Educationist, popular historian Sohail Hashmi targeted under oppressive UAPA

Statement in support of veteran cultural activist Sohail Hashmi, whose house was raided in Delhi along with that of several senior journalists on October 3 morning, endorsed by nearly 600 individuals:

***

We the undersigned strongly condemn the Delhi police special cell action against journalists including Urmilesh, Abhisar Sharma, Bhasha Singh, Githa Hariharan, Aunindyo Chakravarthy, Sumedha Pal, D Raghunandan, Sanjay Rajaura, Aditi Nigam and several others. Along with these names we would like to register our condemnation on the harassment of Mr. Sohail Hashmi.
Around 6 am on 3rd October 2023 Delhi police special cell raided Sohail Hashmi’s house, in the Newsclick case which is now being investigated under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). His family was harassed in early morning commotion where police personnel barged into his house, including his and his daughter’s bedroom. The cops have eventually seized his personal computer, hard disc along with the flash drives – all containing significant files of his work life. This raid in the name of law was one among many similar such attacks carried out by the special cell in the NCR today, where scores of journalists, intellectuals and activists have been questioned – while some have been taken for further questioning – and their personal works have been seized.
We the strongly condemned this outrageously fiendish act of the government whereby they are hellbent to stifle every dissenting voice with vicious impunity.
We of course not be silenced by such intimidating tactics of the government where an educationist, film maker, a popular historian, a person committed to the secular fabric of the country like Sohail Hashmi is being targeted in an investigation under oppressive UAPA. The law which is infamous for wilfully targeting the members of minority community in its brief history of tyrannical operation is well documented by now. We would like to put it on record that Sohail Hashmi’s work, if it’s about anything, it is about cherishing and preserving India’s unique composite culture and its intellectual history. His work among children and on inculcating the conserving ethics about our shared history and heritage doesn’t require any further introduction. We are particularly appalled at the behaviour met to senior citizens like Sohail Hashmi, and numerous others whose houses have been raided today and were treated like criminals.
We would like to emphasise that the investigation now being made under UAPA should desist from framing innocent citizens exercising their constitutional right. We appeal all to come together in strengthening the hands of journalists, and intellectuals in such dire times and call out the wretched tactics of the government of the day in one voice.
---
Click here for those who have endorsed the statement

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.

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.

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.

Counterview

Search This Blog