South Asia Citizens Web

The Indian Peoples’ Theatre Association (Ipta) manufactured cosy dreams and occasionally offered the Communist Manifesto as a user’s manual. The Indian state never belonged to the dream vendors. It co-opted and subverted Ipta. Saeed Mirza was among the few that dodged the trap. He is currently supporting the resistance against a right-wing takeover of Indian cinema.

We the undersigned express our profound dismay and disquiet at the continued official harassment by the central government of leading human rights defenders Teesta Setalvad and Jawed Anand. Since the installation of the BJP led government in Delhi in May 2014, the country has witnessed open strenuous official efforts to foist a large variety of charges of financial irregularity on them, to harass them, to tarnish their reputations, and to secure their arrests. Fortunately the interventions of the higher judiciary have protected them so far. However the latest raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation into their home and offices in Mumbai on 14 July 2015 are signs of continuing open misuse of official bodies to harass these human rights defenders.

Reach Delhi!! Beat Drums!! Wake up Governments!! Sardar Sarovar Project affected Tribals, Women, Fishermen, Landless, Small and marginalized farmers are reaching in large numbers on 17-18 July, 2015 to raise their voices

The CBI raid on Teesta Setalvad’s house and office is a most shocking instance of misuse of government machinery. Since Ms Setalvad and her colleagues are fully willing to cooperate with the CBI’s inquiry, the conclusion is inescapable that the CBI’s action is part of a campaign to humiliate and persecute them.

The BJP’s view of democracy comes into conflict with the values of a constitutional republic