There is concern among Human Rights Activists about what will happen after the 19th of June, 2014. Padamshri Teesta Setalwad, Javed Anand, Tanvir Jafri, Salimbhai Sandhi and Firoz Gulzar Pathan face allegations including cheating, forgery, and criminal breach of trust in a case filed in January 2014 relating to the raising of funds for a riot memorial museum in Gulberg Society, Ahmedabad.
"Babul Supriyo, BJP MP from Asansol has disclosed that it was Baba Ramdev who got the BJP ticket for him. In a signed column for a leading Bengali newspaper today, Babul Supriyo has disclosed that on February 28 he found himself sitting next to the yoga guru on a flight and overheard him discussing ticket distribution with somebody. According to Suprio, he told the yoga guru jocularly, “Baba I also want a ticket.
The recent labour reforms introduced in Rajasthan seek to amend three crucial labour legislations - the Industrial Disputes Act, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act and the Factories Act. Although the purported purpose of these reforms is to "create jobs", in actuality what is sought is greater flexibility of labour markets and laws conducive to the easy flow of capital, ensuring for the corporate class a license for unbridled exploitation of the work force.
'...The attack on women protesting against rape at Jantar Mantar is worrying. It signifies rubbing of salt on wounds of marginalised people – Dalits, women– and sends a clear message that protest and dissent will not be tolerated and forcefully curbed. First it’s a message to women to expect no real support from this government on issues of violence against them. The second is that Dalits who seemed to find hope in the larger Hindu identity will still continue to be discriminated and as Dalit women, they will be at the bottom of the pile.
'Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on October 30, 1948.
Japan launched a nuclear attack on the United States during World War II.
A new country named 'Islamic Islamabad' was constituted after Partition with its capital at 'Khyber Ghat' in the Hindu Kush mountains.
All South Indians are 'Madrasis'.
These aren't examples of bloomers from some third-rate tourist guidebook, but gems from history in social science textbooks that have been fed to 50,000 Class 6-8 students of government-run English-medium schools in Gujarat...
"The Maharashtra police are at it again. They have linked the Pune murder of Mohsin Shaikh by Hindu Rashtra Sena goons to the actions of Muslims from the Nationalist Congress Party. The 'Hindu backlash' theory is at work again. Shaikh's murder was a pure and simple hate crime, one would have thought. But not so for the Maharashtra police, who believe in the theory of 'action-reaction'. All Hindutvawadis describe their violence as 'defensive' or a 'reaction' to violence by Muslims. The latter are always the initiators -- this is an article of faith for Hindutvawadis.
"...As per candidates’ affidavits with the Election Commission, there are 185 MPs (34% of the total strength of Lok Sabha) who have criminal cases pending against them. Some 111 of them have serious criminal cases. Out of 185, there are 87 MPs (16.02% of the total strength of Lok Sabha) who are facing rioting charges under Sections 147, 148, 153A of Indian Penal Code. Party-wise, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has the largest share of such MPs who are facing rioting charges.
"Today is the third International Domestic Workers’ Day. In India, official figures show that there are 4.75 million domestic workers, out of whom three million are women in urban areas. These are contentious figures; perhaps a grave underrepresentation. The actual number is probably closer to 90 million. Therefore, the discourse on ensuring the dignity and the rights for domestic workers has to become far more nuanced than it has been till now.
"Wholesale prices in May rose sharply to a five-month high, adding to worries that a weak monsoon and disruptions in oil supplies from Iraq could undermine the new government’s efforts to curb inflation. Higher food and fuel prices pushed up the wholesale price index to 6.01% in May compared to 5.20% the month before, government data showed on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power last month on the promise of lowering prices and reviving the economy growing at its slowest since 1980s..."
"...On Friday police on registered a case against the Principal and 11 students of the Sree Krishnan College at Guruvayur after its campus magazine was found to have used "objectionable and unsavoury" language against Modi, garbed in the guise of a cross-word puzzle... The incident comes close on the heels of the arrest of the principal and six students of the Government polytechnic at Kunnamkulam.
