Archive of South Asia Citizens Wire

  • Towards a Secular Nepal

    by Babu Gogineni, 2 December 2008

    [IHEU >http://www.iheu.org/node/3338]
    Just a few hours after Prachanda, Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), was sworn in as the first Prime Minister of the new Secular Federal Republic of Nepal, a happy Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, the Party’s second-in-command, and now Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, one of the most powerful men in Nepal today, spoke to Babu Gogineni, International Director of the International Humanist and Ethical Union.
    The discussions, which centred around (…)

  • The ghost projects in Pakistan

    by Naeem Sadiq, 2 December 2008

    Dawn, December 1, 2008
    “When I send my child to the market with Rs10 to buy something, I demand an account of the money when he returns home. Similarly, when the government spends my money, I have the right to ask for an accounting of these expenditures.” — Susheela Devi
    A GHOST project is like a ghost school. It consumes money and resources, benefits a small group of delinquents and does nothing for its intended beneficiaries. With 30,000 ghost schools already under its belt, Pakistan (…)

  • Kowtowing to the Super-Censors

    by Vidyadhar Gadgil, 1 December 2008

    Herald, 28 November 2008
    The fiasco at IFFI over a film by M F Husain highlights the extent to which the state is in the thrall of obscurantist forces, says VIDYADHAR GADGIL
    The ’ban’ on the screening of the short film ’Through the Eyes of a Painter’ by M F Husain at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has finally been withdrawn. After four days of what can only be described as theatre of the absurd, the film was finally screened during IFFI on 27 November. All’s well (…)

  • As the Fires Die: The Terror of the Aftermath

    by Biju Mathew, 1 December 2008

    As the smoke lifts from Mumbai, skepticism must prevail over those conjectures which support the official state narrative. It is crucial to increase the pressure for transparency and accountability at this moment to ensure that India doesn’t slide into the same state as post-9/11 USA.

  • The storks are still standing

    by Naeem Mohaiemen, 1 December 2008

    New Age, December 1, 2008
    Balaka Statues Dodge A Bullet
    Unlike the Baul statue circus a month ago, the group that came to smash Balaka Chattar/Biman Office statues (storks, also by Mrinal Haque) came near midnight. This time, no government officials, no advance "protest" in media, no advance anything. They worked quickly, with hammers. Other reports said "ramda", but I tend to think that’s fear shorthand.
    Then the police arrived. According to BdNews24, for the first fifteen minutes (…)

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