INDIA

In 2023, India bore witness to a distressing surge in anti-Muslim hate speech incidents, averaging close to two occurrences daily, as detailed by the India Hate Lab (IHL), an esteemed research group headquartered in Washington, DC. The findings unveiled a stark reality: a staggering 75 percent of these reprehensible acts unfolded within states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), highlighting a concerning trend deeply embedded within the political landscape. The temporal alignment of these hate speech surges, notably peaking between August and November, coincided with pivotal political campaigns and polling endeavors across four significant states. Such synchronization underscores a disconcerting correlation between political discourse and the p...

Nitasha Kaul, a British writer of Kashmir origin and professor of politics at the University of Westminster in London was allegedly denied entry and deported from India. On February 25th, 2024 kaul, tweeted “IMPORTANT: Denied entry to #India for speaking on democratic & constitutional values. I was invited to a conference as esteemed delegate by Govt of #Karnataka (Congress-ruled state) but Centre refused me entry. All my documents were valid & current (UK passport & OCI). Without an official government statement, the true reason for her visit remains in the realm of speculation. Reacting to the incident Karnataka’s BJP tweeted “Congress party has disgraced Indian Constitution by inviting a Pakistani sympathiser who wants India's break up. Don't you have any shame left...

The Tripura government has suspended the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife and ecotourism), amid a controversy surrounding the naming of a zoo lion and lioness as Akbar and Sita, respectively. Prabin Lal Agrawal, a 1994-batch IFS officer who was the chief wildlife warden of Tripura at the time, recorded the names Akbar and Sita for the lion couple in the dispatch register before their transfer to Siliguri, as reported by the Times of India. The suspension followed a complaint filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to the Calcutta High Court, claiming that the names were offensive to religious sentiments. The lion named 'Akbar' and lioness named 'Sita' were moved from Tripura’s Sepahijala Zoological Park to Bengal Safari Park in Siliguri on February 12. Represen...

On February 17, videos surfaced on social media capturing the protest of Hijab-wearing students outside a government school in Pipar town, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The students confronted school authorities, claiming they were barred from entering due to wearing Hijab. Allegedly, a teacher made derogatory remarks, referring to them as 'Chambal k daaku (Dacoit of Chambal)' and threatened to deduct marks in upcoming exams if they continued wearing Hijab. Saniya Khan, a 12th-grade student, recounted the incident, stating a teacher abruptly entered the classroom, singled out Hijab-wearing students, and demanded they leave if they wanted to cover their heads. The teacher reportedly used Islamophobic language, calling them 'dacoits of Chambal.' When students confronted her, she insisted they le...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the opposition Congress, saying its entire strength was used to ensure the progress of just one family. All kinds of scams used to take place under the Congress regime, Modi said, adding that his government stopped all those things in the last 10 years. The Congress lacked the will and intention to provide amenities to people, he said. The PM was speaking after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for various projects in Dwarka, including India’s longest cable-stayed bridge between Okha and Beyt Dwarka here in Gujarat. “Those who ruled the country for a long time did not have the will power, intention and dedication to provide amenities to the common people,” Modi said. “The entire strength of the Congress has been use...

Several youth participating in the farmers protests have been allegedly kidnapped by the Haryana Police, families of the victims said. Adressing a press conference, several leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha alleged rampant police brutality and kidnappings of the participants of peaceful demonstrations at the borders of Haryana. Farmers have been on a protest since February 13, when they started marching towards New Delhi, in support of a law governing the Minimum Support Price, a demand accepted by central government following one year of agitation by the farmers in 2020. The farmers, however, were not allowed to move ahead towards Haryana. In fact, several hundreds have been injured in the Police highhandedness at the Khanauri and Shambu borders. On 21...

Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act of 1935 was repealed by the state government of Assam on Friday. The decision was taken during a state cabinet meeting on Friday night chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. It comes three weeks after Uttarakhand became the first state to enact Uniform Civil Code legislation. Cabinet Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah referred to it as a major step toward a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). He emphasized that going forward, all matters pertaining to Muslim marriages and divorces would be governed by the Special Marriages Act. “The District Commissioner and the District Registrar will now be in charge of registering Muslim marriages and divorces under the new structure. The 94 Muslim registrars who were employed under the revoked Act wil...

A 31-year-old businesswoman has been arrested on charges of stalking and abducting a television music channel anchor with the purported intention of marriage, Hindustan Times reported. The accused, identified as Bhogireddy Trishna, a digital marketing business operator, allegedly developed an obsession with TV anchor Pranav Sistla after stumbling upon his photos on a matrimonial website two years ago. Having discovered Pranav's phone number through an extensive search of his profile, Trishna reached out to him via instant messaging. Pranav, however, informed her that someone unknown had misused his photo to create a fake account on the matrimonial site, and he had already reported the incident to the Cyber Crime police station. Undeterred by this revelation and determined to marry...

Amidst the ongoing farmers' protest near Haryana border areas, the Ambala district police in Haryana have issued a stern warning to the protesting farmers. The police have explicitly conveyed that any harm caused to government or private property during the ongoing demonstrations will result in compensatory actions, including the attachment of properties and the seizure of bank accounts belonging to the protestors. As per an official release from the Ambala police dated February 13, 2024, farmer organizations have persistently attempted to breach the barricades at the Shambhu border. These endeavors reportedly led to disturbances in law and order, with protesters allegedly throwing stones at the police administration and causing damage to both government and private property throu...

A student of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) was arrested for allegedly posting a story on WhatsApp in protest against the celebration of the consecration of the Ayodhya Ram Temple on January 22. The arrest was carried out by the Govandi police station in Mumbai has arrested another student in the same case on 21 February, Maktoob media reported. The new arrestee is a 25-year-old student from Kerala. On January 22nd, the police arrested a 23-year-old Dalit student from Maharashtra who had shared a screenshot of another student's post. He was later released on bail after spending two days in custody. The charges filed against him under sections 153(A) and 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code pertain to promoting enmity between groups and outraging religious...