South Asia Citizens Web

HRCP also has serious concern at targeted killing of teachers, intellectuals and non-Baloch ‘settlers’ in Balochistan and calls upon all political elements in the province and beyond to unequivocally condemn these killings and play their role in ending such callous acts of violence.The precarious situation in Balochistan has been further compounded by targeting of human rights defenders in the province by the various parties to the simmering conflict, making access to reliable information on the human rights situation all the more difficult. The murder of two HRCP activists and three journalists in the province in 2011 signifies the dangers that those highlighting human rights violations face on a daily basis.

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights is distressed at the hiatus between the sharp observations of the Supreme Court judges and their timid operative orders and judgments. If there was any doubt over this it has been laid to rest by the recent orders of the apex court hearing the case of Soni Sori and the clarification offered by a bench of the Supreme Court in the much touted judgment on the issue of SPOs.

www.DemocracyNow.org - Democracy Now! speaks with Indian writer and analyst Praful Bidwai, author of the new book, "The Politics of Climate Change and the Global Crisis: Mortgaging Our Future." While the United States has cited China’s emissions as an excuse to slow negotiations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the COP 17 talks, Bidwai says that "we cannot forget historical responsibility. Three-fourths of all the greenhouse gases that have accumulated in the atmosphere and will stay there warming us up for thousands of years come from developed countries of the global north led by the United States, which is responsible for more than one-quarter of all emissions accumulated in the atmosphere." Bidwai also addresses the fallout from the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, which he calls "a turning point" for nuclear power, adding: "I don’t see nuclear power surviving in the developed world at all after this. This is the worst crisis of credibility the nuclear energy has ever faced."

The intellectual rigour of Hollywood has mostly eluded mainstream Indian cinema, which largely depended on capable writers and musicians to sustain the films. Dev Anand was fortunate to have Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh, Shailendra and Sachin Dev Burman to bail him out. Without them, the idea of Dev Anand and the middle classes he wooed would be jostling with real life, just as Urdu has been battling for survival in today’s cinema halls and outside.

Farmers, landless workers, fishrfolks and others Tootikudi, Idinthakarai, Tirunelveli and Koodankulam in Tamilnadu; Fatehabad, Gorakhpur in Haryana protested today at Jantar Mantar opposing various nuclear power plants across the country. The dharna was joined by the members of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and peace (CNDP), National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), All India Students Association (AISA), SUCI, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Indian National Social Action Forum (INSAF), Delhi Solidarity Group, Friends of Koodankulam Anti Nuclear Movement, Lok Raj Sangathan and other social organisations from Delhi.