South Asia Citizens Web

For decades activists of the notoriously thuggish fundamentalist Islami Jamiat-e-Talba (IJT), the student wing of the Jamat-e-Islami has carried out its hooliganism with impunity, terrorising students who are legal adults and not beholden to have their behaviour policed according to the precepts of some moralising band of roving fanatical vigilantes.

"The LGBT community should have been out on the streets after two dalit boys were killed or a dalit man was burned for entering a temple. Sexuality is just part of the movement, there is much more to do," said Sumathi Murthy, a musician and LGBT activist.

recordings of interventions by Prof. Irfan Habib, Ashok Vajpeyi and Romila Thapar at Pratirodh: A convention of writers and intellectuals held in Delhi on 1 st Nov 2015. (recordings via sacw.net audio archive)

In two violent and gory incidents on 31 October 2015, four publishers and bloggers were attacked in Bangladesh resulting in the death of one and severe injuries to three others who were in critical condition . . . These are direct attacks on our freedom of speech and thought

Dawn, October 31, 2015
That Pakistan may first use nuclear weapons in a future war with India was announced last week by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry. Coming just two days before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Oct 22 visit to Washington, this could be considered a reiteration of the army’s well-known stance. But, significantly it came from the Foreign Office rather than GHQ or Strategic Plans Division. Coming from both ends of the power spectrum, this confirms that Pakistan has (…)