Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from March, 2023

India one of 7 countries where disinformation used for winning polls: Global NGO Civicus

    The State of Civil Society Report 2023, released by Civicus, an international non-profit organisation, which describes itself as “a global alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world," with headquarters in Johannesburg and offices in Geneva and New York, has singled out India as one of the seven countries where disinformation played a crucial role to win elections. Seeking to explore contemporary political, economic and social trends and their impact on civil society, and the ways in which people’s movements are responding, innovating and scoring victories, the  report  says, "disinformation played a huge role in elections" in "promoting the anti-Muslim Hindu nationalism of India’s ruling party." Other countries mentioned are Brazil, Philippines, South Korea, Chile, Russia and USA." It insists, "Disinformation and conspiracy theories soared under the pandemic, souring every area of public discourse, from v...

Heat wave: All round 'failure' to fight land loss due to sea intrusion, groundwater salinity

  Calling the recent Synthesis report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report (IPCC AR6) a “warning call”, and insisting on the need for “grounded action” to ensure social and ecological justice, well-known civil society organisation ActionAid Association has insisted, governments must work for “quickly closing opportunity of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees centigrade.”

Dalits spend 94% income on food, 15% on ultra-processed, packaged food: Study

A recent study has revealed that India’s marginalised and economically weak are consuming high quantities of ultra-processed and packaged food. In a country that faces one of the world’s gravest double burden of malnutrition, the lowest income quintile has gone from facing hunger to relying on unhealthy snacks.

Union minister 'lying': multiple complaints made on NREGA workers' digital attendance

  Taking strong exception to Union Minister Giriraj Singh’s  recent   statement  in the Lok Sabha, statement that the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) had not received any complaints related to the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) digital attendance app, top advocacy network NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has claimed, it relentlessly drew the Ministry’s attention to the chaos that has been unleashed by the NMMS app and the Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS), both of which are now compulsory for NREGA wage payments.

Gujarat farmers allege political discrimination in converting land for non-farm work

Seeking to “develop” Gujarat by increasing non-farm activities, facts, however, have emerged suggesting that the State government appears to be creating hurdles for converting agricultural land into non-agricultural (NA) land.

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at US press club

  The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

US religious freedom chief asks Biden govt to condemn Modi for human rights 'violations'

  The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner Stephen Schneck has called upon the Joe Biden government to condemn Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime for its “egregious violations of human rights and religious freedoms.” “The Indian government at the local, state, and national level continues to create policies that negatively impact Muslims, Christians, and other religious minorities,” he said while speaking at an Indian diaspora meet in Washington DC.

Ex-BJP chief minister's allegation 'forces' Gujarat govt to upload crucial budget papers

In a surprise move, hours after former BJP chief minister Suresh Mehta accused the Gujarat government for “deliberately refusing to place” four major budget documents while presenting the budget for 2023-24 in the state assembly on February 24, the state finance department swiftly acted to upload each of them on its website.

US report compares Nazi rule before, during Holocaust with today's happenings in India

In an unusual move, a US-based non-profit, Justice for All, has released a report to “explain” how the BJP-RSS are seeking to establish the ideology of Hindu supremacy called Hindutva in an effort to draw inspiration from Nazi ideologies, resulting in what calls “Nazification of India.”

Diaspora event: Top fascism scholar alleges 'clear parallel' between Nazi, Modi rules

  Yale University professor and top scholar on fascism Dr Jason Stanley has alleged that the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is mimicking the Nazi playbook. “Modi’s far-right supporters and other Hindu supremacists celebrate their connections with Nazis. The RSS explicitly says, ‘We want to do to Muslims what the Nazis did to Jews',” he said.