South Asia Citizens Web

Given the increasingly aggressive campaign to reconvert Muslims and Christians to Hinduism, there is an urgent need to revisit the Supreme Court verdict as well as the state laws.

For quite some time, India is undergoing a phase of mass conversions where groups of muslims are converting to hinduism. Are they becoming hindus because they are suddenly attracted to the religion? If indeed they are, then I see no problems. But if they are being coerced, I’ll protest. I have always been voluble against forcing people to do things — anything. The fact is hindu fundamentalists are coercively pressurising muslims to change their religion, who are obliging out of fear. Fear of life exceeds love of religious faith. Everyone will avoid threats to their lives.

The Citizens for Justice and Peace, Mumbai expresses outrage at the deliberate and vicious mis-reporting of the current witch hunt at the instances of the Gujarat Police Crime Branch and as scurrilously reported by dubious media channels like India TV, IBN7 and newspapers like the Pioneer with clear links to the ruling dispensation.

Newsclick interviewed civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad on the the communal agenda of the Modi government and its contradiction with the secular values of the state. She says that the current government is guided by an unconstitutional body with a majoritarian agenda — the RSS — and hence the attack on secular values is bound to continue. The long term roadmap of the RSS is to convert the Indian nation into a Hindu Rashtra.

The second anniversary of the December 16 gang rape in Delhi is a time for sober reflection. Though the silence and denial that envelop sexual violence against women were shattered in 2012, the graph of sexual assault continues to rise. The public protests compelled an indifferent Parliament to codify as crimes all forms of sexual violence against women. However, the cry “We Want Justice”, which echoed on Raisina Hill, remains unmet.