South Asia Citizens Web

The Loksabha election results of 2014 surprised everyone. They are beyond the wildest dreams of even the most ardent BJP and Modi supporters, and worse than the worst scenarios imagined by BJP’s political opponents. Even though these elections results are singularly stunning, phenomena like these have diverse reasons. A comprehensive understanding and meaningful response require that all these reasons be dispassionately explored and evaluated.

Coming as it does in the wake of India’s invitation to Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Narendra Modi as the new Prime Minister of India in New Delhi on 26th May, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson’s statement re-iterating that “Pakistan wants uninterrupted and uninterruptible dialogue with India to resolve all the issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir’, and the assertion that “It will be a mistake to let this opportunity go; we need to see beyond today”, is most welcome.

A discussion on the origins and political implications of Boko Haram movement in Nigeria

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) calls upon the government, civil society and media organisations to take all necessary steps to deescalate the situation, and put an end to this malicious campaign and intimidation of journalists so as to protect media freedom from taking any further blows.

We must look ahead. If we who make up seven tenths of India are to stand up to the Hindu Right in five years’ time, we need to find ways to ensure that we do not remain so divided that less than a third of the voters in the country can make us irrelevant. I am aware that five years from now the country itself may have been damaged beyond repair.