-PTI India's human rights record in 2011 got a thumbs down from a leading global rights group for its "failure" to protect vulnerable communities and rapped the government for custodial killings, police abuses, including torture. Human Rights Watch also criticised the Indian government for its inaction in repealing the controversial armed forces act and for remaining silent on the "gravest abuses" in countries like Syria. In its World Report 2012, Human Rights Watch...

Indian law promotes arbitrary removal and blocking of websites, website content, and online services —making it much easier than getting offline printed speech removed Without getting into questions of what should and should not be unlawful speech, let's take a look at how Indian law promotes arbitrary removal and blocking of websites, website content, and online services, and how it makes it much easier than getting offline printed speech removed. --Pranesh Prakash...

—PTI Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed surprise over “more resistance” from the Army for removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain areas of the State despite assurances that its interests would be protected. Discussions on partial withdrawal of the AFSPA were an “ongoing process,” Mr. Abdullah told PTI here. “Unfortunately, there is more resistance than I would have liked from the Army for reasons...

-DNA   Baba Ramdev was not there. Nor was it the Ramlila Maidan of Delhi. But lathis were used - on the dalits of Sanand, who had experienced a similar fate when they were lathi-charged post midnight earlier this week, and the corpse which was placed in the police station to agitate against the ineffective cops, was seized. The body was of Atul Rathod, a resident of Rethal village of Sanand Taluka. The...

-IANS   Custodial killings, police abuse including torture, and failure to implement policies aimed at protecting vulnerable communities marred India's record in 2011, according to the Human Rights Watch World Report. The global report released on Monday pointed out that immunity for abuses committed by security forces also continued, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast, and areas facing Maoist insurgency. However, the report found that killings by the Border Security Force (BSF)...