South Asia Citizens Web

It might be time to apply a psychoanalytical approach to honour killings and other social issues of our times, in order to devise ways to engage with pathologies at a community level

On 6 August 1945, in total disregard to basic tenets of science and civilization, the first Atom Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima; On 9 August the second Atom bomb destroyed the city of Nagasaki. On this day of Hiroshima and Nagasaki let us remind ourselves that Nuclear weapons are not selectively discriminative. In fact, they are inclusively destructive to all –life irrespective of gender, caste, creed, race, region or religion. Still the mad nuclear arms race is high on the agenda of most super-patriots and the religious fanatics. On this Hiroshima Day, We call upon the leaders of India, and Pakistan , Iran and North Korea to desist the nuclear temptation. We also appeal the Indian Parliament to declare the entire South Asian sub-continent Nuclear Weapons Free Community.

Three years ago, on the 4th of August 2006 at around 4.15pm, one Muslim
and 16 Tamil ACF aid workers were forced to their knees, begging for their
lives, and shot execution style at point blank range in their office
compound in Mutur, Sri Lanka.

The victims of this crime were not caught in cross fire, killed accidently
or mistaken for combatants in the midst of an encounter. They were sought
out and murdered. Available evidence points to the responsibility of
police officers and Muslim home guard members who have acted in the
presence of Sri Lankan Army commandos.

Kashmir is the longest standing disputed area in the United Nations, the most militarized spot on earth, and a drain on the hopes for prosperity, peace and freedom for people throughout the subcontinent, and the world. There is no moving toward peaceful coexistence between India and Pakistan, no stabilization of the region, no possibility for global nuclear disarmament, no hope for forms of development that prioritize sustainability and cultural survival over militarization, urbanization, and middle-class consumerism, no space for the impossible healing through mourning/memorializing the trauma of Partition, without granting self-determination to the people of Kashmir.

The Indian government should take major steps to overhaul a policing system that facilitates and even encourages human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. For decades, successive governments have failed to deliver on promises to hold the police accountable for abuses and to build professional, rights-respecting police forces.