Category: Human Rights

By Venkatesh Nayak* Readers may remember reading a previous despatch sent in April 2018, about an RTI intervention, regarding certain data tabled in Parliament that year, about cases involving allegations of custodial deaths and disappearances of civilians, alleged fake encounters, alleged instances of rape, and allegations of kidnapping, torture and extortion in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The … Continue reading Public interest? Sanction for prosecution under J&KAFSPA: CIC rejects detailed information

Massachusetts, US-based Asian American Commission (AAC) in a statement in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement: This week, we grieve the senseless and unlawful death of another Black man at the hands of police violence and systemic racism. The Asian American Commission (AAC) stands with the activists and protesters demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, … Continue reading #BlackLivesMatter: India’s Dalit Panther movement was inspired by US Black Panthers

By Sheshu Babu* “He smiles,he laughsthrough the prison barsto shake me upfrom my early morning dreams,his morning greeting isclanking a huge bunch of keys into the cage of mylife sentence.” (From 'Ode to a Prison Guard” by Prof. GN Saibaba, written on 1 May 2017, in 'A World of Silence is Blown into Smithereens'. Ref: … Continue reading Prison guards have some humanity because they too face much suffering from higher officials

By Aarti Mangal* Recently, in separate two incidents my friend and her friend were heckled by a mob in metro station and inside metro. Ever since I have been thinking on where we have gone wrong. I will here briefly share the incidents that happened with them. My friend along with one of her friends … Continue reading Role of language in dividing society: Is polarization and labeling a new norm? No but yes

Excerpts from the 82-page report “UNAFRAID: The Day Young Women Took the Battle to the Streets”, which carries testimonies of 18 women, mainly students, by members* of the Independent Women’s Initiative at the Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, where violence occurred during protests against CAA and NRC on December 13-15: The sight of state violence … Continue reading Jamia violence: Women’s sense of outrage at being stopped from a march that was peaceful

As the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019 becomes an act after receiving President’s assent, it becomes even more important to look at the criticism and resistance it has received from various sections of society, says Common Wealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI). In a statement condemning the move on the ground that it violates constitutional principles … Continue reading Without adequate debate and public discourse, CAB shouldn’t have become law