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BANGLADESH: Adil, the man I know

You said to me “ I can bear anything” with stubborn eyes you faced the sun until blindness became a ball of flame and the flame turned the sea to salt. – Lu Xiaobo : Ne enemies , No Hatred It was few days ago that they came and dragged him to their vehicle and took […]

PAKISTAN: Youth- ignored and marginalised

“The destiny of any nation, at any given time, depends on the opinions of its young men under five-and-twenty.” – Goethe. If what Goethe said is true then what is the problem with the destiny of Pakistan? Why is its destiny twisting in a whirlpool of troubles though it is a rich country? It is blessed […]

INDIA: AFSPA, yet another opportunity for the judiciary

Article | India | 07-08-2013

The Commission of Inquiry, constituted by the Supreme Court of India, in Writ Petition (Criminal) 129 of 2012 [Extra Judicial Execution Victims Families’ Association and Another (petitioners) Against Union of India and Others (respondents)] and Writ Petition (Civil) 445 of 2012 [Suresh Singh (petitioner) Against Union of India and Others (respondents)] filed its report to […]

INDIA: The midday meal scheme must continue despite the Bihar disaster

Despite claiming to be a champion of the poor, the Government of India has in recent years expressed an increased interest in introducing cash transfers instead of subsidized food. In this context, the midday meal disaster in Bihar the 16th of July, where 23 children died from eating their school meal, plays nicely into the hands of […]

PAKISTAN: Government must commute death sentences and protect the people’s right to life

The Pakistan People’s Party took office in 2008, and shortly thereafter issued a moratorium on the death penalty, temporarily commuting thousands of death penalty cases to life imprisonment. The move was hailed by the UN and rights organizations worldwide, as it indicated a move by the Pakistani government to respect the right to life and […]

INDIA: देश की गरीबी बनाम सरकार का नैतिक दिवालियापन: सन्दर्भ – योजना आयोग द्वारा जुलाई 2013 को जारी गरीबी का नया आंकलन)

Article | India | 01-08-2013

भारत में 2011 से 2012 के बीच में 8.49 करोड़ लोग गरीब नहीं रहे. वे उस रेखा के ऊपर आ गए हैं जिसमे लोग उलझे रहते हैं पर वह सरकारों को दिखाई नहीं देती. अब तक यह कहा जाता रहा है कि देश की बड़ी आबादी निरक्षर है, परन्तु भारत का योजना आयोग मानता है […]

INDIA: लोकतंत्र को ढकेलते न्यायालय

Article | India | 31-07-2013

पिछले साठ सालों में भारतीय लोकतंत्र मजबूत हुआ है। हमारा चुनाव आयोग दुनिया का सबसे बेहतर आयोग है। इस लोकतंत्र में जहां एक ओर तो दलित और वंचित वर्गों को प्रतिनिधित्व करने का मौका मिला है वहीं दूसरी ओर बड़ी संख्या में महिलाएं आगे आई हैं।”                          अरविन्द मोहन पिछला सप्ताह राजनीतिक दलों और राजनीतिज्ञों के […]

INDIA: Good Figures for Bad Situation – Fabrication of Poverty data in India

Article | India | 30-07-2013

By Sachin Kumar Jain By a magic wand unfurled by the Planning Commission, 84.9 million Indians have stopped to be poor between 2010 and 2012: they went through and soared above the poverty line pushed by the Indian Government. Until now, it was said of India as a nation of illiterate people; the Planning Commission […]

SRI LANKA: From Minor Tyranny to Excessive Tyranny

Impeaching the Chief Justice and Sri Lankan Politics By Upul Abeyrathne1 “All are accordingly bound by the necessity of keeping the law, unless perchance there is any who can be thought to have been given the license of wrong-doing. However, it is said that the prince absolved from obligations of the law, but it is […]

PAKISTAN: Marriage by choice becoming taboo

It was a very shivering news for the citizens of the country that a grandfather killed his grandchildren and thrown them from the roof top in presence of their mother who then killed by her father only for the protection of honour of the paternal family. The crime of the daughter was that she married […]

INDIA: खाद्य सुरक्षा अध्यादेश उर्फ़ रोटी का गेम चेंजर क़ानून – क्या ये देश के साथ केंद्र बनाम राज्य खेल खेल रहे हैं?

Article | India | 23-07-2013

गेम चेंजर है राष्ट्रीय खाद्य सुरक्षा अध्यादेश (यदि बना तो क़ानून); जी हाँ; भारत के मंत्री और नेता इसी भाषा का उपयोग कर रहे हैं. वे मानते हैं कि हम 5 साल के खेल में रोंटियाई, बेईमानी और छल-प्रपंच करते हैं, लोग गुस्साते हैं तो आखिर में ये देश की जनता को यह कह कर […]

INDIA: The Bihar school meal disaster: The government must go

Article | India | 22-07-2013

Last Tuesday the 16th of July, schoolchildren from a government school in Bihar complained that the midday meal they were served by the school tasted bad. They ate it anyway, because they were hungry, and could not be sure that they would get another opportunity to eat that day. The food was filled with concentrated pesticides. […]

INDIA: The Bihar school meal disaster: The government must go

Last Tuesday the 16th of July, schoolchildren from a government school in Bihar complained that the midday meal they were served by the school tasted bad. They ate it anyway, because they were hungry, and could not be sure that they would get another opportunity to eat that day. The food was filled with concentrated pesticides. […]

SRI LANKA: The day when the rule of law system collapsed

What happened on July 23, 1983 was not the event of a single day in history. The impact of that day lives on and with each passing year the situation of the rule of law in the country has become worse. The 1978 Constitution was quite incompatible with the rule of law and democracy. Since […]

INDIA: बच्चों को भूख की शिक्षा के पक्ष में

Article | India | 21-07-2013

बिहार में २७ बच्चों का जीवन मध्यान्न भोजन योजना ने छीना है या व्यावस्था ने; इस सवाल का जवाब खोजना बहुत कठिन तो नहीं था! आज की तारीख में चल रही बहसों से जो संकेत उभर कर आ रहे हैं, हमें उन्हे समझना चाहिए. पहला संकेत तो यह है कि यह योजना भिक्षावृत्ति की योजना […]

INDIA: जनगणना 2011 में किसान और खेतिहर मजदूर सचिन कुमार जैन

Article | India | 17-07-2013

मैं इस आलेख में विश्लेषण को कोई निष्कर्ष पर नहीं पंहुचा पाऊंगा. शायद मैं इस सवाल को लेकर दुविधा में हूँ कि खेती के सन्दर्भ में उपलब्ध किये जा रहे आंकड़ों पर विश्वास करूँ या न करूँ. शायद आप लोग मेरी मदद कर सकते हैं. वर्ष 2012 में मध्यप्रदेश सरकार ने कृषि बजट (यानी कृषि […]

SRI LANKA: Sandakada pahana (Moonstone) and inculturation

During the last few weeks the Sandakada pahanas (Moonstones) in a couple of churches in Kalutara District came under attack from Bodu Bala Sena, a Buddhist militant organisation led by Buddhist monks. They claimed that Sandakada pahana (Moonstone) is a Buddhist symbol found at the entrance to Buddhist temples, and therefore should not adorn the […]

PAKISTAN: Special birthday for Malala-a significant inspiration for us all: when education is more powerful than weapons

The AHRC staff joins the international community in the celebration of Malala Day and sends sincere greetings to Malala for her 16th birthday “Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.” These words are from the well-known, young […]

ASIA: Arab Spring turns into military take over in Egypt

Article | Asia | 11-07-2013

Two years after the Arab Spring held the world captive, Egypt again finds itself immersed in turmoil as Egyptians took to the streets on June 30th in a movement to remove Islamist Brotherhood leader Dr. Mohamed Morsi (Morsy according to some sources) from his post as president of the country. The movement was backed by […]

INDIA: Cultivators – Farmers and Agricultural labourers in Census 2011 – The other side of agricultural growth in Madhya Pradesh

Sachin Kumar Jain Perhaps, I may not arrive at any conclusions in this feature article. I am in a dilemma over the veracity of the data available on the state agriculture. Perhaps you could help me in this effort. Chances are you could be befuddled as me on the matter! In 2012 Madhya Pradesh government […]