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Category: India

  • GE Aerospace Signs Contract with Indian Air Force for T700 Engine Sustainment Solution

    GE Aerospace signed a five-year Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract with the Indian Air Force (IAF) to provide a comprehensive sustainment solution for the T700-GE-701D engines powering the IAF’s fleet of AH-64E-I Apache helicopters. Under this contract, GE Aerospace will be responsible for the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) of the T700 engines as well […]

    The post GE Aerospace Signs Contract with Indian Air Force for T700 Engine Sustainment Solution appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • MKU Reinforces its Strength in Platform Protection at Aero India

    With over 40 years of trusted experience, MKU Limited, a global leader in advanced optronics and ballistic protection solutions for soldiers and platforms, continues to set new benchmarks in delivering comprehensive lightweight armouring systems for land, air, and naval platforms. Having armoured over 1800 armoured vehicles, over 400 aircraft and over 700 naval vessels, MKU […]

    The post MKU Reinforces its Strength in Platform Protection at Aero India appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Thales-Bharat team to deliver first batch of Starstreak missiles

    India’s Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and France’s Thales have signed a contract to deliver an initial batch of Starstreak very short-range air-defence systems (VSHORADS) to the Indian Armed Forces within 2025, Thales announced on 10 February. However, the company did not disclose the number of the Starstreak missiles and associated launchers provisioned under the deal. […]

    The post Thales-Bharat team to deliver first batch of Starstreak missiles appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Farmers Launch An Indefinite Strike In India’s Karnataka State

    Thousands of farmers and agricultural workers began an indefinite protest sit-in on Monday, February 10, at Freedom Park in Bangalore, in India’s southern state of Karnataka, to oppose the ongoing corporate looting of their resources and demand economic protections.

    The farmers and agricultural workers gathered in the capital from different parts of the state under the leadership of Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha affiliated with the left wing All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and other groups affiliated to All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU).

    The post Farmers Launch An Indefinite Strike In India’s Karnataka State appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Farmers Launch An Indefinite Strike In India’s Karnataka State

    Thousands of farmers and agricultural workers began an indefinite protest sit-in on Monday, February 10, at Freedom Park in Bangalore, in India’s southern state of Karnataka, to oppose the ongoing corporate looting of their resources and demand economic protections.

    The farmers and agricultural workers gathered in the capital from different parts of the state under the leadership of Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha affiliated with the left wing All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and other groups affiliated to All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU).

    The post Farmers Launch An Indefinite Strike In India’s Karnataka State appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • “Quantitative Easing with Chinese Characteristics”

    China went from one of the poorest countries in the world to global economic powerhouse in a mere four decades. Currently featured in the news is DeepSeek, the free, open source A.I. built by innovative Chinese entrepreneurs which just pricked the massive U.S. A.I. bubble.

    Even more impressive, however, is the infrastructure China has built, including 26,000 miles of high speed rail, the world’s largest hydroelectric power station, the longest sea-crossing bridge in the world, 100,000 miles of expressway, the world’s first commercial magnetic levitation train, the world’s largest urban metro network, seven of the world’s 10 busiest ports, and solar and wind power generation accounting for over 35% of global renewable energy capacity. Topping the list is the Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure development program involving 140 countries, through which China has invested in ports, railways, highways and energy projects worldwide.

    All that takes money. Where did it come from? Numerous funding sources are named in mainstream references, but the one explored here is a rarely mentioned form of quantitative easing — the central bank just “prints the money.” (That’s the term often used, though printing presses aren’t necessarily involved.)

    From 1996 to 2024, the Chinese national money supply increased by a factor of more than 53 or 5300% — from 5.84 billion to 314 billion Chinese yuan (CNY) [see charts below]. How did that happen? Exporters brought the foreign currencies (largely U.S. dollars) they received for their goods to their local banks and traded them for the CNY needed to pay their workers and suppliers. The central bank —the Public Bank of China or PBOC — printed CNY and traded them for the foreign currencies, then kept the foreign currencies as reserves, effectively doubling the national export revenue.

    Investopedia confirms that policy, stating:

    One major task of the Chinese central bank, the PBOC, is to absorb the large inflows of foreign capital from China’s trade surplus. The PBOC purchases foreign currency from exporters and issues that currency in local yuan. The PBOC is free to publish any amount of local currency and have it exchanged for forex. … The PBOC can print yuan as needed …. [Emphasis added.]

    Interestingly, that huge 5300% explosion in local CNY did not trigger runaway inflation. In fact China’s consumer inflation rate, which was as high as 24% in 1994, leveled out after that and averaged 2.5% per year from 1996 to 2023.


    https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/CHN/china/inflation-rate-cpi?form=MG0AV3

    How was that achieved? As in the U.S., the central bank engages in “open market operations” (selling federal securities into the open market, withdrawing excess cash). It also imposes price controls on certain essential commodities. According to a report by Nasdaq, China has implemented price controls on iron ore, copper, corn, grain, meat, eggs and vegetables as part of its 14th five-year plan (2021-2025), to ensure food security for the population. Particularly important in maintaining price stability, however, is that the money has gone into manufacturing, production and infrastructure. GDP (supply) has gone up with demand (money), keeping prices stable. [See charts below.]


    https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/money-supply-m2Gross Domestic Product for China (MKTGDPCNA646NWDB) | FRED | St. Louis Fed


    Gross Domestic Product for China (MKTGDPCNA646NWDB) | FRED | St. Louis Fed

    The U.S., too, has serious funding problems today, and we have engaged in quantitative easing (QE) before. Could our central bank also issue the dollars we need without triggering the dreaded scourge of hyperinflation? This article will argue that we can. But first some Chinese economic history.

    From Rags to Riches in Four Decades

    China’s rise from poverty began in 1978, when Deng Xiaoping introduced market-oriented reforms. Farmers were allowed to sell their surplus produce in the market, doors were opened to foreign investors and private businesses and foreign companies were encouraged to grow. By the 1990s, China had become a major exporter of low-cost manufactured goods. Key factors included cheap labor, infrastructure development and World Trade Organization membership in 2001.

    Chinese labor is cheaper than in the U.S. largely because the government funds or subsidizes social needs, reducing the operational costs of Chinese companies and improving workforce productivity. The government invests heavily in public transportation infrastructure, including metros, buses and high-speed rail, making them affordable for workers and reducing the costs of getting manufacturers’ products to market.

    The government funds education and vocational training programs, ensuring a steady supply of skilled workers, with government-funded technical schools and universities producing millions of graduates annually. Affordable housing programs are provided for workers, particularly in urban areas.

    China’s public health care system, while not free, is heavily subsidized by the government. And a public pension system reduces the need for companies to offer private retirement plans. The Chinese government also provides direct subsidies and incentives to key industries, such as technology, renewable energy and manufacturing.

    After it joined the WTO, China’s exports grew rapidly, generating large trade surpluses and an influx of foreign currency, allowing the country to accumulate massive foreign exchange reserves. In 2010, China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest exporter. In the following decade, it shifted its focus to high-tech industries, and in 2013 the Belt and Road Initiative was launched. The government directed funds through state-owned banks and enterprises, with an emphasis on infrastructure and industrial development.

    Funding Exponential Growth

    In the early stages of reform, foreign investment was a key source of capital. Export earnings then generated significant foreign exchange reserves. China’s high savings rate provided a pool of liquidity for investment, and domestic consumption grew. Decentralizing the banking system was also key. According to a lecture by U.K. Prof. Richard Werner:

    Deng Xiaoping started with one mono bank. He realized quickly, scrap that; we’re going to have a lot of banks. He created small banks, community banks, savings banks, credit unions, regional banks, provincial banks. Now China has 4,500 banks. That’s the secret to success. That’s what we have to aim for. Then we can have prosperity for the whole world. Developing countries don’t need foreign money. They just need community banks supporting [local business] to have the money to get the latest technology.

    China managed to avoid the worst impacts of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. It did not devalue its currency; it maintained strict control over capital flows and the PBOC acted as a lender of last resort, providing liquidity to state-controlled banks when needed.

    In the 1990s, however, its four major state banks did suffer massive losses, with non-performing loans totaling more than 20% of their assets. Technically, the banks were bankrupt, but the government did not let them go bust. The non-performing loans were moved on to the balance sheets of four major asset management companies (“bad banks”), and the PBOC injected new capital into the “good banks.”

    In a January 2024 article titled “The Chinese Economy Is Due a Round of Quantitative Easing,” Prof. Li Wei, Director of the China Economy and Sustainable Development Center, wrote of this policy, “The central bank directly intervened in the economy by creating money. Seen this way, unconventional financing is nothing less than Chinese-style quantitative easing.”

    In an August 2024 article titled “China’s 100-billion-yuan Question: Does Rare Government Bond Purchase Alter Policy Course?,” Sylvia Ma wrote of China’s forays into QE:

    Purchasing government bonds in the secondary market is allowed under Chinese law, but the central bank is forbidden to subscribe to bonds directly issued by the finance ministry. [Note that this is also true of the U.S. Fed.] Such purchases from traders were tried on a small scale 20 years ago.

    However, the monetary authority resorted more to printing money equivalent to soaring foreign exchange reserves from 2001, as the country saw a robust increase in trade surplus following its accession to the World Trade Organization. [Emphasis added.]

    This is the covert policy of printing CNY and trading this national currency for the foreign currencies (mostly U.S. dollars) received from exporters.

    What does the PBOC do with the dollars? It holds a significant portion as foreign exchange reserves, to stabilize the CNY and manage currency fluctuations; it invests in U.S. Treasury bonds and other dollar-denominated assets to earn a return; and it uses U.S. dollars to facilitate international trade deals, many of which are conducted in dollars.

    The PBOC also periodically injects capital into the three “policy banks” through which the federal government implements its five-year plans. These are China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, and the Agricultural Development Bank of China, which provide loans and financing for domestic infrastructure and services as well as for the Belt and Road Initiative. A January 2024 Bloomberg article titled “China Injects $50 Billion Into Policy Banks in Financing Push” notes that the policy banks “are driven by government priorities more than profits,” and that some economists have called the PBOC funding injections “helicopter money” or “Chinese-style quantitative easing.”

    Prof. Li argues that with the current insolvency of major real estate developers and the rise in local government debt, China should engage in this overt form of QE today. Other commentators agree, and the government appears to be moving in that direction. Prof. Li writes:

    As long as it does not trigger inflation, quantitative easing can quickly and without limit generate sufficient liquidity to resolve debt issues and pump confidence into the market.…

    Quantitative easing should be the core of China’s macroeconomic policy, with more than 80% of funds coming from QE…

    As the central bank is the only institution in China with the power to create money, it has the ability to create a stable environment for economic growth. [Emphasis added.]

    Eighty-percent funding just from money-printing sounds pretty radical, but China’s macroeconomic policy is determined by five-year plans designed to serve the public and the economy, and the policy banks funding the plans are publicly-owned. That means profits are returned to the public purse, avoiding the sort of private financialization and speculative exploitation resulting when the U.S. Fed engaged in QE to bail out the banks after the 2007-08 banking crisis.

    The U.S. Too Could Use Another Round of QE — and Some Public Policy Banks

    There is no law against governments or their central banks just printing the national currency without borrowing it first. The U.S. Federal Reserve has done it, Abraham Lincoln’s Treasury did it, and it is probably the only way out of our current federal debt crisis. As Prof. Li observes, we can do it “without limit” so long as it does not trigger inflation.

    Financial commentator Alex Krainer observes that the total U.S. debt, public and private, comes to more than $101 trillion (citing the St. Louis Fed’s graph titled “All Sectors; Debt Securities and Loans”). But the monetary base — the reserves available to pay that debt — is only $5.6 trillion. That means the debt is 18 times the monetary base. The U.S. economy holds far fewer dollars than we need for economic stability.

    The dollar shortfall can be filled debt- and interest-free by the U.S. Treasury, just by printing dollars as Lincoln’s Treasury did (or by issuing them digitally). It can also be done by the Fed, which “monetizes” federal securities by buying them with reserves it issues on its books, then returns the interest to the Treasury and after deducting its costs. If the newly-issued dollars are used for productive purposes, supply will go up with demand, and prices should remain stable.

    Note that even social services, which don’t directly produce revenue, can be considered “productive” in that they support the “human capital” necessary for production. Workers need to be healthy and well educated in order to build competitively and well, and the government needs to supplement the social costs borne by companies if they are to compete with China’s subsidized businesses.

    Parameters would obviously need to be imposed to circumscribe Congress’s ability to spend “without limit,” backed by a compliant Treasury or Fed. An immediate need is for full transparency in budgeted expenditures. The Pentagon, for example, spends nearly $1 trillion of our taxpayer money annually and has never passed a clean audit, as required by law.

    We Sorely Need an Infrastructure Bank

    The U.S. is one of the few developed countries without an infrastructure bank. Ironically, it was Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Treasury secretary, who developed the model. Winning freedom from Great Britain left the young country with what appeared to be an unpayable debt. Hamilton traded the debt and a percentage of gold for non-voting shares in the First U.S. Bank, paying a 6% dividend. This capital was then leveraged many times over into credit to be used specifically for infrastructure and development. Based on the same model, the Second U.S. Bank funded the vibrant economic activity of the first decades of the United States.

    In the 1930s, Roosevelt’s government pulled the country out of the Great Depression by repurposing a federal agency called the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) into a lending machine for development on the Hamiltonian model. Formed under the Hoover administration, the RFC was not actually an infrastructure bank but it acted like one. Like China Development Bank, it obtained its liquidity by issuing bonds.

    The primary purchaser of RFC bonds was the federal government, driving up the federal debt; but the debt to GDP ratio evened out over the next four decades, due to the dramatic increase in productivity generated by the RFC’s funding of the New Deal and World War II. That was also true of the federal debt after the American Revolution and the Civil War.


    One chart that tells the story of US debt from 1790 to 2011

    A pending bill for an infrastructure bank on the Hamiltonian model is HR 4052, The National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023, which ended 2024 with 48 sponsors and was endorsed by dozens of legislatures, local councils, and organizations. Like the First and Second U.S. Banks, it is intended to be a depository bank capitalized with existing federal securities held by the private sector, for which the bank will pay an additional 2% over the interest paid by the government. The bank will then leverage this capital into roughly 10 times its value in loans, as all depository banks are entitled to do. The bill proposes to fund $5 trillion in infrastructure capitalized over a 10-year period with $500 billion in federal securities exchanged for preferred (non-voting) stock in the bank. Like the RFC, the bank will be a source of off-budget financing, adding no new costs to the federal budget. (For more information, see https://www.nibcoalition.com/.)

    Growing Our Way Out of Debt

    Rather than trying to kneecap our competitors with sanctions and tariffs, we can grow our way to prosperity by turning on the engines of production. Far more can be achieved through cooperation than through economic warfare. DeepSeek set the tone with its free, open source model. Rather than a heavily guarded secret, its source code is freely available to be shared and built upon by entrepreneurs around the world.

    We can pull off our own economic miracle, funded with newly issued dollars backed by the full faith and credit of the government and the people. Contrary to popular belief, “full faith and credit” is valuable collateral, something even Bitcoin and gold do not have. It means the currency will be accepted everywhere – not just at the bank or the coin dealer’s but at the grocer’s and the gas station. If the government directs newly created dollars into new goods and services, supply will grow along with demand and the currency should retain its value. The government can print, pay for workers and materials, and produce its way into an economic renaissance.

    The post “Quantitative Easing with Chinese Characteristics” first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Activism Through the Artist’s Lens: The Other Side of Paradise

    This post was originally published on American Jewish World Service – AJWS.

  • “The private is political”: horizontality of fundamental rights as an antidote for trans discrimination

    Rising reports of discrimination against transgender persons reveal entrenched transphobia in our society. While some fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution extend to private entities, this duality in enforcement raises a critical question: can horizontal application of fundamental rights address such discrimination? Drawing on trans-feminist critique, Aparna Bhatnagar argues that transphobia, as a manifestation of “Brahminism”, confines transgender individuals to stigmatised occupations, perpetuating unchecked discrimination.

    Current jurisprudential stance on horizontal application of fundamental rights in India

    The concept of the horizontal application of fundamental rights is not alien to the Indian constitutional framework. In several cases, the Indian Supreme Court has held private parties accountable for violating fundamental rights, especially in relation to social and economic issues. For example, in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, the Court held tanneries responsible for polluting the Ganga River, illustrating that private entities can be held liable for actions that infringe upon fundamental rights. Similarly, in Society for Unaided Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India, the Court held that non-State actors are obligated to provide free and compulsory education to children. This extended the scope of obligations beyond the State, reflecting the broader reach of fundamental rights to include private individuals and organizations.

    In K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, the Court explained that while common law rights can be enforced against private individuals, constitutional rights are usually enforced against the State. However, some rights can exist both as common law rights and as fundamental rights. The majority in this case agreed that the right to life and privacy under Article 21 is one such right, meaning it can be invoked not only against the State but also against private individuals. More recently, in Kaushal Kishor v. State of UP, the Court confirmed that Articles 19 and 21 can apply to private entities, suggesting that other fundamental rights could also extend beyond the State. The Court’s reasoning was that if a fundamental right isn’t solely tied to the State, it can be naturally extended to private actors. In other words, the lack of explicit mention of horizontality in the Constitution shouldn’t be viewed as a restriction, but as room for its possible application. The Court in Kaushal Kishor, quoting Justice Anand in Nilabati Behera v State of Orissa stated that “the purpose of public law is not only to civilise public power but also to assure the citizen that they live under a system which aims to protect their interests and preserve their rights”. This provides a strong justification for the horizontal application of constitutional rights.

    Brahminism, transphobia and everything in between

    In the context of transgender persons in India, this institutional approach is particularly relevant due to the significant power imbalances they encounter. Dalit trans feminist writer Living Smile Vidya has poignantly described transphobia as a form of “brahminism” that relegates transgender individuals to marginalised and stigmatised occupations, such as sex work and begging. Upper caste trans women visit houses for “badhai” (blessing ceremonies), while middle castes are involved in asking for alms, and lower castes typically take up sex work. This is a direct result of the caste system’s intersection with gender identity. The ideology of Brahminism enforces a rigid structure that excludes individuals who don’t fit the dominant caste categories, and trans individuals, especially those from Dalit and Adivasi communities, find themselves doubly oppressed. Adding to this historical burden, Jeffrey Gettleman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, notes that Victorian England’s strict moral codes, which criminalised “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”, amplified India’s discomfort with homosexuality and transgender identities during British colonial rule.

    This institutionalised discrimination results in systemic denial of employment opportunities, constituting a violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. Importantly, in September 2022, a Supreme Court bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hima Kohli directed the Centre to formulate a policy ensuring equal employment opportunities for transgender persons. This order followed a plea by Shanavi Ponnuswamy, who challenged Air India’s decision to deny her a cabin crew position because of her gender identity. In its ruling, the Supreme Court also emphasised that transphobia, leading to denial of employment opportunities for transgender individuals, violates their right to life under Article 21.

    Towards an “institutional approach” of horizontality of fundamental rights in India

    It is universally accepted that some form of horizontality is desired in contemporary constitutional setups. Legal scholar Gautam Bhatia has criticised the “default verticality” prevalent in the Indian judiciary’s approach. Bhatia advocates for an “institutional approach” where constitutional rights should be applied between private parties in specific contexts. This approach is justified when: (a) an institution (social, economic, or cultural) is pervasive and difficult to exit, such as the labour market or the family; (b) the institution creates and maintains a power imbalance between the parties involved; and (c) this power imbalance allows one party to infringe upon the rights of the other.

    The critical question that arises is whether this horizontal application of fundamental rights can be extended to address discrimination faced by transgender individuals by private parties. The oft-quoted slogan “the personal is political“, attributed to feminist scholar Carol Hanisch, emphasises that the lived experiences of marginalised communities in the private sphere reflect systemic injustices they face. The adoption of an institutional approach offers a promising solution to the pervasive discrimination faced by transgender individuals, ensuring that protections are not limited to interactions with the state but also encompass interactions with private entities. As we move forward, it is crucial to dismantle the façade that cloaks the “politics of the personal“, which frequently serves to protect increasingly powerful private entities from scrutiny. The institutional horizontality approach allows for a more equitable and just society, where systemic discrimination is actively challenged and marginalised communities are afforded the protection and respect they deserve.

    All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s), and not the position of the Department of Sociology, LSE Human Rights, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

    Image credit: Alexander Grey

    This post was originally published on LSE Human Rights.

  • India revokes nonprofit and tax status of news outlets

    New Delhi, Feb 4, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Indian government to end its weaponization of regulatory measures targeting independent journalism following a decision to revoke The Reporters’ Collective’s nonprofit status and the tax exempt status of The File.

    “Journalism is a public service. The Indian government should not abuse regulatory processes to target investigative journalism,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “The government must immediately reverse these orders against The Reporters’ Collective and The File, which could set a dangerous precedent for other non-profit media in India and severely undermine public interest journalism.”

    The Reporters’ Collective (TRC) said in a January 28 statement that the loss of its nonprofit status “severely impairs” its ability to do work and “worsens the conditions” for independent journalism in the country.

    The revocation of a nonprofit status means entities will be taxed as a commercial entity, subjecting donations to taxation, which could discourage potential funding. The tax could potentially be applied retrospectively. TRC is known for its investigative reporting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling government, ranging from corruption, government accountability, to allegations of corporate cronyism, and unethical business practices against the Adani Group, one of India’s wealthiest conglomerates.

    The directive against TRC follows a disturbing pattern of financial and legal pressures on independent media. In December 2024, the Bengaluru-based Kannada website The File, which has conducted investigations into all political parties in the southwestern state of Karnataka, also faced a similar tax order, which was reviewed by CPJ. The order revoked its tax exemptions, deeming its activities commercially oriented despite its public interest reporting.`

    In February 2023, income tax authorities in India searched BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai as part of an income-tax investigation, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary critical of Modi.

    CPJ contacted the commissioner of Central Board of Direct Taxes and the exemption commissioner in Delhi and tax authorities in Bangalore about TRC and The File’s cases but did not receive responses.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Livin’ La Vida Loca

    Waking up, day after day, and seeing continuous disasters visited upon the Palestinian people forecasts a day of facing the light at an increasingly dark level. It is impossible to be unaware of the genocide; yet an entire nation reinforces it. The American people are disposed to the sufferings its government inflicts upon others.

    Election of an authoritarian to the highest office, who appoints cabinet positions with qualifications that require little experience in government affairs and extensive experience in extramarital affairs, completes the mystification. Elise Stefanik, selected as America’s representative to the United Nations, agrees to the proposition that “Israel has a biblical right to the West Bank.” Shuddering! Doesn’t qualification for a cabinet position require knowledge that the bible does not determine right and that the Earth is round and not flat? Hopefully, UN security guards will bar entry of her and other vocal terrorists into the UN building.

    Maintaining the Declaration of Independence and Constitution will be a battle. Refusing to have the Old Testament on a night table and the Ten Commandments on the living room wall will be challenging . Knowing that America is in a dystopia, “livin’ a vida loca,” will be difficult to absorb. These are not the principal problems that prevent America from being great again. The principal problem in the United States is a government that has been unable to resolve its problems. For decades, a multitude of problems have surfaced, talked about, and been ignored. Suggestions for solutions are cast aside as empty words ─ U.S. governments are only interested in donor offerings and contributing lobbyists; attention to the people’s problems is time consuming and not remunerative.

    Look at the extensive record of problems, which has been growing for decades and have some obvious solutions. After these crisp answers, I might elaborate on them in forthcoming articles.

    (1) Social Security
    The ready to collapse Social Security system has present earners paying for retired workers and closely resembles a national pension plan. Instead of having workers and corporations pay FICA taxes, why not collect revenue from income and corporation taxes and finance a real national pension plan?

    (2) Gun Violence
    Decades of gun violence and shootings in schools have been succeeded by decades of gun violence and shootings in schools. An idea ─ get rid of the guns; nobody will miss them.

    (3) Climate Change
    In the 1964 presidential contest between Senator Goldwater and President Johnson, Goldwater posed as the “war hawk,” ready to pounce on the North Vietnamese. Johnson’s famous phrase was, “I’ll not have American boys do what Vietnamese boys should do.” After Johnson won the presidency and had “American boys do what Vietnamese boys should do,” Goldwater voters reminded everyone, “They told me if I voted for Goldwater our military intervention in Vietnam would greatly increase. I voted for Goldwater and they were correct.”

    In all elections, voters are reminded that voting Republican enhances global warming. In all elections that the Democrats won, those who voted Republican noted that global warming continued to increase.

    (4) Government debt
    Mention government debt and blood boils ─ another of those internalized issues, courtesy of the mind manipulators. Government debt is the result of problems and not the problem. The problems are (1) Income taxes are too low to finance meaningful government projects; (2) The military spending is too high and; (3) The economy runs on debt and government debt rescues a faltering economy. Give attention to the real problems and government debt will be greatly reduced.

    (5) War
    Since its official inception in 1789, the United States has attached itself to war in almost every day of its existence. Not widely mentioned and not widely apparent, U.S. forces are still shooting it up in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and parts of Africa. U.S. arms explode throughout the world. U.S. involvement in the genocide of the Palestinian people is inescapable. Americans do not know they prosper on the degradation of others and they survive well because others do not survive at all. While intending to end all wars, President Trump may learn that the U.S. cannot progress without war; war is a preventive for economic and social collapse in all 50 states.

    (6) Immigration
    Immigration to the United States has become a political football. Political correctness, catering to voters, and ultra-Right nationalism vs. ultra-Left internationalism have strangled an intelligent and objective analysis of a major issue, which is not immigration. The major issue is that the U.S. has supported oligarchies in Latin American nations. These oligarchies have created significant social and economic problems, which the disenfranchised relieve by fleeing to America’s shores. Uncontrolled emigration to the United States skews nations from their natural growth and conveniently deters them from seeking approaches to resolve their problems. The U.S. contributes to the emigration problem and should resolve the problem and not perpetuate it. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for all countries, including the United States, if the Latinos did not have the urge to emigrate?

    (7) International terrorism
    The September 11, 2001 attack – the first aerial bombings on American soil – compelled the United States government to wage a War on Terrorism. After more than twenty years of this battle, the U.S. has neither won the war nor totally contained terrorism; just the opposite ─ terrorism has grown in size, geographical extent, and power. Observe Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, and all of North Africa. One reason for this contradiction is obvious; the initial source of international terrorism is Israel’s terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza. The U.S. blends its battle against terrorism with preservation of American global interests. Each blended component contradicts the other and creates confusing missions in the U.S. War on Terrorism.

    (8) Economy
    A roller coaster American economy of accelerated growth and gasping recessions flattened itself with slow but steady growth in the Democratic administrations that succeeded the George W. Bush recession. Now we have Donald J. Trump, who claims he had the greatest economy ever, when all presidents had, in their times, the greatest economy ever, and previous administrations had more rapid growth and captured much more of world production. By proposing lower taxes, lower interest rates, and blistering tariffs, Trump is heading the U.S. into massive speculation, heightened debt, increased inflation, a falling dollar, and a return to a 19th century economy of robber barons, boom-and-bust, financial bankruptcies, and a drastic “beggar thy neighbor” policy. His sink China policy will sink the United States. America will no longer have friendly neighbors and might become the beggar.

    (9) Racism
    The United States consists of a mixture of several cultures and has no unique culture. People feel comfortable in their own culture and attach themselves to others and to institutions that reflect that culture. In a competitive society, this extends to gaining economic advantage and security by dominating other cultures. Social, political, and economic agendas use racism to promote this strategy and maintain domination.

    Competition between cultures, manifested as racism, is built into the American socio-economic system. Political, legal, and educational methods have ameliorated racism and have not abolished its corrosive effects. Slow progress to an integrated and unified culture, decades away, might finally resolve the problem of racism.

    (10) Health Care
    Health care is posed as a financial problem, insufficient funds to treat all equally. Health care is a socio-economic problem, where statistics show that nations having the most unequal distribution of income have the most maladjusted health care. More equal distribution of income is a key to adequate health care for all.

    (11) Political Divide
    Connie Morella, previous representative from Maryland’s 8th congressional district, enjoyed saying, “I sit and serve in the people’s house,” a phrase echoed by many congressionals. No people or sitters exist in the “people’s house.” Representatives stand for the special interest groups, Lobbies, and Political Action Committees (PAC) that donate to their campaigns and assure their return to office. The two political Parties stand united against the wants of the other and the political divide leads to political stagnation. Whatever Gilda wants, Gilda does not get. America coasts on a frictionless surface of contracting previous legislation and inaction, which is its preferred method of government.

    (12) Foreign Policy
    All administrations, the present included, have had foreign policies driven by two words, “empire expansion.” Until now, the U.S. has sought markets and resources and financed the expansion from its own banks. Donald trump seeks expansion by real estate maneuvers and seeks to have foreign sources finance the expansion. This emperor has no clothes and will bankrupt the U.S. in the same manner as he bankrupted his real estate enterprises.

    (13) Drug Addiction
    The epidemic drug addiction problem summarizes the attention given to most other national problems — despite a century of organized efforts to subdue the problem, “New numbers show drug abuse is getting worse across the country and in every community. Overdose deaths have never been higher and opioids and synthetic drugs are major contributors to the rising numbers.” President Nixon popularized the term “war on drugs,” but his administration’s Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 had an antecedent in the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914.

    Blaming China for supplying fentanyl ingredients to Mexican manufacturers, only one part of the total drug economy, does not change the source of the drug addiction and provides no resolution to the problem. Looking elsewhere, at nations where drug addiction is minor or has been alleviated is a start. Japan has a “strong social stigma against drug use, and some of the strictest drug laws globally; Iceland responded to high rates of teen substance abuse with “a comprehensive program that included increased funding for organized sports, music, and art programs, as well as a strictly enforced curfew for teens;” Singapore’s “notoriously strict drug laws have resulted in some of the lowest addiction rates in the world, including a zero-tolerance approach to drug use and trafficking, with mandatory death penalties for certain drug offenses;” Sweden “combines strict laws with a comprehensive rehabilitation approach in a ‘caring society’ model that emphasizes treatment and social support over punishment. Time Magazine recommends another approach.

    …history exposes the truth: the drug war isn’t winnable, as the Global Commission on Drug Policy stated in 2011. And simply legalizing marijuana is not enough. Instead only a wholesale rethinking of drug policy—one that abandons criminalization and focuses on true harm reduction, not coercive rehabilitation—can begin to undo the damage of decades of a misguided “war.”

    Skewing the GDP
    Replacing a building destroyed in a catastrophe augments the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in four ways — housing and helping those affected by the catastrophe, responding to mitigating the catastrophe, tearing down the destroyed home, and building a new home. The GDP benefits from the continual and unresolved problems.

    • Opioid cases generated a cost estimated at $1.5 trillion in the United States for the year 2010.
    • Gun violence generates over $1 billion in direct health care costs for victims and their families each year.
    • Climate change during 2011-2020 decade cost $1.5T in losses (Ed: might be debatable).
    • Health care costs are almost 20 percent of GDP.
    • The Defense budget for 2025 is $850 billion.

    In the disturbing world that is characterizing the United States, a combination of political stagnation, misdirection action, and low level of intellect and knowledge prevents solutions to recurring problems. American nationalists boast about having the highest GDP, not realizing that the boast uses tragedy to disguise more significant tragedies — moral, political, and economic decay of the once mighty USA.

    Upside, inside, out
    She’s livin’ la vida loca

    She’ll push and pull you down
    Livin’ la vida loca

    Her lips are devil red
    And her skin’s the color of mocha
    She will wear you out
    Livin’ la vida loca

    Livin’ la vida loca
    She’s livin’ la vida loca.

    The post Livin’ La Vida Loca first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Despite NBDSA order, News18 India does not take down offending bits from debate on Arvind Kejriwal

    In an order dated January 24, the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) directed News18 India, a channel affiliated with Mukesh Ambani-led Network18, to remove offensive sections from a controversial debate aired on its channel last year.

    The debate featured in an episode of the popular segment ‘Goonj with Rubika Liyaquat’ and aired on News18 India on March 28, 2024. The topic of discussion was alleged corruption by the Aam Aadmi Party following the arrest of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal the on March 21, 2024 over charges of corruption and money laundering in the now-scrapped liquor policy.

    The NBDSA is an independent self-regulatory body which monitors news content in the broadcast and digital mediums. It was of the opinion that the programme and the way its anchor Rubika Liyaquat conducted the debate violated its guidelines on neutrality and “attributed guilt in a matter that is sub judice”.

    The NBDSA gave the channel seven days (up to January 31) to comply and make edits to this episode. However, as of February 3, Alt News found that News18 India had not removed these “offending portions” and the episode in its entirety was available online for all to see.

    Why did the NBDSA issue this order?

    Action by the NBDSA came after Pune-based activist Indrajeet Ghorpade’s complaint against the show and its anchor, Liyaquat. Ghorpade, in a formal complaint dated April 1, 2024, said that the channel justified the “falsehood promoted by the BJP spokesperson, who said the courts have found the Delhi CM guilty”.

    During the debate, around the 7:58-minute mark, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala wrongly claimed that the court said Kejriwal cannot be granted any relief because he committed a “scam”. Note that Kejriwal was indicted or accused of executing the excise policy and allegedly laundering money from it, the court had not convicted him in the case. He was arrested for skipping Enforcement Directorate summons nine times. Liyaquat, however, does not correct Poonawala.

     

    Additionally, throughout the programme, Liyaquat uses phrases that imply Kejriwal was guilty and convicted. Around the 14:30-minute time stamp, responding to the AAP spokesperson, Liyaquat says questioning the ED was bizarre and that the party should “admit” that the truth had been exposed.

    In another instance, she says “Agar bhrashtachar nahi hiya hota aur itne bade aarop nahi lagte, toh main keh deti ki aap jo keh rahen hai usme dum hai.” (“Had your party not committed corruption, such grave charges were not levelled against you, I would have said what you are saying has substance.”)

     

    Not just that, Ghorpade’s complaint says that Liyaquat’s defence of the prime minister almost indicates a partisan attitude. This can be seen around the 37:25-minute mark of the debate, where Liyaquat subjects viewers to a bitter diatribe against Samajwadi Party spokesperson, Ameeque Jamei for calling Modi a corrupt Prime Minister. When Jamei accuses Modi of running a national-level extortion racket through the Electoral Bonds scheme (which has since been decreed unconstitutional) as well as the ED, Liyaquat angrily demands that he maintain etiquette and decorum while talking about the country’s Prime Minister. Modi, she insinuates, must be respected for the sole reason that he is the country’s Prime Minister. She then challenges the speaker to prove that Modi is corrupt. “I will defend the Prime Minister of my country—why wouldn’t I?” she says.

     

    She then implicates the speaker as being a stooge of the opposition party, levelling the defamatory accusation that he receives monetary benefit from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to turn a blind eye towards corruption by her.  “Are you on Mamata didi’s payroll? He (Narendra Modi) is the Prime Minister of my country. Like I respect your Akhilesh Yadav, won’t you respect the Prime Minister of the country? You hate that man so much that you don’t even respect his chair. This (hate) is what is drowning you. The hate inside you is eating you up, and you don’t even know it. Are you on Didi’s payroll? Is she giving you money? You say what you want about the Bharatiya Janata Party, but don’t say anything against my country’s Prime Minister. You speak against any politician you want, but don’t say anything against my Prime Minister. You say what you want to the politicians. You are filled with hate, and this hate will consume you.”

    “I will certainly defend the Prime Minister of the country, taal thok ke, I will defend him. No mai ka laal can stop me. Is that clear?” Rubika exclaims. What makes this even more convoluted is the fact that this debate programme had been aired less than a month before the commencement of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

     

    News18 India submitted its reponses against Ghorpade’s complaints to the NBDSA on April 11, 2024. It outright denied that the episode in any way implied or attributed guilt to Kejriwal and said that Liyaquat was merely raising questions as part of her “journalistic duty” without violating “principles of impartiality”.

    However, the NBDSA found that Liyaquat’s phrasing and conduct during the debate did violate Specific Guidelines for Reporting Court Proceedings (as laid down by the News Broadcasting Standards Authority) and the principle of neutrality under the Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards. The regulatory body, in its order, said that “the anchor had attributed guilt in a matter that is sub judice”.

    The NBDSA also observed that this section was violative of the judgment of the Bombay High Court in Nilesh Navlakha & Anr. vs UOl & Ors (2021) SCC Online BOM 56, which held that the right to freedom of speech and expression enjoyed by media broadcasters cannot trump the right to fair information enjoyed by the citizenry. As such, media houses must have an adequate protocol for publishing information, especially on sensitive court proceedings to ensure that their reporting does not hamper the ongoing investigation in any way.

    News18 India also said that Liyaquat’s defence of the Prime Minister did not violate any guidelines and that it was the natural reaction of an “ordinary citizen” against someone using “objectionable language” for someone occupying one of the highest constitutional posts in the country.

    Ghorpade’s complaint said that Liyaquat’s conduct and defence of Modi fed into the larger narrative that anyone criticising the government was a traitor and anti-national.

    The NBDSA found that Liyaquat’s behaviour did violate the Code of Conduct. It said that while the anchor was well within her rights in defending the Prime Minister, she should have exercised restraint and maintained a professional tone to ensure that the discussion did not retract from a meaningful debate.

    Not the first time

    It is interesting to note that this is not the first time the NBDSA has flagged News18 India’s content. Alt News previously reported on several violations, including one such instance from November 2024, where the NBDSA had issued a warning to the broadcaster for airing an interview with Hindu seer Dhirendra Shastri, also known as Baba Bageshwar, on July 10, 2024. Shastri had made communally divisive statements and encouraged the conspiracy on ‘love jihad’, violating specific guidelines on reportage related to Racial and Religious Harmony, as well as the guidelines on Supernatural, Occultism, and Paranormal content, as laid down by the NBDSA.

    In February 2024, the NBDSA had fined the broadcaster Rs 50,000 for stereotyping the Muslim community as barbaric and perpetuating the ‘love jihad’ conspiracy in the case of Shraddha Walker, who was killed by her partner in Delhi and later hacked to pieces.

    In 2023, News18 India was fined Rs 25,000 by the NBDSA for having vilified the Muslim community and celebrating extrajudicial violence against Muslim men.

    In October 2022, News18 India was slapped with a Rs 50,000 fine for associating Muslim female protestors with terrorism. Along  an order for the news cwith the fine, the NBDSA ordered the channel to train its anchor Aman Chopra on how to host debates on sensitive issues.

    In June 2022, News18 India was asked to take down a fake video that perpetuated the conspiracy of ‘thook jihad’, which had been broadcast in 2021.

    Repeated violations of the NBDSA guidelines is testimony to the fact that News18 India has compromised its journalistic spirit in favour of an almost partisan take. It does this by lecturing and castigating speakers from the opposition parties, as well as clamping down on any oppositional views and critiques of the Prime Minister. Moreover, the channel has frequently amplified misinformation as well as run smear campaigns on Opposition parties.

    The post Despite NBDSA order, News18 India does not take down offending bits from debate on Arvind Kejriwal appeared first on Alt News.


    This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Prantik Ali.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • India’s BrahMos Anti-Ship Missile A Key to Pacific Anti-Access

    In April, the Philippines Navy received its first BrahMos ground launched cruise anti-ship missile, ordered in a US$275 million January 2022 contract and to be employed by its Marines as the Land Based Weapon System (LBWS) in April 2025. Recently the Philippines Army has indicted its own interest to acquire as many as additional nine […]

    The post India’s BrahMos Anti-Ship Missile A Key to Pacific Anti-Access appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Farmers Organize Tractor Rallies Across India

    Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and other farmers’ groups carried out tractor parades in areas across India on the country’s Republic Day on Sunday, January 26. Their national mobilization was in an effort to continue putting pressure on the central government to respond to their demands.

    The demands of farmers include a legally guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) for all farm produce, the withdrawal of the draft National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing (NPFAM), the withdrawal of all pending cases against farmer leaders, and loan waivers for farmers and farm workers, among others.

    The post Farmers Organize Tractor Rallies Across India appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Till consent do us part: the Marital Rape Exception and India’s constitutional deficit

    As the Indian Supreme Court prepares to hear the landmark case challenging India’s Marital Rape Exception, Kanaksha Kataria discusses how this colonial-era law violates a multitude of constitutional rights. Drawing on leading constitutional frameworks, she argues the legal immunity granted to husbands creates a sanctioned hierarchy of oppression that fundamentally undermines married women’s constitutional rights to equality, dignity, and bodily autonomy. 

    The Marital Rape Exception (MRE) in Indian criminal law stands as one of the most patriarchal yet contentious vestiges of colonial jurisprudence. MRE exemplifies the deep contradiction between conventional patriarchal norms and basic constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity and autonomy. As the Supreme Court prepares to address this issue in Hrikesh Sahoo v. State of Karnataka, the fundamental question emerges yet again: can the legal immunity granted to husbands for non-consensual sexual acts within marriage withstand constitutional scrutiny?

    This analysis evaluates the constitutional invalidity of MRE via several lenses. First, drawing on Tarunabh Khaitan’s framework of discrimination law, it is argued that MRE fails the stringent standards of Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution. Second, it is argued that MRE transgresses beyond equality provisions and ruthlessly undermines married women’s rights to dignity, personal liberty, and freedom from exploitation under Articles 19, 21, and 23.

    Neoteric jurisprudential developments make the MRE’s constitutional position progressively untenable. The Supreme Court’s interpretations in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (decriminalising consensual same-sex relations) and Joseph Shine v. Union of India (decriminalising adultery) have signalled progressive shifts, bolstering the constitutional foundation for personal autonomy and sexual agency. Yet, the existence of MRE creates a paradoxical constitutional framework where married women possess fewer rights over their bodily autonomy than their unmarried counterparts. This legal matrix creates a sanctioned hierarchy of oppression by actively perpetuating a hierarchal regime of rights protections, effectively institutionalising gender-based discrimination.

    The persistence of this legally sanctioned hierarchy is understood through Rochana Bajpai’s concept of the “normative deficit” in the Indian constitutional framework. While Bajpai originally developed this argument to analyse group-differentiated rights, its application to MRE reveals why orthodox and constitutionally infirm value systems continue to undermine fundamental protections.

    Violations of Article 14: the Right to Equality and Non-discrimination

    MRE violates this principle by creating an arbitrary distinction between married and unmarried women when it comes to sexual autonomy and protection from sexual violence. To analyse the unconstitutionality of the MRE under Article 14, one must apply the two well-established tests: (1) the reasonable classification test, and (2) the arbitrariness test.

    1. The test of reasonable classification
    Under this test, a law must satisfy two conditions:

    • The classification must be based on an intelligible differential.
    • There must be a rational nexus between the differentia and the object sought to be achieved by the law.

    A. Intelligible differentia
    Intelligible differentia denotes a criterion to test reasonable classification. It is a lucid and discernible ground that distinguishes one group of people or situations from another for legislative purposes. It is the parameter which justifies treating groups distinctly. MRE classifies women based on their marital status. It distinguishes between married and unmarried women. This classification is prima facie based on intelligible differentia. It recognises the status of marriage as a legal relationship distinct from other relationships. So, it makes a clear distinction between married women and unmarried women regarding sexual intercourse and consent.

    B. Rational nexus
    However, the differentia must not only be intelligible, but it must also bear a rational connection to the object of the law. The object of rape laws, as defined under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, is to protect a woman’s bodily integrity and sexual autonomy by criminalising non-consensual sexual intercourse. MRE undermines this objective by exempting husbands from prosecution for non-consensual sexual acts within marriage. This exemption does not serve the goal of protecting women from sexual violence. Instead, it creates a legal loophole where a woman’s consent is devalued simply because of her marital status i.e. her relationship with the very perpetrator of the crime.

    The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that laws failing to achieve their stated objectives are unconstitutional. In State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar and EP Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu, the Court emphasised that the classification must have a rational nexus to the purpose of the law. In this case, the object of protecting women from sexual violence is undermined by the distinction based on marital status, as MRE excludes married women from the same legal protections available to unmarried women. Thus, it violates the core tenets of equality enshrined under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.

    C. Strict scrutiny
    MRE should be subject to the strict scrutiny standard because it involves a fundamental right – the right to bodily autonomy and sexual integrity under Article 21. When a law infringes upon fundamental rights, the courts are required to apply strict scrutiny, which requires that the law:

    • Must have a compelling state interest, and
    • Must be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest in the least restrictive way.

    In this case, the purported compelling state interest is the preservation of the sanctity of marriage. However, this interest cannot justify the violation of a woman’s fundamental right to bodily autonomy. The preservation of marriage cannot be elevated above an individual’s fundamental right to consent or refuse sexual intercourse. In other words, the object of “preserving marriages” based on patriarchal notions cannot override constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. As the Supreme Court held in Shayara Bano v. Union of India, laws that operate on patriarchal assumptions about women’s roles in marriage are inherently discriminatory and violate constitutional principles of equality.

    Further, the law is not narrowly tailored to achieve its objective. Even if protecting the institution of marriage is considered a legitimate interest, MRE is an overly broad measure. Instead of addressing the complexities of marital relationships through other legal mechanisms, MRE gives blanket immunity to husbands. Here stripping married women of their fundamental right to bodily integrity is overlooked and in turn, criminal impunity is extended. Under strict scrutiny, this law would clearly fail because it is neither justified by a compelling interest nor narrowly tailored to achieve that interest without infringing on fundamental rights.

    2. The test of arbitrariness
    As established in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and EP Royappa, arbitrariness is antithetical to equality under Article 14. A law is arbitrary when it acts irrationally, disproportionately, or without a proper guiding principle. MRE creates an arbitrary distinction between married and unmarried women by assuming that married women, by their marital status, have consented to all future sexual acts with their husbands.

    This assumption of irrevocable consent is rooted in patriarchal norms that view marriage as a license for the husband’s unchecked control over the wife’s body. Such an outdated notion is arbitrary because it disregards the evolving understanding of marriage as a partnership between equals, where both parties retain their autonomy. By treating sexual consent within marriage differently than outside marriage, MRE operates irrationally, disproportionately impacting married women and denying them the equal protection of the law. This implies that legally such women are not victims of sexual abuse simply because the perpetrator is their husband.

    As Justice Nariman explained in Shayara Bano, manifest arbitrariness includes laws that operate disproportionately and without adequate guiding principles. MRE allows married women to be subjected to sexual violence without legal recourse, which clearly meets the definition of manifest arbitrariness. It is excessive, irrational, and fails to recognise married women as autonomous individuals deserving of equal protection under the law.

    Violations of Article 15: Prohibition of Discrimination
    MRE also violates Article 15(1) of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex. Khaitan’s work provides a framework for understanding how the MRE discriminates against women by reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes and creating an unequal legal regime for married women.

    1. Anti stereotyping principle
    The anti-stereotyping principle, as highlighted in Anuj Garg and Navtej Singh Johar, prohibits laws that are based on gendered stereotypes. The MRE rests on the archaic notion that women, once married, implicitly consent to sexual relations with their husbands in semper. This perpetuates the stereotype of women as submissive sexual partners who are bound by the norms of marriage. It reinforces the damaging stereotype that marriage strips women of their individuality, compelling them to sacrifice even their most fundamental rights in the name of preserving peace.

    By allowing husbands to act on these stereotypes with impunity, MRE effectively reduces the married woman’s sexual autonomy to that of her husband’s property, violating the anti-stereotyping principle under Article 15. The concept of marital consent as irrevocable and automatic has no place in a modern constitutional framework based on equality and autonomy.

    2. Intersectionality and gender discrimination
    Khaitan also emphasises the importance of considering intersectionality when analysing gender-based discrimination. In this context, MRE discriminates against women based not just on their gender but also on their marital status. Married women are subjected to a higher threshold of rights violations due to their gender and their relationship status resulting in multi-dimensional discrimination. The Court’s evolving jurisprudence on equality, especially in Joseph Shine, highlights how patriarchy and marriage norms have historically suppressed women’s autonomy, and how such suppression cannot be constitutionally justified under Article 15.

    The broader constitutional implications: Articles 19, 21, and 23
    The constitutional violations stemming from MRE extend beyond Articles 14 and 15. Article 19(1)(a) protects personal expression, which includes sexual autonomy. By legally depriving married women of their right to say “no,” MRE silences a critical aspect of self-expression. Additionally, Article 21’s guarantee of life and personal liberty has been liberally construed to include dignity and bodily integrity (per Maneka Gandhi, Puttaswamy etc). MRE, by stripping married women of autonomy over their bodies, violates this essential right to live with dignity. Further, Article 23’s prohibition against forced labour jurisprudentially extends to situations where coercion is social, economic, or legal. When women are legally compelled to engage in non-consensual sexual acts, the law becomes complicit in enabling a form of forced labour within the home, undermining constitutional protections against servitude.

    The proportionality test: why MRE fails judicial scrutiny
    India’s judicial system frequently applies the proportionality test to assess restrictions on fundamental rights, requiring that such measures serve a legitimate aim and are necessary and proportionate to achieving that aim. MRE, purportedly intended to preserve the sanctity of marriage, cannot be justified by this rationale. As seen in Shayara Bano, preserving patriarchal norms cannot override the fundamental rights to equality and autonomy. Moreover, less restrictive measures – such as promoting mutual respect within marriage – could achieve the same objectives without infringing on a woman’s autonomy.

    MRE and the “normative deficit” in Indian law
    Rochana Bajpai’s argument on group-differentiated rights is a viable theoretical lens to examine MRE. Bajpai’s theory sheds light on why certain profound constitutional guarantees remain unrealised despite their formal recognition. MRE epitomises what Bajpai calls a “normative deficit”- a lack of established and reasoned justifications to substantiate rights – in three crucial ways. First, akin to under-theorised protections of cultural and religious minority rights that Bajpai analysed, women’s sexual autonomy within marriage is bereft of a well-founded normative justification in Indian jurisprudence. Second, this lacuna of a robust normative justification has allowed patriarchal and misogynist assumptions to fill the void thereby perpetuating the fiction of what can be termed “perpetual consent”. Third and most critically, the failure to develop any normative justification has transversed constitutional silence to active institutional oppression.

    This vacuum of normativity has several profound implications. Rather than just failing to protect married women’s rights, the legal system and the State actively participate in their subordination. MRE exemplifies not merely an oversight but also a systemic devaluation of constitutional principles- where the institution of matrimony, paradoxically, strips women of fundamental protections that they would otherwise possess. This state-endorsed hierarchy of rights shows how normative deficits can calcify into a stark constitutional deficit by allowing socially entrenched patriarchal norms to masquerade as statutory and legal principles.

    The continued existence of MRE reveals how the lack of strong normative frameworks does not merely leave a void but creates room for unconstitutional practices to acquire legitimacy. Just like in the case of cultural and religious minorities, it so happens that these unconstitutional practices are often at the cost of minority protections.

    The path forward
    MRE stands as the epitome of constitutional abdication and normative failure in Indian law. Through its unconstitutional and inhumane preservation of patriarchal power within marriage, it not only contravenes fundamental rights but also legitimises gender inequality and violence in one of the most intimate spheres of human life. The constitutional challenge in Hrikesh Sahoo v. State of Karnataka gives the Supreme Court a historic opportunity to remedy this long-standing injustice. Such a step would go a long way in fulfilling the Constitutional promise of equal dignity and autonomy for all.

    All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s), and not the position of the Department of Sociology, LSE Human Rights, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

    Image credit: Prakhar Sharma

    This post was originally published on LSE Human Rights.

  • In India, 4 suspects arrested over killing of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar

    New Delhi, January 9, 2025—Indian authorities must ensure justice for murdered Indian journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, whose body was found in a septic tank on January 3, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

    Mukesh Chandrakar, a freelance reporter, was last seen in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on January 1. His brother reported him missing the following day. On January 3, the journalist’s mutilated body was discovered on a property owned by his cousin, contractor Suresh Chandrakar.

    The contractor and three other suspects were arrested on January 4 and 5 and remanded in custody for 14 days on January 6.

    In late December, the news channel NDTV had aired Mukesh Chandrakar’s investigation into alleged corruption in a 1.2 billion rupee (US$12 million) road project, which implicated Suresh Chandrakar and prompted a state government inquiry.

    “The murder of Mukesh Chandrakar, whose reporting exposed alleged corruption in public infrastructure projects, is a tragic reminder of the dangers faced by Indian journalists in small towns and rural areas,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna. “Protecting vulnerable journalists is vital for preserving press freedom and democracy.”  

    Mukesh Chandrakar reported on local issues such as the local Naxalite-Maoist insurgency on his YouTube channel Bastar Junction, in addition to freelancing for other outlets.

    Mayank Gurjar, head of a police Special Investigation Team set up by the state government to investigate the murder, told CPJ that the four suspects were charged with murder, conspiracy, destruction of evidence, and other offenses under India’s criminal code.

    “At this stage we cannot pinpoint a single motive. While the victim’s journalistic work is a possible consideration, we cannot confirm this as the definitive reason until our investigation is complete,” said Gurjar.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • China creates 2 new counties in disputed mountainous area claimed by India

    Read RFA coverage of this story in Uyghur.

    China has created two new counties in southwestern Xinjiang in disputed territory also claimed by India, a move analysts say is aimed at strengthening Beijing’s control over the area — and will likely exacerbate tension with India.

    The two new counties — Hekang and He’an — are in Aksai Chin, a rugged, high-altitude desert area that China took from India in 1962 during the Sino-Indian War. It is the easternmost part of the larger Kashmir region claimed by India as part of its Nubra district in Ladakh.

    “The two new counties show that China is consolidating its control over Aksai Chin,” said Anders Corr, principal of the New York-based political risk firm Corr Analytics.

    “The move will further inflame tensions with India, which might seek to retake the Aksai Chin if there is a war with China over Taiwan, for example,” he said.

    India objected by lodging an official protest with Beijing, according to Indian media reports.

    The decision to create the two new counties was approved by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council, according to a Dec. 27 announcement on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government’s website.

    The He’an county government will be located in Yulghun township, or Hongliu in Chinese, of Hotan county, while the Hekang county government will be located in Shaydulla township of Guma county, the announcement said.

    Renaming locations

    In other spots along its border with India, China has renamed locations to reflect its desire for territorial expansion and to normalize its occupation of disputed areas.

    Last year, Beijing issued Chinese names for 30 locations in India’s Arunachal Pradesh to bolster its claims to that territory.

    Speaking to reporters on Jan. 3, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said India never accepted China’s “illegal occupation of Indian territory in this area,” The Hindu reported.

    “The creation of new counties will neither have a bearing on India’s long-standing and consistent position regarding our sovereignty over the area nor lend legitimacy to China’s illegal and forcible occupation of the same,” he was quoted as saying.

    Jaiswal also said India conveyed its concerns to Beijing about the planned construction of a mega hydropower project — which would be the world’s largest such dam — on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the Tibetan name of Brahmaputra River, which flows through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

    ‘Break apart India’

    China had expressed its willingness to cooperate with India on border issues, and on Dec. 18, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing for the 23rd round of boundary negotiations.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 23, 2024.
    Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 23, 2024.
    (Reuters)

    But just 10 days later, China announced the creation of the two counties — which U.S. political analyst Gordon G. Chang said could be a negotiating ploy.

    “After all, the Chinese are talking to the Indians about territorial matters,” he said. “But we have to step back and understand that China is seeking to break apart India. It has for decades. This establishment of counties is just another tactic in a very long series of tactics of China to break apart India.”

    Erkin Ekrem, a professor at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, said the move is part of Beijing’s pressure tactics against India.

    “The aim is to pressure India with a viewpoint or policy that claims this region has historically been Chinese territory in order to resolve the border dispute, and they have been trying to gain control of whatever border they desire,” he said.

    Ekrem predicted that China would try to relocate Uyghurs living in the Aksai Chin area and bring in Han Chinese settlers.

    He said this is what occurred nine years ago when Chinese authorities established the city of Qurumqash, or Kunyu in Chinese, in Xinjiang, when they brought in many Han Chinese with the Bingtuan, a state-run economic and paramilitary organization that develops land and secures borders.

    Leveraging infrastructure

    Major infrastructure projects in Xinjiang and neighboring Tibet are positioning China to have the upper hand in territorial disputes and other disagreements that could escalate, Ekrem said.

    The creation of a massive reservoir in Tibet, for instance, not only secures China’s water resources but also gives the Chinese leverage over India and other bordering countries, he said.

    Recent upgrades to Hotan’s dual-use airport mean that the air field can be used by the military in the event of a conflict with India, and extensive railway networks built by the Chinese in Tibet can facilitate rapid troop deployment, he said.

    “Through these infrastructure developments in both East Turkestan and Tibet, China has created a strategic advantage from military and defense perspectives,” Ekrem said, using Uyghurs’ preferred name for Xinjiang.

    “These regions can serve as a rear base in any potential conflict with India, allowing China to potentially gain control of the region,” he said. “This strategic positioning explains the significance of these new construction projects and establishment of the counties.”

    Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Uyghar for RFA Uyghur.

  • Dalai Lama receives stirring welcome on arrival in South India | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Dalai Lama receives stirring welcome on arrival in South India | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Dalai Lama gets stirring welcome in South India for extended stay

    Read RFA coverage of this story in Tibetan.

    UPDATED at 5:17 P.M. ET on 01-06-2025

    The Dalai Lama on Sunday received a stirring welcome in South India, where more than 10,000 Tibetans lined the streets to greet the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader as he arrived for an extended stay at the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Bylakuppe.

    It was his first visit to the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement in the Indian state of Karnataka — the largest Tibetan settlement in the world outside Tibet — in over seven years. Over 20,000 Tibetans live in the community, which was established on land leased by the state government for Tibetans who resettled in India after 1959.

    The Dalai Lama was warmly welcomed in South India as 10,000 Tibetans cheered his arrival at Bylakuppe, his first visit in 7 years.

    That was the year that China quelled the Tibetan national uprising movement and annexed Tibet, prompting the 14th Dalai Lama to flee to India alongside thousands of Tibetans.

    The trip also marked the Dalai Lama’s first domestic travel within India after his return to his residence in Dharamsala in the northern part of the county in late August 2024, following a two-month stay in the United States, where he underwent a successful knee replacement surgery in New York.

    The visit comes as the Dalai Lama, 89, tries to allay concerns over his general health amid questions about his successor. The Chinese government insists it will select the 15th Dalai Lama, though Tibetan Buddhists believe in the reincarnation of their spiritual leaders.

    The Dalai Lama on Sunday received a stirring welcome in South India as more than 10,000 Tibetans, young and old, lined the streets to greet the Tibetan spiritual leader as he arrived for an extended stay in the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Bylakuppe – his first visit to the South Indian settlement in over seven years.
    The Dalai Lama on Sunday received a stirring welcome in South India as more than 10,000 Tibetans, young and old, lined the streets to greet the Tibetan spiritual leader as he arrived for an extended stay in the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Bylakuppe – his first visit to the South Indian settlement in over seven years.
    (Multimedia video)

    The Dalai Lama, who has said he expects to live to be over 100 years old to fulfill the wishes of the Tibetan people, has stated that his incarnation could be found in India.

    “Today, I have come to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery which was founded by Gyalwa Gendun Drub, the First Dalai Lama,” he said, at a reception ceremony in the monastery. “As his successor, I feel happy and honored to be here today.”

    The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, known as the seat of the Panchen Lama, was founded in 1447 in Shigatse, Tibet, by the first Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gendun Drub. After China’s occupation of Tibet, the monastery was re-established in Bylakuppe, South India, in 1972 by senior monks under the guidance of the Dalai Lama.

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    “In Tibet, the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery was renowned for the quality of the monks’ studies of Buddhist philosophy and logic,” he said. “It is one of Tibet’s most important monasteries,” the Dalai Lama said.

    The exact duration of the Dalai Lama’s “extended stay” in South India has not been disclosed.

    Local Tibetan officials told RFA that the primary purpose of his visit is to rest and enjoy the warmer climate of South India in the winter, and that, as such, no major teachings have, as yet, been planned.

    However, from Wednesday onwards, public blessings for the Tibetan people are expected to be held three times a week — every from Monday, Wednesday and Friday — with the initial rounds to focus on Tibetans aged 80 and above, according to the Dalai Lama’s office.

    Rousing welcome

    The Dalai Lama left his residence in Dharamsala on Jan. 3 for an overnight stay in the Indian capital New Delhi, from where he made a journey to Bangalore the following day. There, hundreds of Tibetan professionals, students and businessmen dressed in their traditional best greeted him with incense, flowers and silk scarves.

    On Jan. 5, the Dalai Lama flew by helicopter from Bangalore to the Bylakuppe settlement. All along the more than 5-kilometer (3-mile) stretch of road leading to the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, thousands of Tibetans carrying traditional silk scarves and incense welcomed him amid the sounds of cymbals, drums and horns, as monks and nuns chanted.

    “All of us residents of the Tibetan settlements in South India are very fortunate that His Holiness is here,” said Namgyal, who hails from the Doeguling Tibetan Settlement in Mundgod, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Bylakuppe.

    “Even though I’m old, I’ve made the journey to be here to satisfy my heart’s desire to see His Holiness,” he said.

    Thousands of Tibetans line a street in the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement in the Indian state of Karnataka to greet the Dalai Lama, Dec. 5, 2025.
    Thousands of Tibetans line a street in the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement in the Indian state of Karnataka to greet the Dalai Lama, Dec. 5, 2025.
    (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)

    Tsewang Dolma, an elderly woman from the Tibetan settlement in Hunsur, over 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Bylakuppe, said she was elated about the visit.

    “I feel very emotional and am almost tearing up,” she told Radio Free Asia, while holding a bouquet of flowers to welcome the Dalai Lama. “All I pray for is that he lives a long, long life.”

    Role of Buddhist monasteries

    The Dalai Lama’s last visit to Bylakuppe was in December 2017, during which he gave Buddhist teachings at Sera Jey and Sera Mey monasteries.

    In his address at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, where the heads of all the different Tibetan monastic institutions were gathered, the Dalai Lama emphasized the critical importance of monasteries in serving as “centers of learning” for Buddhist study and practice.

    “As I have always advised, the principal purpose of a monastery is to serve as a center of learning where monks and nuns have the opportunity to study and put into practice the Buddha’s teachings,” he said.

    “Members of all the monastic institutions should strive to uphold the Buddha’s teachings, particularly in this degenerate age,” the Dalai Lama said, while noting the growing interest in Buddhism in China and other regions.

    “Today, many people around the world who are not Buddhists are taking an interest in the Buddha’s teachings,” he added. “These include scientists who value the Buddhist tradition’s emphasis and use of reason and logic.”

    Translated by Tenzin Norzom and Tashi Wangchuk. Edited by Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan, and by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

    The story was updated to say that over 20,000 Tibetans live in the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Pema Ngodup, Dickey Kundol and Tenzin Dhonyoe for RFA Tibetan.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indians in Flood-Prone Areas Are on Front Lines of Growing Mental Health Crisis

    Whenever farmer Namdev Kamble visits a doctor, he remembers the hundreds of trees that once surrounded him. “We live in the same area today, but everything around us has changed completely,” he said in a voice heavy with nostalgia and loss. On his way to his farmland in Shirdhon village of India’s Maharashtra state, Kamble would see the giant tamarind, babul, neem, and several other types of…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • India’s Free Library Movement Counters Caste Discrimination

    Outside the Khirki branch of Delhi’s Community Library Project, a signboard details the day’s programs, including scheduled story times and art activities. Children bounce and buzz as they wait in line to check out their books. Patrons take advantage of clean public bathrooms, drinking water (in short supply in many of Delhi’s unplanned communities) and internet-connected laptops. This library feels more like my home Windsor Terrace branch of the Brooklyn Public Library than it does the Delhi Public Library a few kilometers away. The biggest difference?

    The post India’s Free Library Movement Counters Caste Discrimination appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • EXPLAINED: Why is an internet-famous Vietnamese monk on a trek to India?

    A Vietnamese monk who became an internet hit last year is going international.

    Thich Minh Tue, 44, is on a 2,700-kilometer (1,650-mile) barefoot pilgrimage across Thailand and Myanmar to Buddhist sites in India — if authorities will let him.

    He left Vietnam in late November, walked across Laos and entered Thailand on Dec. 31. Next he’s bound for Bangkok.

    His roadside journey -– carrying just a rice cooker and a few other personal items while accompanied by a handful of supporters -– is similar to his walk through Vietnam last year, which brought him fame as social media influencers documented his travels.

    Who is Thich Minh Tue and why does he matter?

    Le Anh Tu, who took the monk name Thich Minh Tue (“Thich” means “Venerable”), became a household name in Vietnam last May when he was on a barefoot walk across that country.

    Followers on and off social media were drawn to his humble attitude and ascetic practices. Sporting a shaved head and wearing a patched robe, Thich Minh Tue usually goes barefoot, which is common among monks.

    Thich Minh Tue, the Vietnamese “barefoot monk” who became an internet sensation, is on a pilgrimage to India.

    And actually, Thich Minh Tue isn’t officially a monk because he’s not recognized by the state-sanctioned Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, or community.

    That doesn’t seem to matter to him or to his fans. He says he’s simply trying to live out the teachings of Buddha.

    But the attention he was getting appeared to worry the authorities. In early June, law enforcement officials raided his camp in the middle of the night, detaining him and several of his followers. That prompted an international call for his release.

    How does Thich Minh Tue practice his religion?

    Thich Minh Tue adheres to a form of Buddhism that requires followers to own only three sets of clothes, to subsist by collecting alms house to house and to live a low-impact life in outdoor places like forests, mountains or even in graveyards.

    He began his religious journey six years ago and has since made several pilgrimages on foot between Vietnam’s southeastern city of Nha Trang and the northern border with China. It was only after his trip in May was covered on social media that he drew widespread attention.

    Supporters say his modest ways stand in contrast to senior monks in Vietnam who encourage followers to give offerings while living in large pagodas and flaunting expensive watches and luxury cars.

    Vietnamese monk Thich Minh Tue is seated in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Jan. 1, 2025, one day after he arrived in Thailand from Laos.
    Vietnamese monk Thich Minh Tue is seated in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Jan. 1, 2025, one day after he arrived in Thailand from Laos.
    (RFA)

    How freely can people practice religion in Vietnam?

    Freedom of religion is technically enshrined in Vietnam’s constitution but Thich Minh Tue does not belong to a Buddhist sect that is recognized by the state. Without recognition, religious groups are not allowed to organize in Vietnam –- a policy some say demonstrates how protections for religion exist in name only.

    In its 2024 annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, said Vietnamese authorities “continue to monitor all religious activity closely, often harassing, detaining, or otherwise preventing unregistered faith communities from exercising their fundamental right to religious freedom.”

    USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Vietnam a Country of Particular Concern because its government engages in or tolerates “particularly severe” violations of religious freedom.

    Vietnamese monk Thich Minh Tue walks in Chong Mek, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Dec. 31, 2024, as he arrives in Thailand from Laos.
    Vietnamese monk Thich Minh Tue walks in Chong Mek, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Dec. 31, 2024, as he arrives in Thailand from Laos.
    (RFA)

    What prompted Thich Minh Tue to leave Vietnam?

    Thich Minh Tue disappeared from public view for nearly a month after authorities raided his camp in June.

    He resurfaced in July, and then in November, several letters purportedly written in his own hand began to circulate on social media.

    In one letter, Thich Minh Tue said he would no longer adhere to a vow of poverty as he continued to study the Buddhist virtues. A newspaper report said he had announced he would no longer be begging for alms to prevent disruption to “security, order, and social and political safety.”

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    Supporters were quick to question whether he had been forced to write the letter under duress, or whether someone else had wrote it for him.

    At about the same time, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs announced on its website that Thich Minh Tue had “voluntarily retired.”

    Why is he walking to India?

    But then in November, Thich Minh Tue announced that he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to visit religious sites in India, where Buddhism originated.

    The question remains whether he will be allowed to return to Vietnam after the pilgrimage, a Thai observer told BenarNews.

    The observer, who requested anonymity for security reasons, noted that Thich Minh Tue is being accompanied by Doan Van Bau, a former security official in the Vietnamese government who specialized in criminology and psychological operations.

    “It is unclear whether he was assigned to escort the monk out of the spotlight in Vietnam and lessen his influence there,” he said.

    Vietnamese monk Thich Minh Tue, center, walks in Chong Mek, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Dec. 31, 2024, as he arrives in Thailand from Laos.
    Vietnamese monk Thich Minh Tue, center, walks in Chong Mek, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Dec. 31, 2024, as he arrives in Thailand from Laos.
    (RFA)

    A Thai police officer said Thich Minh Tue came into the country legally.

    “He didn’t indicate plans to travel to Myanmar, only stating he was coming for a pilgrimage, and we haven’t found any violations,” said Police Lt. Col. Kittipong Thanomsin of the border town of Chong Mek.

    “There are no concerns or need for special coordination, as we conduct regular checks as usual,” he told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news outlet. “There has been no communication from Vietnam.”

    Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. BenarNews’ Nontarat Phaicharoen and Ruj Chuenban in Bangkok contributed to this report.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Vietnamese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Tibetan settlement in South India prepares for Dalai Lama visit | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Tibetan settlement in South India prepares for Dalai Lama visit | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • India’s Free Library Movement Counters Caste Discrimination and Authoritarianism

    Outside the Khirki branch of Delhi’s Community Library Project, a signboard details the day’s programs, including scheduled story times and art activities. Children bounce and buzz as they wait in line to check out their books. Patrons take advantage of clean public bathrooms, drinking water (in short supply in many of Delhi’s unplanned communities) and internet-connected laptops.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Vietnam’s ‘Barefoot Monk’ draws crowds on his journey to India | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • In India, this AJWS partner is rewriting the lie that boys don’t cry

    This post was originally published on American Jewish World Service – AJWS.

  • Life beyond survival: How activists are transforming homeless shelters for women and LGBTQI+ people in India

    Losing shelter can be one of the most traumatic experiences of a person’s life. There’s no single cause behind this global crisis, but all people pushed into homelessness face the same question: Where do I go now? In India, a coalition of grassroots organizations from across the country, including four AJWS grantees, are answering this …

    Source

    This post was originally published on American Jewish World Service – AJWS.

  • A new book details how mainstream media is still manufacturing consent for war in 2024

    Amid globally visible Western hypocrisy on Palestine and Ukraine, a new book provides us with a clear outline of how the mainstream corporate media plays an important role in shaping opinions in the service of US imperialism. In doing so, the book updates and validates the seminal work of Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman in Manufacturing Consent. The Canary caught up with author Devan Hawkins to discuss his new book Worthy and Unworthy.

    And in our first article on the book, we look at how uneven coverage of protests in China and India pushed him to explore even more cases of blatant media bias.

    Worthy and Unworthy: behind the research

    Hawkins said his experiences growing up made him “skeptical of the media”. In particular, the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 taught him about “how the media can manipulate people’s opinions, intentionally or not”. And more recently, he decided to “delve more deeply into these topics”, especially as US foreign policy has “reoriented itself” to the perception of China as “the new official enemy”.

    The spark for the book was an article he was preparing on the differing coverage between the Hong Kong and Kashmir protests of 2019. As these “almost lined up with each other perfectly”, he began to analyse them systematically.

    By “applying Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman’s idea around worthy and unworthy victims”, he would evaluate whether Hong Kong got more attention because the ‘bad guy’ of the story was New Cold War target China, while the bad guy in Kashmir was India – a “Major Defense Partner” of the US.

    Hawkins focused on looking at coverage from the New York Times, as a paper of record. In particular, he searched for all relevant articles there, counted them, and then determined the “quality of the coverage”.

    The expectation was that “not only would the coverage be greater in the case of the events that are happening in your official state enemies of the country, but also that it would be more negative”.

    By applying Chomsky and Herman’s approach, Hawkins essentially validated it, showing that it’s still relevant today. In fact, he said:

    If anything, it’s even more relevant now because of the cutbacks that are happening for a lot of outlets, right? In the past, smaller media outlets might have had foreign coverage, where now it’s really the New York Times and those big papers. So that’s the only source for a lot of these stories that are happening in these other countries.

    How the media is still ‘Manufacturing Consent’ for conflict

    Chomsky and Herman’s Manufacturing Consent looked at how capitalist mainstream media organisations work in the interests of powerful elites. And they argued that these media outlets split victims of violence or injustice into two groups – ‘worthy’ or ‘unworthy’.

    If a victim is fighting a country that powerful interests oppose, their cause is worthy (think Ukraine and Russia). But if a victim is fighting a country that’s an ally of powerful interests, their cause is unworthy (think Palestine and Israel).

    The idea is that mainstream media coverage will show significant sympathy for ‘worthy’ victims, treating them as worthy of support, but will downplay or even justify the suffering of ‘unworthy’ victims. Even if their situations are essentially the same, the theory says, the coverage will be different.

    The double standards of the US empire and its allies have long been clear. But with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s genocide in Gaza overlapping in the last year, the hypocrisy is as nakedly obvious as perhaps ever before. And the mainstream media has loyally followed suit, to differing extents.

    Hawkins started out with a scientific, analytical comparison of the Hong Kong and Kashmir protests. But he ended up compiling a number of important comparisons from different parts of the world. And these help to prove that the mainstream media’s distinction between worthy and unworthy causes is still going strong.

    In fact, if anything, Chomsky and Herman’s theory is as poignantly relevant today as it ever has been.

    Case Study One: a ’worthy’ protest against China and an ‘unworthy’ protest against India

    Talking about legitimate concerns for citizens in Hong Kong, now part of China under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hawkins takes us back to the protests of 2019 over the Extradition Bill. These events were big news in the West, but he boils it down to the fact that:

    sometimes criminals would commit crimes, especially financial crimes in mainland China, and then flee to Hong Kong, and then there’d be a situation where it would be impossible for them to be extradited for it.

    And while Western media covered the protests, they rarely highlighted that there was “a certain element of the population that was in favor of the Extradition Bill”.

    Over in Kashmir, meanwhile, Hawkins explains:

    the article of the Constitution was revoked, and that was an article of the Constitution that had existed… for well over half a century that gave the special status to Kashmir

    Comparing this to the events in Hong Kong:

    Basically, democratic elections completely ended in Kashmir during that time, and then there was a much more violent response. There were more deaths that occurred in terms of the protests and the state response to it. There were actually no deaths that were documented in the case of the Hong Kong protests where there were… maybe close to a dozen that occurred in Kashmir during those time periods.

    So both in terms of the the nature of what was done, which I would say would be more drastic in the case of Kashmir than in Hong Kong… and then also the state response, it seemed more drastic, and therefore you would think it would get at the very least as much coverage as the Hong Kong protests.

    But as I show in the book that was very much not the case… And then also in terms of the nature of the coverage overall, I would say that the coverage was critical in the case of the Kashmir revocation, but not to the same extent… and not to the same volume as was the case with Hong Kong.

    Why was the coverage different?

    Hawkins insists that he doesn’t really go into the reasons for the the difference in coverage. However, he does point out that:

    It’s easier to report on the stories when they’re negative about China, because we’re… primed to see China as the enemy, and not have those same necessary feelings about India.

    He also says protesters in Hong Kong seemed “more media savvy”:

    They were doing a good job of doing things that would generally get the attention of the US media.

    On this point, he mentions that the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which journalist and author Matt Kennard has called “an overt CIA”, had previously “supported what are called ‘democratic movements’ in Hong Kong”. He believes it would be great to have more research about how such training “can be helpful for teaching protesters how to appeal to Western audiences”.

    The Canary will be releasing more articles on the comparisons Hawkins made in his book in the coming days.

    Featured image supplied

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.