What does the death of a jailed Jesuit priest say about India’s democracy under Modi?

02/06/2024

npr / by Lauren Frayer

MUMBAI, India — Two days before police finally came to arrest him, the Rev. Stan Swamy recorded a video of himself speaking directly into the camera.
“They want to put me out of the way,” the ailing 83-year-old Jesuit priest said.
His voice sounded frail. But what he was saying was explosive.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, was targeting him in retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Indigenous people in Indian jails.
Read more / 33-Minute Listen

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‘India’s Watergate’: A tale of political manipulation, disinformation and nationalism

29/05/2024

Npr / by Lauren Frayer

It started with a civil rights rally, and ended in riots. NPR investigates how 16 of India’s most famous human rights activists were jailed for an alleged terror plot. They say they were framed.
India is wrapping up elections this week. We’re going to take you back to the last Indian elections five years ago, to a scandal that some call India’s Watergate. It has not brought down Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. In fact, he is expected to win a third term. The scandal started with a civil rights campaign that led to hundreds of arrests, allegations of computer hacking and the death of an elderly priest behind bars. NPR’s Lauren Frayer has our story.
Read more / 8-Minute Listen