South Asia Citizens Web

SUBRAMANIAN Swamy’s ‘estimate’ that ‘one-third of Bangladesh’s population lives in India’ and suggestion that Bangladesh ‘should compensate by giving land to India’ if it ‘does not agree to take back its people’ may be, as reported in New Age on Sunday, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s own view, and not his party’s, but are extremely incendiary. Bangladesh-bashing, especially on ‘illegal infiltration’, seems to have become a significant part of election-time rhetoric, particularly by the ultra-rightist BJP. Suffice to say, such rhetoric is generally one-sided and packed with manufactured statistics, if not blatant lies.

A two part article by Muktadir Rashid.

Arrest is the latest in a series of cases against foreign nationals based on perceived threats to Buddhism. A female British tourist in Sri Lanka has been detained and faces deportation for having a Buddha tattoo on her arm.

The Citizens for Justice and Peace has served a Legal Notice on The Pioneer edited by BJP parliamentarian, Chandan Mitra for carrying a series of slanderous and defamatory articles, the last one of which appeared today dated April 21, 2014. The notice served by the CJP’s lawyer, Mr Mihir Desai is a notice to publish the content of the Legal Notice in Full with an Apology or face Criminal and or Civil defamation.

As the people of India vote to elect their next government, we are deeply concerned at the implications of a Narendra Modi-led BJP government for democracy, pluralism and human rights in India.