Holy smoke - Bangladesh is set to get its first saint!! Yes folks it another first for bengalis - this time a bengali is entering the pantheon of saints! The process has started for the canonisation of the late Archbishop Theotonius Amal Ganguly. At present he has been declared a “servant of god.” This is the first stage of a three stage process of becoming a saint. Apparently he is the first “servant of God” among Bengalis and of course the first in Bangladesh.

I don’t want to be flippant here but when it comes to matters of religion I can never help myself - so here goes: I think this could have a beneficial impact on tourism. Of course the odd sighting of the Virgin would help, and bleeding stigmata always adds a bit of spice.

I wonder how the Government of Bangladesh and its islamic zealot contingent will react to this news. Christians have faced restriction after restriction -  everything from bible printing and dissemination, preaching and the formal status of christian organisations.