South Asia Citizens Web

The fear of offending someone will always be there. Dalits are justifiably hurt by the Rg Vedas or the epics and the Puranas as they endorse caste and untouchability. The point is whether we should make texts disappear from syllabi or whether we open up as much as we can and teach students to study them as responsible and interested future scholars who learn to interpret, endorse, agree or disagree through informed reading?

Ultimately, books and authors do not have the power to damage our society. But we do. Each time we ban a book or blacklist an author, we betray the principles that our society is founded on. And slowly but surely, we take power away from the people and hand it over to the bullies.

A team of women representing various women’s groups from across the country were in Raipur on 12-13th January to meet Ms. Soni Sori, currently lodged in Raipur Central Jail. Ms Sori is a tribal school teacher who has been hounded by the Chhattisgarh Police as a Maoist conduit. She was arrested in October 2011 and was brutally assaulted sexually in police custody on the night of 8-9th October.

The All India Christian Council is deeply disturbed at the Srinagar based Sharia Court issuing a statement against Christian pastors Jim Borst and C M Khanna Srinagar, Jan 11: Supreme Court of Islamic Sharia Wednesday indicted Christian Pastor C M Khanna and Dutch national, Jim Borst for their involvement in luring people to convert their religion. The Sharia court has threatened it will issue a sentence shortly. Such statements can encourage extremist elements to indulge in violence, the Council fears.

The use of rubber bullets is an exception while the use of live bullets is
the norm in India. The state governments usually order inquiries to
placate the situation once protesters are killed. However, the use of
force is often justified on the ground of mob violence. Since it is almost
impossible to prove the misuse of firearms in case of violent protest, the
inquiries often end up in exonerating the police personnel even if they
simply aim to kill. If India is committed to ensure the right to life of
its citizens, it must make it mandatory to use plastic-coated bullets to
control protests. After the Himachal Pradesh High Court disapproved the
use of live bullets to tackle monkey menace last year, the state started
using rubber bullets. There is no reason why the guarantee to ensure the
right to life of monkeys cannot be extended to humans!