Archive of South Asia Citizens Wire

  • Pakistan: Trade union & labour leaders speak up in defence of arrested fishermen languishing in Indian Jails

    27 December 2016

    Plight of fishermen of both Pakistan and India who are often arrested for violating limits of territorial waters of the two countries was highlighted at a press conference jointly addressed by representatives of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), National Labour Council and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday. (24 Dec 2016]

  • Release of Imprisoned Indian Fishermen by Pakistan despite the lull in dialogue between India and Pakistan - PIPFPD statement of 22 Dec 2016

    22 December 2016

    Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) welcomes the decision of Pakistan government to release 439 arrested Indian fishermen in two batches. A batch of 220 fishermen will be released on 25th December and a batch of 219 on 5th January 2017.

  • Prof. Nayla Ali Khan on Tensions in Kashmir - Transcript of Peace Buzz Interview

    21 December 2016

    This Peace Buzz interview with Nyla Ali Khan was conducted in August 2016

  • India: What can citizens do to resist violations of the Supreme Court Orders on Aadhaar or UID | Anupam Saraph

    17 December 2016

    The Supreme Court of India has time and again restricted use of unique identification (UID) number or Aadhaar to public distribution system (PDS) Scheme, the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), National Social Assistance Programme (Old Age Pensions, Widow Pensions, Disability Pensions), Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasised that the UID number where permitted “is purely voluntary and it cannot be made mandatory till the matter is finally decided by the Court one way or the other“

  • India: West Bengal lags in efforts to wipe out witch-hunting | Kavitha Shanmugham

    16 December 2016

    September 12, 2015, was a black night for Moyna Murmu, a woman in her mid-forties. The residents of Salboni village, West Midnapore, dragged her to the ojha (witch doctor), holding her responsible for her sister-in-law’s cancer. They believed she had used jaadu-tona to make her sister-in-law sick. To remove the evil spirit inside her, Moyna was severely beaten, her clothes torn off and she was nearly raped by the witch doctor. Moyna managed to escape and went to the police who failed to take any action. On a lawyer’s advice, she and her husband gathered their tattered pride to file a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court (CHC) against police inaction in the area and the need for a law to prevent horrific crimes such as witch-hunting.

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