South Asia Citizens Web

Propaganda by religious elements, misconception about the vaccination drive and growing corruption make polio-free Pakistan a distant dream

Islamic groups in Pakistan were initially hostile to cable TV because of concerns about "obscene" foreign imports, but religion now dominates the airwaves. A new breed of Islamic TV evangelist has emerged, leading to a confrontation with liberals.

Recent weeks have witnessed horrific events in Myanmar. Mobs have targeted the Rohingya population, resulting in the brutal murder of scores of Rohingya and displacement of tens of thousands of children, women, and men. Appallingly, the Myanmar military leadership has labelled Rohingyas as an ethnic and religious minority not deserving of full protection as citizens. Neighbouring Bangladesh behaves most callously, forcing thousands to live in hiding or squalid refugee settlements along the border.

We the people from various parts of northeast residing in Delhi, along with concerned individuals, university members, various students’, teachers’, trade union, women’s, civil and human rights organisations from Delhi, strongly condemn the ongoing ethnic conflict with serious communal undertone that has erupted in four districts (Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Chirang and Bongaigaon) of Lower Assam. This has been the most widespread and alarming conflict in the recent history of Assam.

We are shocked to read in the report “India asks Beijing gallery to censor art show” (The Hindu, July 25, 2012) that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has asked the organisers of “Indian Highway,” the travelling exhibition of contemporary Indian art, to remove a video work from the show, currently in the Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art in Beijing.