Mainstream Weekly

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• Allahabad Diary | Ather Farouqui

  14 May 2022, by Ather Farouqui

  (For Abhishek Tandon)
  Allahabad, officially renamed Prayagraj in 2019, houses one of the oldest and largest High Courts of the country, retaining the city’s earlier name, just as does the Bombay High Court. The city of sangam was the last internal port of the country, and is known to many for the Kumbh Mela, a major Hindu pilgrimage. While talking of the city, the University of Allahabad merits special mention. Established in 1887, the fourth oldest modern university in India at one time (…)

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  PUCL Statement about Supreme Court of India Interim Order on Sedition Law (May 12, 2022)

  14 May 2022

  PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES (PUCL)
  The PUCL welcomes the initial step towards the complete repeal of the colonial law of Sedition
  Press Note
  12th May, 2022
  The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties welcomes the order of the Supreme Court dated 11.05.22 in the petition filed by Army veteran Major-General SG Vombatkere (Retired) as well as PUCL and a range of other petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. In its petition, (…)

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  Statement by MASUM on Supreme Court’s view on sedition law

  14 May 2022

  Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM)
  “The notion of sedition bears reference to a less enlightened time, when citizens and the press had little liberty to question the conduct of public authorities” –- International Federation of Journalists
  MASUM welcomes the interim order, with caution, by the three-judges Bench of the Supreme Court presided by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana on putting a pause to the use of sedition law until further notice. This law has often been misused as a tool (…)

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  CPI Welcomes SC Stay on Sedition Law (May 11, 2022)

  14 May 2022

  New Delhi,
  May 11, 2022
  Press Release
  The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India issued the following statement today (on May 11, 2022) welcoming the apex court’s stay on the sedition law:
  The National secretariat of the Communist Party of India welcomes the historic verdict by the Supreme Court on May 11, 2022, putting a stay on the sedition law. The Party proudly reiterates its demand to scrap the law as such and claims that the Party’s consistent position in this (…)

• Indeed We live In Wonderful Times | Murzban Jal

  14 May 2022

  Indeed We live In Wonderful Times, (Apologies to Bertolt Brecht)
  Indeed we live in wonderful times, When absurdity is celebrated, And when reciting poetry is deemed a national crime, And speaking of poets frowned on. Indeed we live in wonderful times, When to speak to cows is not a crime, Indeed we live in wonderful times, When wonder showers eternal happiness. Indeed now in wondrous times, the sun never sets And when the rising of the crescent moon is banned, Indeed wonderful and happy (…)

• The Mothers’ Hour | Sagari Chhabra

  14 May 2022, by Sagari Chhabra

  Just for an hour I want the whole world to stop, put an end to big business and geo-politics; I want all the men in power: bearded, moustached and clean-shaven to get into a shuttle and encircle space. Into this haven, from the shadows will emerge, only mothers, who will at once call out to their children! And the children petrified and terrified, will at first tiptoe across, then fling into the arms of waiting mothers. There will be a terrible wailing, a flood of tears, as they cling onto (…)

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  Cartoon: Divided People Unite In Sri Lanka | Alok

  14 May 2022
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  Caricature Tribute to Shiv Kumar Sharma | Jayaraj Vellur

  14 May 2022, by Jayaraj Vellur
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  Statement on Afghanistan, by Ms Sima Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women (May 9, 2022)

  14 May 2022

  via: UN Women
  I am gravely concerned by the Taliban’s announcement that all women must cover their faces in public, that women should only leave their homes in cases of necessity, and that violations of this directive will lead to the punishment of their male relatives. Freedom of movement is a fundamental human right. It is an absolute prerequisite for women’s ability to exercise the full range of their rights and to be active participants in society. Where women’s rights are constrained, (…)

• Eyes in the wartime sky: Machines are learning to track wartime destruction | Hannes Mueller, Andre Groege

  14 May 2022

  by Hannes Muelle and Andre Groeger
  A new automated analysis of satellite imagery can reveal the extent of building destruction in conflict zones, providing vital information for humanitarian aid.
  Among the shocking images to emerge from Ukraine in recent weeks is the sight of civilian lives torn apart by shelling. Shredded apartment buildings, with their ordinary contents – microwaves, shoes, cushions – incongruously spilling into the muddy, rubble-strewn streets.
  Building destruction (…)