July 7, 2021
The report says Surendra Gadling’s computer had been compromised over two years before he was arrested through emails that he received, and on which others like Stan Swamy were copied.
Stan Swamy had argued that the evidence presented against him was fabricated (File)
New Delhi:
A day after activist Stan Swamy’s death, a report from an American forensic agency claims that incriminating evidence was planted on the computer of Surendra Gadling, who, like the Christian priest, was arrested under a harsh anti-terror law for alleged links to the…
Read moreJuly 7, 2021
iling octogenarian tribal rights activist Father Stan Lourduswamy — accused in the Koregoan-Bhima case who was awaiting bail on medical grounds — passed away on Monday afternoon.
After his death, his lawyer Mihir Desai demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. He said he had no problems with the high court or the Holy Family hospital but held the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Taloja central prison responsible for his death, The Wire reported.
Jarkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, a coalition of progressive civil rights organisations, said in a statement that the NIA, which is investigating the Elgar Parishad case and the Union government are “solely responsible for the sufferings of this elderly person and current state of affairs”.
Father…
Read moreJuly 7, 2021
New Delhi (CNN)The death in India of an octogenarian human rights activist who was denied bail even as his health deteriorated in prison has sparked anger across the country, with critics decrying the government’s alleged misuse of anti-terrorism laws.
July 7, 2021
United Nations, July 6 (IANS) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sends his condolences on the death of Father Stan Swamy, an activist for Adivasi causes and a Catholic priest, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
“We send our condolences to his family and his friends, but I think it’s one of these cases where there needs to be clarity around when and how he passed away,” Dujarric said answering a question at his daily briefing about the death of Swamy who was awaiting a court decision on a bail application.
Earlier, a spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she is “deeply saddened and disturbed” by the death of Swamy.
“We are deeply saddened and disturbed by…
Read moreDecember 21, 2019
New Delhi: Last week, when Union home minister Amit Shah defended the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (now Act) in parliament, he dismissed concerns that it was targeting India’s Muslims and asked the community not to have any fears.
Instead, he went a step ahead and responded to an opposition leader’s comment by saying said, “..this country will not be free from Muslims even if you want it to be.”
But away from the glare, inside India’s WhatsApp networks, most run directly or indirectly by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its affiliates, the messaging is clear and quite the opposite – that the CAA is a major step towards making India a ‘Hindu Rashtra,’ and that the Act is a weapon to…
December 21, 2019
A woman standing next to me searched Google for the preamble and started…
Read moreDecember 19, 2019
Recent exclusionary steps can only bring India’s international image down
A fusion of law and exclusivist ideology is in the making. Brute arithmetic is being used for majoritarian ends.
Right since 1945, up until recently, few democratic polities moved from inclusion to exclusion in their citizenship practices and laws. The big exceptions were mostly authoritarian, the Chinese treatment of Uighurs being the most recent. Some democratic polities might have remained as exclusionary as before, but, by and large, when change came…
Read moreDecember 19, 2019
The Rape of India’s Soul
India’s rapid descent into xenophobia, violence, and irrationality has an important economic dimension, but it takes politicians to channel these emotions into nationalism, and to embolden the nationalists to commit violence. Now that the ruling BJP has done so, is it able – or willing – to exorcise the many demons it has unleashed?
December 10, 2019
NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday slammed the US government panel on religious freedom for its statement on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, saying it was “regrettable” that the entity, which has no locus stand on the issue, has chosen to be guided by its “prejudices and biases” on the matter
In a strongly-worded statement against the bill, passed by Lok Sabha on Monday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said “the CAB is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction” and asked the US administration to consider imposing sanctions against Home Minister Amit Shah and other principal Indian leadership if the bill with the “religious criterion” is enacted into a law.
Rejecting comments by the USCIRF, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson…
December 10, 2019
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According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution, won’t be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
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NEW DELHI – Injustice, discrimination, and violence are hardly unheard of in India. But today, they…
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