Protesters in Atlanta, US, regret 'utter silence' of Govt of India on Manipur violence

By A Representative

A US senator, who joined Indian Americans and allies at a protest and vigil, has demanded an immediate halt to the ongoing violence gripping India's northeastern state of Manipur, which has left over 150 dead and 50,000 displaced.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, or Hindu,” said Georgia senator Sheikh Rahman, addressing the protesters gathered outside the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. “It is very important that we stand up for minority issues… [when] minorities are suffering all around the world.”
Participants said, the brunt of the violence in Manipur has impacted the predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo tribal community, leading to the destruction of thousands of Kuki-owned homes and hundreds of churches. Over the past few months, the Kuki-Zo have been the victims of extreme brutality, including sexual violence. Several of these crimes have been filmed and circulated on social media.
Protesters carried placards with slogans such as “Bring Rapists to Justice” and “Women’s Bodies Are Not Battlefields,” referencing a viral video that showed the horrifying assault of two Kuki-Zo women, who were stripped, paraded naked, groped by a mob of men and then gang-raped.
“Even as we speak, the state-sponsored ethnic cleansing is still ongoing… and it is just the beginning,” said Khai Samte, representing NAMTA. “Let this be our first step towards fighting for justice for minorities like us, and for everybody everywhere [in India].”
“There is utter silence on Manipur [from the Indian government], which is actually provoking more violence,” said Sandeep Chavan, representing the AANA. “We Ambedkarites all over the world stand for the Kuki-Zo, Muslims in Haryana, and everyone who is facing injustice.”

“The ongoing violence in Manipur is not just a concern for the Kuki-Zo or the Christian community, but for everyone who believe in the basic human right to live without the fear of being gang-raped, murdered, and driven out of one’s home,” said Naushad Ghilzai, president of the IAMC Atlanta chapter. “We call upon the US government to take a strong stance against this violence and urge the Modi regime to restore peace in the state.”
“Both the central and state governments have failed to take any accountability or responsibility for communal violence throughout the country,” said Romita Verma, representing the advocacy group Hindus for Human Rights. “We strongly condemn the continuing acts of violence against minorities in Manipur, Haryana, and everywhere else in India.”

The vigil was co-organized by the North American Manipur Tribal Association (NAMTA), the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), the Ambedkar International Center, Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA), Hindus for Human Rights, and members of the Sikh community.

The 'Dr' debate masks a larger crisis in allied-health education

By Dr P K Gupta* India’s allied-health professions have long operated in a fragmented landscape of universities, hospitals, State authorities and private institutions, each with its own nomenclature, curriculum and standards. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 was meant to correct this by creating a unified national framework for education, professional regulation and institutional recognition. Few dispute the need for such oversight. The real question is whether standardisation is quietly becoming synonymous with longer courses, additional internships and new professional titles—changes that risk masking deeper gaps in clinical training, institutional capacity and affordability.

Arrival of USS Lincoln: A ‘leisure trip’ to Thailand or a neo-colonial move to commodify women?

By Benyasiri Eimviriyapong The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) for a ‘leisure trip’ in Thailand before returning to its campaign of destruction against the people of West Asia demands immediate interrogation and opposition. For us Thai people, and those in sites of American plunder across the globe, this a rattling of the US’ cold war colonial chains on its most loyal lap dog, while conducting a war of aggression in Iran and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. In allowing the USS Lincoln to dock, the Thai ruling elites are once again facilitating a system of imperial violence that extends far beyond Southeast Asian borders, a system which in our case, is predicated on sexual violence and femicide.

Pilgrimage or pollution? The waste crisis of Indian faith

By Raj Kumar Sinha* In today's times, there are certain issues that are constantly talked about and discussed, yet no visible impact seems to be made. Beyond water, soil, and pollution, one crisis that continues to be overlooked is waste. Like other life-threatening problems, waste too is gradually moving toward burying and obliterating us. After the Kanwar Yatra in Haridwar, approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste were left behind on the riverbanks, including bottles filled with urine.

Counterview

Search This Blog