South Asia Citizens Web

While nuclear arsenals in India and Pakistan keep growing, there has been some suggestion of them seeking to develop civil defence measures to protect their populations from a nuclear war. This paper discusses the practicality of nuclear civil defence in south Asia.

We, the undersigned, are appalled at the conferment of the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service to SRP Kalluri, IGP of Chhattisgarh. Mr Kalluri raped a tribal woman, Ledha Bai, when he was the SP of Sarguja District, ordered her gang-rape by his juniors, and then terrorized her and her lawyer when she decided to file a complaint against him. Coming on the heels of the award of the President’s Gallantry medal to Ankit Garg, who had sexually assaulted another tribal woman in his custody, Soni Sori, it appears that sexual violence against women by the police is well tolerated, and even decorated, by the government. Is it any wonder then, that we are witnessing a spiraling increase in crimes against women?

At a time when are losing faith in the judiciary, the Verma Commission has done its bit to restore their credibility. The Commission has kept its promise of getting the report ready fast and got a more than 600 page report ready in 29 days. In so doing it has respected public opinion and has gone through the 80,000 representations made to it but it has not gone overboard by making populist recommendations or giving a politically correct report as many Commissions have done in the past. It has recommended strong action but has resisted pressure on death penalty for rape or lowering the age of juveniles. But it has not hesitated to make politically unpopular recommendations such as a review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which shields many security persons who commit this heinous crime and enjoy impunity.

Owaisi is perhaps the youngest scion of the erstwhile fascist organisation of Indian Muslims known as the razakars that sought to create an independent Islamic state from the nizam’s sprawling territories in the heart of India.

As a cultural organisation, devoted to the cause of solidarity of all peoples, SAHMAT has been dismayed by the series of official and semi-official measures that have followed the unfortunate incidents on the Line of Actual Control in Jammu and Kashmir, in which soldiers on both sides have lost their lives. On such occasions it is most important to keep the avenues of communication open, even if for the purpose of conveying one’s own version of events to such people on the other side whom one can reach. To close down such avenues deliberately is surely sense-less and self-defeating. By shutting down visas that were to be made available to aged Pakistan entrants, sending back Pakistan cricketers and sportswomen, refusing to stage Manto’s plays by visiting Pakistan theatre persons, and banning Pakistan’s persons of literature from participating in functions in India, are measures that manifestly belittle the image of our Republic, and do nothing to serve the cause of peace and improve relations between our two peoples.