In spite of the fact that most of the human rights found clear expression in the Constitution of India, the independent Indian State carried forward many colonial tendencies and power structures, including those embedded in the elite Indian Civil Service. Though the Indian State under
Jawaharlal Nehru took many proactive steps and followed a welfare state model, the police and bureaucracy remained largely colonial in their approach and sought to exert control and power over citizens. The
casteist, feudal and communal characteristics of the Indian polity, coupled with a colonial bureaucracy, weighed against and dampened the spirit of freedom, rights and affirmative action enshrined in the Constitution.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today agreed that human rights violations were rampant in the Kashmir valley and custodial disappearances were also prevalent before the Congress took over the reins from the PDP two years ago.
(Human Rights Violations Have Declined, Claims Azad , Tribune, Tejinder Singh Sodhi, Nov 08, 2007)
Lately, saving Africa has become very fashionable. Hollywood celebrities are adopting African babies. (Time For The British To Pay Up In Kenya, Tribune, A N Sudarsan Rao , Nov 08, 2007)
Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan made a haggard-looking appearance in a video issued from hiding today, calling for protests against President Pervez Musharraf’s state of an emergency.
(Imran Issues Video Message From Hiding, Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)
The scare tactics used by the U.K.’s MI5 chief this week may win a few headlines to help the state, but do grave long-term damage. (Fear Speeches Are Utterly Self-Defeating, Hindu, Simon Jenkins, Nov 08, 2007)
From India's point of view, what can be the worst case scenario in Pakistan? It is the replacement of President Pervez Musharraf by a coalition of the Jamaat-e-Islami (Jamaat) and its allies, the Taliban-Al Qaeda combine and the fundamentalist . . . (Draft A Plan Of Action, Pioneer, Hiranmay Karlekar, Nov 08, 2007)
THE imposition of emergency rule throughout Pakistan on Nov 3 is a clear indication of the failure of the policies pursued by General Musharraf both as president and the patron saint of the ruling PML-Q which forms the rubberstamp government . . . . (Back To The Drawing Board, Dawn, Syed Shahabuddin, Nov 08, 2007)
GEORGE Orwell understood both tyranny and language very well. One of his many insights in this context is that tyrannical governments change the meaning of words. (Emergency Or Martial Law?, Dawn, Editorial, Dawn, Nov 08, 2007)
A housekeeper, who was allegedly enslaved by multi-millionaire Indian American couple, gave graphic and chilling details of torture she suffered at the hands of her employers and showed the jury how she was made to scrub the floor three times a day and ho (Indonesian Accuses Nri Couple Of Abusing Her, Hindustan Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)
Behind the public rage of Pakistan’s lawyers, who protested for a third day on Wednesday, lies a long-smoldering resentment toward the country’s military President, who at first held out a promise for educated, politically moderate Pakistanis. . . (Why Pak Lawyers Are At The Centre Of Protests Against General Musharraf, Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)
A local court on Wednesday granted bail to JD(U) MLA Anant Singh and five others arrested on charges of assaulting journalists here last week.
(Attack On Scribes: Jd(u) Mla, Others Granted Bail, Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)
Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan made a haggard-looking appearance in a video issued from hiding on Wednesday, calling for protests against President Pervez Musharraf’s state of emergency.
(Imran Khan Issues Video Message From Hiding, Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)
Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan made a haggard-looking appearance in a video issued from hiding on Wednesday, calling for protests against President Pervez Musharraf's state of emergency. (Imran Issues Video Message From Hiding, Hindustan Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)
The Tehelka sting operation underscores the urgency of simultaneously pursuing the prosecution of the culprits and fighting Hindutva politically in a spirited way. (Unfinished Agenda, Frontline, Praful Bidwai, Nov 08, 2007)
It is no accident that those who advocate war for humanitarian reasons end up justifying torture. (Torture And ‘Humanitarian War’, Hindu, John Laughland, Nov 07, 2007)
United Nations top officials, including secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, have demanded that the military regime in Pakistan should immediately release all persons detained in the wake of imposition of emergency, including lawyers, judges . . . . (Un Rights Envoy To Visit Myanmar , Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)
Developing nations are being pushed to grow crops for ethanol, rather than food, all thanks to political expediency.
Using food to produce biofuels might strain supplies of arable land: IMF
The cost of rice has risen by 20% over the past year, maiz
(North Biofuel Appetite Causing South Starvation, Hindu, George Monbiot, Nov 07, 2007)
Sixty-year-old Yacoob thanked Allah as he spontaneously knelt on the floor of the special court trying the Coimbatore blast case. (Trial And Error , Telegraph, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)
Media organisations in Manipur face frequent interference from insurgent groups but they do not compromise on ethics. (Press Under Pressure, Frontline, Iboyaima Laithangbam, Nov 07, 2007)
The Tehelka sting on Gujarat 2002 is a credible effort. Yet it is difficult not to question its timing and the exploitative manner of its presentation. (The Sting In Its Social And Ethical Context, Hindu, VIDYA SUBRAHMANIAM, Nov 07, 2007)
There is no stopping the war machine in Sri Lanka. After taking Thoppigala, the last jungle stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam in the east only months ago, the government has dealt another crippling blow to the . . . . . (Reverse Swing, Telegraph, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)
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