Category: South Asia

The great Indian fightback: thousands protest Modi’s racist Citizenship Act

By SUSAN RAM (Originally published in the British journal Counterfire. Susan Ram, journalist/editor, lived in India many years and is currently based in south-west France. Published with permission.) Protests are currently sweeping India, gathering force with every passing day.  In every part of this giant canvas from Assam in the north east to Kerala, Karnataka and … Continue reading The great Indian fightback: thousands protest Modi’s racist Citizenship Act →

Self-determination for Kashmir!

By RUWAN MUNASINGHE Late on Sunday, Aug. 4, with hardly a notice, India moved tens of thousands of troops into what is already the most militarized region on the planet. In Indian-administered Kashmir, politicians, especially opposition leaders (but even some loyal to India), were placed under house arrest. Internet and landline service have been cut. Free … Continue reading Self-determination for Kashmir! →

Chinese imperialism targeted in Balochistan

By ERNIE GOTTA The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has launched multiple attacks in the last seven months against Chinese assets in Balochistan, Pakistan. On Sunday May 12, gunmen from the Majeed Brigade of the BLA claimed responsibility for an attack on a hotel in Gwadar. This most recent attack occurred days after an attack at … Continue reading Chinese imperialism targeted in Balochistan →

Modi’s re-election in India: More attacks on workers and national minorities

By RUWAN MUNASINGHE On May 25, the day of the swearing-in of  incumbent Prime Minister of India Nahrendra Modi, a 30-year-old man from Bihar, Mohammad Qasim, was bedridden in a hospital in Begusari. A bullet had to be removed from his back. Qasim was one of many victims of a wave of violence against minorities … Continue reading Modi’s re-election in India: More attacks on workers and national minorities →

Pakistan: Release Ali Wazir, withdraw false police cases!

By EUROPE SOLIDAIRE SANS FRONTIERES On May 26, 2019, a peaceful procession in the Waziristan region led by Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, both Members of National Assembly (MNAs), was fired upon by army men, leaving at least 13 dead and over 40 injured. Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were elected as Members of the … Continue reading Pakistan: Release Ali Wazir, withdraw false police cases! →

The day Trotskyists shut down a country: 65th anniversary of the Sri Lankan Hartal

By RUWAN MUNASINGHE  “The structuring of the LSSP leadership ... showed itself best during the August 1953 Hartal (general strike). The LSSP leadership appeared as a really revolutionary team at the head of insurgent masses, fighting in the streets simultaneously for immediate material gains for the impoverished masses and for the socialist overthrow of the … Continue reading The day Trotskyists shut down a country: 65th anniversary of the Sri Lankan Hartal →

Thousands resist pollution from copper smelting plant in India

By RUAN MUNASINGHE On May 22, thousands of protesters in the town and district of Thoothukudi (also known by its British name, Tuticorin), in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, expressed their anguish as victims of pollution from the area’s copper smelter. Police and paramilitary fired into the crowd, killing 13 and injuring many more. … Continue reading Thousands resist pollution from copper smelting plant in India →

Release Baba Jan! An international appeal to the Pakistani and Gilgit-Baltistan governments

By FAROOQ TARIK This is a very urgent call for solidarity signatures. Baba Jan, a dedicated activist from Gilgit-Balistan, north of Pakistan, is appealing against a life sentence. His final review petition will be heard by the Supreme Court May 25, 2017. To have an effect, this international call has to be sent Monday 22, … Continue reading Release Baba Jan! An international appeal to the Pakistani and Gilgit-Baltistan governments →

Judges question NYPD spying on Muslims

By MICHAEL SCHREIBER  PHILADELPHIA—Federal judges in a Jan. 13 appeals court hearing have indicated that they are favorable to the premises of a suit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for its surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey. The suit, Hassan v. City of New York, had been dismissed by a federal district … Continue reading Judges question NYPD spying on Muslims →

‘Vietnam’: Riveting but flawed documentary

By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH “The Last Days of Vietnam,” a documentary film produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. Director Rory Kennedy, daughter of environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, has created a riveting and heartwarming, yet heartbreaking, full-length documentary film, “The Last Days of Vietnam,” which takes place in South Vietnam from 1973 to 1975, the last … Continue reading ‘Vietnam’: Riveting but flawed documentary →

Book review: ‘Coolie Woman’

By CHRISTINE MARIE March 8 was declared International Women’s Day by the Socialist International in 1910. On this day, we can gain inspiration for the battles ahead through a look at the dramatic entrance of working women into history. Socialists traditionally discuss the magnificent strike of 20,000 shirtwaist workers in New York City that was … Continue reading Book review: ‘Coolie Woman’ →

Malalai Joya tour marks longest U.S. war

BY JEFF MACKLER Afghan women’s rights and antiwar fighter Malalai Joya toured the U.S. for three weeks in October on behalf of the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) and the Los Angeles-based Afghan Women’s Mission. Joya’s national tour included 10 cities: New York, Boston, Amherst, Albany, Chicago, Madison, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. … Continue reading Malalai Joya tour marks longest U.S. war →

Film: Scahill probes U.S. covert wars

By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH “Dirty Wars,” a documentary film, written by Jeremy Scahill and directed by Rick Rowley.  The documentary film “Dirty Wars” should sicken, anger, and depress you. Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill, who wrote the film, has done his job. Seems that the United States presidential administration has allowed the CIA to work jointly with … Continue reading Film: Scahill probes U.S. covert wars →

Pakistan: Elections a win for the right

By FAROOQ TARIQ A right-wing wave swept Pakistan in the May 11 general elections. At the federal level, the conservative Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) will form the government, having won 35% of the vote. Former Pakistani cricket captain Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf, came second with 19% of the vote and surprised many. The … Continue reading Pakistan: Elections a win for the right →

Pakistan: Between bureaucracy & theocracy

By USMAN KHAN YUSUFZAI The modern history of the two extremisms in Pakistan, Islamic and neoliberal, is rooted in the interactions between Pakistan and the United States. It was in 1979 that the relationship between the United States and Pakistan shifted dramatically; prior to that, American support to Pakistan was mostly based around countering Soviet … Continue reading Pakistan: Between bureaucracy & theocracy →

Taliban shoots young feminist, socialist

By DANIEL XAVIER (Updated Oct. 15) Tens of thousands of people rallied in Karachi, Pakistan, on Oct. 14 to show support for Malala Yousufzai, a young feminist and socialist activist who was shot by the Taliban. The following day, Malala arrived at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham, England, where she was airlifted for further treatment. … Continue reading Taliban shoots young feminist, socialist →

Condemn Police Repression of Socialist Activists in Kazakhstan

The statement below was approved by the Political Committee of Socialist Action-US  The world economic crisis has sparked the beginnings of a fightback against poverty and austerity enforced by the pro-capitalist regime of Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev, the former Communist Party head of Kazakhstan when it was a Soviet Republic, has presided over a repressive capitalist-restorationist … Continue reading Condemn Police Repression of Socialist Activists in Kazakhstan →