“The rule of law does not do away with the unequal distribution of wealth and power, but reinforces that inequality with the authority of law. It allocates wealth and poverty in such complicated and indirect ways as to leave the victims bewildered.” – Howard Zinn Since the first week of August, in Raygada, Kalahandi and Koraput districts, there has been[Read More…]
In the continuing assault on Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, on 28.08.23, Nitin, an activist of Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan has been arrested after being implicated in a false case. This is the latest in a series of attacks by the Madhya Pradesh government against Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan over the past few months. The Sangathan, in addition to campaigning for[Read More…]
We, the undersigned, condemn the targeting of yet another Gandhian Institution by the Modi-Yogi Double Engine Sarkar. The BJP-RSS regime continues to attack Mahatma Gandhi, his ideology, his life, all the values and principles that he stood for, his unparalleled contribution to our freedom struggle and the fact that it laid the foundations of the modern Indian republic. Today, yet[Read More…]
SUB: Withdrawal of UAPA cases against leaders, activists and supporters of the movement led by Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti and unconditional release of Krushna Sikaka. On 5th August, 2023 two youth activists, namely, Krushna Sikaka (village Patangpadar) and Bari Sikaka (village Lakhpadar) of Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti (NSS) had been to Lanjigarh haat of Kalahandi district. Their purpose was to meet villagers[Read More…]
Demand for Cancellation of Turga-Bandu Pump Storage Project and Condemning the Undemocratic-Dictatorial Behaviour of the District Administration On 13.6.2017 the then Purulia District Magistrate released a letter stating that the inhabitants to be affected by the Turga Pump Storage Project had no opposition to land being acquired for the same. He referred to written resolutions of Bagmundy and Ajodhaya Gram[Read More…]
“Quit India ke Din pe, Gandhiji ka Par-Pota Jail mai!!” *Freedom Fighter Dr. G G Parikh prevented from reaching the August Kranti Maidan, Tushar Gandhi, taken to Santacruz police station, Teesta Setalvad was stopped from leaving her residence!* Today, on the 81st Anniversary of the historic QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT led by Mahatma Gandhi, we have witnessed a draconian crackdown by[Read More…]
The New World Mathaba was born out of the original World Mathaba founded by the revolutionary leader and martyred Pan Africanist, Muammar Qaddafi. We are committed to the original mission of the World Mathaba as stated by Qaddafi: “to organize and coordinate resistance to imperialism and neo-colonialism, and to fight all forms of imperial economic, political, cultural and military domination,[Read More…]
The 94-year-old Ayinoor Vasu, a veteran communist, trade union leader and human rights activist has been arrested and sent to jail on July 29, 2023 in connection with a protest against the extrajudicial killings of two Maoists activists in Kerala seven years ago. The jailing of the nonagenarian activist better known as Vasu Ettan (Vasu the elder) in a seven-year-old[Read More…]
A group of students from O.P. Jindal Global University Sonipat, distributed a magazine called “Nazariya”, an English language magazine focused on issues of working class, farmers, students, and intellectuals within their campus and have been suspended for the same. On 28th July 2023, the students were told to remove their stall by the university administration. We were told that this[Read More…]
A statement issued by various women’s s organizations, students’ organizations, workers’ union, and other people’s organizations and democratic individuals of West Bengal Restore Peace in Manipur Immediately! Justice to Brutally Assaulted Manipuri Women! Sack Chief Minister N Biren Shah Singh! Sack Home Minister Amit Shah! We, like every woman of this country, are shocked that it took a horrendous video[Read More…]
After the passage of the historic Rajasthan Minimum Guaranteed Income Law on 22nd July 2023, we write to you to share yet another significant development from the State. The Rajasthan Assembly has passed the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare Act), 2023. In yet another series of firsts, this has become the first State in the country to[Read More…]
We, the undersigned women’s organisations and concerned individuals, are outraged at the brutality on the one hand and the impunity and brazenness of the perpetrators of the crime against women in Manipur. In a very disturbing manner, mobile recorded videos have surfaced on social media where a group of men have been seen parading two women naked on the streets.[Read More…]
Release of Report on Public Hearing New Delhi, 13th July 2023: At the Press Conference organized by the Concerned Citizens of India at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, the release of the public hearing report shed light on the harrowing experiences of forced evictions across India in preparation for the G20 summit. The report was addressed by Senior Journalist Pamela Philipose, Human[Read More…]
Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) is shocked by the decision of a masjid committee in Kerala asking a Dalit Muslim to stay away from a general meeting on the ground that “traditionally your ancestors were prohibited from attending the general meeting” (https://sabrangindia.in/casteism-in-the-kerala-muslim-community-dpjc-strongly-objects/). There is no concept of caste in the religion of Islam but evidently caste and caste-based discrimination[Read More…]
The future of one hundred million LGBTQIA Indians is at stake. For the last seventy five years the Indian Parliament has evaded – nay stonewalled – debate on LGBTQIA marriage and the consequent benefits to same-sex couples it entails. True, the Supreme Court is to pronounce its judgement on the issue anytime soon but it can only give a declaration[Read More…]
New Delhi, July 7th 2023: In an important development, Justice Navin Chawla in the Delhi High Court dismissed the Appeal filed by PepsiCo India Holdings (PIH), against a revocation order on its Plant Varietal Protection (PVP) certificate in December 2021 on its IPR on a potato variety. The revocation order was earlier passed by the Protection of Plant Varieties &[Read More…]
A three-member fact finding team comprising NFIW (National Federation of Indian Women) General Secretary Annie Raja, National Secretary, Nisha Siddhu, and Deeksha Dwivedi, independent Delhi based lawyer visited Manipur from 28th June to 1st July, 2023. The gross breakdown of constitutional bodies, apparent suspension of the right to life, and the absolute State apathy towards the crisis in Manipur prompted[Read More…]
On 26 June, 2023, a four-member team led by Uttarakhand Mahila Manch from Dehradun visited Purola town in Uttarkashi district. The team consisted of Kamla Pant, Geeta Gairola, Ranjana Padhi and Chandrakala. The objective of the team’s visit was to understand the reasons that triggered communal tension a month earlier in Purola and to apprise the current situation. The preliminary[Read More…]
Washington, D.C. (June 22, 2023) – Hundreds of Indian Americans and their allies gathered at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., to stage a demonstration against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assault on democratic values and ongoing human rights violations. The protest, attended by individuals from diverse religious backgrounds such as Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and tribal communities,[Read More…]
The National Alliance of Journalists (NAJ) and the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) in a joint statement today condemned the ongoing violence in Manipur including attacks on journalists covering the violence. We call for an immediate cessation of violence by armed groups belonging to all sides. We further demand that the authorities ensure the safety of journalists. We express shock[Read More…]
New Delhi: 130+ organisations and civil society leaders expressed concerns at the lack of transparency and non-inclusive consultation processes adopted by the Union Government in the negotiations for entering into free trade, comprehensive economic partnership or investment related agreements. In an open letter to the Govt of India on Tuesday, they referred to the ongoing negotiations with several countries, including[Read More…]
New Delhi, Jun 16, 2023: National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) strongly condemns the way Delhi Police filed the application to cancel the POCSO case against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and the manner in whichthey carried out the inquiry for filing a chargesheet against him in the sexual harassment case by the other wrestlers. Two FIRs were filed[Read More…]
Over 550 civil society groups and concerned individuals from across the country come together to condemn the continuing violence in Manipur. Call for an immediate stop to divisive politics by the state and security forces. Urge all parties for an immediate cease fire. Issuing a statement expressing deep concern about the continuing ethnic violence in Manipur between the Meitei community[Read More…]
Collective statement by women and human rights organisations condemning the state repression and police atrocities on the wrestlers in their struggle for justice against sexual harassment We the undersigned women and human rights organisations condemn the way the Delhi Police, Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP led Central Government at the highest level have managed to subvert the law,[Read More…]
On the day that the Prime Minister was inaugurating a new Parliament house, democratic space was being crushed outside! More than 1150+ people including activists, lawyers, academics, former civil servants, artists and concerned citizens have released a statement condemning the brutal police action against the protesting wrestlers and those who had come out in support of their call from all[Read More…]
“Reporters’ Collective’s 3-part Investigative Exposé highlights with additional evidence the red flags that ASHA and RTFC have raised on large scale iron-fortified rice distribution in India’s public food schemes” – civil society platforms New Delhi, May 26th 2023: The Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) and the Right to Food Campaign (RTFC) who have been actively raising concerns on the many red flags related to[Read More…]
We strongly condemn the deplorable actions of some of the protesters at Medea Benjamin’s book tour event on Friday, May 19 in Minneapolis, an event cosponsored by the local Veterans for Peace and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM). We believe that there are very legitimate, divergent positions on the war in Ukraine, even among people in the U.S. who have[Read More…]
To Mr. M. K. Stalin Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, Secretariat, Chennai Email ID: cmo@tn.gov.in Dear Sir, This memorandum is being submitted by the jury members of the fact-finding team, set up in the name of People’s Inquest, to inquire into the Tuticorin Police Firing, which resulted in the publication of a five-part report entitled, ‘The day Tuticorin[Read More…]
The Coalition for a GM-Free India threw a challenge at the Government of India to show how it will prevent farmers from using herbicides on HT mustard crop that received approval in October 2022. In a letter sent to the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Coalition pointed out that the GoI has no statutory powers to[Read More…]
The ongoing hearings on same-sex marriage petitions have resulted in a minor concession being offered to the LGBTQIA community by way of welfarist steps. A government committee would be constituted to address the issues which could at best benefit a small section of the LGBTQIA community. Meanwhile the Supreme Court has indicated clearly that Parliament alone can legislate on[Read More…]
In no uncertain terms, JUST-IS (A Network of Interfaith Solidarity Activists against Global Militarism and for Social Justice) harshly denounces the recent spate of attacks against houses of worship of the minority Ahmadiyya religious community in Pakistan. The most recent one, https://countercurrents.org/2023/05/desecration-of-yet-another-ahmadi-mosque-in-pakistan/, has been the most heinous. Of course, mainstream Muslim orthodoxy has had a profound theological problem with certain beliefs[Read More…]
A Metro Vancouver-based online magazine organized a demonstration to draw global attention to the ongoing suppression of press freedom in the world’s so-called largest democracy, in Surrey on Wednesday, May 3. Radical Desi had given the call for a protest rally outside the Indian Visa and Passport Application Center on World Press Freedom Day. The event was started with homage[Read More…]
The Delhi Union of Journalists salutes all journalists and other employees in the media sector on the 30th World Press Freedom Day. Proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993, the World Press Freedom Day on May 3 is supposed to act as a “reminder to governments” of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. For journalists, the Day[Read More…]
As India heads for a general election in May, 2024, Metro Vancouver-based North Americans Against Modi (NAAM) has called upon overseas Indians to get organized to rid their home country of a Hindu supremacist leader. Narendra Modi first got elected as the Prime Minister of India in May, 2014. He has now completed nine years in office. Attacks on religious[Read More…]
The Right to Food Campaign welcomes the Supreme Court’s order to provide ration cards to migrant/unorganised workers registered under the eShram portal. The Supreme Court in an order dated April 20, 2023, in MA 94/2022 in ‘Re Problems and Miseries of Migrant Labourers’, has given significant directions to ensure food security for migrant workers and unorganised sector workers. 28.60 crores[Read More…]
Condemn savage, abominable & shameful conduct of West Bengal Police towards the dead female bodies and repeated denial of violence on women by the State Feminists in Resistance (FIR), a feminist group based in Kolkata, expresses condemnation and deep resentment at the brutal modus operandi that the State of West Bengal has adopted to tackle and bypass the public[Read More…]
Radical Desi gave the visiting Indian journalist its second human rights journalism award, at a public rally held in Surrey on Thursday, April 13. Jasvir Samar is associated with the Chandigarh-based Punjabi Tribune. He has extensively written on human rights and social justice. He was presented with the award by its first recipient, Dr. Gurvinder Singh Dhaliwal, at the vigil[Read More…]
On the eve of the birthday of the towering Indian scholar and undisputed Dalit leader, South Asian activists gathered in Surrey to light the pyre of a racist text that sanctions the brutal case system. Manusmriti is an orthodox Hindu doctrine that divides society in four caste groups, and discriminates against the so called untouchables or Dalits. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar,[Read More…]
Indigenous (Adivasi) people in Bijapur district of Bastar, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, have been traumatised by yet another aerial bomb attack from the security forces which have been using drones to carry out these operations. Although the Indian Air Force is not officially deployed for combat in Chhattisgarh, the repeated use of aerial bombardment on civilian populations suggests a new[Read More…]
Dr Sameer Sharma Chairman,APPCB Sri B Sreedhar Member Secretary, APPCB Sub: Abuse of science against victims of environmental crime – active role of APPCB Sirs, We are deeply concerned about the abuse of science by Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) in environmental regulation to silence the victims. There are umpteen examples. We shall take the case of Uranium Corporation[Read More…]
Fourth drone attack in three years, mockery of democracy in Bastar The adivasi villagers of Bastar have once again made themselves heard against the aerial bombings or drone attacks in their villages. As reported by media, Villagers of Bijapur have alleged drone attacks on their villages on 7thApril 2023. It is reported that villages, namely, Jabbagatta, Meenagatta, Kavargatta and[Read More…]
Statement by concerned historians on the recent changes made by the NCERT in school textbooks The recent decision of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to drop entire chapters from the history textbooks for class 12, as well as from other classes and to delete statements from other textbooks is a matter of deep concern. Using the[Read More…]
Solidarity with the ongoing struggle for justice and accountability in Joshimath! A call for a campaign to defend nature and people from destructive development! Towards an ecosystem-based human rights approach to development! We as representatives of diverse social and environmental groups from across the country express grief and concern for the people of Joshimath, facing forced displacement from their homes in[Read More…]
Radical Desi has given its very first human rights journalism award to a senior Punjabi journalist. On Friday, March 31, at the commemorative event held for Bhai Balwant Singh Khurdpur at the New Westminster Gurdwara, Dr. Gurvinder Singh Dhaliwal, who has also done his PhD on Punjabi journalism in Canada, was presented with the award. Radical Desi, an online magazine[Read More…]
Today, we completed 40 days of the NREGA workers’ protest at Jantar Mantar. With this milestone also arrived a significant victory for the protesting workers: the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has agreed to take remedial action to alleviate some of the workers’ woes. A delegation of workers and activists from NREGA Sangharsh Morcha met Shri S.K. Singh, MoRD Secretary[Read More…]
National Federation of Indian Women write a letter to PM Modi against BJP State President K Surendran for insulting CPIM women in Kerala Shri. NARENDRA MODI Hon’ble Prime Minister Union of India Respected Prime Minister, Sub: IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION & ACTION AGAINST K. SURENDRAN, Kerala State President of BJP. We, the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) are writing this to bring[Read More…]
March 27, 2023 – The Fellowship of Reconciliation, the oldest interfaith peace organization in the United States, established in 1915, is horrified at the senseless loss of seven lives – three children and four adults, including the 28-year-old shooter – today in Nashville, Tennessee. It is sinful that guns receive more protection in our country and are considered more sacred[Read More…]
The Delhi police has made it quite clear that no public discussion about NREGA will be allowed beyond jantar-mantar. Students and activists were detained by the Delhi Police in the middle of a public discussion on NREGA at the Arts Faculty, Delhi University, for which permission was withdrawn on the day of the event. The event, organised by a student[Read More…]
About 2500 people from across the 17 villages impacted by the development of Dr. K Shivaram Karanth Layout, as well as from across various parts of India have signed a representation to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri. Basavaraj Bommai, urging him to immediately issue an ordinance to protect the fundamental rights of farmers, pastoralists, dalits, backward classes and[Read More…]
To Shri Rajnath Singh Raksha Mantri 19 March 2023 DHQ PO New Delhi 110011 By Email to: <rmo@mod.nic.in>; EVICTION OF MS. ARUNA RODRIGUES, DAUGHTER OF LATE BRIG EA RODRIGUES, FROM HER RESIDENCE IN MHOW CANTONMENT Dear Shri Rajnath Singh, With great concern, we the undersigned Veterans are constrained to bring to your notice, the entirely illegal and distasteful[Read More…]
Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) strongly condemns the concerted effort by the Muslim rightwing in Kerala — including leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and some Muslim-run websites — to ridicule, vilify, denigrate and demonise Muslims who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. It is a tragic irony that while the minority Muslim community[Read More…]
India’s presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) comes at a critical juncture; even as the pandemic wanes, geopolitical tensions between the US and China could spiral into a possible military confrontation. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now entering into its second year with little signs of resolution. Economists have been warning of an imminent recession in 2023 as[Read More…]
Recognizing the historic move of banning caste-based discrimination by a Seattle City Councillor, Vancouver-based online magazine has decided to pick her as person of the year. Kshama Sawant, the lone Indian-American member of the Seattle City Council, has been known for her unwavering dedication to social justice. She has consistently stood up for the underdog, including the poor working class[Read More…]
Bilkis Bano, then 19 years old and pregnant, was gangraped in the 2002 infamous communal violence of Gujarat. 14 of her family members were also killed including a 3 years old daughter. Case was registered after the intervention of National Human Rights Commission. In 2004 the trial was moved to Mumbai by Supreme Court. In 2008, 11 accused were convicted.[Read More…]
Harbhajan Singh Atwal was presented with a Human Rights Defender certificate on Sunday, February 12, at Gurdwara Sukh Sagar Sahib, New Westminster, BC for his continued advocacy for the release of political prisoners. The certificate was given to Atwal by Gurpreet Singh, the cofounder of Radical Desi, an online magazine that covers alternative politics. While addressing the congregation, Singh raised[Read More…]
“Safe Food Week” being marked all over the country this week Delhi, February 9th 2023: National Safe Food Day was marked widely all over the country today, on the day when Bt brinjal was placed under an indefinite moratorium in 2010. Citizens were seeking to remind Government of India about this pro-people, pro-nature decision that was taken by the then[Read More…]
Post-Budget Statement by Peoples’ Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) and NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM) The allocation for NREGA announced in the budget for FY 2023-24 is a travesty and is an assault on the peoples’ right to work as mandated under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. NREGA is a demand driven law and demand for work must be satisfied.[Read More…]
Condemn the State’s undemocratic action of denying passage to CDRO Fact Finding Team for inquiry into Aerial Bombings in Chhattisgarh! Resist the attempt to create a war without witnesses in Chhattisgarh! Resist the attack on exercise of Democratic rights! A fact finding team of the Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO) comprising of 25 members from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West[Read More…]
Radical Desi organized the free screening of a BBC film which has created a sensation in India on Sunday, January 29 in Surrey, BC. The two episodes of India: The Modi Question, remain out of bounds in the world’s so called largest democracy. Not only has the right wing Hindu nationalist BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi restricted its[Read More…]
Today, Afghan women live under the most misogynistic regime, where they are deprived of all their human and civil rights. For this reason, Afghan women activists formed their own protest movement after the Taliban rule in August 2021, which has been organizing women’s protests in the cities of Kabul, Jalalabad, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Bamiyan with the slogans (bread, work, freedom).[Read More…]
Supreme Court of India has agreed to entertain a sensitive socio-religious issue related to sanctification of marriage of a minor girl on her attaining puberty by Muslim personal law. It has also annulled the Punjab and Haryana High Court that validated marriage of a 15-year old Muslim girl. The contradictory judgments of various courts on child marriage with regards to[Read More…]
Stop the Genocidal war with aerial bombing on Chhatisgarh-Telangana Border ! On Wednesday, 11th Jan 2023, a joint operation was launched by Central Reserve Police Force, Greyhound and CoBRA (Elite Anti Naxal Squad), District Reserve Guard (comprising of Infamous SPOs of Salwa Judum) in the wee hours. According to the varying news reports, the attempt is to target an[Read More…]
CODEPINK is appalled and outraged at the attempted coup in Brazil that took place on January 8 by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Emulating the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack, fascist and extreme-right groups stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices to subvert the constitutional order and call for a military intervention. The damage is much greater than[Read More…]
Mali Parbat, a hill rich with Bauxite, sacred to local tribes in Koraput District of Odisha, is facing threat of destruction as Mining Giant Hindalco (Aditya Birla Group) is seeking to mine 268.1 hectares of land. The people are opposing the proposed mining for almost 2 decades and therefore, facing brute militarisation, intimidation and arrests. The matter is also being[Read More…]
‘Eggs in our plate, no more debate’, read the placard being held by a 5-year-old in front of Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singh Deo’s residence on Sunday morning. He, along with his mother and at least 150 other women and children were demanding the inclusion of eggs in the aanganwadi and school meals as part of the Anda Do Campaign.[Read More…]
“Union Environment Ministry’s response vindicates our evidence and pointers on serious regulatory compromises in India’s appraisal and approval of GM mustard”: Coalition “Govt. should respond to each point with evidence, if regulatory processes were indeed correct and robust – we challenge the Ministry to do so” New Delhi, January 8th 2023: In a brief reply put out today, the Coalition[Read More…]
On the 25th anniversary of the brutal killing of Nirmal Singh Gill by white supremacists, one of the fastest growing municipalities of Canada made a proclamation to recognize the incident. Gill, a caretaker at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, laid down his life in the line of duty on January 4, 1998 when a group of neo Nazis[Read More…]
Centre withheld over 7,500 cr funds, 2,744 cr due to NREGA workers Centre hasn’t sanctioned labour budget for 2022-23 Loss of around 4687-6842 crores of NREGA wages this FY due to stoppage of work Average days of work for the current year dropped to meagre 23 from 63.46 days (pre-covid) and 49.96 days (post-covid) Victimisation of workers: MGNREGA workers in[Read More…]
Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) unequivocally condemns the blatantly misogynist decree of Taliban that for all practical purposes has effectively banned women’s education in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban have taken over in 2021, girls haven’t been able to access schools. Although they promised to open girls’ school from March 23rd; the same day they revoked the order. This December[Read More…]
Advertisements of the murderous Vedanta Sterlite Corporation have been appearing for the past few days in newspapers and television. “Strike is towards Destruction, Scholarships awarded to Tuticorin children, Green Tuticorin – 1.25 lakh trees planted” are advertised. Sterlite Vedanta Corporation has been involved in various crimes like operating without permission, direct burial of hazardous waste in the soil and not[Read More…]
Saturday, December 10 saw activists come together in Surrey to release a calendar featuring a towering leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Desmond Tutu passed away on the eve of 2022, at the age of 90, leaving behind a rich legacy of struggles for social justice. Close to his first death anniversary, Radical Desi, an online magazine in[Read More…]
Smt Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Minister, Government of India Dear Madam, Social Security Pensions and Maternity Entitlements This is a follow-up to our letters of 20 December 2017 and 21 December 2018 (addressed to your predecessor, Shri Arun Jaitley), where we tried to flag two priorities for the next Union Budget: an increase in social security pensions, and adequate provision[Read More…]
Respected Sir, We as concerned citizens, social activists, political and human rights activists, environmentalists and journalists and the leaders of twelve mass organizations on behalf of Bisthapan Birodhi Jana Andolon Mancha, Odisha appeal for the protection of natural resources and an immediate end to the continuous forceful displacement of people from their lands and dwelling places. We express our protest[Read More…]
The AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA) is releasing the second edition of ‘Less than Gay’ – A Citizens’ Report on the status of Homosexuality in India. The first edition of the Report – co-authored by seven members – was published in November 1991. This edition has a long essay running into 18,360 words in the form of an introduction written[Read More…]
Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) has welcomed the ongoing march started by the opposition Congress party in India. Bharat Jodo Yatra, aimed at uniting the country that is going through difficult times under a right wing Hindu nationalist BJP government, is gaining traction. The cofounder of IAPI, formed in response to growing attacks on religious minorities and political dissidents[Read More…]
The common understanding is that climate change will happen in some a far away land in the distant future. Recent events belie this belief. South Asia experienced unprecedented heat waves in March-April this year, and Europe hit record-breaking temperatures of 40oC. A third of Pakistan was flooded in July-August, killing >1,500 people, putting half a million people in relief camps[Read More…]
“They are claiming that our house is on Jindal’s land, but we have been living on this land for the past 20 years. This is our jal (water), jangal (forest) and zameen (land),” –Charana Samal, Dhinkia Villager Stop Unbridled Corporate loot and State Repression on People of Dhinkia ! Push Back Jindal Steel Works like POSCO! Resist Corporate-State nexus and[Read More…]
We are writing as diasporic Indian organizations and allies to express our solidarity with The Wire. We strongly condemn the witch hunt to which they are being subjected by the state. This is a grossly disproportionate and politically motivated response to the filing of cases of cheating, forgery, fraud, defamation, and criminal conspiracy against them by Amit Malviya, who heads[Read More…]
The coastal fishing community is on a struggle path against the disastrous International seaport which is being built at Vizhinjam by Adani ports. The port has resulted in coastal erosion leading to the disappearance of coasts and the destruction of houses in the fishing villages. The dredging in the port will result in the loss of local fishing habitats leading[Read More…]
New Delhi. 04 Nov 2022. Leading up to the COP27 meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Indian climate activists and academics associated with Climate Justice Network urge the Government of India to develop socially-just approaches to climate action and climate adaptation. This is crucial to protect the lives and livelihoods of the communities that are bearing the brunt of the climate[Read More…]
The following statement is issued by the South Asian People’s Action on Climate Change (SAPACC), a rainbow coalition of individuals and organizations from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka who are deeply concerned about the climate crisis. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) have caused an observed average global warming of 1.1oC above pre-industrial temperatures. That global warming is due to anthropogenic carbon[Read More…]
Major contributors like Japan, Germany, France and multilateral banks need to engage with Asian governments to reform climate financial flows as an issue vital to the UN climate talks Asian countries have seen an annual 28% rise in climate finance to $20.5 billion in 2020 but this increase hides problems that are being mirrored across the world and are likely[Read More…]
A webinar will be held on Thursday 27th October 2022 at 12.00 PM (GMT) on the theme HUMANITY’S FUTURE. The webinar will examine critically the dangerous situation we are in today, as the human family confronts the possible danger of a full-scale global war with serious nuclear implications. The war in Ukraine and other flashpoints have brought us to this[Read More…]
Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) Strongly condemns the Supreme Court’s order to suspend the Acquittal of Saibaba and Others in Gadchiroli case pertaining to alleged ‘Maoist link’. “Our system is scared of those (people) who raise their voice against its injustice. It (system) is scared of the people’s voice. Students and activists, who expose failures of governments, are viewed as[Read More…]
The Defense Committee for the Release of Saibaba felt that the Bombay High Court Judgment finally did Justice to Saibaba and others who have been incarcerated for the last almost seven years. The reversal of Judgment in great hurry is a reflection on the Justice system in India. The observation of the court that he has a powerful mind is[Read More…]
A statement has been issued by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty – a global campaign to end inequalities and poverty on the International day for Eradication of Poverty Nearly three years have passed since COVID-19 first surfaced, upending communities and taking the lives of more than 6.5 million people. In the rich corners of the world, life has[Read More…]
The unfortunate and avoidable demise of jailed Kashmiri leader Altaf Ahmad Shah is really shocking, sad and speaks volumes about the continued insensitivity of the Indian Govt towards political prisoners. Despite an SC order to get him shifted from RML to AIIMS for renal cancer treatment, the Govt delayed this and killed the possibility of any effective treatment that could[Read More…]
“Udburu” village located in the Murhu police station area under Khunti district of Jharkhand was known as hub of the “Pathalgadi” Movement. One of the most prominent leaders of the movement, Yusuf Purti comes from the village so it had automatically become its headquarter, where the movement had established the “Bank of Gram Sabha” and opened the first “Adivasi school”[Read More…]
Altaf Ahmad Shah, a political undertrial prisoner lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since 2017, is currently battling for his life in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML), Delhi. His cancer diagnosis, its metastasis and other organ related deterioration was done on September 30, in the same hospital. Since October 2, Mr Shah has been on a ventilator in RML. The hospital[Read More…]
10,000 Mumbaikars march on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October History is made as for the very first time, people marched on the streets to commemorate the 153rd Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as well as the Jayanti of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri. Cries of ‘Mahatma Gandhi Amar Rahein’, ‘Lal Bahadur Shastri Amar Rahein’, ‘Nafrat Chhodo Bharat[Read More…]
The 12th Congress of CPI (ML) Red Star held at Shivaram-Sharmishta Hall (SK Pottekad Hall) from September 24 to 29 concluded with a call to resist and defeat RSS neo-fascism. The Congress attended by around 300 delegates and observers from 16 states, following intense discussion, adopted the updated Party Program and Path of Revolution along with amendments to Party Constitution,[Read More…]
Humanity has reached a tipping point. It is time for governments, international institutions and people everywhere to take stock and act with renewed urgency. The Ukraine conflict is inflicting death, injury, displacement and destruction, exacerbating a global food crisis, driving Europe into recession, and creating shock waves across the world economy. The Taiwan conflict is threatening to escalate into outright[Read More…]
States, opposition parties clueless even after four years of Section 57 of Aadhaar Act being declared unconstitutional. Five years after Supreme Court’s verdict, no right to privacy law in sight, audit of UIDAI & Aadhaar schemes by CAG reveals Aadhaar Act as Black law 26 September 2022: Disregarding the ten fathom deep burial of the notorious majority opinion of the Supreme Court[Read More…]
Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) strongly condemns the Iranian State’s obscurantist, authoritarian laws and their murderous enforcement, as also the denial of the citizens’ right to protest. In this third decade of the 21st century it’s inhuman and barbaric to kill a fellow human being merely for not covering her head. At the same time, we question the hypocrisy[Read More…]
The Right to Food Campaign stands in solidarity with the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha’s national call for action across the country to revive the proper functioning of MGNREGA. The Right to Food Campaign is extremely concerned and anguished with the continued violation of MGNREGA across the country. MGNREGA is being implemented in a manner that is contrary to its spirit. Millions[Read More…]
A Statement by Concerned Citizens and Representatives of Civil Liberties’ Organizations 20th Sep, 2022: More than 35 concerned citizens and representatives of civil liberties’ organisations in India have sought the urgent intervention of the authorities in Uttar Pradesh to ensure quality health care and medical bail for jailed student leader Atiq-ur-Rehman, struggling with partial paralysis and disorientation after a heart[Read More…]
Writers, Artists, Human Rights Activists and Well-known Personalities. Demand Protection of Human Rights and Livelihood of the Local Villagers of Dhinkia, Odisha The South Korean Company POSCO backed out from Odisha due to a long struggle of the local communities. However, the Odisha state Government is allowing Jindal to take over the lands and livelihood of the same local villagers. The struggle for[Read More…]
Temperatures are rising, and so is communal hate. Rainfall is drying up, and so is employment. A war is being waged on the working masses by the corporates and ruling classes on every front. A war in which the people are losing one battle after another. But when the corporates and their henchmen in the seats of power thought that[Read More…]
In yet another act of criminal negligence, the prison authorities of Taloja Central Jail, Maharashtra, have delayed medical treatment to Vernon Gonsalves, a prominent activist and one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case. Gonsalves, who is 65 years old, fell ill with fever on August 30th, and even though his condition was steadily deteriorating, he[Read More…]
Statement by Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy – a campaign of 40+ civil society groups MRSD is distressed to learn about the health situation of 65 year old activist, poet, and writer Vernon Gonsalves, incarcerated since 2018 in the Bhima Koregaon/Elgar Parishad case. Gonsalves started developing several symptoms, such as fever, cough, dizziness, and nausea starting on August 30, as[Read More…]
Charkha Development Communication Network announces Sanjoy Ghose Media Awards 2022. These jury-based awards aim to celebrate the work of people committed to a new perspective on the media’s role in empowering young girls and women from rural communities. These awards are inspired by Charkha’s founder, Sanjoy Ghose, who worked towards the social and economic inclusion of marginalized rural communities[Read More…]
Ambedkar King Study Circle’s 3rd annual conference urged the companies in the USA to include caste discrimination in the policy documents Anti-caste activists gathered in Cupertino on Aug 27th under the theme to resist Brahminism and Hindutva urged the companies in the USA to include caste discrimination in the policy documents and appriciated Apple being the first company in the[Read More…]
Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) expresses its shock and horror at the order by the ASI S P Chero of Border Security Force (BSF) of 68 Battalion to rape a woman who was hiding with her baby daughter in the fields of spiny gourd (কাঁকরোল) while being caught in attempting to cross the Indo – Bangladesh border at[Read More…]
“Government behaving irresponsibly towards citizens who are at risk from its fortified rice programs – Citizens’ entitlements jeopardized by unscientific, one-size-fits-all approach” : ASHA & Right to Food Campaign New Delhi, August 22, 2022: An RTI response[i] by the Ministry of Women and Child Development reveals knee-jerk and self-protecting measures in the form of a few circulars issued by the Ministry[Read More…]
The Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) condemns the murderous attack on Salman Rushdie in the strongest possible terms. There cannot be any doubt that the assault on the world-renowned writer is due to the Iranian fatwa in 1989 which pronounced that Rushdie should be killed for blaspheming against the prophet of Islam. Despite the apology tendered by Rushdie for[Read More…]
The August Tree Festival will be held from 15th to 31st August, 2022 all over India. The participants of the festival will go outdoors and observe 166 common tree species. The festival has 2 challenges – to observe more than 200 trees and as many Ficus trees as possible during the 17 days of the festival. One school and one [Read More…]
Sale of talcum powder to be stopped globally by Johnson & Johnson, India yet to stop sale of asbestos laden talcum powder August 12, 2022: ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) and Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) welcome the announcement of Johnson & Johnson, a multinational company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA to stop the sale of baby talc powder[Read More…]
14th August “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day” – Another Strategy to Fuel the Politics of Hate & Division! A day of mourning and introspection is being transformed into a day of further spawning hatred and division – India must Resist It! Even as the entire country unites to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of our Independence on the 15th of August, yet[Read More…]
Statement issued by HIV activists and civil society organisations Civil Society organisations and activists working on the HIV response in India are putting out this statement in utter distress and in strong solidarity with people living with and affected by HIV whose simple and basic demand for uninterrupted flow of life saving anti-retroviral drugs is being ignored by the Government[Read More…]
The Indian parliament passed the J&K Re-‐organisation Act on August 5, 2019, de-‐operationalising Article 370, ending Jammu & Kashmir’s special status and partitioning the erstwhile state into two Union Territories of Ladakh and J&K. Soon after, Jammu & Kashmir’s political and geographical status was changed by imposing massive restrictions on the people of Jammu & Kashmir with several months under[Read More…]
On Sunday, July 31, South Asian activists came together outside the Indian Visa and Passport Application Center in Surrey, BC, to raise their voices for a detained journalist and human rights defender Teesta Setalvad was recently arrested on trumped up charges at the behest of the right wing Hindu nationalist BJP government in New Delhi for advocating for justice to[Read More…]
After an extensive national search, the Fellowship of Reconciliation-USA (FOR-USA) is proud to welcome our next executive director, Ariel Gold. Ms. Gold, a veteran peace and justice advocate, is taking the helm as the organization’s first Jewish executive director. Prior to this groundbreaking appointment, for the past seven years Ms. Gold worked at CODEPINK Women for Peace, where she was[Read More…]
by Global Kairos Asia Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) Global Kairos Asia Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) is a group of Asian Christian Theologians from 21 countries working in alliance with all religious communities and civil society movements in the Asia-Pacific region and around the Globe to act decisively to address the brutal and horrific situations of the continuing Nakba that the[Read More…]
The Indo-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) is a network of like- minded people drawn from all parts of the country committed to justice and freedom for Palestine. It seeks an end to the racist-colonialist-apartheid politics of Israel. Over the last three years, IPSN has consistently been involved in creating awareness about the conditions of the Palestinian people and drawing people together[Read More…]
The Coalition for Economic Democracy in Sri Lanka (CEDSL) is a group of concerned academics, activists, agricultural, fisheries and industrial workers, students, business persons, trade unionists, and professionals based ‘in country’ and overseas, including the diaspora, who uphold the values of economic rights and justice in public policy making. In the wake of two years of economically-devastating Covid-19 lockdowns, quantitative[Read More…]
Kalpavriksh, Snow Leopard Conservancy – India Trust (SLC-IT), Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), Ladakh Media and Arts Organisation (LAMO), and Local Futures Five civil society organisations are encouraging the UT Administration and the Hill Council, along with Ladakhi society, to recognise and strengthen the goba (or nambardar) system. In a detailed study led by Kalpavriksh (a Pune-based organisation active in[Read More…]
The disastrous condition of the most marginal rural workers who work in the 100 days work programme (MGNREGA) is now a burning issue in West Bengal. For more than six months, the workers are not getting their wages under MGNREGA. Both the central and state government do not seem interested in a solution. They are rather engaged in a war[Read More…]
In the continuing misery being faced by children as policy-makers increasingly push for an agenda of vegetarianism that has never been endorsed or debated in a country consisting of largely non-vegetarian people. Through a report by an expert committee, headed by John Vijay Sagar, Professor and Head, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS on health, the New Education Policy[Read More…]
Allow the CHAs to continue with their protests and rallies. Remove the magisterial powers of bail from the Jaipur police Commissionerate The PUCL- Rajasthan condemns the illegal arrest of Chandrashekhar Azad (Ravan), the President of the Bhim Army, by the Vidhyakpuri thana of the Jaipur Police Commissionerate, from Hotel Gangaur in Jaipur. What was the urgency to arrest them[Read More…]
IMSD condemns in strongest terms the brutal murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur by 2 Muslim fanatics, who have openly declared that they did so for the love of the prophet & thus is a case of death for Blasphemy! A tailor by profession, Kanhaiya’s only ‘crime’ was that he put up an online post in support of Nupur Sharma.[Read More…]
On June 24th, approximately 2000 African migrants made a desperate attempt at a mass border crossing, climbing the iron fence separating Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Footage of African bodies piled up at the foot of the fence, many lifeless, while others were being savagely beaten by Moroccan Security Forces, went viral. To date, the number of[Read More…]
To The Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri Basavaraj Bommai Government of Karnataka Bengaluru Respected Chief Minister, Sub: Concerns about peace and harmony within Karnataka and the urgent need to restore the state to a “sarva janangada shantiya thota” We have been trying to secure an appointment with you through your office for over a month. We wished to present this[Read More…]
Respected Chief Minister of Kerala, We are a group of people living in different parts of Kerala and working in social-cultural –educational –political and environmental fields. We are deeply concerned about the equitable and sustainable development of the State based on social and ecological justice. The fishers of this State whom you referred to as Kerala’s army has been praised[Read More…]
Under Narendra Modi, unemployment reached a peak today. At the very least, even sanctioned government posts are not being completely replaced. An examination of various departments of the Central and State Governments has revealed that at least 30 lakh posts are vacant under the Central Government (including various agencies run by the Center) and another 30 lakh posts are vacant[Read More…]
Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) deplores the divisive and hate-driven politics behind the statements made by the now-suspended spokesperson of the BJP, Nupur Sharma, but it unequivocally condemns the threats to her life. IMSD also strongly condemns Al Qaeda for threatening retaliatory terror acts. IMSD believes that democracy is inconceivable without the freedom of speech, a freedom that is[Read More…]
We, the participants of the conference on “Embracing Solidarities through Sharing Stories of Struggles to Resist Empires”, a four day consultation organized by Global Kairos for Asia Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) in collaboration with the Academy for Contextual Theologies in Taiwan (ACTT), from April 27 to 30, 2022, seek to express our radical solidarity with the people in Palestine in[Read More…]
Global Kairos for Asia-Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) calls for respect for human rights, an end to political instability and, the re-building of Democracy in Sri Lanka Global Kairos for Asia-Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) is a collective of Asian Christian Theologians working in partnership with scholars and human rights activists of different faiths to express our radical solidarity with the people[Read More…]
Police should not abuse Sex Workers, media should not publish their pictures of raid and rescue operations The Supreme Court of India directed that the police should treat sex workers with dignity and should not abuse them, verbally or physically. The State governments have been asked to ensure this through adequate sensitisation of the police. In addition, those sex workers[Read More…]
Dr. G.N. Saibaba, a 90% physical disabled person languishing in Nagpur central Jail started a hunger strike for the second time from Saturday 21st May 2022 seeking immediate resolution of his demands. Dr. G.N. Saibaba, also sat on hunger strike one and half years ago during lockdown in the jail demanding the immediate handover of medicines supplied by his family[Read More…]
Ernakulam: The Solidarity Youth Movement launched its second state-level conference on the title theme ‘The tradition of liberation and the proud testimony of faith’ at Kaloor, Ernakulam, Kerala. The conference’s main goals were to prepare the Muslim community for resisting fascism in India, engender the creative potentiality of youth for the wellbeing of society, and address the infliction of islamophobia[Read More…]
South Asian activists came together to mark the 100th birthday of a towering human rights defender of Punjab, at Strawberry Hill Library in Surrey on Sunday, May 22. The late Ajit Singh Bains passed away on February 11, leaving a rich legacy of tireless work for social justice. He would have turned 100 on May 14. Bains, a retired judge,[Read More…]
The Forum for Gram Sabha Committee, a local people’s organization, has been protesting against the proposed land acquisition for limestone mining of OCL India Ltd. at Rajgangpur, Sundargarh. It has also been raising voices against the gross violations of constitutional provisions related to the 5th Schedule Area and LARR Act, 2013 in the process of land acquisition. PUCL constituted a[Read More…]
Members of the Punjabi Press Club of British Columbia (PPCBC) came out to hold a rally against growing repression of journalists in India on Tuesday, May 3. Held at Holland Park in Surrey on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the rally was attended by Mayor Dough McCallum and City Councillor Mandeep Nagra, besides BC Federation of Labour Secretary-Treasurer[Read More…]
It is a matter of great concern that mindless mining and aggressive industrialization in Odisha, has become the root cause of deprivation of thousands of innocent people who have been depending on natural resources for generations for sustaining their life and livelihood. Absence of collective political will to take up people’s causes has further added to the worries of the[Read More…]
A Vancouver-based online magazine has started another campaign for the jailed Indian scholar. Radical Desi had previously initiated a petition for the release of Prof. G.N. Saibaba, who is being incarcerated under brutal conditions in spite of being disabled below the waist. Now it has begun an online petition ( https://www.change.org/p/nobel-prize-for-gn-saibaba) asking for the Nobel prize in recognition of his[Read More…]
Jan Adhikar Manch, a coalition of trade unions, democratic rights groups and other progressive forces in Odisha, strongly condemns the manner in which Comrade Batakrushna Swain was arbitrarily foisted with fresh charges by the state police on 12 April 2022 as he was ready to leave the Puri jail. Comrade Batakrushna Swain, the Convenor of Upakuliya Jami o Jangal[Read More…]
South Asians came together to pay tributes to those who laid down their lives during a peaceful protest against the British occupation of India in 1919, at the annual commemorative event held in Surrey on Wednesday, April 13. Organized by Mehak Punjab Di TV in partnership with Radical Desi, an online magazine that covers alternative politics, the vigil is aimed[Read More…]
In a historic move, the NDP government in Victoria has recognized April as Dalit History Month. Responding to an application moved by Radical Desi, an online magazine that covers alternative politics, the provincial Attorney General and the Lt. Governor signed the proclamation declaring April 2022 as “Dalit History Month”. Dalits, the oppressed community of India, are often treated as “untouchables”[Read More…]
Dear Colleagues, comrades and friends, We are writing to you on an issue of urgent concern regarding Professor Walden Bello. Recently, a political party founded by Sara Duterte (daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte), incumbent Mayor of Davao City, and now vice-presidential candidate for the 2022 national elections—unfoundedly and maliciously labeled Walden as a “narco-politician.”This attack is clearly intended to silence dissent[Read More…]
Информация взята с портала «Научная Россия» (https://scientificrussia.ru/) We, members of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, appeal to scientists from Russia and all over the world. The long-term confrontation in Ukraine, accompanied by the death and deprivation of civilians, has grown into an acute military conflict. We consider it extremely important through the negotiation process to achieve a[Read More…]
On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a pandemic. Two years into the pandemic, Asia continues to see disparities in access to vaccines which has prolonged the pandemic for Asians and deepened existing inequalities across the region. Members of the Peoples Vaccine Alliance (PVA)-Asia called upon governments to invest in public healthcare services and ensure[Read More…]
PROTESTERS AGAINST BIRBHUM COAL PROJECT IN WEST BENGAL MUST BE RELEASED AND CASES WITHDRAWN STOP POLICE AND STATE REPRESSION ON PEASANTS OF DHINKIA IN ODISHA Samyukt Kisan Morcha expresses deep concern at police repression against farmers in Birbhum in West Bengal and Dhinkia in Odisha. These farmers have been protesting against land acquisition for coal mining and industry, respectively, without[Read More…]
In a forceful and passionate interview, where both her anger and anguish are clearly visible, the Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, a US-based civil society organisation, says that her organization will “certainly intensify and escalate” efforts to lobby the US Congress and Biden Administration to speak out against Hindutva and India’s treatment of minorities and muslims in particular.[Read More…]
Many prominent citizens in India demanded for a Repeal of All Anti-Conversion Laws in India, in the context of the Anti-Conversion Bill scheduled to be tabled in Karnataka Upper House on February 14, 2022. The initial signatories for the Petition to the President of India included nationally well known citizens like Admiral L Ramdas ( Former Chief of Naval Staff of[Read More…]
New Delhi, February 7, 2022: The National Federation of Indian women (NFIW) unequivocally condemns the exclusion of young Muslim girls from universities and schools in Karnataka, on the flimsy grounds that their attire is not appropriate. The administration caved in to the demand by a group of saffron scarved boys to ban women wearing hijab from entering the premises of[Read More…]
Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the International Relations Entering a New Era and the Global Sustainable Development Full Text of the Joint statement, 4 February 2022. At the invitation of President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir V. Putin visited China on 4 February 2022. The Heads of State held talks in Beijing and took part in the opening ceremony of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games. The Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, hereinafter referred to as the sides,[Read More…]
Are digital education programs in India accessible for persons with disabilities? How do students with disabilities access online classes? Is there currently any guideline or policy of the government which educational institutes need to follow? New Delhi, February 5, 2022: As per Census data of 2011 there are a total of 2.68 crore persons with disabilities who call India their[Read More…]
The Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch considers the Union Budget of 2022-2023 as a cruel betrayal of needs of the tribal communities of India. It is not an Amrit kaal but a Vish Kaal for tribal communities, because none of the urgent issues such as hunger, joblessness, loss of livelihood which haunt tribal communities have been even remotely addressed in this[Read More…]
Already in its eighth year, an anti-racism campaign started by Canada-based Spice Radio got a major boost when world renowned humanitarian Ravi Singh joined it on Wednesday, February 2. The Khalsa Aid founder from England, known for his philanthropy in countries hit by conflicts and natural disasters, raised his hand in the air while holding out a sign reading, “Sarbat[Read More…]
Washington, DC (February 01, 2022) – More than 60 civil society organizations from 11 countries and nearly a dozen prominent individuals have released a statement in support of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), terming the baseless and false allegations leveled by the Indian Government against the organization as Islamophobic. “[W]e have seen a barrage of attacks on the event[Read More…]
Bharat Samvad Abhiyan – (India Dialogue Campaign) We, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC … HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE IT TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION. (Preamble, Constitution of India) The objective of the Bharat Samvad Abhiyan is to continuously nurture and maintain the commitment of citizens to a constitutionally[Read More…]
The stress on the economy became evident, especially in the aftermath of the raging pandemic from the 7.3% contraction in GDP in 2020-21. The distress faced by poorer households has continued over a period of time with the pandemic acting as a catalyst in increasing the woes of such households. In a latest round of survey conducted by People’s Research[Read More…]
NCHRO condemns the actions of the authoritarian police in Dhinkia village, Odisha and the government’s attempt to displace its local populace In the Dhinkia village in Odisha, the collusion of corporations and government is being manifested in the routinely egregious manner. The people there have been protesting against the attempts to displace them and hand over the land to the[Read More…]
We the undersigned strongly condemn the brutal police violence by Odisha Police that continued for hours on the villagers of Dhinkia in Jagatsinghpur district on January 14. The villagers of the entire region have been carrying out a protest against land acquisition by the district administration for Jindal Steel Work Utkal Limited. On January 14, as people were gathering for[Read More…]
On the night of Sunday, January 16, members of the Indian Diaspora came together to denounce draconian laws of the world’s so-called largest democracy. To mark the 93rd birth anniversary of the towering US civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., they burnt copies of the contentious Indian laws, such as Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Armed Forces[Read More…]
People’s Initiative to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi on the 30th of January – for National Unity, Communal Harmony, Non-Violence & Peace. LET THE NATION STAND IN SILENCE AS ONE!! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOXmwnMZf1G7MZmnA3KgE9VLEmhyP1ubc29W-hFO9A4YT4IA/viewform?usp=sf_link Dear Fellow Indians, Zindabad! In the recent years, the country is witness to the growing threat of communal fascism, even as the very[Read More…]
Over 650 eminent persons have signed a petition demanding that Malayalam Manorama (Kerala’s largest media house owning the largest circulated newspaper) withdraw it’s latest issue of Vanitha Magazine. The outrage is about a cover photograph in the Magazine of a prominent Malayalam actor accused in a molestation case. On the cover he is seen with his family. The photograph effectively[Read More…]
In the controversy surrounding the Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab, an investigation into a secret app that spams and trolls thousands has gone ignored by the big media, notes the Delhi Union of Journalists. Painstaking investigation of the app Tek Fog, by two technical researchers for the Wire, reveals how tech is being used to pursue a political agenda and[Read More…]
The people of Dhinkia in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha have risen in strong protest against Jindal Steel Works and for the protection of their land, lives and livelihoods. As directed by the Odisha government, there is heavy police repression and coercion being carried out for land acquisition which is becoming brutal and inhuman with the passing of each day. All[Read More…]
104 organisations have endorsed the poster campaign against the Anti-Conversion Laws in India. We request you to circulate, release and share the material. Karnataka Legislative Assembly has passed the Anti-Conversion Bill despite stiff opposition from the opposition parties. However, it is not yet tabled in the upper house to make it a law. The Anti-Conversion Law affects Christians, Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis and[Read More…]
Geneva: Expressing shock over the repeated incident of targeting women, including many Indian scribes in social media, the global media safety and rights body Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) demands proper actions against the individuals behind the ‘Bulli Bai’ online application. It may be mentioned that over a hundred women, largely Muslim personalities, were listed with doctored photographs in the app[Read More…]
Dhanak of Humanity makes a sincere and urgent appeal to all leaders to invest in safeguarding our pluralistic and secular nature by making those spreading hatred and advocating violence accountable for their hate speech Two recent events have been of utmost concern for all who believe in humanity and non-violence. One by the Dharma Sansad, at Haridwar December 17-19, and[Read More…]
Statement Released on December 24, 2021 at a press conference organized by Anhad. Dr Syeda Hameed, prof Ram Puniyani, Prashant Bhushan, Gauhar Raza, Anjali Bhardwaj, Dev Desai and Shabnam Hashmi addressed the press conference. From December 17 to 19, the ‘Dharma Sansad’ or ‘Religious Parliament’ was organized in Haridwar wherein several religious leaders and those associated with Hindutva extremist organisations[Read More…]
To, Shri Naveen Pattnaik Chief Minister of Odisha Dear Shri Pattnaik, We, the undersigned, are shocked and deeply concerned over the ongoing police repression on the peasants and betel growers of Dhinkia, Gobindpur and Nuagaon villages of Jagatsinghpur district in Odisha who for seventeen years have used the most democratic means to resist the forceful acquisition of land[Read More…]
Today the streets of Bangalore saw an outpour of citizens in large numbers to protest against the anti-people and unconstitutional ‘Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill 2021’. The rally began from Mysore Bank Circle and culminated at Freedom Park. A broad coalition of more than 40 organisations vociferously demanded that the Bill be withdrawn as the Government[Read More…]
We pay homage to our ancestors, leaders and icons of the past, who sacrificed their lives and privileges to make resistance of the people a reality and who collectively built revolutionary movements of the people. We pay homage to our comrades and friends whom we lost to the COVID-19 pandemic in the midst of a total breakdown of the health[Read More…]
Around 2pm on 20th Dec, 2021, the villagers of Dhinkia made a massive demonstration against the state and police repression at Mahala village border. Suddenly police forces entered Dhinkia village from back side and started thrashing and beating people. Some villagers sustained severe injuries. The police have arbitrarily arrested two persons Mr. Ajodhya Swain and Ms. Milirani Swain without any[Read More…]
On November 23 2021, in the context of serious malnutrition, the Government of Karnataka announced that eggs would be provided three days a week as part of the mid-day meal scheme, to students in seven districts, namely, Bidar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Koppal, Ballari and Vijayapura. This move was welcomed by activists and nutritionists who also insisted that eggs be extended[Read More…]
In spite of rain and cold weather, South Asian activists gathered outside the Indian Visa and Passport Application Center in Surrey on Friday, December 10 to raise their voices for political prisoners being incarcerated by the world’s so-called largest democracy. Organized by Radical Desi, the rally started with a moment of silence for 14 civilians killed by the Indian army[Read More…]
Dr. G N Saibaba, former Professor of English at University of Delhi continues to languish in the Anda cell of Nagpur Central Jail, Maharashtra since more than four and a half years. Dr Saibaba was arrested under fabricated charges and sentenced to life imprisonment by Gadchiroli Session Court under UAPA. He campaigned for the rights of exploited and oppressed sections[Read More…]
16th Dec 2021 will mark two years since the historic Shaheen Bagh movement for equal citizenship and safeguarding the fundamental ethos of our constitution. In response to brutal state violence unleashed on protesting students of Jamia Milia Islamia in Delhi on the fateful night of 15th Dec’19, what emerged in Shaheen Bagh was a powerful, organic democratic struggle led by[Read More…]
Groups extend offer to Biden to provide input to help make the summit a success WASHINGTON, DC (Dec. 7, 2021) – A consortium of 34 international multi-faith human rights NGOs have written a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressing their deep concern that the president’s Summit for Democracy Dec. 9-10 will ignore the widespread violations[Read More…]
An event for the launch of “From Nazneen to Naina”, based on the work of the Bollywood diva, held in Surrey on Sunday, November 28 was an eye opener for many who are unaware of the spill over effect of right wing politics of New Delhi on the Indian cinema. Authored by Canada-based author Gurpreet Singh, the book tries to[Read More…]
A Canada-based online magazine that covers alternate politics unveiled its annual calendar in Surrey on Saturday, November 27. Dedicated to the year-long farmers’ protest in India, the 2022 calendar bears important dates related to the struggle that eventually forced the right wing government in New Delhi to roll back controversial farm laws that prompted the agitation. The event began with[Read More…]
New Delhi, November 27th: A “Roundtable with Sewer Workers” was organized on 27th November, Saturday, 2021 in New Delhi from 2:00 pm- 5:00 pm in which sewer workers from Delhi came together along with Worker Unions and Government bodies. The workshop was attended by more than 100 sewer workers. The Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) has worked on the[Read More…]
Nation for Farmers (NFF) announces the process for formation of a ‘National Kisan Commission’ Nation for Farmers and other collaborating platforms and organizations announce the process of formation of a ‘Kisan Commission’ to assess and report on the state of agriculture. As the challenges facing the farmers of all the different states and sectors encompassed by agriculture and allied sectors[Read More…]
If a bridge collapses soon after construction, the contractor would be blacklisted. If someone cheats a bank, they will not be allowed to manage public moneys, whether in a bank, mutual fund, insurer or even as a KYC processor. But if someone illegally mines our shared inheritance of mineral wealth, we wonder why there is no such prohibition. India’s National[Read More…]
Khurram Parvez, a leading human rights defender and President of the Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), was arrested yesterday, on the 22nd of November 2021. The arrest was carried out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after the day-long raid carried out at the JKCCS office in Amira Kadal and Parvez’s house in Sonwar, Srinagar Kashmir. Parvez[Read More…]
PUCL calls for the immediate release of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested on 22nd November 2021, by the National Investigating Agency under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Indian Penal Code. PUCL condemns the relentless use of UAPA by the Indian Government to arrest, detain and jail human rights defenders for long periods[Read More…]
The Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi announced the Government of India’s decision to repeal all three anti-farmer, pro-corporate black laws first brought in as Ordinances in June 2020. He chose to announce this on Guru Nanak Jayanti. Samyukt Kisan Morcha welcomes this decision and will wait for the announcement to take effect through due parliamentary procedures. If this[Read More…]
New Delhi, November 18, 2021: A Press Conference was organized by The National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) at Press Club today on the betrayal of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in allotting houses to the families who were residing at Kathputli Colony. Kathputli Colony is majorly a colony of artists of national and international reputation. Around 4,000 families were living[Read More…]
BUJ and DUJ Condemn Arrest of Journalists in Tripura; Welcome Bail; Demand Withdrawal of all Cases and End to Intimidation of Journalists covering Tripura violence The Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ) and the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) have strongly condemned the arrest of Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha, two journalists from HW News Network, by Tripura police on Nov[Read More…]
To: The Hon’ble Chief Justice of India Supreme Court of India Tilak Marg New Delhi-110001 Subject: PENDING CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS Respected Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens from various fields, approaching you regarding non-listing as also pending adjudication in the Hon’ble Supreme Court on several urgent matters affecting citizen’s fundamental rights, as also matters[Read More…]
Condemn the firing on fishworkers by Pakistan’s maritime security agency that resulted in the death of Shridhar Ramesh Chamre –Put an end to the violence inflicted on fishworkers by armed forces On Saturday, the 6th November 2021, around 4 pm off the coast of Gujarat, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) troops converged on two Indian fishing boats. The Pakistan government[Read More…]
The members of Punjabi Press Club of British Columbia (PPCBC) have unanimously condemned the continued incarceration of the journalist and author under inhuman conditions in the Indian jail. Gautam Navlakha was arrested on trumped up charges in April 2020, and is currently lodged in jail near Mumbai. His only crime is daring to question the powerful, and always standing up[Read More…]
On the 37th anniversary of the 1984 Sikh Genocide, South Asian activists gathered in Surrey to raise their voices for a jailed Indian scholar, who was behind documenting the tragedy and exposing those involved. Gautam Navlakha was arrested on trumped up charges in April 2020, and is currently lodged in jail near Mumbai. His only crime is daring to question[Read More…]
Feminists, jan sangathans, mass organizations, collectives, students, trade unionists, farm workers, fisher people, members of Adivasi, Dalit and Muslim communities, displaced persons, civil liberties activists, journalists, academics, youth, as well persons facing political persecution joined the events held across States and expressed their solidarity with Gulfisha Fatima. Numerous cities and towns across the country were part of this solidarity action,[Read More…]
The Lakhimpur Kheri massacre will be remembered as a painful chapter in the history of the farm movement of India. The whole truth of this incident has been revealed to the country through all the videos that have become public so far. It is clear that this incident did not happen suddenly. Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra[Read More…]
The Samyukt Shetkari Kamgar Morcha (SSKM) endorses the “Maharashtra Bandh” on 11th October called by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in support of the Farmer Victims of Lakhimpur Kheri! The entire nation stands shocked at the brutal Lakhimpur Kheri murders. Despite the worst provocations, the Farmers protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful over the course of the last 10 months. The[Read More…]
The Indian State never tires of pontificating and appealing to alleged Naxalites/ Maoists/ terrorists/ militants/ separatists/ freedom fighters to shun violence, come under the Indian Constitution and adopt parliamentary path. The LGBTQIA movement has been peaceful; legal & constitutional; and democratic. Why is Parliament then vary of discussing the Gay Manifesto? By way of partial repeal of Section 377 Indian[Read More…]
In an urgent virtual press conference called by Samyukt Kisan Morcha, members of the 9-member coordination committee of SKM addressed the media with regard to the ghastly incidents in Lakhimpur Kheri of Uttar Pradesh. SKM’s Richa Singh and Guramneet Mangat who are in Lakhimpur Kheri (the former during the occupation of the helipad in Tikonia earlier in the day and[Read More…]
Friends and Family of Sudha Bharadwaj are extremely worried over the alarming and disturbing news of the rising Covid-19 infection in Byculla women’s jail forcing the authorities to seal the premise. Last week, in a prison supervised phone conversation Koel Sen had with her mother Shoma Sen, former professor of English from Nagpur University, arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case[Read More…]
The Unity Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India –Marxist-Leninist (UCCRI -ML) supports the call for a Bharat Bandh on September 27, 2021, given by the various farmers’ organizations to oppose the Modi Government’s farm laws. It is clear to one and all that the Modi Government’s policies are meant to favour big business houses and big landlords to amass huge[Read More…]
NDCW-National Dalit Christian Watch- expresses it deep anguish and displeasure against the recent unwarranted, unethical and un-Christian remark made by the Bishop of Pala, Mar Joseph Kallarangat of the Syro Malabar Church that ‘Narcotics Jihad is being used to lure Christian Youth’. This disparaging remark has caused, not only an unprecedented controversy in the socio – religio- political spheres of[Read More…]
From Nazneen to Naina: 20 years of Kareena Kapoor Khan in Bollywood and what that means for India and the rest of the world was officially launched on Tuesday, September 21 at the Press Club of the Union Territory. Authored by Canadian journalist Gurpreet Singh, the book is based on her film career so far, and what she has faced[Read More…]
From Nazneen to Naina: 20 years of Kareena Kapoor Khan in Bollywood and what that means for India and the rest of the world, will be officially released at Chandigarh Press Club on Tuesday, September 21. Authored by Canadian journalist Gurpreet Singh, the book is based on the film career of the famous Bollywood diva, and what she has faced[Read More…]
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was presented with a medal on Sunday, September 12 at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey. Vancouver-based online magazine Radical Desi, which covers alternative politics, gives out medals to individuals who speak out and stand up against injustice and repression anywhere in the world. Nijjar was honoured for organizing special prayers for the indigenous children whose unmarked[Read More…]
Members of the South Asian community came together to remember the slain Indian journalist at Surrey’s Holland Park on Sunday, September 5. Gauri Lankesh was a daring editor, who was allegedly murdered by right wing extremists in Bengaluru in 2017. On the fourth anniversary of her assassination, a vigil was organized by Radical Desi, an online magazine that covers alternative[Read More…]
The Hon. Naveen Patnaik Chief Minister, Odisha Sub: Request for the release of Upakuliya Jami o Jangala Surakhya Samiti member Mr. Batakrushna Swain Honorable Sir, We the undersigned people, regret to convey our dissatisfaction regarding the change in the definition of crime in our state. Though the drought situation is not new in the state, however, the increase in the[Read More…]
“The disaster the people of Afghanistan have endured over decades is beyond human imagination and the plight of the people has multiplied with big power games in Eurasia, which eventually resulted in the Taliban take over,” according to Dr. K.B. Usha, faculty at the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.[Read More…]
The City of Burnaby has declared September 5 as a day to honour a slain Indian journalist. Daring editor Gauri Lankesh was allegedly murdered by right wing extremists in Bengaluru, on the ill-fated date in 2017. She consistently wrote against superstition and growing fanaticism under the current Hindu nationalist BJP government in New Delhi. Attacks on religious minorities and political[Read More…]
New Delhi, August 27th 2021: The Coalition for a GM-Free India, a civil society platform that had been in the forefront of struggles against hazardous gene technologies being deployed in India, has termed the decision of Government of India to import GM soymeal as patently illegal. “It is a case of regulators abdicating their legally mandated responsibilities, and subjecting citizens[Read More…]
Vancouver-based broadcaster Gurpreet Singh has tried to expose the growing polarization of Indian society and cinema through the story of one of the most popular movie stars. From Nazneen to Naina: 20 years of Kareena Kapoor Khan in Bollywood and what that means for India and the rest of the world is based on her film career so far, and[Read More…]
Around 150 Indian Muslims, supported by others committed to secular-democratic politics, have today called upon the Indian Muslim community to reject the idea of the ‘Islamic Emirate’ the Taliban seek to impose on the war-weary people of Afghanistan who are yearning for peace. The signatories include two retired High Court judges, legal luminaries, lawyers practising in the Supreme Court and[Read More…]
Human beings have suppressed, oppressed, mutilated, humiliated and neglected their own fellow human beings due to many reasons throughout history. There are economic, cultural, social and political reason for such human rights violations. One of the reasons for such human rights violations in India is on the basis of identity. People have been killed, abused, lynched, molested, raped and burnt.[Read More…]
Preamble Every human being is born with intrinsic rights which recognise and protect her or his life and dignity. As civilization progressed, and specially with the formation of the United Nations after World War II, many international charters and covenants were formulated to define and codify these rights, and enjoin on member States to protect them. India with its plural[Read More…]
Kandhamal is now deeply seared into the collective memory of the Christian community in India. It is also now a part of Independent India’s tragic list of hate-driven mass violence targeting religious minorities, Adivasis and Dalits by non-state actors enjoying extraordinary impunity. The malevolent violence in the Kandhamal and adjoining districts of Odisha in 2007 and 2008 stands out for[Read More…]
By Constitutional Conduct Group Dear Citizens of India, We are a group of retired officers of the All India and Central Services who have worked with the Central and State Governments in the course of our careers. As members of the Constitutional Conduct Group, we believe in impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Indian Constitution and in safeguarding its values.[Read More…]
The Indian Diaspora led by Foundation London Story, a diaspora-led organization based in the Netherlands, released the first EU-India People’s Roadmap on August 15, 2021. The Roadmap, is a common agenda to guide political action and strengthen the EU-India strategic partnership with human rights and inclusive values at its heart. Marking India’s Independence Day, the Roadmap is an assertion of democratic[Read More…]
Remembering victims of targeted violence against Christian Adivasis and Dalits, expressing solidarity with all victims of hate cand violence in India. NSF announces Kandhamal Human Rights awards for Activists and Groups The National Solidarity Forum has instituted two annual awards in honour of the victims and survivors of the mass violence against Adivasi and Dalit Christians of Kandhamal and several[Read More…]
In Khori Gaon, hundreds of families have been displaced and thousands of houses are being brutally demolished each day. After the completion of the demolition drive, the destitute working-class residents are being forced to live without any shelter. They are also being immediately and forcibly removed from the area and being threatened with police action. Despite the order of the[Read More…]
Dalit families targeted in Demolition Drive Undertaken by Bangalore Development Authority in Doddabettahalli (Yelahanka Hobli, Bangalore North) In a most shocking development, officials of the Bangalore Development Authority, backed by Bangalore Police, destroyed about 10 houses of villagers of Doddabettahalli. Each and every one of the families affected were from Dalit communities. In a similar drive, about 22 houses had been demolished at Somashettahalli, MedaAgrahara and Lakshmipura villages of the[Read More…]
People’s Mission invites nominations for the ‘ Revolutionary Comrade Shiv Verma Media Awards’ 2021. It’s holding a programme from 4 pm onwards on Saturday , 14 August 2021 at Press Club of India, New Delhi , to present Awards to awardees , declared on 15 August 2020. People’s Mission will announce on on 14 August 2021 , winner of the[Read More…]
There has been a nationwide outpouring of condemnation, following the announcement yesterday by Mr. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of Minority Affairs, declaring Aug 1 as ‘Muslim Women’s Rights Day’ to mark the anniversary of the Triple Talaq law. Over 650 citizens – Muslim and non-Muslim women, men and trans persons, women rights activists, human rights activists, academics, students and[Read More…]
Since 14th July, the Haryana Government has been brutally demolishing houses built by Khori Gaon residents who have been living on this land for decades. Along with the bulldozers the residents have also been dealing with police violence and harassment simultaneously. The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad framed a draft policy for rehabilitation of Khori Gaon residents 5 weeks after the[Read More…]
Marine Expert Statement Calling for a Pause to Deep-Sea Mining . Signed by 530 marine science & policy experts from over 44 countries The deep sea is home to a significant proportion of Earth’s biodiversity, with most species yet to be discovered. The richness and diversity of organisms in the deep sea supports ecosystem processes necessary for the Earth’s natural[Read More…]
On the birthday of jailed Indian scholar Anand Teltumbde, activists gathered outside the Visa and Passport Application Center of the world’s so called largest democracy in Surrey to raise their voices for his release, as well as others detained under draconian laws. Teltumbde, who turned 71 on July 15, was arrested last year on trumped up charges for merely questioning[Read More…]
20th July, 2021: This public hearing was organised to hear the affected citizens of Khorigaon and understand the status of implementation of the Supreme Court’s order of 7 June 2021. The Jury members included Environmentalist Ashish Kothari, Environmentalist Claude Alvares, Social Activist Ms. Anjali Bhardwaj, Adv. Tripti Poddar, Housing Right Activist, Prof. Amita Bhide from TISS, Mumbai and Prof. Bittu K.[Read More…]
GENEVA (16 July 2021) – UN human rights experts* today called on India to halt evictions of some 100,000 people – including 20,000 children – that began this week in the midst of monsoon rains. Demolition of homes began on Wednesday, 14 July, in a village in Haryana State built on protected forest land, even though the forest was actually[Read More…]
To, Mr. Sitaraman Shankar, Acting CEO, TPML, Editor, Deccan Herald CC: Mr B.S Arun, Deputy Editor 15 July 2021 We would like to draw your attention to the State page (Page 5) of E-Paper/Newspaper, released on 15 July 2021. The Deccan Herald’s (DH) Visual Connect ad on the page is not just factually incorrect, but also in appalling taste. Advertising[Read More…]
A statement by the family members and friends of the BK-16 We, the friends and family members of those accused in the Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy case, are deeply pained and shaken to the core by the loss of Father Stan Swamy. This is not a natural death, but the institutional murder of a gentle soul, committed by an inhuman state.[Read More…]
Respected Sir, This is to bring to your notice the irreversibly deteriorating condition of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy, an undertrial prisoner accused in the Elgar Parishad case and lodged at Taloja Central Prison in Maharashtra. He has been under intensive care at the Holy Family Hospital at Bandra, Mumbai, after he was directed to be hospitalized on 28 May. Today,[Read More…]
Statement by Jharkhand Jan Adhikar Mahasabha 84-year old Priest Stan Swamy’s health has deteriorated and he has been put on a ventilator at the Holy Family hospital. His situation is said to be critical. The NIA and central government are solely responsible for the sufferings of this elderly person and the current state of affair. The NIA court also played[Read More…]
Not too far from the border of Delhi, Haryana’s Khori village has been the site of an unwavering protest movement. After a Supreme Court order on June 07, 2021 mandated the demolition of the slums of Khori village, the residents of the village took to protesting to save their houses. Most of the residents at the village are migrants from[Read More…]
by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), Chhattisgarh and Chhattisgarh Right to Food Campaign (RTFC) Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) and Right to Food Campaign (RTFC), Chhattisgarh are writing to the Chhattisgarh government to bring attention to the poor status of human rights and health rights of people living in the Bastar Region. For years the people of Bastar have been denied decent[Read More…]
In 2020, candidate Joe Biden promised to “rally the world” to fight “transnational terrorism.” Yet President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have failed to confront and impose sanction/penalties upon Turkey and Azerbaijan for financing, arming, and deploying the most notorious jihadist terrorists/mercenaries. These include: ISIS, the Hamza Division, Sultan Murad Brigade, Sultan Suleyman Shah Brigade, Al-Amshat Faction, Al-Nusra Front,[Read More…]
Close to the birthday of George Orwell and the 46th anniversary of Emergency in the world’s so called largest democracy, activists came together in Surrey on Sunday, June 27, to raise their voices against the incarceration of thinkers by the Indian authorities. Organized by Radical Desi publications, the rally was held right outside the Indian Visa and Passport Application Center.[Read More…]
At a time when J&K political leaders meeting with PM, NSA is attending meeting at SCO alongwith NSA Pakistan, Ceasire promise has been kept by Pakistan and India, Peace activists getting hopeful that future may belong to a better environment where Peace will sustain. Peace activists have sent a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs with many suggestions that[Read More…]
On June 12, 2021, many online news portals reported an exchange of fire that took place between security forces and Maoists in Kuku-Piri forest, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Garu police station of Latehar (Jharkhand). According to reports, one Naxalite was killed and guns were found. The next day, many local newspapers highlighted that 24-year-old Bramhadev Singh of[Read More…]
Struggle for Right to Life, Housing and Rehabilitation of 1 lakh people continues.. New Delhi, 18 June,2021: The 50 year old secular Khori village, near Surajkund tourist spot (Faridabad, Harayana), inhabited by various sections is on the verge of being uprooted because of the Supreme Court order. Despite the existence of various farmhouses and high rise hotel buildings , the[Read More…]
Statement by writers and readers of Gujarati literature about threats issued against them in the journal Shabdsrushti Gujarat Sahitya Akademi whose autonomy was wrested by the Gujarat government, which then turned it into a government institution, publishes a journal named Shabdsrushti. The June 2021 issue of Shabdsrushti carries an anonymous piece of writing titled “No, This Is Not a Poem,[Read More…]
Six people, from Vancouver City Councillor Jean Swanson to Sahib Kaur Dhaliwal, a young student from the University of Ottawa, have been presented with medals of courage by a Canada-based online magazine that covers alternative politics. Radical Desi, which started its journey in 2014, had established a medal bearing the quote of Desmond Tutu: “if you are neutral in situations[Read More…]
The impact of the two COVID waves and attendant lockdowns on Indian households and workers cannot be overstated. Even before the devastating second wave, several sources suggest that millions of households became poor, reversing hard-fought gains in poverty reduction. More than half of the informal workforce lost work and incomes, and over two-thirds experienced increased hunger (see Annexure 2 in this note). Poorer[Read More…]
Over 50 eminent international figures including members of several European parliaments academics, lawyers, Nobel laureates, civil society leaders, and diasporic organisations have signed a joint statement urging the Indian government to show compassion and responsibility in the current Covid emergency, and call upon the authorities to release all arrested human rights defenders into safe conditions in the light of the[Read More…]
New Delhi, June 5: The Delhi Government’s Saheli Samanvay Kendras (SSKs) have emerged as emergency response centres for the community during the ongoing pandemic. Distribution of additional relief, ration, health supplies and awareness-raising on the vaccine and other issues related to the Coronavirus is taking place through these centres that are located in densely populated, low-resourced areas with large resettled[Read More…]
To Shri Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs, Government of India Subject: Covid-19, lock down and health crisis in Adivasi areas – urgent intervention called for Dear Sir, We, a group of concerned citizens engaged with Adivasis and their organisations submitted an assessment report to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in May 2020 highlighting the problems that Adivasis and other[Read More…]
We, the members of various Human Rights Organisations and Concerned individuals, condemn the appointment of former SC Judge, Shri Arun Kumar Mishra, as the next Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India by the selection Committee headed by the Prime Minister. What is troubling is that the decision to appoint Justice Arun Kumar Mishra as NHRC Head[Read More…]
PUCL feels a deep sense of loss over the sad demise of Prof. Dinesh Mohan on 21st May. Prof. Dinesh Mohan’s passing away marks the loss of a multifaceted personality: an outstanding academician, a visionary thinker, pioneer in the field of traffic studies and sustainable infrastructure development and a staunch champion of human rights. Prof. Dinesh Mohan was a member[Read More…]
His Excellency The Governor of Kerala Kerala Raj Bhavan Vellayambalam Thiruvananthapuram Sub: AN APPEAL FOR THE PEOPLE OF U.T OF LAKSHADWEEP Sir, We are a group of concerned citizens living in Thiruvananthapuram who have been shocked since a few days with news about the happenings in the U.T of Lakshadweep that will affect the life and livelihood of[Read More…]
Civil Society from India seeks global support towards systemic changes in India and rest of the world committed to public health, social equity and justice in the times of COVID-19 As the country delegations gather to discuss the agenda prepared by the World Health Organization’s Executive Board at the 74th World Health Assembly (WHA), we, concerned citizens of India belonging[Read More…]
Activists wrote to the Chief Minister of Odisha to intervene immediately To, The Chief Minister Bhubaneswar, Odisha Subject: In the matter of immediate intervention into the issue of spread of Covid among Dongrias in Niyamgiri and Bondas in Malkangiri Hon’ble Mr Chief Minister, It is with great concern we write to you about the recent surge of Covid +ve cases[Read More…]
The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India, keeping in view the large number of deaths and reports in the media about the mismanagement /mishandling of Covid-19 affected dead bodies today issued an Advisory to the Centre and States for protecting the dignity and the rights of the dead. This is the second as part of 2.0 series of Advisories that[Read More…]
Close to the Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the officials of the Surrey-Delta Sikh temple came together to help out a youth whose lower limbs had stopped working. After becoming disabled below the waist following an accident, international student Amritpal Singh was dependent on fellow students. The members of Guru Nanak Singh Gurdwara, which continues to provide free food to the[Read More…]
Letter to President Biden and his cabinet about Israel and Palestine conflict Letter to President Joseph Biden Vice-President Kamala Harris Secretary of State Tony Blinken Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Senator Minority leader Mitch McConnel Congressional Majority leader Nancy Pelosi Congressional Minority leader Kevin McCarthy It is time we work for the security of Israel and Justice to the Palestinians.[Read More…]
Stan Swamy, 84-year old Adivasi rights activist from Jharkhand, was arrested by NIA under UAPA in the Bhima Koregaon case on the 8th of October 2020 and has been lodged in Taloja jail, near Mumbai, Maharashtra. He has spent his entire life fighting for Adivasi rights and the rights of the underprivileged. Stan Swamy is a Parkinson’s disease patient with[Read More…]
Though India is one of the worst hit covid affected countries in the world, the plight and plea of political prisoners under trial gets no attention from the state or central governments. So many people including students, activists, journalists, academicians, and political leaders are still behind the bars many of whom are tested Covid postive while some others got serious[Read More…]
Hany Babu, an undertrial prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case, who has been in custody since July 2020 without trial has now been diagnosed as COVID Positive. Hany had developed an acute eye infection in Taloja Jail. He has little or no vision in his left eye due to the swelling, which has spread to the cheek, ear and forehead[Read More…]
More than 130 prominent Indians condemn the attacks on the Palestinian worshippers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque & the residents of Sheikh Jarrah, by the Israeli apartheid regime. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, as they valiantly resist the Israeli attempts to target & ethnically cleance the residents of Sheikh Jarrah & Silwan, both suburbs of East Jerusalem. We[Read More…]
Family and friends of activists arrested in Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case write to Hon’ble Chief Minister, Maharashtra state for immediate release of the Bhima Koregaon under trial detainees in light of the threats posed to their life and health due to the raging Covid 19 pandemic. Letter attached. —————–Letter——————— Date: 11/05/21 To, The Honorable CM, Maharshtra Mr. Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray,[Read More…]
An Appeal to Chief Minister of Kerala Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan Sir, Please Intervene… To The Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala Dear Sir, We, the family members of Hany Babu M.T., who is the 12th person to be arrested in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case (NIA Case No. RC-02/2020/NIA/MUM), write to you in desperation and to bring to your kind attention[Read More…]
It is now painfully clear that the Government of India has been woefully underprepared for the second wave of COVID-19. The resulting misgovernance [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, 9] is precipitating the announcement of partial or total lockdowns in various states to break the chain of infections. Like last year, informal workers have been left to fend for themselves and among them migrant workers[Read More…]
Public Statement on the Sexual Assault and Abduction of a Young Woman Activist at Tikri Border We deeply mourn the death of a 26-year old activist from APDR (Sreerampur) in West Bengal, who passed away on 30th April, 2021 at Bahadurgarh in Haryana. She was deeply inspired by the farmers’ movement and had gone to express her solidarity at the[Read More…]
Report of Press Conference held via Zoom on 6th May 2021, 3 pm Opening the press conference, Ms. Bhargavi Rao, Trustee of Environment Support Group noted “We have lost so many of our loved ones, not so much because of the virus as because of malgovernance.” She drew particular attention to the unnecessary deaths that happened in Gulbarga and Chamrajnagar due to the[Read More…]
The United States government last night moved to support a waiver of intellectual property protections of the Covid-19 vaccine. The People’s Vaccine Alliance has been campaigning to suspend Covid-19 intellectual property protections. This is the decision the world needed: by backing a waiver of intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines the Biden Administration can increase the global supply of vaccines[Read More…]
Statement by the Vikalp Sangam Core Group India is in the midst of a COVID emergency. The pandemic’s 2nd wave has exposed the abysmal state of its public health system and the poor quality and pace of response of central and state governments. While we recognise the herculean task that the public health system personnel have been performing for over[Read More…]
On World Press Freedom day, Radical Desi has announced a new award for the daring journalists who have stood up for the oppressed and questioned the power. Named after the newspaper started by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – an undisputed leader of the so-called untouchables in India – the Mooknayak journalism award will be given annually to exceptional media personalities. The[Read More…]
As the death toll and positivity rate in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic stays alarmingly high, lockdowns and other restrictions have been instituted in many parts of the country. Even though an announcement of a nationwide lockdown has not been made, work has been severely disrupted with calls for further curtailment of non-essential economic activity.[Read More…]
Activists came together on the international workers’ day outside the Indian Visa and Passport Application Center in Surrey, to remember more than 300 farmers who have laid down their lives during the ongoing agitation. Indian farmers have been camping on the borders of New Delhi since November against controversial farm laws which have been passed by the ruling right wing[Read More…]
The students and staff of Chetana College of Media and Performing Arts, Thrissur, have come up with an innovative way to extend their support to the # VaccineChallenge campaign, part of the CMDRF, Kerala Government. The campaign has two-fold focus: first of all, to create awareness among the public about the importance of getting vaccinated, all age groups, especially youngsters[Read More…]
Urgent call to three rich Asian country governments – Japan, South Korea and Singapore to stop opposing TRIPS waiver at WTO Press Release by people’s Vaccine Alliance, Asia Chapter The Peoples Vaccine Alliance (PVA) in Asia is calling on Japan, Singapore and South Korea to take action on the voices of citizens across Asia and the global South by[Read More…]
1,000 + activists, academics, concerned citizens from 20+ states in India and across the globe write to Chief Minister Chhattisgarh. Call for immediate release of Hidme Markam and end state excess on adivasis in Bastar Deeply outraged by the arbitrary incarceration of Hidme Markam, an adivasi human rights defender and environmental activist, for over 40 days, more than a thousand[Read More…]
Close to the first anniversary of the arrest of a renowned Indian scholar, members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) held a demonstration in Surrey on Sunday, April 18. Anand Teltumbde, a well-known author and columnist, was arrested last year on April 14 under trumped up charges for merely questioning the power and standing up for the poor and[Read More…]
Vancouver City Councillor Jean Swanson was presented with the Radical Desi medal of courage by members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) on Thursday, April 15. Swanson had recently brought a motion in support of the Indian farmers who have been camping outside New Delhi for the past several months. The agitating farmers are opposing the controversial laws passed[Read More…]
An annual vigil was held on Tuesday evening at Surrey’s Holland Park in commemoration of those killed by the troops in British India 102 years ago. Close to 1,000 peaceful demonstrators died in the indiscriminate firing at Jallianwala Bagh, a public park in Amritsar, on April 13, 1919. The agitators had gathered to oppose draconian laws passed by the British[Read More…]
Members of the Telugu Church in Vancouver came together on Tuesday, April 6, to denounce the incarceration of the disabled Indian scholar G.N. Saibaba. A former Delhi University Professor, Saibaba continues to face inhuman conditions in an Indian jail after being convicted in 2017. First arrested on trumped-up charges in 2014, for merely speaking out against the repression of religious[Read More…]
The Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr G N Saibaba is deeply shocked and dismayed to learn that Dr Saibaba’s service as an Assistant Professor in Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, have been terminated by the said college, with effect from the 31stof March 2021. The Committee has learned that the College had been given a clear[Read More…]
Co-ordination of Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO) is strongly condemning the raids of NIA(National Investigation Agency) on the houses of Rights Activists and activists belongs to various peoples organisations. NIA has raided the houses of nearly 16 Human Rights, Civil liberties, feminist activists and progressive writers in AP and Telangana. The raids began on 31st March evening and continued till the[Read More…]
The All India Catholic Union, founded 101 years ago, has called upon the Prime Minister and the Home minister of India to take exemplary action against the vigilante group and the police involved in the harassment of two Sacred Heart Nuns and two student Nuns in a moving train near Jhansi. In Uttar Pradesh. The police, instead of warding off[Read More…]
On the international day for the elimination of racial discrimination, the members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) presented a medal to Shusma Datt. The CEO of Spice Radio 1200 AM had launched “Hands Against Racism” on the birth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. in January, 2015. The campaign, which has entered its seventh year, coincides with Holi,[Read More…]
Over two dozen US and international civil and human rights organizations have expressed solidarity with Dr Audrey Truschke, Associate Professor of South Asian History at Rutgers University against the ongoing systematic campaign of vilification against her including vile threats of extreme violence. In a remarkable build up of broad support for Dr. Truschke, the joint letter thanks Rutgers for unequivocally supporting[Read More…]
The increase in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) wage rates for 2021-22 is extremely paltry (see the table). There is no increase in Kerala’s NREGA wage rate. Rajasthan’s wage rate has increased by just Re 1. In fact, for 24 states, the increase in the NREGA wage rate is less than 5 per cent. The country’s economy has[Read More…]
The Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr. GN Saibaba organised a press conference at the Press Club of India in Delhi which was addressed by writer Arundhati Roy, former Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha D Raja, General Secretary of the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) Muralidharan, former President of DUTA Nandita Narain,[Read More…]
On the eve of International Women’s Day, South Asian activists came together to raise their voices against gendered repression in the world’s so called largest democracy. Organized by the Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) on Sunday, March 7, the rally was held outside the Indian Visa and Passport Application Center in Surrey. The demonstration was mainly focussed on the[Read More…]
In a complaint that was filed by the National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations on December 7, 2020 against the mob violence on Madvi Muka and 27 other victims in Chhattisgarh, the SHRC, Chhattisgarh has ordered the police submission of an action taken report. The case came to light when a Hindutva mob attacked the people during the prayer that[Read More…]
A collage of green handprints added a new dimension to an anti-racism initiative launched by Burnaby-based Spice Radio this week. The broadcasters and other team members at the station, came together to raise their voices for Indian farmers in a unique way. They not only left their handprints in green on a white sheet, but also scribbled their greetings to[Read More…]
The National Alliance of Journalists(NAJ) and Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ)has termed as ominous, the Union governments hastily framing of rules to monitor digital media specially taking into account manifold attacks on articles critical of the government and increasing attacks on freedom of the press and journalistic rights. Within days of the Union Government framing rules to monitor digital media,[Read More…]
Just days before International Women’s Day, 4000+ eminent and concerned citizens, women’s rights and progressive groups raise a strong collective voice Deeply distressed by the regressive statements of the CJI asking a rapist to marry the victim and condoning marital rape in court on 01 March 2021, over 4000+ concerned citizens, from representatives of India’s women’s movements, progressive groups and feminists,[Read More…]
Nearly 800 Organizations and Individuals in the United States Demand the Biden Administration End Its Support for the Brutal Moïse Regime in Haiti. United States – Today, February 24, 72 organizations and 700 individuals published an open letter calling for the Biden administration to end its illegal and destructive intervention in Haiti. While Joe Biden and the Democrats condemned the[Read More…]
A group of prominent people, including artists, environmental and social activists, parents, teachers, professionals, adivasis, dalits and farmers, today spoke out against the illegal and disproportionate response of the government in targeting young activists, including Disha Ravi, and the government’s intent to criminalise dissent. At a press conference organised today, Kavita Srivastava, Nagraj Adve, Ram Wangkheirakpam, Sandeep Pandey, TM Krishna,[Read More…]
The 101-year-old All India Catholic Union [AICU] is deeply distressed and extremely worried at the hounding of young climate change and environment activists in the country. What makes it more critical is that this form of persecution comes from both State and non-state actors, and at a time when the nation is struggling to come out of the medical and[Read More…]
Members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) came together on Sunday, February 14, to raise their voices for the jailed Indian scholar who is being incarcerated despite being disabled below the waist, and having been tested positive for COVID 19. A well-known human rights defender, former Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba is currently serving a life term after having[Read More…]
News that Disha Ravi, a young woman and climate activist from Bengaluru, has been “picked up” – in what is referred to as a “closely guarded operation” of the Delhi police – is highly disturbing both for what appears to be its illegal nature and for the over-reaction of the State that it represents. Earlier today, Disha has been remanded to[Read More…]
A press statement on the ED raid at NewsClick offices in Delhi from Kolkata-based digital media groups We the undersigned strongly condemn the harassment and intimidation of independent media houses and journalists associated with them by the BJP run central government. The raids by the Enforcement Directorate at the office of News Click and the homes of its directors and[Read More…]
The Delhi Union of Journalists(DUJ) condemns the raids by the Enforcement Directorate on the office of online portal Newsclick and the homes of its owner editor Prabir Purkayastha, editor Pranjal and human resources head Amit Chakravarty earlier today. Newsclick has been providing a platform to leading investigative journalists like Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and bold video journalist Abhisar Sharma, P.Sainath -among[Read More…]
Members of the South Asian media fraternity came together on Monday, February 8, to raise their voices against ongoing suppression of freedom of the press in the world’s so called largest democracy. The demonstration was held right outside the Indian Consulate in Vancouver, by the Punjabi Press Club of British Columbia (PPCBC). This was in response to the recent arrests[Read More…]
Members of the South Asian media fraternity came together on Monday, February 1, outside Indian visa and passport center in Surrey, to raise their voices against suppression of the free press in the world’s so called largest democracy. Organized by the Punjabi Press Club of British Columbia, the rally was called in response to the recent arrests of Indian journalists[Read More…]
To The Honourable Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court of India New Delhi, Sub: Citizens’ open letter to the Chief Justice regarding delay in listing/hearing important and urgent matters affecting lives of millions of people – denial of justice through delay. Your Honour, At the outset, let us point out why common citizens do not talk about the Court’s conduct. Because they fear attracting[Read More…]
Members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) came together on Saturday January 30,to mark the birth anniversary of a slain journalist, outside the Indian visa and passport center in Surrey. Gauri Lankesh was a critic of the current right wing Hindu nationalist government. Born on January 29, 1962, she was assassinated in 2017 by suspected Hindu extremists. Her murder[Read More…]
Samyukta Kisan Morcha has released a Press Statement late night on 28th January, after observing the latest actions by Modi and Yogi Government at Ghazipur Border. The Statement has been produced here in full: Samyukt Kisan Morcha condemns the action by Uttar Pradesh police in cutting off basic facilities for the protesting farmers at Ghazipur Border and its attempts to[Read More…]
Yogi Adityanath is very fond of cows. He gets his adverstisement published feeding jiggery to cows. On the other hand villagers in Uttar Pradesh are fed up of stary cattle. These animals graze crops standing in fields. The cow sheds which have been started by the government are non-functional. There is no arrangement to feed them. As a result they[Read More…]
On the night of Friday, January 15, the members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) came together to reject controversial Indian laws . To mark the 92nd birth anniversary of the towering US civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., they burnt copies of the contentious Indian farming law, besides Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the draconian Unlawful[Read More…]
South Asian activists came together on Sunday, January 10 in Surrey, to remember more than 60 farmers, who have laid down their lives during the ongoing agitation in India. Organized by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), the vigil was in protest against the recent deaths of farmers who have been holding a demonstration near New Delhi to press upon[Read More…]
At the age of 18, we can vote for our councilors, MLAs, MPs. At 18, we decide who will make and implement policies that affect us, our loved ones, our community, our country. At 18, we are supposed to be mature enough to responsibly exercise our voting rights. However, whether at the age of 18 or at the age of[Read More…]
Year 2020 began, as every New year does with the promise of hope and possibilities. It soon turned into a nightmare. COVID- 19 ravaged our world. Even the mightiest nations on earth have felt the chill of 350,000 dead in nations such as the US. But with far fewer dead, India still suffered possibly its worst social impact. It ruined[Read More…]
Memorandum to the Honorable Member of Legislative Assembly, Makhdoompur Mr. Satish Kumar Member of Legislative Assembly Makhdoompur Date: 29th December, 2020 Subject: Actions required for strengthening unity between Dalit Muslim & Organizations with similar Ideology Respected Sir, Samvidhan Bachao Morcha extends its heartiest congratulations to you on becoming the Member of Legislative Assembly. You are[Read More…]
Ten leading economists of India wrote a letter to the Union government and supported the farmers’ demand to repeal the Farm Acts. The letter dated December 17, 2020 is as follows: To Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India. Dear Sir, Sub: Serious concerns from economists regarding the recent Farm Acts, which merit[Read More…]
The International Movement for a JUST World (JUST) has published an ebook. “Exploring the Coronavirus Crisis”, a collection of articles contributed by the President, the Vice President, some members or the Executive Committee, some individuals within the general membership and certain staff of JUST. They run through the pandemic looking at the socio-economic consequences of the lockdowns and the persistence[Read More…]
Jan Adhikar Mancha supports the ongoing farmers’ movement. Mancha condemns state repression and false propaganda against the movement From the very first day of the call of “Delhi Chalo” programme of the All Indian Kishan Sangarsha Samiti to the observation of International Human Rights day of 10 December, we have been observing the Goebbelsean propaganda of misinformation and disinformation unleashed[Read More…]
The intellectuals whose release we are demanding are those who have stood firm against the oppressive and communal attacks waged by the Modi government on Indian society. They have made huge sacrifices, and are now braving a life in prison but they have never shied away from their duty to speak truth to power and communicate this truth to the[Read More…]
Today women and men in the farmers’ struggle are standing shoulder to shoulder at the Delhi borders. This movement is a symbol in the history of India—a symbol of freedom, of voices, of ideas, of protests, of slogans, of resolutions. This is not just a farmers’ struggle; it is a joint campaign of all of us, of children, women and[Read More…]
Over two-thirds say nutritional quality has worsened and quantity has reduced (in September-October) compared to pre-lockdown The Right to Food Campaign is shocked with the worsening situation of hunger, although it is more than five months since the lockdown has ended. This emerged in the presentation of the Hunger watch study carried out by Right to Food Campaign and Center[Read More…]
New farm bill 2020: Why farmers are protesting? Farmers from several Indian states are protesting against three new Agriculture Reforms Acts, that the government says will open up the tightly-controlled agriculture sector to free-market forces. It is claimed that the bills, passed by India’s parliament make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to private buyers and enter[Read More…]
Bhubaneswar: 9th December-A unique Gram Sabha on gender-based violence was organised across 17 districts in Odisha where the meetings were being led by the women as they were holding centre stage to discuss issues that concern them the most. The objective of these Gram Sabha were to ensure the involvement of women in Gram Sabha and place issues that concern[Read More…]
1. Armed Forces Veterans are closely following the unfolding situation of the farmer’s peaceful agitation to repeal the three laws passed by Parliament. We are also aware that workers across sectors have supported the demands of farmers, in addition to peacefully raising objections to amended labour laws. 2. The purpose of this statement is to inform protesting farmers that Armed[Read More…]
On the death anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – the architect of the Indian constitution – South Asian activists came together to raise their voices against growing repression of religious minorities and political dissidents in the world’s so called largest democracy. Organized by the Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) on Sunday, December 6, the rally was called in response[Read More…]
Oppose the Modi Government’s farm laws meant to favour the big business and buttress the Centre’s autocracy The UCCRI(M-L) supports the call for a Bharath Bandh on December 8, 2020 given by the various farmers’ organizations to oppose the Modi Government’s farm laws. These farm laws are meant to favour big business houses to enter into production and distribution of[Read More…]
The UCCRI(ML) supports the call given by various Central Trade Unions for a country-wide General Strike on November 26, 2020 against the anti-people policies of the NDA Government. The Trade Unions have listed the demands of workers and toilers, thrown into a crisis by the Covid-19 pandemic, withdrawal of the anti-farmer laws and anti-worker labour codes introduced by the[Read More…]
Dear Prof. Noam Chomsky, Hope you and your family are keeping well and safe physically in such trying times. We are writing to you after having just discovered that you are scheduled to participate in the Tata Lit Live event, the annual Literature festival by one of the most notorious corporations in India, the Tata Group. It comes as a[Read More…]
The jailed scholar and activist, who is being incarcerated by the world’s so called largest democracy, has been recognized as this year’s person by a Vancouver-based online magazine that covers alternative politics. Radical Desi has declared Anand Teltumbde as Person of the Year 2020 for being in the news after his arrest on trumped up charges. Teltumbde has authored many[Read More…]
The Surrey City Councillor whose efforts led to the recognition of state sponsored massacre of Sikhs in India was presented with medal by members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India on Tuesday, November 10. Mandeep Nagra was instrumental behind the Sikh Genocide Remembrance Month proclamation read out by Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum on Monday night. Thirty-six years after the well-organized[Read More…]
Uttar Pradesh police arrested Faisal Khan in Delhi and brought him to Mathura on 2nd November 2020 but so far neither he has been presented in the court nor police-administration is willing to provide any information about him. 48 years old Faisal Khan has invested his entire life to strengthen communal harmony. With the intent to maintain and promote peace[Read More…]
Derby People are deeply alarmed at the news of a brutal gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in the district of Hatras in Uttar Pradesh. The alleged rape was carried out on 14 September 2020, by four upper-caste men who then left her for dead, with a cut to her tongue and injuries to her neck and[Read More…]
Members of the South Asian community came together to raise their voices for justice to the survivors of state sponsored violence against Sikhs in the first week of November, 1984. Organized by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India, the vigil was opened by Indigenous activist Jenifer Allen, at Holland Park in Surrey, on the evening of Sunday, November 1. She tried[Read More…]
A webinar was organised with major initiative of Indian Christians for Democracy on 25th October, Sunday, 2020 from 11.00 to 1.00 pm. Dr. Fr. Prakash Louis the founder of the Indian Christians for Democracy forum initiated, planned and executed this webinar. Roselle Solomon and Ranjan Solomon hosted the webinar. Dr. John Dayal moderated the webinar. The objectives of the webinar[Read More…]
Muslim intellectuals and activists speaking at a webinar on Sunday the 25th of October, condemned the Paris beheading of a school teacher, Samuel Paty, by an 18-year-old Muslim fanatic, Abdullakh Anzorov. The webinar was organised by the Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD). Moderated by its convener, Javed Anand, all four panellists are office bearers and prominent members of IMSD.[Read More…]
Introduction PUCL organised a virtual Press Conference on 21st October, 2020 to condemn the illegal arrest of Fr. Stan Swamy of Jharkhand and 15 other activists in the Bhima Koregaon case. The Press Conference was to create a platform for different civil society groups and political parties to jointly condemn the brazen abuse of UAPA by the Central Government[Read More…]
Today, October 17th 2020 – the International day for the eradication of poverty the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) expresses solidarity with hundreds of millions of people suffering under the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities worldwide are being pushed deeper into poverty, precarious existence and inequalities – with a massive loss of paid- and self-employment and livelihoods as well as[Read More…]
The rising incidence of gag orders by various powerful accused men in sexual assault and harassment cases has been of immense concern, especially because of the manner in which it shields them and further victimises the victims/complainants in these cases. A statement from the Network of Women in Media, India, draws attention to this and urges media houses to continue[Read More…]
PUCL Maharashtra condemns the caste-based brutal rape and murder of the young Dalit woman from Hathras, UP, by upper caste men and the deliberate mishandling of the case, including delayed FIR, medical examination and burning of the body and destruction of evidence by state authorities. PUCL Maharashtra condemns the even more reprehensible act of the UP government to create a[Read More…]
The Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr. G. N. Saibaba appeals to the Nagpur Central Jail authorities to provide Dr. G. N. Saibaba with adequate medical care, books and letters immediately! The Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr. G. N. Saibaba is pained to hear that Dr. G. N. Saibaba will be going on hunger strike[Read More…]
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Right to Education Forum (ORTEF) has drawn the attention of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik against closure of Government neighborhood schools in the name of rationalization. Showing its concern about newspaper reports on closure of government primary and upper primary schools, ORTEF – an informal network of civil society organizations and individuals working on the issues of right[Read More…]
There are a number of social media posts propagating the falsehood that the soldiers of a ‘Muslim Regiment’ of our Indian army had refused to fight against the Pakistan Army during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, and that the ‘Muslim Regiment’ was thereafter disbanded ( the word used in the tweets is ‘dismantled’). We are all aware of the security problems[Read More…]
T Peter, General Secretary of the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), passed away on 8 October 2020 from COVID-19 related complications in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was 62 years old. Peter fought for more than three decades, as a full time activist and union organizer, to empower India’s fishing communities. He played a critical role in advancing their struggles from the margins[Read More…]
On 18 August 2020, Bahujan journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police. He is being held in custody over a tweet he had forwarded, which he had immediately deleted upon learning that it contained fake news. This is a routine social media behaviour that one observes on the platform almost every day. However, this was used as a[Read More…]
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INDIA HALTS ITS WORK ON UPHOLDING HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA DUE TO REPRISAL FROM GOVERNMENT OF INDIA The complete freezing of Amnesty International India’s bank accounts by the Government of India which it came to know on 10 September 2020, brings all the work being done by the organization to a grinding halt. The organisation has been compelled[Read More…]
Dear Chief Minister, Just when we thought that nothing could numb our consciences and brains further, the handling of the Hathras incident by the Uttar Pradesh administration has shown that, as a nation, we are plumbing the depths of depravity and callousness in governance. A young Dalit woman is brutally violated. Almost three weeks after the incident, the police are[Read More…]
South Asians activists came together on the evening of Friday, October 2, to raise voices against the recent gang rape of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh, India. The victim died after struggling for life for two weeks. She was brutally assaulted and raped by people belonging to the upper caste. Her death has outraged the community of so-called untouchables[Read More…]
India is currently among the most affected countries by COVID19, recording 6 million cases, by the end of September 2020. The pandemic and lockdown measures have had a drastic impact on a large population of poor and marginalised forest communities, causing loss of livelihoods and employment, food insecurity and socio-economic distress. As per the findings of a preliminary assessment report,[Read More…]
On 18 August 2020, Bahujan journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police. He is being held in custody over a tweet he had forwarded, which he had immediately deleted upon learning that it contained fake news. This is a routine social media behaviour that one observes on the platform almost every day. However, this was used as a[Read More…]
On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh, Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) held a demonstration to oppose growing state violence in India, on Sunday, September 27 in Surrey. Bhagat Singh was a towering revolutionary who fought against the British occupation of India and stood for an egalitarian and just society. He strongly believed in secularism and[Read More…]
For the last one week thousands of farmers in several parts of India have been protesting against three farm reform bills that were finally passed by the ruling party in parliament on 21 September. More agitations are expected as many farmers see the new legislation as inimical to their interests and the future of farming in the country. Peaceful protests[Read More…]
Pedestrian pictures weekend screening VOICES FROM THE RUINS: Kandhamal In Search of Justice directed by K P Sasi from 25th September 2020 Friday , 6 PM onwards. Please follow this link to watch the film. https://vimeo.com/461484394 Link will be active from 25th 6pm The link for the webinar – Lessons and Reflections from Kandhamal is given below Synopsis: The state[Read More…]
Voluntary Action Network India (VANI), being an apex body/national association of Indian voluntary development organizations strongly feels that the FCRA bill, 2020 will be a death blow to the development relief, scientific research and community support work of the NGO community as it prohibits collaboration with other Indian organizations. At a time like this, when India is battling[Read More…]
In the last six months the world has witnessed an unprecedented period of vulnerability and socio-economic insecurity and distress – India has been no exception to this casualty. In these extraordinary times, the centralised, undemocratic and non consultative manner in which the government has formulated and implemented policies have been damaging to India’s working people – further perpetuating an already[Read More…]
As citizens deeply committed to Constitutional values, we condemn the arrest of Umar Khalid who has been subjected to a malicious investigation targeting peaceful anti-CAA protestors. He has been booked under several charges including UAPA, sedition and conspiracy for murder. With deep anguish we have no doubt in saying that this investigation is not about the violence in February 2020[Read More…]
Janhastakshep takes serious note of and unequivocally condemns the inhuman, illegal and unethical demolition of thousands of houses (Jhuggis) of the Indian citizens along the railway lines near Keshavpuram and Nangloi in Delhi, the day before yesterday (10th September 2020), by the Railway authorities and Delhi Police under the pretext of Supreme Court Order, 31 august 2020, by a bench[Read More…]
The Grameena Pedala Sangham (GPS- Organization of Rural Poor) deeply condoles the death of Swami Agnivesh (80) who is no more. He died on September 11 at Delhi. He was a great social worker and a democrat , who worked all his life- time for the cause of the oppressed, and was the Founder of Bandhua Mukti Morcha that worked[Read More…]
The Forum for Constitutional Rights and Democratic Freedoms (FCRDF) was constituted in August, 2020, after discussion among its Principal Members, comprising both individuals and organizations, all representing different constituencies. All were concerned with the erosion of constitutional rights and democratic freedoms in the last few years and came together on a common platform to stem the tide. The groups represented[Read More…]
We, the undersigned academics, journalists and concerned citizens strongly condemn the fresh round of harassment and arrests of academics and activists by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is trying to implicate them in the Bhima Koregaon case. After Partho Sarathi Ray, the NIA has now summoned Prof Satyanarayana and senior journalist KV Kurmanath to appear before it on 9[Read More…]
We are members of the scientific and academic community. We are writing to express our deep concern at the actions of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in its investigation of the Bhima-Koregaon violence. Instead of investigating those responsible for the actual violent clashes in Bhima-Koregaon, the NIA (and earlier, the Pune police) has focused on the Elgaar Parishad event—a large[Read More…]
National Solidarity Forum (NSF) Cordially Invites for National Webinar TWELVE YEARS OF KANDHAMAL MEMORIAL ‘RECLAIMING DEMOCRACY, DEFENDING DIVERSITY’ Date: 12th September 2020 Time: 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm Dear Friend, The National Solidarity Forum invites you to a National Webinar ‘Twelve Years of Kandhamal – Reclaiming Democracy, Defending Diversity’ on Saturday, 12th September 2020 to mark the 12th Anniversary of[Read More…]
After the arrests of leading public intellectuals like poet Varavara Rao, Prof. Soma Sen, Prof. Anand Teltumbde, Mr. Gautam Navlakha, Ms. Sudha Bharadwaj and others, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has trained its gun yet once again on democratic right activists, lawyers and other intellectuals. One of their latest targets is Prof. Parthosarathi Ray, a leading biologist of the country, an Associate[Read More…]
To The Honorable Chairperson National Commission for Scheduled Tribes New Delhi Dear Sir Sub: Online harassment and caste violence against Dr. Murmu Dr. Maroona Murmu is an Associate Professor of the Department of History, Jadavpur University. In the Brahmanical landscape of academia in West Bengal, she is one of the few Adivasi women to have catapulted into success and prominence.[Read More…]
We have come to know that our dear friend and comrade Dr Partho Sarothi Ray, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), has been summoned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case. He has been asked to present himself before the investigators in Mumbai on 10 September at 11am. Partho[Read More…]
All India Catholic Union National President Lancy D Cunha has listed the long-pending restoration of scheduled rights for Dalit Christians, Targeted hate and violence against religious minorities, and the skewed National Education Policy as the chief concerns of the Christian community in the first year of the third decade of the 21st Century. Speaking at a webinar organized by the[Read More…]
People Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) expresses its disappointment at the decision of the Supreme Court of India dated 31.08.2020 in `M.C. Mehta v Union Of India & Ors’ (Writ Petition No. 13029/1985), and condemns the direction to demolish within the next three months over 48,000 homes of the urban poor in Delhi as being in complete violation of the[Read More…]
Over 1000 citizens from all walks of life including, filmmaker Aparna Sen; former Culture Secretary culture Jawahar Sircar; Historian Ramchandra Guha; former Chairperson, Delhi Minority Commission Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan; Former Governor, Margaret Alva; Academics – Zoya Hasan, Partha Chatterjee, Jayati Ghosh, Poonam Batra, Nivedita Menon, Sucharita Sen; former senior civil servants – Wajahat Habibullah, Madhu Bhaduri, Deb Mukherjee, Amitabha Pande,[Read More…]
Statement released by Activists of Anti-CAA-NRC-NPR movement, Apoorvanand, Harsh Mander, Yogendra Yadav, Kawalpreet and Umar Khalid questioning the malicious investigation of the Delhi riots by Delhi police This press conference has been called in the backdrop of a continuing attempt by the Delhi Police to falsely implicate activists of the anti-CAA/NRC/NPR movements as the masterminds of the brutal communal violence[Read More…]
500 academics, scientists and researchers from India, across various educational institutes, have written an open letter to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change listing their concerns with the Draft Notification of the ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ 2020. Together, the signatories come from over 130 research institutes and universities, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of[Read More…]
Children cannot come to school. But schools can go home. CSOs working on education have urged the Odisha government to clarify mechanisms and modus-operandi of recently announced Shiksha Samparka scheme and to initiate remedial classes to bridge the learning gap among children. As per the government report, there are only 2.2 million school children out of around 6 million, who[Read More…]
Over 70 organizations and several individuals from around the country endorsed the call initiated by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties to conduct protest actions from August 28 to September 5, considering the deterioration in Civil Liberties in the recent past. This call was given marking August 28 as the day when two years ago, 5 human rights activists –[Read More…]
The members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) presented a medal of courage to a North Delta MLA at his constituency office on Thursday, August 27 for raising the issue of Kashmir with the United Nations and speaking out for justice to the victims of Sikh Genocide. Ravi Kahlon, who is known for his strong advocacy for human rights[Read More…]
Keeping under trials in prison for two years deliberately stalling bail opportunities, with no effort for beginning the trial instead exposing them to serious health condition is a gross violation of rights of prisoners. This is further heightened in times of a global pandemic given the crowded situation in prisons. Sudha Bharadwaj has been incarcerated along with eleven others falsely[Read More…]
It has been more than one month since Sharjeel Usmani, National secretary of Fraternity Movement and Anti-CAA Activist imprisoned in Aligarh Jail. He was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police from his house in Azamgarh on 8th July 2020. On that day, 5 people claimed to be from the Crime Branch detained him without an arrest warrant or memo and[Read More…]
We hope you remember the diabolic attacks on christians in Kandhamal/Odisha in two consecutive years 2007 & 2008. Barely after eight days after celebration of Independence Day, India witnessed the organized communal attacks on Christians, the biggest in the history of India during the last three centuries, that spread to different parts of Odisha and other states. Over 395 churches[Read More…]
I have gone through the judgment of this Hon’ble Court. I am pained that I have been held guilty of committing contempt of the Court whose majesty I have tried to uphold — not as a courtier or cheerleader but as a humble guard – for over three decades, at some personal and professional cost. I am pained, not because[Read More…]
Given the inability or unwillingness of the government to convene a monsoon session of parliament in time, people’s movements and groups are organizing an online Janta Parliament with 11 thematic sessions various public interest issues from 16-21st August. Today, in the Environment session of the Janta Parliament, about 30 speakers from various parts of India presented their views on the[Read More…]
On the eve of the 73rd year of independence of our nation, the highest constitutional court of the country, The Supreme Court of India felt offended by couple of words tweeted by Sri Prashant Bhusan a responsible citizen of the country while exercising his fundamental rights guaranteed by the same Constitution which the Hon’ble Court has been entrusted to uphold.[Read More…]
The Punjabi Press Club of British Columbia (PPCBC) has come out with a strong statement against assaults on three reporters by the supporters of ruling Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in India. The August 11 incident happened in New Delhi, the national capital of the world’s so-called largest democracy. Three journalists, including one Sikh, one Muslim and an unidentified[Read More…]
Ethical media practices have constantly engaged with creating more space for under-privileged, and under-represented voices. With the advent of the pandemic, social distancing, and the necessary isolation of quarantines and containment zones, representing and communicating the common man’s woes and perspective has become a daunting, but doubly urgent,task. This is especially exacerbated when those in power take advantage of the[Read More…]
Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims observe August 10th across the country as a day to highlight and protest the denial of the fundamental constitutional rights to them for the last seventy years! When India became a Republic, we resolved as a nation to secure Justice, Equality, Liberty and Dignity for all our citizens. Members of castes worst affected from centuries[Read More…]
Indian Christians for Democracy, Solidarity Statement As Indian Christians we have always and continue to uphold the Constitutional Values of our country, as a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic and Republic. We believe in, and practice, the Principles of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, enshrined in the Constitution. Christians as individuals and their institutions have been in the forefront in times[Read More…]
August 5, 2020 marks a year since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir, and the loss of its statehood. In effect, it is the first anniversary of the violation of our Constitutional commitment to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. How is this anniversary being marked officially? According to news reports, through an imposition of[Read More…]
Solidarity of poets, writers, advocates and of different political and human rights organisation to the struggle of people of Kashmir for autonomy Since the abrogation of Article 370 and subsequent declaration of Kashmir as the union territory of India on 5th August 2019, the lives of the people of Kashmir have gone from bad to worse. Around 34000 Kashmiris, including[Read More…]
Thiruvananthapuram: In a joint statement prominent individuals from sociopolitical , cultural and religious spheres of Kerala called on those adorning constitutional positions to stay away from the groundbreaking ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya . The occasion should not be misused for narrow political gains. Prime Minister of India, a secular country, Governor and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh should[Read More…]
All India People’s Front’s Political Resolution When the Hon’ble Supreme Court gave a verdict on the Ram Mandir / Babri Masjid dispute, the democratic civil society, despite agreeing / disagreeing with it, had expressed the desire that a dispute be resolved and now the political establishment will not try to mix religion and politics. It will try to solve the[Read More…]
Chandigarh, 5 August (2020) With Hindutva forces pursuing of the upper-caste Brahmanic ideology for over a century aiming to reshape India into a Hindu Nation, the Democratic-Secular Indian Republic today stands formally transformed into a Hindu Rashtra as Prime Minister Modi laid down a 40-kg silver brick at the foundation, marking the beginning of Ram Temple at Ayodhya. The Sikh[Read More…]
Press Statement by Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr G N Saibaba The Committee for the Defence and Release of G N Saibaba strongly condemns the unwarranted raid on 2nd August 2020 by officers of the National Intelligence Agency, on the house of Dr Hany Babu, a member of the Committee. Dr Babu was arrested on the 28th[Read More…]
A statement by the Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia Denouncing the Celebration of Ram Janmabhoomi on August 5th at Times Square, NYC: While the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the BJP-led government is forging ahead with its dangerous agenda of destroying the syncretic culture of India and compromising the Indian Constitution itself. An outlandish celebration of[Read More…]
Janhastakshep takes the serious note of, opposes and condemns the arbitrary and vindictive act of the government of India of arresting Prof. Hany Babu a popular teacher of Delhi University, latest in the process of arresting the academicians, litterateurs and intellectuals to stifle the voices of dissent and create an atmosphere of terror in the country. Hany Babu has been[Read More…]
We, the undersigned former and current students of Prof Hany Babu M.T., condemn his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday and stand in firm solidarity with him. Prof. Babu is a noted academic, a well known anti-caste activist, and a member of the committee formed for the defence of G.N. Saibaba, a former Delhi University professor who[Read More…]
The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India issued the following statement today (on July 30, 2020): The RSS-led NDA government has approved the New Education Policy (NEP). The policy brings with it a fundamental change in the system towards creating education markets and away from ensuring universalisation of education through government schools and rejecting quality education to poor[Read More…]
Co-Ordination of Democratic rights Organisations (CDRO) condemns the arrest of Delhi University Prof. HanyBabuand demands his immediate release after dropping the false charges levied against him. His arrest is part of the Modi’s Government attempt in silencing the dissent. Prof. HanyBabuis arrested by NIA on 28thJuly2020 on the allegation that he was propagating Naxal activities and Maoist ideology and was[Read More…]
The Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangatan (GASS, Odisha) and Human Rights Forum (HRF, AP&Telangana) strongly deplore the arrest in Mumbai of Prof Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Prof Babu, who teaches at the Department of English, Delhi University was recently summoned to Mumbai by the NIA for questioning in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar[Read More…]
Hate Crimes against Christians in India have risen by an alarming 40.87%, in Spite of the Nation-Wide Lockdown, announces Persecution Relief in its Half Yearly Report of 2020 which was released today. The Report records 293 cases of hate crimes against Christians including 5 rapes and 6 murders. Persecution Relief aims to sound an alarm about the intensifying hostility against[Read More…]
The PIL Watch Group views with serious concern the reporting in the print edition of Hindustan Times (HT