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Category: Context (general situation in India)

Modi .2 going ahead with its programme of crippling dissenting voices

Modi .2 going ahead with its programme of crippling dissenting voices

The Leaflet / By Nitya Chakraborty

Govt move against NDTV and Lawyers Collective are strong indicators

While the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his second avatar is projecting himself as a new mascot of tolerance and reconciliation, his government agencies have been taking up one by one the institutions which represent dissenting voices in both media and the legal profession. In the three week period since Modi took the oath as the PM for the second time on May 30, two prominent  independent voices of the country, NDTV Ltd among the television media and Lawyers Collective, have been targeted by the government agencies for actions which are old and which have already been dealt with by the concerned institutions.
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The new ‘Emergency’: A grip that throttles the essence of Indian democracy

The new ‘Emergency’: A grip that throttles the essence of Indian democracy

Conterview / by By Fr Cedric Prakash sj.

The country will never forget that infamous night of June 25/26, 1975, when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared all over the country. During that dark chapter of the country’s history which lasted for a 21-month period till March 21, 1977, civil liberties were suspended, freedom of speech and expression was totally muzzled, political opponents of the Government and those who protested the emergency were imprisoned and human rights violations by those in power were the order of the day! 
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What Has Happened A Year After Bhima Koregaon Arrests?

What Has Happened A Year After Bhima Koregaon Arrests?

Live Law / By Manu Sebastian

While the investigation in the FIR against Dalit activists witnessed high action, with country wide hound for academic-activists and dramatic press conferences, similar zeal is palpably missing in the other FIR against right-wing outfits. It was exactly a year ago that the Pune police arrested five activists for alleged Maoist links in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
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Dismantling Rights Through Systematic Policy Dilutions: Tracking Legislative Changes in India 2014-2019

Dismantling Rights Through Systematic Policy Dilutions: Tracking Legislative Changes in India 2014-2019

By PUCL

Human rights are sought to be guaranteed in India through a combination of the safeguards enshrined in the Constitution of India and several laws, protected by a complex machinery of Courts, Tribunals and Commissions and aided by an alert and vibrant civil society committed to working on human rights issues. It is this combination that empowers human rights organizations to use the law to prevent and protect against human rights abuses.
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Two-Part Series on the decline of India’s democracy

Two-Part Series on the decline of India’s democracy

The Wire / By Sten Widmalm

Part One: Is India’s Democracy Really in Decline?
Data made available by a new research programme indicate that the situation has taken a turn for the worse since 2014.
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Part Two: Under Modi Govt, a Two-Pronged Attack on India’s Democracy
While it may not actively be promoting autocratisation, the current BJP government is allowing it to happen.
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Bhagat Singh’s version of nationalism and what it may mean for Indian education

Bhagat Singh’s version of nationalism and what it may mean for Indian education

Sudha Bharadwaj was speaker in 2018
in this same memorial talk. Watch video of her talk: Fighting in the Courts and on the Streets.

The New Learn / By Amman Madan

Lecture at the Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, 29th March, 2019
“Friends, we are gathered here to remember one of India’s great freedom fighters, Bhagat Singh. But before I start to talk about Bhagat Singh, I want to remember two other great Indians. The first is a great Indian who is still very much with us, Sudha Bharadwaj. …”
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Basic rights must be part of poll manifestos: Activists

Basic rights must be part of poll manifestos: Activists

Times of India / By TNN

RANCHI: Tribal rights activist Stan Swami and developmental economist known for labour rights activism Jean Dreze, along with representatives of civil society organisations, released a people’s manifesto under the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha banner here on Monday.
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250 cases of killings in alleged fake encounters registered from 2014 to January 20, 2019: MoS Home Kiren Rijuju tells Parliament

250 cases of killings in alleged fake encounters registered from 2014 to January 20, 2019: MoS Home Kiren Rijuju tells Parliament

The Leaflet / By The Leaflet

MoS (Home) informed Rajya Sabha that a total of 250 cases of killings in alleged fake encounters have been registered from 2014 upto January 20, 2019. In this category, Andhra Pradesh has maximum number of 58 cases followed by Uttar Pradesh and Odisha with 43 and 28 cases respectively in which complaints of alleged fake encounters have been received.
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