South Asia Citizens Web

Pakistani peace-mongers used to look at India with some envy — all that diversity, all those gods. And then an army that is answerable to an elected government. Now they look at India aghast: Their potential partners in peace across the border are beginning to sound like the bigots back home. India is becoming more like Pakistan.

The family of Asia Bibi is waiting anxiously for the Supreme Court to announce her appeal in a case that has been ongoing for over six years.

The aadhaar project, to provide a unique number to all residents in India, was packaged as a welfare-enabling programme. It was sold as an initiative for greater inclusiveness in welfare, a tool against corruption, greater efficiency and so on. Six years down the line, there is mounting evidence of the destruction of welfare programmes due to aadhaar-linkage. Moreover, the aadhaar project has a sinister side to it – it is a surveillance-enabling programme, which threatens privacy and democratic practice.

A civil society forum has been set up to collectively lobby for a transparent registration process to counter the ongoing harassment. NGOs require access to legal aid to deal with attacks from certain segments in the media. There is also a need for other civil society organisations such as the press clubs, labour unions, students’ organisations and bar associations to support NGOs/INGOs. However, most of all, there is an urgent and dire need to stop maligning and forcing civil society to prove its patriotism credentials.

As a freedom fighter I remember, as I we sat glued to a one-band radio, on the evening of December 16 1971, along with others in a guerrilla camp, listening to the surrender ceremony of the Pakistani army to the joint command in Dhaka and shouting “Joy Bangla” (Victory to Bangla), I was certain that my new country would be a place of prosperity, freedom and religious harmony. Never again would a Muslim or a Hindu lose his or her life for religion.