This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
We will end corruption forever through the BJP’s double-engine government in Meghalaya and at the Centre, says Union Home Minister
-
Just weeks after the BBC aired a documentary examining Indian prime minister Narendra Modi‘s role in deadly 2002 sectarian riots, tax inspectors descended on the broadcaster’s offices in India.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist party says the two are not connected. However, rights groups say the raids show the parlous state of press freedom in the world’s biggest democracy. Unfavourable reporting has seen outlets and journalists targeted and harassed.
Lockdown
The lockdown of the BBC‘s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai is the latest of several similar “search and survey” operations against the press. Kunal Majumdar of the Committee to Protect Journalists told Agence France-Presse (AFP):
Unfortunately, this is becoming a trend, there is no shying away from that.
Four Indian outlets that had critically reported on the government were raided by tax officers or financial crimes investigators in the past two years, he said.
As with the BBC raids, those outlets said officials took phones and checked computers used by journalists. Majumdar continued:
When you have authorities trying to go through your material, go through your work, that’s intimidation. The international community ought to wake up and start taking this matter seriously.
Damning documentary
Modi was governor of Gujarat province when extremist riots killed at least 1,000 people in 2002 – most of them minority Muslims. Modi’s party favours an extreme form of Hindu nationalism with fascistic tendencies.
However, major western powers back Modi to the hilt. Accordingly, Rishi Sunak was warmly endorsed by Modi when he was appointed:
Warmest congratulations @RishiSunak! As you become UK PM, I look forward to working closely together on global issues, and implementing Roadmap 2030. Special Diwali wishes to the 'living bridge' of UK Indians, as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 24, 2022
In fact, the BBC documentary on Modi cited a British foreign ministry report claiming that Modi met senior police officers and “ordered them not to intervene” in anti-Muslim violence. The BBC documentary did not air in India. It did, however provoke a furious response from the government, which dismissed its contents as “hostile propaganda”.
Gaurav Bhatia, a Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson, said this week’s raids on the BBC offices were lawful and the timing had nothing to do with the documentary’s broadcast. Even so, authorities used information technology laws to ban the sharing of links to the programme in an effort to stop its spread on social media. Modi was interviewed in the documentary and was asked whether he could have handled the anti-Muslim atrocity differently. His response was that his main weakness was not knowing “how to handle the media”.
Hartosh Singh Bal, the political editor of India’s Caravan magazine, told AFP:
That’s been something he has been taking care of since. That sums up his attitude.
Freedom in the west?
Journalists have long faced harassment, legal threats and intimidation for their work in India. According to the Free Speech Collective more criminal cases are being lodged against reporters than ever. Criminal complaints were issued against a record 67 journalists in 2020, the latest year for which figures are available, the local civil society group reported. Ten journalists were behind bars in India at the start of the year, according to Reporters Without Borders.
That said, it would be a mistake to suggest attacks on press freedom are an Indian – or ‘developing’ world – issue. The UK itself currently sits at 24th in the Reporters without Borders press freedom index:
Worrisome governmental legislative proposals, extensive restrictions on freedom of information, the prolonged detention of Julian Assange, and threats to the safety of journalists in Northern Ireland have impacted the UK’s press freedom record.
Suppression of press freedom is alive and well across the world. Modi’s attempts to quash free and independent journalism must be resisted at every turn. Here in the UK we’re all too familiar with the very real threat of contempt for public service journalism.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse.
By Joe Glenton
This post was originally published on Canary.
-
The survey is being carried out to investigate issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
The searches are being conducted in connection with last year’s blasts in Coimbatore and Mangaluru
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Key milestone in strategic pact, say Modi, Macron; PM, Biden speak after deal
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
The searches come weeks after the BBC released a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi – ‘India: The Modi Question’
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Varanasi airport director Aryama Sanyal denied allegation that they had refused permission for Gandhi’s plane to land
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Amit Shah has said that it will not be appropriate for him to comment on Adani row as the Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the matter
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
‘New India’ of 21st century will neither miss any opportunity nor will there be any shortage in its hard work, Modi said
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Rashtrapati Bhavan announced names for appointment on the post of 12 Governors for states and one Lieutenant Governor in the UT of Ladakh
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
PM alleges they betrayed voters in poll-bound state
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
This was also the first time when Chin Region witnessed a drone strike which earlier happened in Sagaing region of Myanmar
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
The major campaign plank for the ruling party is ‘development; and the ‘advancement of Karnataka’ in various sectors.
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
An Asian elephant named Moti has been lying collapsed on the ground since at least 22 January. The 35-year-old elephant is essentially unable to stand up after years working in India as a tourist begging elephant.
Our medical team is on site and providing pain medication, fluids and nutritious food for Moti, a 35 year old bull elephant in critical condition with a torn footpad and severely swollen legs. We need to get him standing to get him to the elephant hospital.
pic.twitter.com/TF7GISibUR— Wildlife SOS (@WildlifeSOS) January 22, 2023
Moti’s dire predicament illustrates why action against unethical tourism, such as elephant rides, is vital. The UK took a step closer to such action on 3 February, when a bill that should ban the promotion and sales of unethical tourism passed its second reading in parliament.
Moti in extremely concerning condition
Indian nonprofit Wildlife SOS has been with Moti since 22 January, when its veterinary team travelled to his location. On its website, the organisation explained that as a begging elephant, Moti would have given “countless rides” to people, i.e. tourists. Now, he’s in a “very poor condition”, including being malnourished. Blood tests have also shown potential liver and kidney issues.
Over the last two weeks, Wildlife SOS has administered treatment on-site because Moti can’t stand up. This is partly due to the fact that one of his foot pads is detached, which must be extremely painful. Moreover, one of his legs is heavily swollen, although this has reduced somewhat with treatment.
Moti update:
What we are seeing is that his foot pad has torn away from the base of his foot and the excruciating pain he was experiencing likely caused him to collapse. However, we are still trying to get x-rays to understand what underlying skeletal issues he is having. pic.twitter.com/MXUEw1NKDO
— Wildlife SOS (@WildlifeSOS) January 23, 2023
Wildlife SOS would ideally like to get Moti to its elephant hospital rather than giving roadside care. But this requires him being able to get to his feet. When the nonprofit attempted to lift him on 2 February with the use of a crane, Moti couldn’t bear weight on any of his legs. It explained that:
An elephant’s movement is critical to circulation and healing, so his continued lack of movement has our team extremely concerned.
The organisation highlighted that his appetite and drinking has improved, which is a good sign. But the longer Moti stays grounded, the more uncertain his future becomes.
Most recently, Wildlife SOS reached out to the army for assistance. The army’s Madras Engineer Group, known as the Madras Sappers, had aided the organisation to rescue a collapsed elephant called Sidda in 2016.
A team of Bengal Sappers arrived at Moti’s location early on 6 February. They’re building a structure, known as a kraal, that Moti can be suspended from, in a bid to get him to his feet.
Wildlife SOS’s co-founder and CEO Kartick Satyanarayan said:
This is such a patriotic effort to help India’s heritage animal and an endangered species. We are also grateful to the Forest Department and the custodian of Moti elephant for their cooperation and support.
Refuse to ride
Wildlife SOS is urging tourists to “refuse to ride” elephants, due to the suffering that individuals like Moti go through as a result:
Moti Update: Moti continues to eat and drink water. The team did not try to turn him today as they wanted to give him more time to regain strength after the last attempt.
Millions of tourists need to know they must #RefusetoRide elephants.
& Share: https://t.co/soP3vCaXWx pic.twitter.com/jU6wCR4yaL— Wildlife SOS (@WildlifeSOS) February 3, 2023
The injuries that tourism elephants can sustain from working in the industry make up only part of their suffering. Abuse is part and parcel of existence for many individuals. Their training for tourism, for example in places like India, can involve being beaten, crushed and starved, among other abuses.
Due to this, a bill is currently making its way through parliament in the UK. The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill aims to prohibit the advertising and sale of overseas activities that “involve low standards of welfare for animals”.
On 3 February, MPs debated the bill for the first time. Although the session wasn’t well-attended, most MPs present spoke out in support of the bill. As Save the Asian Elephants (STAE) highlighted on Twitter, MPs voted the bill through at that reading:
Huge day for elephants and all abused tourism species in Parliament today as STAE’s Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill sponsored by Angela Richardson MP unanimously voted through Second Reading. Please back STAE’s fight. @MeganMcCubbin @StanleyPJohnson @PeterEgan6 pic.twitter.com/s2l5IODVl4
— Save The Asian Elephants (@stae_elephants) February 3, 2023
The bill will now progress to its committee stage, where it will face examination and possible changes.
Self-regulation isn’t working
As STAE has pointed out, the bill will potentially benefit many species used in tourism, such as big cats, apes, dolphins, and more.
The organisation insists that change will not happen without legislative action, arguing that industry self-regulation has failed. STAE, for example, says that it has identified no less than 1,200 companies operating in the UK market that advertise venues implicated in brutality against elephants.
Moreover, India and Thailand, where elephant-related tourism is common, are popular destinations among UK travellers. And as World Animal Protection’s report, titled ‘Taken for a ride’, highlighted: 36% of Thailand tourists surveyed in 2014 took elephant rides, or planned to, during their visits. In short, the UK’s involvement in elephant-related tourism, both in terms of travellers and tourism companies, is considerable.
For the sake of elephants in and outside of tourist venues – and other captive wild animals – a crackdown on unethical tourism in places like India can’t come soon enough.
Featured image and embedded image via Wildlife SOS
This post was originally published on Canary.
-
New York: Pakistani-American Think-tank organized a Kashmir Day event in New York to denounce the continued atrocities and human rights violations of the Indian government in the IOK, and to support the Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom and self-determination.
Tahir Hanafi, a well-known poet from Pakistan, was the chief guest at the event that was held at a local restaurant in Brooklyn.
Addressing the event, Tahir Hanafi said that Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan.
Pakistan-American thinks tank chief Raja Razak said that holding the G-20 conference in the occupied territory is a very wrong move.
While the general secretary of the organization, Farida Bibi, said that Kashmir is a region which is called heaven, but due to Indian persecution, Kashmir is presenting a scene of hell.
Kashmiri leader Sardar Sawar Khan and retired Colonel Maqbool Malik said that February 5th is celebrated all over the world to express solidarity with the Kashmiris and that the 220 million people of Pakistan, their wishes and efforts are with the Kashmiri people.
The Sikh community participating in the event said that during the freedom struggle, Gandhiji, Nehru and other leaders made various promises to the Sikh community and other minority communities but they could not be fulfilled.
The participants of the event expressed their solidarity with the Kashmiri people and described only Pakistan’s efforts regarding Kashmir’s freedom as insufficient, but the whole world should raise their voice regarding atrocities in Kashmir.
The organizers of the event thanked the Chief Guest and other participants for attending the event.
The post Pakistani American Think-tank holds Kashmir Day event to condemn Indian atrocities first appeared on VOSA.
-
BJP appoints Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan poll in-charge for Karnataka
-
A senior BJP leader said that in order to win more seats in the 2024 elections, the party has already started its preparation
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Manickam Tagore, the party’s whip in Lok Sabha, said there is an emergency situation due to diminishing shares of the Adani group
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Tata Advanced Systems Ltd in a joint collaboration with Airbus Defence will manufacture the C 295 aircrafts at Vadodara in Gujarat
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
My government always kept the country’s interest paramount, showed the will to completely change the policy-strategy, President said
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
The Italian passenger identified as Paola Perruccio was arrested by Sahar police after the flight landed in Mumbai
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
The Prime Minister firmly exuded confidence that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make efforts to meet the aspirations
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
The route to social justice in India is steeped in dichotomy; one that is wadded with U-turns and dead ends that set its progress several decades back every so often. Even as the nation is all set to appoint its first “openly gay” judge in independent history, conservative backlash against NCERT’s pathbreaking teacher training manual titled “Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education: Concerns and Roadmap” and its consequent withdrawal has once again given public morality the upper hand over its constitutional counterpart and failed to protect fundamental rights of an entire social community.
When an incredibly diverse population is straitjacketed as binary and heteronormative, any attempts at spreading awareness are dubbed as “exposure”, while attempts at making educational curricula more inclusive are parroted as against the “cultural fabric of the nation.” Section 29(a) of the Right to Education Act1 asks academic authorities to conform with the values enshrined in our Constitution. And for the first time, a national level body sought to address a gender-biased, discriminatory school culture and replace it with a sensitised and gender diversity-informed teaching base, thereby aligning it with constitutional values of equality, liberty and justice. While it may very well appease a number of people, the move to withdraw the Module falls in direct contradiction to not only Fundamental Rights as guaranteed by the Constitution but also the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child2, to which India stands signatory to since 1992. The Convention’s primary goal is to view every child as a complete human, worthy of independent thought and self-expression, bolstered by principles of non-discrimination, right to live with dignity and holistic development. By suppressing information that is vital for transgender and non-binary children to feel accepted, heard and safe, their birth rights are very cunningly controversialised and served up for debate.
Apart from international conventions, the validity of the withdrawal can further be juxtaposed with domestic judicial pronouncements. While originally envisaged in the context of rights of illegitimate children, the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s 1997 Gaurav Jain judgement3 can be effectively used to protect transgender and gender non-conforming children’s fundamental rights to life, dignity, equal opportunity and holistic integration into mainstream society- “(The) children have the right to equality of opportunity, dignity and care, protection and rehabilitation by the society with both hands open to bring them into the mainstream of social life without pre-stigma affixed on them for no fault of theirs… Abandoning the children, excluding good foundation of life for them, is a crime against humanity.” The Court, in the same judgement reinforced the 10 principals of The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child4 and asked the relevant state authorities to closely adhere to it. Similarly, in National Commission for Child Rights v Rajesh Kumar5, the Court directed the Central and various State-level Child Rights Commissions (NCCR) to effectively implement provisions of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act6 that gives notable recognition to “children in need of special care and protection including children in distress, marginalised and disadvantaged children.”
In a binary-coded heteronormative society, intrinsic parts of what makes one human such as personhood, self-expression and dignity are often entrapped within binary-gendered bodies. This is the root cause of constant alienation of trans folks from their supposedly “inalienable” rights. When certain bodies are dehumanised and subjected to unending scrutiny and stigmatisation, their suppression of (self) expression too becomes rather digestible. Trans children are victims of consistent institutional gaslighting and cultural invisibalisation which severely hinders their right to participate and engage in socio-educational contexts that are fulfilling, inclusive and pro-dialogue. It thus also becomes the NCCR’s duty to demand bringing back the NCERT Manual and ensure trans and gender non-conforming children are not robbed off their fundamental right to a dignified and secure life.
As Kofi Annan once very eloquently put it- “There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in peace.”
This post was originally published on LSE Human Rights.
-
The yatra traversed 12 states and two Union territories in nearly five months after its launch on Sept 7 last year, clocking over 4,000 km
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Shops, business establishments and the weekly flea market were closed as part of the security exercise for the flag unfurling
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Modi said his government had unleashed digital, start-up and innovation revolutions which are benefiting the youth
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Two pilots ejected safely, but the third one is missing
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
Kharge said he is writing after the unfortunate security lapse during the Bharat Jodo Yatra
This post was originally published on The Asian Age | Home.
-
As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the chief guest at his nation’s 74th Republic Day celebrations, Amnesty International on Thursday led calls for both right-wing leaders to “address the ongoing human rights and impunity crises” in their respective countries.
Meeting ahead of events commemorating the adoption of India’s constitution—including a military parade in which members of the Egyptian army marched—Modi and El-Sisi agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a “strategic partnership,” while calling for a “coordinated and concerted” effort to combat “terrorism.”
Modi—who said Wednesday that he and El-Sisi “are in agreement that terrorism is the biggest threat to humanity”—has, like his Egyptian counterpart, been accused of using anti-terrorism laws to crush critics and silence dissent.
“The current human rights crises in India and Egypt are characterized by entrenched impunity and misuse of counterterrorism legislation to clamp down on civic space and peaceful dissent.”
“The current human rights crises in India and Egypt are characterized by entrenched impunity and misuse of counterterrorism legislation to clamp down on civic space and peaceful dissent,” Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa research and advocacy director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
“Both countries show striking parallels in their attempts to harass and intimidate into silence all actual or perceived government critics and opponents. This unrelenting assault on human rights must end,” he added.
\u201cThe Indian and Egyptian authorities must address the ongoing human rights and impunity crises in the two countries. Both show striking parallels in their unrelenting assault on rights. https://t.co/gbmoAkMnXT\u201d— Amnesty India (@Amnesty India) 1674710907As Amnesty noted:
In recent years, authorities in both countries have severely repressed the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly and failed to address entrenched discrimination against religious minorities.
[…]
Human rights defenders, lawyers, political opponents, peaceful protesters, academics, and students, face arbitrary arrests and detention, unjust prosecutions, and other forms of harassment and intimidation solely for their peaceful exercise of their human rights in both India and Egypt.“India and Egypt seem to have taken their long-standing bilateral cooperation to a different level where they share tactics to increasingly repress rights and freedoms,” Amnesty International India board chief Aakar Patel said in a statement. “As the leaders of the two countries take the center stage, celebrations of the adoption of India’s constitution 74 years ago should not overshadow the grim reality that the human rights situations in both countries have been on a downward spiral.”
\u201c\u201cThe current human rights crises in #India & #Egypt are characterized by entrenched impunity and misuse of counterterrorism legislation to clamp down on civic space & peaceful dissent\u201d, @amnesty said today, as India hosts President Sisi as the chief guest at its Republic Day.\u201d— Nuria Tes\u00f3n (@Nuria Tes\u00f3n) 1674743767Leading an open letter from Egyptian and Indian diaspora members published Tuesday by the Canadian alternative news site rabble.ca, Ehab Lotayef, Samaa Elibyari, and Jooneed Jeeroburkhan noted that India’s constitution “guarantees full equality and rights to all Indians and declares the country a secular, socialist republic.”
“However today’s India is led by a Hindu ethno-nationalist party committed to converting it into a Hindu nation,” the authors continued, and “the government of India has been called out by domestic and international human rights organizations for unleashing and engendering violence and detentions against Muslim, Dalit, and Christian minorities as well as any human rights defenders.”
“Meanwhile, January 25 marks the start of the 17 days in 2011 which forced one of the region’s longest-serving and most influential leaders, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, from power,” they continued. “We recall that moment of incredible exhilaration as all Egyptians aspired to more democracy and social justice. Unfortunately, on July 3, 2013, then-Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi staged a coup d’état that toppled President Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected president of Egypt, and returned the country to dictatorial rule.”
\u201c”What is happening in Egypt and India should be of interest to all Canadians, even if they are not of Egyptian or Indian origin. Support for governments that violate fundamental rights diminishes democracy everywhere.” https://t.co/sXAmcQlOba\u201d— Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (@Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East) 1674656645“Since his ascent to power through dubious elections, El-Sisi has governed Egypt with an iron fist,” the trio wrote. “Under his direct command, on August 14, 2013, two encampments of protesters in Rabaa and al-Nahda squares, demanding that President Morsi be reinstated, were dismantled by lethal force and more than 1,000 people were killed.”
“To date, no one has been held accountable,” the authors added. “Since then, all dissenting voices have been silenced and more than 60,000 political prisoners languish behind bars in abject conditions.”
This post was originally published on Common Dreams.
-
On 23 January 2023, INS Vagir, the fifth P75 Kalvari-class submarines, was commissioned within the Indian Navy in presence of the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC and several other senior dignitaries. The event was also attended by Naval Group’s Executive Vice President for Submarines, Mr Laurent Espinasse along […]
The post Commissioning of INS Vagir, the fifth Kalvari-class submarine entirely made in India based on Scorpene® design appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
.jpg){kind=link}