Archive of South Asia Citizens Wire

  • India: Statement on the arrest of respected rights activists on way to Lalgarh

    by Committee For The Release of Political Prisoners , 3 July 2009

    Committee For The Release Of Political Prisoners 185/3, Fourth Floor, Zakir Nagar, New Delhi
    Condemn the arrest of of Medha Patkar, Gopal Menon, Sujato Bhadra and others on their way to Lalgarh!
    Punish the police men who brutally assaulted filmmaker Gopal Menon!
    Release Them Unconditionally!
    The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) strongly condemn the arrest of Medha Patkar, Sujato Bhadra, Gopal Menon and Anuradha Talwar at Bombay road on their way to Lalgarh by (…)

  • India: End to unnatural exclusion

    by Shohini Ghosh, 2 July 2009

    In a historic judgement, a two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Murlidharan has decriminalised non-heterosexual sex between consenting adults. In an eloquently argued judgement of 150 pages, the bench has struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a colonial legislation drafted by Lord Macaulay in 1860, that criminalised “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” punishable by imprisonment extending up to ten years.

  • In God’s name

    by Miklós Haraszti, 2 July 2009

    UN proposal condemning "defamation of religion" cements oppressive governments’ control of free speech

  • Gay sex among adults ’not criminal’ in India - Full Text of Delhi High Court Ruling of 2 July 2009

    by sacw.net, 2 July 2009

    In a historic judgement, the Delhi High Court on the 2nd of July 2009 decriminalized homosexuality by striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

    The Section 377 of the IPC as far as it criminalizes gay sex among consenting adults is violation of fundamental rights, said the high court.
    Any kind of discrimination is anti-thesis of right to equality, said the court, while allowing plea of gay rights activists for decriminalization of homosexuality. A bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said that if not amended, section 377 of the IPC would violate Article 21 of the Indian constitution, which states that every citizen has equal opportunity of life and is equal before law.

  • Ram Narayan Kumar: An Obituary

    by Pritam Singh, 2 July 2009

    Ram Narayan Kumar, one of the finest human rights researcher, activist and campaigner in South Asia, passed away on June 28 at his house in Kathmandu (Nepal). His death at a relatively young age of 54 has sent shock waves among all those struggling for justice and fairness in South Asia.
    His first major confrontation with state power was in 1975 when he opposed the authoritarian Emergency regime in India and was imprisoned for 19 months for his political act of defiance to defend (…)

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