South Asia Citizens Web

. . .the militant threat in the fight against polio must be thwarted and the health workers facilitated in every way possible

ON January 3, 2014, it was reported that the United States ( U. S.) granted asylum to a gay couple, Jagdish Kumar and Sukwinder who fled India in June 2012 because of pressure on Jagdish to marry a girl. They did not try and sneak into the U. S. but surrendered to the U. S. immigration authorities asking for asylum at the Mexican border. The case was supported by an NGO called Immigration Equality which specialises in gay and lesbian cases. The U. S. judge was doubly convinced following India’s Supreme Court judgement re- criminalizing same- sex behaviour which was brought to the attention of the U. S. judge.

In 1835, Macaulay famously stated that the British education system in India should create ‘a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect’.

Muzaffarnagar has a notorious crime record, but its communal amity stood out in UP. Economy and not religion was the overriding factor. Every member preserved his religious or social identity while being part of a cohesive whole. The September 2013 riots changed that, rupturing social relations cemented over centuries. This is bound to tell on the economy of the country’s sugar bowl.

We consider the attempt of AAP as a movement and appreciate the endeavour to fill in the political vacuum. The decision is based on our viewing AAP as an evolving political vehicle for people’s movements. We are however, yet to discuss some aspects – ideological to strategical – with AAP leadership and ensure a mechanism to establish a relation of the party with the people’s movements. Many of us are part of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), a non-party political platform, which will continue to retain its independent identity and provide input to programmes and policies and also lead struggles on people’s issues as done always.