Archive of South Asia Citizens Wire

  • Pakistan: Dont yield space to the extremists

    22 March 2010

    Let us take back into our hands all the public spaces that the right-wingers have made us fear. Let us fight back by populating the parks and the cinema halls, the theatres and workshops, the streets and towns from where the obscurantists have forced us out, and confined us within the four walls of our private spaces. Meanwhile, let us remember that the performing arts and literature are powerful tools that can be used to the great advantage of the country’s liberal, tolerant and peaceful elements.

  • India: Statement in Protest Against Muslim Right Wing Attack on Women’s Reservation Bill

    21 March 2010

    We the undersigned Muslim citizens as well as secular activists support the Women’s Reservation Bill which is the first step towards equality and justice for women. We believe once the Bill is adopted there can and will be democratic processes through which space and genuine participation for excluded women including Muslim women can be worked out. However, it is shocking the way some religious leaders are opportunistically using the debate on the Bill to make reprehensible statements in national media about women and their role in society.

  • India: UPA’s Second Great Nuclear Folly - Scrap Nuclear Liability Bill!

    by Praful Bidwai, 21 March 2010

    Scrap the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, which caps the liability for nuclear accidents. India’s experience with Bhopal should alert us to the danger of long-term industrial damage. A quarter-century on, the plant site and nearby water sources remain contaminated with toxic chemicals, including carcinogens. Nuclear materials are even more hazardous than chemicals. That’s why many developed countries like Germany, Japan, Austria and Sweden impose unlimited liability on the operator, supplier and transporter etc., and often demand a security deposit of the order of $ 3 billion.

  • India: Video Interview with Subhashini Ali on Women’s Reservation Bill

    19 March 2010

    President of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) Subhashini Ali talks about the Women’s Reservation Bill

  • Withdraw Operation Green Hunt: Letter from Jharkhand Indigenous People’s Forum

    by Jharkhand Indigenous People’s Forum, 19 March 2010

    JIPF Jharkhand Indigenous People’s Forum Mission Colony, Khorha Toli, Kokar, Ranchi – 834001 Tel. No. -(0651)3242752 Email: jipf2008(AT)gmail.com
    Ref: -gov/025/2010 -Date: 19/03/2010
    To,
    Mr. P. Chidambaram, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, North Block, Central Secretariat, New Delhi 110 001(India).
    Sub: For withdrawal of the Operation Green Hunt from Jharkhand. (…)

elsewhere on the web