Habib Siddiqui

Ram Puniyani Like most of the political phenomenon, even the practice of Nationalism is not a static one. It changes with the changing political equations of the political forces and assumes the expressions which are very diverse. As such the phenomenon of Nationalism has a long journey and various state policies in particular have used it for purposes which relate more to the power of the state ‘vis a vis’ its people, power of the state ‘vis a vis’ the neighboring countries among others. In India there has been a certain change in the practices of the state which have transformed the meaning of Nationalism during last few years. Particularly with BJP, the Hindu Nationalist outfit gaining simple majority, it has unfolded the policies where one can discern the drastic change in the meaning and application of Nationalism in regard to its citizens, particularly those belonging to minority community, with regard to those who are liberal, and with those who stand with the concept...

UN Expresses worry with situations in India, Pakistan, Myanmar Diplomatic Correspondent UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has expressed concern over the continuing allegations of torture, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh last year. "Continuing allegations of torture, arbitrary arrests and almost 400 extrajudicial killings last year are concerning, as are reports of intimidation of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists, and constraints in the context of recent local elections," she said while addressing the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday. She also called for reforming the Digital Security Act, which was criticised by rights groups and journalists who feared the act would curb independent journalism and freedom of speech. The UN human rights chief encouraged action to strengthen the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and National Human Rights Commission of Ban...

Mira Kamdar The violence unleashed against Muslims in Delhi by armed Hindu mobs during President Donald Trump’s visit to India is a portent and a lesson. As Trump sat down to dine with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, Hindus in the same city were beating and shooting Muslims, and Muslims were fighting back, trying to defend their homes and businesses from looters and arsonists. More than 40 people were killed—including an 85-year-old woman too frail to flee her burning home—and more than 200 people, mostly Muslims, were injured. The Delhi police, who report directly to Home Minister Amit Shah, either stood idly by or escorted the mobs. Videos of police breaking CCTV cameras and taunting prone and bleeding Muslim men while filming them with their smartphones circulated on social media. The violence echoed that of 2002, when Modi was chief minister of Gujarat and authorities there did nothing to stem carnage that killed some 1,000 people, the majority of them Muslims....

Genocide and hypocrisy By James Clement, Editor , February 28, 2020  On January 23rd, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) made a landmark ruling on the Rohingya crisis, demanding that the government of Myanmar take “all measures within its power to prevent genocide”. While such an official acknowledgement of the genocide carried out against the Rohingya people is of course welcome, this will not put an end to the appalling crisis. Background to the crisis In 1948, Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence from Britain, although the promised autonomy to the Rohingya people (who are mainly Muslim), as well as other ethnic groups like the Shan and Kachin people was never granted. Instead, military-government led persecution and theft of land have been their lot. The Rohingya people were stripped of their nationality in 1982, and subsequently labelled as ‘Bangladeshis’. Since 2012, especially in 2015 and 2017, there were severa...