South Asia Citizens Web

We are deeply distressed and saddened by the violence and killings in Bangladesh on the occasion of Durga Puja and Vijayadashmi. Attacks on minorities are a sign of injustice and a matter of shame for any society and brings disrepute to the government.

The Indian Express, 13 October 2021, tells us that Shri Rajnath Singh, the Indian Defence Minister, has claimed that

In the early hours of October 15 [2021], Lakhbir Singh, a 35-year old labourer from the Mazhabi Sikh community (Dalits who converted to Sikhism), was brutally tortured and murdered at the protest site at Singhu border near Delhi. It has been alleged that Lakhbir Singh had attempted to steal the holy scriptures of the Sikh community. Members of the Nihang Sikh sect have come forward and taken the responsibility for the barbaric act. Not only have the leaders of the Nihang community not shown any sign of remorse for the incident they have gone on to proclaim that they defend and might repeat the same act in case there was any repeat of blasphemy in the future. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has already denounced the killing and have distanced themselves from the Nihangs. The Hindutva right has been quick to take this opportunity to claim that the farmers

The medical profession has a worldwide history of treating homosexuality as an illness, which in turn has played a significant role in the stigmatisation of non-hetrosexual identities. Recent decades have thankfully begun to see a better-informed consensus emerge, thanks to both activisms and attention to scientific evidence. But in India, as the Madras high court said last month, queerphobia continues to be rampant in medical education.

GENEVA (15 October 2021)