South Asia Citizens Web

This is an appeal regarding Raif Badawi, a blogger and Saudi citizen, founder of the website ‘Free Saudi Liberals’. Mr Badawi has been under arrest since 2012 for insulting Islam and apostasy. We are mindful that India and Saudi Arabia have long-standing friendly political and commercial relations and that large numbers of Indians live and work in your country. It is because of this that we feel constrained to convey to you our concerns. Raif Badawi is a public intellectual who communicated his thoughts to the public through a blog. We do not believe that any of its contents constituted a threat to the state.

A discussion on a public television network in India with Prof. Sushma Yadav (Pro Vice Chancellor, IGNOU) ; Aditya Mukherjee (Professor, JNU) ; Urmi Goswami (Special Correspondent, Economic Times) ; Nandita Narain (Associate Professor, St. Stephens College, University of Delhi & President, DUTA)

It is a sad day when the job of ‘engaging’ terrorists in a ‘preventative’ gunfight falls to schoolteachers.

We are shocked at the level of jingoism being peddled by the ministers of the Modi government, members of the ruling BJP and sections of the mainstream media in India over the recent action by the Indian army in Manipur.

The escalating war of words between India and Pakistan will do good to neither side; on the contrary it could cause incalculable harm to people of both countries.