South Asia Citizens Web

India chapter of Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace & Democracy (PIPFPD) urges Pakistan government to renew the visa of two Indian journalists Meena Menon of The Hindu and Snehesh Philip of PTI. They are based in Islamabad since August last year. They have been asked to leave Pakistan in a week’s time. Their visa expired in March and since then both have been trying hard to get them renewed. There has been no provocation on their part.

Com. Mukul Sinha was a collossal figure in the fight against communal fascism in Gujarat. He was a great trade union leader and was a genuine revolutionary. He lived his life according to rational thought bereft of the complexes of religion, caste, etc. Upto the very end, even his body was not cremated or buried but donated to the hospital. His great quality was not only that he was revolutionary to the end but that he was able to open the workers minds in a way that helped them to grasp this revolutionary thought.

Why should Tejpal and those similarly placed be denied bail when the trial is not complete within the stipulated period? If the legal system cannot assure that the time period would be adhered to why deny bail and liberty to the accused. Tejpal’s trial has not yet started and he has been incarcerated for about five months.

The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) expresses its deep sense of loss at the demise of advocate Mukul Sinha of the Jansangharsh Manch (JSM), an indefatigable champion of the voice of the dispossessed, especially those who became victims of the state’s extrajudicial killings in Gujarat post September 2002. In this moment of loss, the CJP extends the deepest of condolences to surviving members of his family, Nirjhari and Prateek Sinha.

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) expresses shock and anguish at the manner in which the Maharashtra Police has arrested and detained Dr. G. N. Saibaba (Asst. Professor, English at RLA College) under the UAPA. The DUTA is categorical in its understanding that the circumstances of Dr. Saibaba’s arrest and detention amount to a grievous violation of human rights by the Government. The DUTA also appeals to the College and University authorities to intervene on behalf of Dr. Saibaba and ensure that his rights are safeguarded. Failure to do so will send a wrong signal to the teaching community which is expected to discharge its duty in expressing free and fair opinion in support of democracy and intellectual freedom.