-United Nations News A new law in India which expedites citizenship for certain religious minorities has been criticized by the UN human rights office for being “fundamentally discriminatory in nature.” The amendment to the Citizenship Act gives priority to Hindus, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians resident in India before 2014, but excludes Muslims, including minority sects. “Although India’s broader naturalization laws remain in place, these amendments will have a...
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Nationwide NRC: Centre has to set common cut-off date -Vijaita Singh
-The Hindu ‘Several States are demanding a register, though they are competent enough to detect and deport foreign nationals’ Before the Centre rolls out a plan to compile a countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC) on the lines of the document compiled in Assam, it will have to decide a common cut-off date, a senior government official said. Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated his stand on a wider NRC exercise a few days...
More »The importance of listening well -Rajeev Bhargava
-The Hindu Conversations between governments and citizens and among citizens themselves are crucial in a democracy A very instructive passage on the difference in norms of debate among ancient Indian scholars, on the one hand, and kings and their subjects, on the other is found in the ancient text, Milinda-pañha. It records an exchange between the Indo-Greek king Milinda (Menander) and the Buddhist monk N?gasena. When the king fails to understand a point...
More »Focus turns to domicile laws, land, jobs in proposed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh -Peerzada Ashiq
-The Hindu Pandits, Dogras and Buddhists demand maintenance of current population status, rights over land With the revoking of the special status of Kashmir, Pandits, Dogras and Buddhists have made separate demands for domicile laws in the proposed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The reasons they cite include the need to maintain the current population status, ensuring jobs for local people and the rights over land use. BJP State spokesman...
More »Population explosion is a bogey the government should ignore
-The Financial Express The prime minister, in his Independence Day speech, flagged “population explosion” as a problem and talked of the need to counter it. It is surprising that the government has missed the message on the declining trend in fertility in the country and is gearing up to fight yesterday’s problem. The proponents of population regulation raise the bogey of the absolute population level already being too high and the...
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