Habib Siddiqui

Nearly three decades, 850 witnesses, more than 7,000 documents, photographs and videotapes later, a court in India found no-one guilty of razing a 16th-Century mosque which was attacked by Hindu mobs in the holy city of Ayodhya. Among the 32 living accused were former deputy premier LK Advani, and a host of senior BJP leaders. Wednesday's court judgement acquitted them all, saying the destruction of the mosque in 1992 had been the work of unidentified "anti-socials" and had not been planned. This was despite numerous credible eyewitness accounts that the demolition, which took just a few hours, had been rehearsed and carried out with impunity and the connivance of a section of the local police in front of thousands of spectators. Last year, India's Supreme Court conceded it had been a "calculated act" and an "egregious violation of the rule of law". So how do we explain the acquittals? Generally the verdict is being seen as another indictment of In...

In a discussion of protests and violence in cities, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and tell them to stand down and not contribute to the violence. “What do you want to call it?” asked Trump, seeking clarification on what he was supposed to be condemning. “White supremacists and right-wing militia,” said Wallace.  Former Vice President Joe Biden suggested that Trump specifically condemn the Proud Boys, a group of self-described “Western chauvinists” whose members appeared alongside white supremacist groups at the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville and have been a consistent presence during more recent clashes in Portland, Ore. “Proud Boys? Stand back and stand by,” Trump said, before immediately pivoting, “But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.” The Proud Boys quickly embraced the moment on Telegram, an encrypted messaging service popular among extremist grou...

Rights Activists Condemn Babri Verdict, Demand that CBI Appeal Activists and feminists from Mumbai join the wider Indian human rights and minority community in condemning, outright, the travesty of a Judgement in the Babri Masjid Demolition Criminal Case. Not only have none of the 32 accused been found guilty, most of whom are prominent players in the current ruling political dispensation in both Delhi and the state of Uttar Pradesh, but the sheer delay in pronouncement of this verdict makes it a sham on the due process of law. Hard documentary evidence as also powerful witness testimonies from those present, including police officials, have been willfully ignored. There are Videos and Photos of the Demolition, the “leaders” who today claim they are vindicated, have been seen and heard provoking mobs and leading sustained mass campaigns that ensured the demolition did happen. To say that this verdict is the latest in many to spell a death knell for Constitutional Constitutional Law, Mo...

‘Bangladesh strongly rejects baseless accusations and falsification and misrepresentation of facts that Myanmar made in the UNGA,’ a senior official in Dhaka told the news agency conveying what Bangladesh exactly responded to Myanmar’s propaganda. Bangladesh, through the UN, has urged the Myanma r government to abandon its policy of lies and propaganda and demonstrate genuine political will to take back their own nationals with safety, security and dignity, said the official. Myanmar at the UNGA claimed that Bangladesh was harbouring terrorists in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps but it rejected such ‘baseless’ allegations. Bangladesh, under the leadership of prime ministerSheikh Hasina, maintains a zero-tolerance policy to terrorism, terrorists financing, and other drivers of terrorism, said another official. ‘We don’t allow our territory to be used by any terrorist. Myanmar needs to look at its own mirror,’ the official said, mentioning that this is what Bangladesh’s reply to Myanmar durin...