South Asia Citizens Web

PIPFPD expresses its concern over the growing tensions between India and Pakistan following militants’ attack on strategically important army base in Uri, Jammu & Kashmir.

After hearing the reference to UN resolutions vis-a-vis Kashmir and demilitarization in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s speech in the United Nations General Assembly earlier today, I thought I’d write a little something about the resolution adopted by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), which underscores that demilitarization is a prerequisite for Pakistan as well before an impartial plebiscite could even be considered.

The space for free speech in India’s public sphere is shrinking. A climate of online harassment threatens to silence critical voices, particularly those of minorities and women. Proposed changes to the Information Technology Act, incorporating overbroad provisions of the penal code, threaten online speech. A culture of self-censorship born out of the fear of reprisals is growing, and vexatious and groundless trials against authors, journalists, and artists are eroding the principle of free speech. The report concludes with a set of recommendations for urgent reform to prevent further abuses and a call for the protection of free expression in the world’s largest democracy.

Remembering historian Bipan Chandra, whose definition of communalism has recently come under attack

In a rare and incredible order today, the Delhi High Court has dismissed the copyright infringement case filed by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor and Francis (Routledge) against Rameshwari Photocopy Shop in Delhi School of Economics and Delhi University. Justice R.S Endlaw in a 94 pages long judgment interpreted educational exception under section 52(1)(i) of the copyright act in broad enough manner to cover the acts of photocopying.