South Asia Citizens Web

The News on Sunday
A dangerously free man
The recent and drastic phase of anti-Shia violence coincides with the release of Malik Mohammad Ishaq. A peek into the life of this “good Taliban” the Pakistani state nurtured in the last three decades
by Arif Jamal
In recent months, killings of Shia Muslims in Pakistan have touched new heights. The killers, ostensibly from the jihadist Deobandi groups, have invented new methods. Buses are stopped on the highways and sects of passengers are (…)

Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association released a 180 page report at a widely attended public event on 18 September 2012 at the Jamia Milia University in New Delhi. This document reveals 16 cases in which those accused of being operatives of various terrorist organizations arrested mostly by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, were acquitted by the courts, not simply for want of evidence, but because the evidence was tampered with, and the police story was found to be unreliable and incredulous.

Barring random news items and a few opinion pieces, the hijab debate has never really been part of the national narrative of Pakistan. Those who wanted to wear hijab/niqab/burqa wore it and those who preferred the traditional shalwar kameez and dupatta chose that without any problem. Unlike Saudi Arabia, Iran or Turkey, there never was governmental coercion or pressure on women to wear a particular type clothing or to ban them from wearing a particular type of clothing in state institutions. A woman’s clothing was her own business as it should be anywhere in the world. However, things are changing. With the celebration of the World Hijab Day, which had tacit approval of the government and the patronage of the first lady, Nusrat Pervaiz Ashraf, of the Hijab Conference organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami, things are moving in the direction where the state is turning partisan.

The anti-Koodankulam struggle is probably one of India’s largest social movements in recent years. Between 60,000 to 70,000 people have so far participated in this agitation. It is a Gandhian non-violent movement of resistance. The people mobilised are extremely well-informed of the hazards of nuclear energy. The activism and bravery of the women, in particular, has been the subject of many short films and media reports.

The strong opposition to the entry of the big boys of global retail is as exaggerated as the claims made by the government of the benefits they will bring. Both the pro- and anti-retail lobbies are wrong.