Indian election: Gandhi dynasty, trailing Modi, battles for political survival
RUPAM JAIM, of Reuters, reports on the status of one of India’s most storied political dynasties ahead of the upcoming election…
India’s Modi promises jobs, infrastructure if BJP wins third term
New Delhi, India Reuters Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised on Sunday to create jobs, boost infrastructure and expand welfare programmes if it wins a third term, seeking to address key voter concerns ahead of next week’s elections. The general election, which begins on 19th April, will be held in seven […]
US, UN express concern about India’s religion-based citizenship law
Washington DC, US Reuters The US Government and the United Nations have expressed concerns about a contentious religion-based citizenship law in India, with the UN calling the legislation “fundamentally discriminatory in nature”. Rights advocates have criticised the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act, which the Indian Government moved to implement on Monday. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty […]
India implements citizenship law opposed by Muslims before election
New Delhi, India Reuters India moved on Monday to implement a 2019 citizenship law that has been criticised as discriminating against Muslims, weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third term for his Hindu nationalist government. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) grants Indian nationality to Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who […]
India’s Assam scraps colonial-era Muslim marriage law
Guwahati, India Reuters India’s Assam state has scrapped an 89-year-old law that allowed marriage involving underage Muslims, against opposition from leaders of the minority community who called the plan an attempt to polarise voters on religious lines ahead of elections. Assam, which has the highest percentage of Muslims among Indian states at 34 per cent, […]
Modi opens Hindu temple built on ruins on razed mosque, in political triumph for Prime Minister
Ayodhya, India AP Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened a controversial Hindu temple Monday that was built on the ruins of a razed historic mosque – a political triumph for the populist leader who is seeking to transform the country from a secular democracy into a Hindu state. The temple, dedicated to Hinduism’s Lord Ram, sits on […]
India’s Modi says peace returning to strife-torn Manipur
New Delhi, IndiaReuters Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday peace was returning to the strife-torn north-eastern state of Manipur where at least 180 people have been killed and tens of thousands forced from their homes in sectarian clashes since May. The Federal Government has deployed security forces to the hilly state bordering Myanmar governed by Modi’s […]
Muslims flee Indian business hub after religious clashes, attacks
Gurugram, India Reuters Over 3,000 poor Muslims have fled a business hub outside New Delhi this month, fearing for their lives after Hindu-Muslim clashes and sporadic attacks targeting them, residents, police and a community group said. Shops and shacks owned or run by Muslims and their houses in two large slum areas were padlocked when […]
India’s Modi government faces no-confidence vote over ethnic clashes
New Delhi, IndiaReuters India’s parliament on Wednesday authorised a no-confidence vote against Narendra Modi’s government by an alliance of opposition parties, to force the prime minister to address in detail concerns about ethnic clashes in a northeastern state. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has a clear majority of 301 members in the 542-seat lower house of […]
Essay: India’s Manipur violence did not come out of nowhere, and it could happen again in many other states across the country
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says the recent violence is the result of years of government attempts to instrumentalise religion and ethnicity to shore up its grip on power…