IAMC Weekly News Digest, 23rd April 2021
India should be a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ for Religious Freedom: U.S. Commission
Photo: American Bazaar
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent bi-partisan commission, has recommended for the second year in the row that the State Department put India on a list (‘Countries of Particular Concern’ or CPCs) for the worst violations of religious freedoms in 2020. One out of the ten USCIRF commissioners presented a dissenting view. The USCISRF recommended that the administration impose targeted sanctions on Indian individuals and entities for ‘severe violations of religious freedom’. The key concerns of the 2021 report include the Citizenship Amendment Act which went into effect in early 2020 and fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from South Asian countries meeting certain other criteria….
Further evidence in case against Indian activists accused of terrorism was planted, new report says
Photo: YouTube/Pixabay
An unknown hacker planted more than 30 documents that investigators deemed incriminating on a laptop belonging to an Indian activist accused of terrorism, a new forensic analysis finds, indicating a more extensive use of malicious software than previously revealed. The report will heighten concerns about the controversial prosecution of a group of government critics under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm, examined an electronic copy of the laptop at the request of defense lawyers…. A previous analysis by Arsenal… found that 10 letters had been deposited on the laptop, including one that discussed an alleged plot to assassinate Modi. The latest report by Arsenal finds that 22 additional documents were also delivered to the computer by the same attacker….
Tech giants are happy to do Modi’s bidding in return for access to the Indian market
Photo: Bloomberg
…. “it has become clear that his style of leadership poses an existential threat to the world’s largest democracy. Through his wildly successful promotion of Hindutva ideology, Modi is poised to remake India into a Russian-style ‘managed democracy’ – one retaining all the trappings of democracy while operating as a de facto autocracy.”… … last year, Freedom House, an organisation that continually monitors the health of democracies, had judged India to be a “free” society. This year, the country’s rating is “partly free”. All of which impales American tech giants, especially Amazon, Facebook, Google and Netflix, on the horns of an ethical dilemma. For them, India represents a huge market – bigger than China…. The Indian market, being less centrally controlled, has enormous potential for growth. But in order to thrive there the companies must reach an accommodation with an authoritarian government that doesn’t brook criticism, never mind opposition.
Communal Harmony
Mosques in Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat Set Up Covid Centres, Offer Free Oxygen Cylinders
Hindu Youngster Uses Social Media to Help Needy Muslims
News
India should be a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ for Religious Freedom: U.S. Commission
How a COVID Positive Devotee Infected Fellow Travellers at Kumbh
Further evidence in case against Indian activists accused of terrorism was planted, new report says
Tech giants are happy to do Modi’s bidding in return for access to the Indian market
India is ‘one of world’s most dangerous countries for journalists’: 2021 World Press Freedom Index
Vadodara BJP leaders object to Muslim volunteers at crematorium
Narendra Modi used India’s media elite for his own advantage. Sanjaya Baru explains how he did it
Sudden Arrests, No Information: J&K Residents Learn About UAPA the Hard
Ad for Delhi Govt’s Scholarship Scheme Omits Minority Students
Haryana: Khaps Move to Resist Possible ‘Forcible Removal’ of Farmers from Protest Sites
Opinion
VHP-America’s Narsinghanand controversy is tip of Islamophobic iceberg – By Pieter Friedrich
India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression – By R.B. Moore
Gyanvapi Mosque: Yet Another Headlong March into an Unknowable Past – By Ram Puniyani
RSS mouthpiece resorts to copy-paste propaganda against farmers – By Basant Kumar
India no haven for Rohingya refugees – By Haris Zargar & Muhammad Rafi
