Author: Priya Saha

India and the U.S. have a common interest in promoting security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and their ability to work together has a positive impact in effectively addressing regional and global challenges, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on January 14.MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava made the assertion in response to questions over a declassified document of the outgoing Trump administration which said that a strong India, in cooperation with like-minded countries, would act as a “counterbalance” to China in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.“A question on the U.S. government report should be asked to the U.S. government spokesperson.…

Rohingya refugees are transported on a naval vessel to Bhashan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, from Chittagong, Bangladesh, last month. (AP Photo) COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — A huge fire tore through a Rohingya refugee camp on Thursday destroying more than 550 shanty homes, but while 3,500 people were left homeless no serious casualties were reported, aid agencies said. The blaze started when most people in the sprawling Nayapara camp were asleep. Tens of thousands of members of the Muslim minority who fled a military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar in 2017 live in the overcrowded camp.…

Bangladeshi photographer Sumi Anjuman turned to the familiar medium of photography to tell the story of a modern inquisition and its victims – the members and activists of the LGBTQ community in her homeland. © Sumi Anjuman, from the series Somewhere Else Than HereAccording to Section 377 of the Penal Code in Bangladesh, homosexuality is a criminal act. This implacable stance, stemming from the religious conservatism of Islamic fundamentalism, still pervades many aspects of society.Those who disseminate ideas supportive of LGBTQ rights – ideas still considered largely controversial – pay for their willingness to speak up, often with their lives:…

There is a need to help them to settle down to a new life style, says NHRC special rapporteur A report by the special rapporteur of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the erstwhile enclave dwellers had referred to a “definite change in the life style” of the families who preferred to leave their villages located deep in Bangladeshi territory but retain their Indian nationality. In his report, B.B. Mishra of the NHRC East Zone in November 2019, had suggested employment for them most likely in the nearby tea gardens.“The 200 families who preferred to leave their villages but…

KARACHI: The Sindh police have decided to establish a ‘desk’ at the (police) range, zonal and district levels in order to address complaints of high-handedness on the part of various elements against minority communities, a senior official said on Tuesday. The additional inspector general (AIG) operations has directed DIGs of all districts in the interior of Sindh as well as zonal DIGs in Karachi to dedicate a special team for their respective areas. According to a senior police official, the initiative is part of Inspector General Mushtaq Mahar’s reforms programme for the law-enforcement agency. “All the DIGs have been asked…

China has, for quite some time now, been working very hard to improve ties between its vassal state Pakistan and Bangladesh. Beijing has been leaning very hard on Dhaka to accept Islamabad’s hand of friendship that is based on the commonality of Islam between the two countries. Beijing had also marshalled the support of the Islamist establishment in Bangladesh and some influential Islamists in that country’s critical institutions like the bureaucracy, military and the foreign office to foster warm Bangladesh-Pakistan ties. According to Beijing’s nefarious intent, a firm Dhaka-Islamabad axis would offset the warm relations Dhaka has with New Delhi…

VISAKHAPATNAM: District collector V. Vinay Chand has warned that severe action would be initiated against individuals and institutions destroying religious harmony in the district. Talking to reporters after chairing the first religious harmony and peace committee meeting here on Sunday, the collector said people belonging to all religions, faith and caste have been coexisting peacefully. In order to prevent any disturbances, they had formed a district-level peace committee, which will be headed by district collector.   The commissioner of police and district superintendent of police will be vice-presidents while the joint collector would be the convener with minority welfare officials and endowment joint…

4 mins read Posted by Adeela Hameed How socially secure is India? Is it a crime to be part of a minority in this Republic? Or are there perks to being one? All these questions baffle not just scholars, but people from a variety of professions. It is understandable that Hindus dominate the geography of India but everyone knows Bharat is home to Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Jains as well. It houses individuals from sub-classes of diverse religions − whether males, females, or from any other gender.  “WAKE UP INDIA” a Protest Rally against the Violence & oppression on Minorities,…

Members of the transgender community gather to learn the Holy Quran in a madrassah — Islamic school — for transgender Muslims, in Dhaka on January 8, 2021. — AFP photo Excitements is running high among students as the first-ever transgender Islamic school in Bangladesh has been inaugurated and handed out books to its students at the start of the new academic year, reports Anadolu Agency. The Dawatul Quran Third Gender Madrassah, located in the capital Dhaka, started its journey last November in the hand of a group of Muslim clerics and trainers with support from a local charity. ‘The first…

Four years ago, Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor of political science at Illinois State University, received an email from a student who wanted to work with him on a project on Bangladeshi politics. It seemed no different from the many other emails Riaz receives every week from aspiring students around the world. The professor was about to politely wish the student success and express his inability to participate in the initiative.But then, something about the message jumped out. Perhaps it was the way the writer evoked American social scientist Mancur Olson’s framework on the logic of collective action or the plan…

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad yesterday set an ultimatum for the government, till January 18, to take steps to preserve the house of anti-British revolutionary Jatindra Mohan Sengupta in Chattogram.  Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the organisation, set the ultimatum at a human chain in front of the house in port city’s Rahamatganj. He warned of starting a hunger strike unto death there, if the demand is not fulfilled within the period. The parishad organised human chains, demonstrations and rallies in different districts and upazilas yesterday. Leaders of different political and sociocultural organisations attended the programmes. Centrally, a rally…

Twitter first said that the Chinese embassy’s “Baby-making machines” tweet is not against its rules New Delhi: Faced with an angry outburst not just from the Uyghur community but also prominent politicians, human rights activists and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Twitter has finally removed a tweet from a Chinese government account justifying its genocidal policy in the Uyghur dominated Xinjiang region, the westernmost part of the country. In a tweet Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in the United States had shared a China Daily report on the population change in Xinjiang published by the Xinjiang Development…