Caste-based discrimination

By Basil Fernando This article is  a follow up to:  The caste-based culture is still the key obstacle for development in Sri Lanka The debate on how important caste consciousness is in Sri Lanka today and whether class consciousness has replaced caste consciousness requires that we briefly examine the the beginnings of capitalism in Sri Lanka, […]

By Basil Fernando Over a long period, many erudite scholars and critics have engaged with the issue of the extent to which caste remained a relevant factor in understanding social development in Sri Lanka. One could sum up broadly the overwhelming view among such writers as being that while caste influences still remain in some […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the 73rd International Human Rights Day Nepal underwent its third cycle of the UN Human Rights Council’s Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva in January 2021. Nepal has ratified over 24 various human rights conventions and declarations but has been weak in its implementation. […]

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC UAC-012-2021  22 October, 2021 ———————————————————————————- NEPAL: A Dalit man is brutally assaulted and killed ISSUES: Caste-based discrimination, minorities ———————————————————————————- Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is bringing to your notice an incident where a Dalit man was brutally assaulted and killed […]

By Dr. Divya Padmanabhan March 21 marks the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination worldwide. The day was first observed in 1966, and continues to be observed annually since then. The theme for this year is ‘Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies’. While many countries are fighting […]

दक्षिण एसियामै जातीय भेदभाव तथा छुवाछूत मुख्य समस्याको रुपमा रहेको छ। विगतदेखि जातीय भेदभाव तथा छुवाछूत अन्त्यका लागि यस क्षेत्रमा भएका पहलहरु अझै प्रभावकारी हुन सकेका छैनन् । नेपालका सबै नागरिकहरूलाई समानता, स्वतन्त्रता र आत्मसम्मान जस्ता मानवअधिकारका मूलभूत विषयहरू नेपालको संविधान, २०७२, राष्ट्रिय कानुनहरू तथा नेपालपक्ष भएका मानवअधिकारसम्बन्धी अन्तराष्ट्रिय दस्तावेजहरूले प्रत्याभूत गरेका छन् । यद्यपि, […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where two young men were lynched on the suspicion of being child abductors. Niloptal Das and Abhijeet Nath were artists based in Goa, who had come to Assam to celebrate the Bohag Bihu festival and do some sight-seeing. A mob stopped their SUV at night, believing a child […]

This week Just Asia begins with terror attacks in Indonesia. The country’s second largest city of Surabaya saw yet another suicide bombing on Monday morning, at the police station. On Sunday, three churches were attacked, killing at least 11 persons, and injuring 41 persons during Sunday mass. This was one of the worst attacks on […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) that 50 Dalit households are barred from entering the local Shiva Temple located at Jhawani, Bara District, despite providing monetary donations and their labor for its construction. The Dalits intend to enter the temple, and there […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where the government has cleared an ordinance introducing the death penalty for those committing sexual assault of children younger than 12 years. The ordinance has come under fire as such a serious change in the law has been attempted without proper debate and consultation in parliament. Furthermore, the […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where two journalists face up to 14-years imprisonment under the country’s colonial era secrets act. The two Reuters reporters, U Wa Lone and U Kyaw Soe Oo, brought to light a massacre of 10 Muslim Rohingya men in Rakhine State’s Inn Din village. They were subsequently arrested in […]

By Urmila Pullat On Mar 20, 2018, in Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs. The State of Maharashtra And Anr., the Supreme Court of India held that there is no absolute bar on granting anticipatory bail for complaints under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter the SC/ST Act). Further, […]

An article from The Hindu, written by Neera Chandhoke. forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by Neera Chandhoke The onus of battling discrimination must not fall on the shoulders of Dalits alone  On the morning of April 3, the front pages of newspapers told us of violent protests by Dalits in northern India the day before. […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where a nationwide strike has resulted in nine deaths so far. The strike was called on Monday, to protest the changes to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes prevention of Atrocities Act by the Supreme Court. The changes will make it difficult to file cases against public servants for caste atrocities. Next, […]

A Statement from by Dr. Umakant of JNU forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission April 02, 2018, JNU, New Delhi We must remove inequality, Ambedkar said, or our political structure will be in peril http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/sc-st-act-we-must-remove-inequality-ambedkar-said-or-our-political-structure-will-be-in-peril-5122076/ This protest was unprecedented because it was largely led by ordinary Dalits and Adivasis, while political parties and their leaders played […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Youth Forum for the Protection of Human Rights (YFPHR), Manipur about the harassment of activists who are fighting for a fair and expeditious investigation into the death of Pravish Chanam. Pravish, a permanent resident of Manipur, was found dead in suspicious […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) that a Dalit woman was beaten after she rejected a demand to have an illicit sexual relationship with a non-Dalit man in Siraha District of Nepal. The woman has been receiving treatment at the local hospital […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where the Corruption Eradication Commission finally secured the arrest of Parliament Speaker Mr. Setya Novanto. Novanto is a suspect in the national electronic identity card scheme case, having caused losses of IDR 2.3 trillion. Next, Pakistan observed Universal Children’s Day on November 20 as a mere formality, while […]

रक्षाराम हरिजन पृष्ठभूमि: देशका अधिकांश ठाउँमा दलितलाई मन्दिर प्रवेशमा रोक लगाएका समाचारहरू प्रशस्तै आउँछन् । मन्दिरमा पूजा गर्न गएका दलित गैरदलितबाट कुटिनु, मन्दिर प्रवेश गर्न नदिनु, दलितले अरूहरूमार्फत फूल प्रसाद चढाउनु र दलितले मन्दिर निर्माणमा चन्दा दिए पनि पूजा गर्न नपाउनु जस्ता घटनाहरूबाट हामी अभ्यस्त भइसकेका छौं । तर, पछिल्लो समय केही परिवर्तनहरू पनि देखिन […]

This week Just Asia begins with the ninth ASEAN-UN Summit on Monday, where United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN wants to work with ASEAN to strengthen the regional bloc’s human rights body. This comes as several ASEAN countries face human rights related controversies. Particularly troubling is Burma’s violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority, […]