South Asia Citizens Web

The tensions over immigration and the subsequent competition between ethnic groups for resources and political power have driven politics in Assam since the late nineteen-seventies, but have been exacerbated in recent years, ever since the 2003 peace deal between the Bodo insurgents and the Indian government that created autonomous districts for the Bodos within Assam. The establishment of those districts brought in state and federal funding—the biggest source of revenue in a place with almost no industry—and Kokrajhar, the capital of Bodoland, soon became relatively prosperous.

"One Billion Rising" calls on women "and the men who love them" to join together on Feb. 14, 2013, and "dance until the violence stops." See interview with Eve Ensler and article by Kamla Bhasin. For more information see: onebillionrising.org/

An incredible and courageous struggle by Sri Lanka’s university teachers for the defence of the state education system is underway. This started as a pay dispute and has expanded itself to raise key questions about the role of education in society, university autonomy, role of intellectuals to promote public debate. The teachers are not backing down despite having gone without pay for several months and facing all kinds of intimidation. University teachers across south asia and beyond need to extend a hand of solidarity and support to Sri Lanka’s teachers.

details of a petition filed with the Sindh High Court on the tragic Baldia Town factory fire incident on Sept 11, 2012, in Karachi. The Petition has been filed by the Pakistan Institute of Labour and Education and Research (PILER), Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum, National Trade Union Federation, Hosiery Garments Textile, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and legal activist Javed Iqbal Burki and others.

The recent Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and, more broadly, on nuclear safety regulation has highlighted many serious organisational and operational flaws. The report follows on a series of earlier CAG reports that documented cost and time overruns and poor performance at a number of nuclear facilities in the country. On the whole, the CAG reports offer a powerful indictment of the department of atomic energy and its nuclear plans.