यदचेतनोऽपि पादै: स्पृष्ट: प्रज्वलति सवितुरिनकान्त: तत्तेजस्वी पुरुष: परकृतनिकृतिं कथं सहते yad acetano ‘pi pādaiḥ spṛṣṭaḥ prajvalati savitur inakāntaḥ tat tejasvī puruṣaḥ parakṛtanikṛtiṃ kathaṃ sahate Even an inert crystal blazes with heat when touched by the sun’s rays. So how can brilliant people stand idly by when others commit atrocities? – Bhartrihari (5th century CE, translated… Read More Public Appeal by Hindus for Human Rights, USA
Human Rights Watch has accused Israeli officials of committing the crimes of apartheid and persecution, claiming the government enforces an overarching policy to “maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians”. In a report released on Tuesday, the New York-based advocacy group became the first major international rights body to level such allegations. It said that… Read More Israel is committing the crime of apartheid: Human Rights Watch
In this episode of Himal interviews, we speak to Geoffrey Aung, an anthropologist of Myanmar whose area of research focuses on the politics of infrastructure and the economic history of postcolonial Myanmar. He is currently a PhD candidate at Columbia University. In the context of the military coup and ongoing violence against civilians, Aung talks to us about… Read More The deep roots of Myanmar’s crisis
Three Uyghur parents who publicly appealed to Beijing to let their children leave China have been accused, without evidence, of child abandonment and terrorism by the Chinese government. In separate statements, all three denied the allegations and called on Chinese authorities to allow their families to reunite. In March, CNN revealed the stories of two Uyghur families torn apart… Read More China calls these Uyghur parents 'terrorists' without evidence. But they say they just want to be with their children again
On 17 March, a top prosecutor filed a case with Turkey’s Constitutional Court demanding the closure of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), as well as a five-year political ban on more than 600 party members. Around the same time, HDP parliamentarian and prominent human rights advocate Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was forcibly removed from parliament, and later detained. These… Read More Ozlem Goner: Banning the pro-Kurdish HDP in Turkey is a move towards fascism
National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) condemns in the strongest possible terms the high-handed manner of ‘raids’ by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) at the homes of over 16 activists of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, acting on dubious FIRs registered a couple of months back. We express our solidarity with all these activists and advocates… Read More NAPM – Condemn Arbitrary Raids on Activists’ Homes in AP and Telangana
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently making its way through parliament attacks the very existence of Britain’s last nomadic communities, namely Romany Gypsies (like me), Irish Travellers and Scottish Travellers. Over the years, Conservative government policies have shut down sites and accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers nationwide, leading to a massive shortage. Now,… Read More Priti Patel’s war on the UK’s last nomads. By Luke Smith
NB: The Indian government, along with Russia, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, sent representatives to a military parade to mark Myanmar Armed Forces Day on March 27. This is especially shameful in the midst of a massacre of civilians – including children by the Army. Bangladeshis may recall the massacre of 1971, and… Read More Myanmar military committing mass murder – UN official urges world to act after at least 114 killed in in one day
NB: Fedor Stepun was a Russian writer, editor, professor, political commentator. In 1922, he. along with over 200 non-communist intellectuals perceived as hostile to the Bolshevik regime. was arrested and ordered to leave the USSR within a week. They included the philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev, and scores of other academicians, writers, artists, editors of journals etc. DS… Read More Fedor Stepun, 1884-1965
The Chinese government’s alleged actions in Xinjiang have violated every single provision in the United Nations’ Genocide Convention, according to an independent report by more than 50 global experts in international law, genocide and the China region. The report, released Tuesday by the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy think tank in Washington DC, claimed the Chinese government “bears state responsibility… Read More First independent report into Xinjiang genocide allegations claims evidence of Beijing's 'intent to destroy' Uyghur people
After the truth-shower 