Indian journalists say BBC raid part of drive to intimidate media

Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi Since Modi came to power in 2014, some journalists and other media workers have alleged that a systematic silencing of critical reporting has taken place and that journalists have been targeted as “anti-national” threats to the state. In this year’s World Press Freedom Index, India dropped down to 150 out of 180 countries,… Read More Indian journalists say BBC raid part of drive to intimidate media

Ashok H. Desai: How the Judiciary Defied the Government to Uphold Constitutional Values During the Emergency

The declaration proclaimed on June 25, 1975, under Article 352(1) of the constitution that a grave Emergency existed whereby the security of India was threatened by internal disturbance was the declaration of a phoney Emergency. Its real cause was the erosion of Indira Gandhi’s hold on power. The occasion to declare it on that day… Read More Ashok H. Desai: How the Judiciary Defied the Government to Uphold Constitutional Values During the Emergency

Nayantara Sahgal speaks to Ajoy Bose: ‘We have a nightmare which is worse than the Emergency’

On June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India that lasted for 21 months. The period saw widespread human rights violations, jailing of members of the Opposition and a clampdown on press freedom. Forty three years later, journalist Ajoy Bose, author of a newly relaunched book on the Emergency, interviews Nayantara Sahgal, who… Read More Nayantara Sahgal speaks to Ajoy Bose: ‘We have a nightmare which is worse than the Emergency’

BBC ‘Raid’:  PM Modi loses battle of perception internationally

The timing of the income tax survey by the Union government on BBC was ill- advised, and has done irreparable damage to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image as a global leader Bharat Bhushan Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have further lost the battle of perception internationally with the income tax department raiding (or as the… Read More BBC ‘Raid’:  PM Modi loses battle of perception internationally

Suhas Palshikar: There are many ways India mirrors the Emergency now

Recently, Lal Krishna Advani, one of the leaders imprisoned by Indira Gandhi’s Emergency regime, rang a warning bell. He said we, as a country, are still not Emergency-proof. This could be seen as a strange statement because post-1977, many safeguards have been created in the Constitution to ensure a repeat of 1975 does not happen.… Read More Suhas Palshikar: There are many ways India mirrors the Emergency now

Anil Nauriya: Intolerance through the years, 1934 to 1975 to 2015 / Mahatma Gandhi’s Statement on Bomb Incident June 25, 1934

INTOLERANCE THROUGH THE YEARS: 1934 to 1975 to 2015 By Anil Nauriya Day Against  Intolerance – 25 June 2015 The 25th  and 26th of  June mark  not only the declaration of  the internal  Emergency at the behest of the Indira Gandhi regime   in 1975.  June 25 is also the  day in 1934 when a lethal bomb was… Read More Anil Nauriya: Intolerance through the years, 1934 to 1975 to 2015 / Mahatma Gandhi’s Statement on Bomb Incident June 25, 1934

Iranian Doctors Who Treated Wounded Protesters ‘Arrested, Tortured’

NB: The sadistic Iranian theocrats do not know that the Hippocratic oath enjoins doctors to treat every person who needs medical treatment, regardless of who they might be. The Ayatollahs preside over a replica of hell on earth. DS GOLNAZ ESFANDIARI In late November, three Iranian doctors traveled to the country’s western Kurdistan region, the… Read More Iranian Doctors Who Treated Wounded Protesters ‘Arrested, Tortured’

Protests and strikes in Israel as plans for judicial overhaul move forward

Tens of thousands gather for rally and workers in several sectors strike over rightwing government’s proposals Israel’s new hard-right government has begun introducing sweeping legislation aimed at overhauling the judicial system, prompting the largest public demonstrations against the proposed measures to date. In a heated meeting in which several opposition politicians had to be forcibly… Read More Protests and strikes in Israel as plans for judicial overhaul move forward

Seymour Hersh on Witnessing American War Crimes in Vietnam

In a wide-ranging discussion, the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist ponders why other journalists were hesitant to report on the notorious My Lai case. Seymour Hersh’s work has been published in numerous publications, including The New Yorker and The New York Times. He won a Pulitzer for his reporting on the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. His book… Read More Seymour Hersh on Witnessing American War Crimes in Vietnam

Poverty Amid Plenty

(the) planet’s billionaires have collectively “earned” (and yes, that’s in quotation marks for obvious reasons) $2.7 billion every one of the last 730 days. Meanwhile, in 2021 alone, at least 115 million people fell into “extreme poverty,” with billions more hanging on by a thread. By 2030, Oxfam reports, the world could be facing the “largest setback in addressing global… Read More Poverty Amid Plenty