South Asia Citizens Web

We fear that this latest ambush will now be used by the state to justify further militarisation in the region and make lives of Adivasis more difficult. There is an urgent need for political intervention and dialogue. The guns of State or Maoists, will not solve the problem. Politics of violence and counter violence will only make lives of adivasis and others in the region more difficult, which will ultimately have an impact on the democratic norms and freedom of citizens elsewhere in the country, as seen in shrinking spaces for non-violent, democratic movements and arrest of activists.

Four years after the brutal assault on the Tamil population and the killing of between 8—10,000 Tamils by the Sri Lankan army, there is trouble again. The saffron-robed fanatics, led by the BBS—Bodu Bala Sena: the most active and pernicious of Buddhist fundamentalist groups that have sprouted in Sinhala strongholds throughout the island— are on the rampage again. This time the target is the relatively small Muslim minority. Muslim abattoirs have been raided, butchers shops attacked, homes targeted. Terrified kids and adults in Muslim areas are living in fear. The police stand by watching passively while the Sri Lankan TV crews film the scenes as if it were a school picnic.

Scanned from original copy of the February 1982 report by Delhi Based People’s Union for Democratic Rights about the attack on Dilip Simeon the well known Delhi university teacher and its wide implications.

We must stop trying to make excuses for the Tsarnaev brothers or jihad. It is wrong. Let’s support peaceful Muslims around world

The Jury appointed by Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) to decide the nominations for first Didi Nirmala Deshpande South Asian Peace and Justice Award for 2013 announced on Friday to confer the award on Ms. Sunila Abeysekera, a leading women’s human rights defender in Sri Lanka and South Asia, and a major player in the global women’s movement.