India: Peaceful protest becomes persona non grata
After police used tear gas and batons to stop a celebrity on hunger strike, what hope is there for non-violent protest in India? Leo Mirani reports.
India: Police break up anti-corruption protests
At least 30 people were injured today after police broke up protesters rallying against a police crackdown on a separate protest on Saturday (4 June) led by famous yoga guru and activist Baba Ramdev. Today’s rally was led by Anna Hazare, a high profile campaigner against government corruption. Government ministers had warned that “firm action” would be taken just hours before teargas and batons were used on the peaceful crowds in Delhi.
India censors the Economist over Kashmir map
The Indian government forced The Economist to use a sticker to conceal a map of Kashmir in the magazine. The magazine’s cover story, which utilised the map, was on the region’s border disputes. Nearly 30,000 censored issues were distributed in India. India has claimed Kashmir as its own but The Economist shows how regions of Kashmir are also held by Pakistan and China.
India: Controversial book on Gandhi banned
Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India, a book by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph Lelyveld, has been banned in the Indian state of Gujrat. The book is seen as being controversial as some passages can be interpreted as hinting that Gandhi had a homosexual relationship. The Indian Law Minister, Veerappa Moily, has also recently indicated that the government might introduce a country-wide ban on the book.