Dilip Simeon's blog

With the JD(S) and the Congress joining hands to keep the BJP out of power in Karnataka, all eyes are now on Uttar Pradesh where bypolls for the Kairana Lok Sabha seat and Noorpur assembly seat are slated to be held on May 28. The bypolls hold much importance for the ruling BJP after the recent drubbing in the Gorakhpur and Phoolpur bypolls where arch rivals  Samajwadi Party  tied up with the  Bahujan Samaj Party  to defeat the saffron party. Moreover, after a show of strength by a united Opposition during the HD Kumaraswamy swearing-in in Karnataka, the BJP must have felt the pinch, and a defeat in Kairana and Noorpur will make it obvious that regional parties together can combat the ‘invincible’ BJP in the 2019 general elections. Unlike in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, the Congress has joined hands with the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party in a bid to deal another blow to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats. Kairana hit the national head...

An armed  Rohingya  group carried out at least one massacre of Hindu villagers in Myanmar’s conflict-wracked Rakhine state, an  Amnesty International  report has concluded. Ethnic conflict has convulsed the southeast Asian country in recent years, with the military accused of slaughtering members of the Muslim Rohingya minority in the majority-Buddhist country. But the new  report   from the human rights organisation suggests that a Rohingya group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) killed up to 99 Hindu women, men and children while also abducting Hindu villagers.  “It’s hard to ignore the sheer brutality of ARSA’s actions, which have left an indelible impression on the survivors we’ve spoken to,” Amnesty International’s Tirana Hassan said in a statement. Myanmar’s government has justified a crackdown on Rohingya residents by saying they were suppressing an armed insurrection after attacks on police posts. The Ro...

Tashi Wangchuk received a sentence of five years in prison on charges of “inciting separatism”. His crime: advocating for the protection of Tibetan language. Regardless of China’s obligations to protect the Tibetan language under their own constitution, Tashi’s calls for the right to learn, read, write, and speak Tibetan freely were ignored. Instead, Tashi Wangchuk has been slapped with a five year sentence – a reflection of China’s racist policies against Tibetans.  Read our (SFT) full statement  here . Tashi has not given up hope. As he appeals the verdict, here are two simple things you can do to support the global campaign: Sign the petition , addressed to the five governments who attempted to observe Tashi’s trial – the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada – and urge them to press China for Tashi Wangchuk's immediate and unconditional release. Write to your elected leaders  and ask them to make an urgen...

Thane Richard finds his study abroad experience in India an enormous disappointment. I recently read an article in Kafila written by some students from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi that really made me think. To quickly summarise, the piece criticised the draconian views of the Principal of St. Stephen’s College regarding curfews on women’s dormitories and his stymieing of his students’ democratic ideals of discussion, protest, and open criticism. The students’ frustration was palpable in the text and their story felt to me like a perfect example of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Except Indian students are not an unstoppable force. Not even close. In 2007 I was a student at St. Stephen’s College for seven months as part of a study abroad programme offered by my home institution, Brown University. In as many ways as possible, I tried to become a Stephanian: I joined the football (soccer) team, acted in a school play written and directed by an ...

BEN NORTON: It’s The Real News, I’m Ben Norton. I’m joined by Andrew Feinstein, who is a leading expert on the arms industry. He’s the executive director of Corruption Watch UK, and the author of the book The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade, which was recently made into a film. Andrew is also a former Member of Parliament for the ANC in South Africa. Thanks for joining us, Andrew. ANDREW FEINSTEIN: Great to be with you. BEN NORTON: Today we’re going to be discussing the role of Israel in the US arms industry, and specifically the protests in Gaza. For the past six weeks now, protesters inside Gaza have been leading non-violent demonstrations and being gunned down en masse. There have been large massacres of unarmed protesters by Israel, and in fact, on Monday, dozens more Palestinians were killed. Thousands have been shot with live ammunition, including some experimental forms of munitions used by the Israeli military against unarmed peaceful protesters inside Gaza. How ...

Prof. Leo Panitch says it’s a dilemma that the gradualism of European social-democracy and attempts at a more radical transformation have so far both failed; Panitch says a first step towards democratizing the economy is to make finance a public utility PAUL JAY:  Welcome back to the Real News Network. This is Reality Asserts Itself, and I’m Paul Jay. And we’re continuing our discussion with Leo Panitch, who joins us in the studio. Thanks for joining us again, Leo. LEO PANITCH:  Glad to be back, Paul. PAUL JAY:  So, one more time, Leo’s a professor emeritus and senior scholar at York University in Toronto, and co-author with Sam Gindin of Making of Global Capitalism, the Political Economy of the American Empire. We left off saying we were gonna talk about is another world possible, which was the theme of the world social forums, and I suppose many books and articles. I think there used to be, and this is because of the Russian revolution and maybe the Chinese r...

Several were injured after the Tamil Nadu police resorted to lathi-charge on Tuesday as protests against Sterlite’s industrial plant intensified in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin). Residents are demanding the closure of the plant, citing that the pollution it generates is causing serious health issues.  The agitation against Sterlite Copper, which represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited, recently escalated after the company announced the expansion of its unit in the city. Sterlite Copper, which currently operates a 400,000-tonne  per annum unit in the city, maintains that it has received necessary permits and has not violated any norms. With hundreds of residents and social activists protesting, there is a heavy deployment of police in the coastal city. Personnel have been rushed from neighbouring districts of Madurai and Virudhunagar to bring the situation under control. Follow LIVE updates in Tamil DMK working president and Leader of Opposition M K St...