Archive of South Asia Citizens Wire

  • Pursue the truth, not myths, and protect civil rights

    by Antara Dev Sen, 1 October 2008

    The Asian Age, October 2, 2008
    Why everybody loves a good stereotype
    "You support terrorists?" my friend was horror-struck.
    "We can’t presume they are terrorists," I begin, "there must be a trial first."
    "Rubbish! They are terrorists! And it’s indefensible that Jamia Milia University is using government money to protect them."
    "Everyone is entitled to legal aid and is innocent until proven guilty..."
    "They are guilty. The police nabbed them."
    "That’s the police version…"
    My (…)

  • New Delhi citizens march against violence and attacks on minorities

    by Anhad, 1 October 2008

    Route: The March will start at 1400 hours (2 pm) from Jantar Mantar till Rajghat New Delhi

  • A Memorandum to Governer of Gujarat submitted by rights activists

    by sacw.net, 1 October 2008

    A delegation team met the Governor of Gujarat today and submitted the memorandum
    MEMORANDUM
    Subject - The Law and Order Situation in the State
    01-10-2008
    To Shri NavalKishore Sharma, The Governor of Gujarat, Gandhinagar.
    Sir,
    All the citizens of Gujarat condemn the act of terrorism, the faceless enemy of the society, which can only be contained with the active involvement of the people and the civil society in a democratic way. Instead, the BJP Government in Gujarat led by Sri (…)

  • Letter from university faculty to the Police Chief of Chhattissgarh

    by sacw.net, 30 September 2008

    concerned members of university and college faculties, write to condemn the ongoing violations of the human and civil rights of its citizens by the state of Chhattisgarh, India. These violations include the arbitrary arrest and indefinite detention of hundreds of people, including Dr. Binayak Sen, an internationally respected provider of medical services to Chhattisgarh’s tribal communities, threats and assaults against civil liberties activists, lawyers and journalists, and most egregious of all, the growing depredations of the state-sponsored violent militia known as the Salwa Judum.

  • India: Hindu nationalism and the Congress Party in the 1940s and 1950s

    by Manu Bhagavan, 30 September 2008

    This paper explores the relationship between Hindu nationalism and the Congress in the 1940s and 1950s. It argues that the Congress knowingly and wilfully included and empowered Hindu nationalist ideologues in this period, most notably K M Munshi. Through such membership, the Hindutva agenda was advanced, while the ideology as a whole was rehabilitated and made an acceptable and normative feature of post-colonial Indian political life.

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