24, December 2011 | Economic & Political Weekly | vol xlvi no 52
Intelligence agencies like the Research and Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau and National Technical Research Organisation are notorious for their abuse of civil liberties and also have a pathetic record of effectiveness….
10 September, 2011 | Economic & Political Weekly (EPW) vol xlvi no 37
The natural justice content of the Indian Constitution provides an illusory comfort as the judiciary tends to adopt an overly constricted interpretation of natural justice, merely equating it with statutory law…..
HRF/223/12 | 18 September 2012
Dear Madam/Sir,
The Government of India is considering a proposal to notify farming as an essential service. This is ostensibly to bring drought relief to farmers suffering from a weak monsoon – a laudable goal indeed. However, if farming is deemed an “essential service”, farmers and farm workers could lose many of their political and civil rights because the government can then invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act to ban strikes by agricultural workers, leaving them without collective bargaining power.
It appeared in the 22 September 2012 issue of the Economic and Political Weekly.
11 September 2012 | Voice of America
NEW DELHI — A new group of Pakistani Hindus has arrived in India, seeking refugee statusciting religious persecution. A steady stream of Pakistani Hindus has come into India since last month and want to remain in the country.
Crossing the border
The group of about 170 Hindus came by train to Jodhpur city, close to India’s western border with Pakistan. Most of them were agricultural laborers in Pakistan.
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Pakistani Hindus Flee to India, Seeking Refugee StatusRead More »
20 September 2001 | Voice of America
In India, human rights groups and opposition political parties strongly oppose a tough new anti-terrorism law the government wants to pass in the current session of Parliament.
The Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance was passed last month under emergency constitutional provisions, but must be ratified by Parliament to remain in force. It was framed by the Bharatiya-Janata Party-led government after the September 11 attacks in the United States.
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27 October, 2009 | Voice of America
More than 2,000 years ago, Hindu priests, in what is now modern-day India, divided society into four distinct castes. The four original castes have now been subdivided into about 3,000 categories. Caste distinctions remain strong. Many lower-caste Indians – known as Dalits – say those distinctions reinforce discriminatory practices. Dalit activists recently sought to highlight the issue of caste at the United Nations-sponsored World Conference Against Racism. There are deep divisions in India about whether caste practices are racist or not.
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