IAMC Weekly News Digest, 18 September 2020
14 US Senators want India listed as worst offenders of religious freedom
The “Coalition to Stop Genocide in India”, a broad coalition of Indian American and US-based civil rights organizations and activists, today welcomed a letter written by fourteen US Senators to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressing that US law requires the US Government to consider a federal commission’s recommendations that some countries be designated as a Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), which is the US Government’s official term for countries that are the world’s worst offenders of religious freedom.… In April this year, the USCIRF recommended adding nine more countries, including India, to this list. CSGI has repeatedly called for the inclusion of India in the list of countries of particular concern, and has urged the State Department to accept USCIRF’s recommendations in this regard, given the escalating levels of persecution against religious minorities in India.…Read more
Prashant Bhushan, Harsh Mander & other activists want inquiry into Delhi Police’s riots probe
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan and social activist Harsh Mander, along with several other activists, Wednesday demanded an independent commission be set up to conduct an inquiry into the Delhi Police’s investigation of the February riots in the national capital that left 53 dead and several others injured. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on the arrests of students and activists in connection with the riots, Bhushan said, “An independent commission must be set up which will conduct an inquiry into the Delhi police’s riot investigation. A committee was set up to see Delhi police’s role in the 1984 riots, and the same must happen now.” He also called the Delhi Police’s investigation a “criminal conspiracy” and demanded a bonafide probe.…Read more
Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Umar Khalid was arrested late on Sunday night under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for his alleged role in the Delhi riots.… Soon after his arrest, a large section of Twitterati stood in support of Khalid, demanding his release. Many called his arrest a ‘witch-hunt’ while questioning why Delhi Police hasn’t taken any action against Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Komal Sharma. In January, BJP’s Anurag Thakur was seen leading a crowd with the slogan “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko,” a chant inciting listeners to shoot “traitors to the country”, with an expletive thrown in.…Read more
News
14 US Senators want India listed as worst offenders of religious freedom
Prashant Bhushan, Harsh Mander & other activists want inquiry into Delhi Police’s riots probe
Ahmedabad’s largest Muslim ghetto excluded from minority-specific development plan
Indian state uses draconian law to detain those accused of killing cows
UP creates special force with power to arrest without warrant
Detention centre in Ghaziabad ‘suggests’ anti-minority, anti-Dalit mindset of UP govt
Karnataka’s Withdrawal of Criminal Cases against Politicians Violates ‘Equality before the Law’
Church And A Car Set Ablaze In Andhra Pradesh
Opinion
A Year After Rendering Millions Stateless, India Has Yet to Hear a Single Appeal – By Priyali Sur
A big question mark on India’s Supreme Court – By Ashok Swain
Rot that’s destroying India’s TV news came from newspapers – By Kalpana Sharma
