South Asia Citizens Web

The Indian electorate’s endorsement of Narendra Modi is influenced by the ideology of "Decisionism" similar to that mobilised by the German intelligentsia in the 1930s to defend the Third Reich. Where could the expectations and the possible failure of the promises of Decisionism lead us to?

New Age (Bangladesh) - June 18, 2014
Editorial: Society needs to protest at bid to doubly deny Biharis
IN VIEW of the questionable role that the police have played since the arson attack in the Mirpur Bihari camp on Saturday, which killed at least 10 persons, including seven of a family, the Urdu-speaking people, virtually holed in different relief camps in the capital Dhaka, are only expected to feel a profound and pervasive sense of insecurity. Not only did the police purportedly play (…)

People’s Union for Civil Liberties today filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission seeking an independent review and intervention in respect of continuing persecution and prosecution of human rights defenders, Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand of Citizens for Peace and Justice and others.

One of the darkest aspects of Myanmar’s political transition is a surge in religious intolerance, especially toward Muslims. Last week the government proposed a law that would require anyone who wants to change religion to first seek permission from local authorities; it would also penalize proselytizing through “improper influence and persuasion.” This is one of four bills the government has drafted at the instigation of a powerful group of radical Buddhist monks called Mabatha. A coalition of almost 100 civil society groups, led by well-known women activists and ethnic minority leaders, immediately protested the president’s endorsement of the discriminatory laws. The Mabatha denounced them as “traitors,” but that only prompted more civil society groups to oppose the bills.

We have two scenarios unfolding simultaneously today. In one, Narendra Modi declares, “I will be [the] prime minister of all Indians, including those who did not vote for me”, and invites the neighbouring countries’ leaders to his swearing-in; President Mukherjee in his Parliamentary address pledges a commitment to the welfare of religious minorities; and home minister Rajnath Singh condemns the barbaric rape and hanging of two Dalit girls in Badaun. In the second scenario, over a dozen communal incidents break out across India; a young Muslim IT professional is hacked to death by the Hindu Rashtra Sena in Pune in an outburst of Sangh triumphalism; Hindutva hawk Ajit Doval of the Vivekananda International Foundation becomes national security adviser; and singer Shubha Mudgal is bullied by Modi supporters in the US.