South Asia Citizens Web

(New York, NY) – In what appears to be retaliation for a TIME magazine article critical of the Indian government, journalist and writer Aatish Taseer has been threatened with revocation of a key citizenship document that would limit his ability to work and live in India. In a statement, PEN America said it was a worrying move by the government to punish a reporter for coverage critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Violence was the weapon deployed by the Hindu supremacists to extend their influence politically and strengthen their party. Demolishing Babri Masjid and advocating violence they demonstrated that rule of law meant nothing to them and their faith was above law; that law could not protect all citizens and that sections they chose to stigmatize could be practically relegated to second class citizenship. We sincerely hope that the Judgment of the Supreme Court restores confidence of all citizens in rule of law and the Constitution.

We the members of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), an alliance of more than 300 people’s organizations from across the country are writing to express our deepest dismay and disenchantment at the manner in which the serious issue of strike by 48,000 employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has been handled by your government. The issue concerns not just the employees (including bus drivers, conductors, mechanics, maintenance workers) and their families who would together be about 3 lakh people affected, but many more lakhs of common people who stand to lose due to halt of public transport services as well as attempts to privatize the same.

Citizens For Democracy is shocked to learn about the inhuman killings of five migrant laborers by militants on 29th October, 2019 in Kulgam in the South Kashmir. Another one is injured. The victims were poor, belonged to Murshidabad in West Bengal and had come to the valley to earn their livelihood. It is shocking that besides the said migrant laborers, the militants had killed four truck drivers, a trader from Punjab, and a migrant laborer from Rajasthan in the past two weeks.

Amidst the noise of the manufactured European MPs delegation visiting Kashmir valley on the invite of an irrelevant NGO, on the 86th day of the abrogation of Article 370 & 35A and lockdown of Kashmir, members of the concerned civil society and people’s representatives from mainstream political parties of Jammu & Kashmir and India organised and took part in an eventful protest public meeting near the Indian Parliament House, New Delhi.