Archive of South Asia Citizens Wire

  • Make labouring poor the center of economic policy

    by I A Rehman, 23 October 2008

    The process must begin by removing the perception that the state has abandoned the poor. Instead of seeking the survival of the poor through a dole system their interest must be at the centre of economic planning and management.

  • Dont wait to oppose fascist politics

    by Ram Puniyani, 23 October 2008

    www.sacw.net
    Whither India: Qualitative change in Polity
    Last six months have been most disturbing on the Indian political scene. As far as the values of integration are concerned they are being attacked very severely by terrorist-communal forces. First, we saw the series of bomb blasts, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Malegaon. It was projected by the authorities that all these acts are due to Jehadi Muslim groups that police have succeeded in cracking the network. One outcome of this (…)

  • Outrage at 20 years prison sentence to journalism student in Afghanistan

    by sacw.net, 22 October 2008

    Committee to Protect Journalists - News Alert
    Journalism student given 20-year jail term in Afghanistan
    New York, October 21, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by a Kabul appeal court’s decision to sentence Afghan journalism student Parwez Kambakhsh to 20 years in prison for blasphemy today. A three-judge panel commuted the death sentence given to Kambakhsh in January, but upheld the original conviction, according to Kambakhsh’s brother and lawyer.
    Mohammad Afzal (…)

  • Take the crisis head-on: reshape Pakistan’s economic policy

    by M B Naqvi, 22 October 2008

    Pakistan rupee has sunk to an all time low of Rs 85 to a dollar and it is still on the downward spiral.
    Ordinary people, and not simply economists, are debating whether Pakistan’s economy can be prevented from an almighty crash. That is supposed to follow after the default on external payments some time in the spring of next year, which would put a stop to LCs being opened for import of goods. Pakistan rupee has sunk to an all time low of Rs 85 to a dollar and it is still on the downward (…)

  • India’s "Om" Made Secularism

    by Meera Nanda, 22 October 2008

    Economic and Political Weekly
    One cannot fight the faith-based politics of Hindu nationalists and the similarly inspired initiatives of the Indian state unless one questions the very foundations of the beliefs and rituals of popular Hinduism itself. One cannot go on "respecting" people’s faith, but then turn around and start questioning them when they actually act upon that faith under the banner of Hindutva.
    "New cars smell the same in India as they do in the US", was the first thought (…)

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