greener pastures.

For generations, my family has lived here with dignity and a deep sense of
belonging. That pride and sense of belonging have taken a beating.

I am on the executive committee of Mohammedan Sporting Club. I have been
the secretary and am still an active member of the St. Xavier?s College
Calcutta Alumni Association. I am also on the board of several Muslim
charitable organisations in Calcutta.

I have received several awards for social work, some of them from chief
ministers and governors. Our school, St. Stephen?s School in Bowbazar, has
more than 500 students from low-income families.

I will file an appeal to restore my fundamental democratic right. But I
might not be able to vote in the upcoming election.

I have voted in every election since I became eligible to vote. I take
great pride in participating in the festival of democracy. I am devastated.


End of Goanet Digest, Vol 21, Issue 188
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