https://www.scmp.com/rss/324715/feed Aakar Patel is a Patel is a syndicated columnist and former executive director of Amnesty International India. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com India is an unusual liberal democracy where civil rights and liberties are guaranteed by the constitution but denied by its footnotes. The first amendment to the US Constitution says Congress shall make no law prohibiting or abridging the freedom of speech or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. India’s first amendment, passed under its first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, does the opposite. Article 19 says all citizens have... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3092371/how-modis-india-silencing-criticism-and-failing-uphold-right-free?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3092371/how-modis-india-silencing-criticism-and-failing-uphold-right-free?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jul 2020 03:30:15 +0000 India has continued its drift towards majoritarianism, re-electing the Hindu nationalist party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the general election. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won a majority in results declared on May 23, taking more seats than any other party has in over three decades. This is the second successive majority Modi has won and caps a remarkable rise for the BJP. The party won only two seats out of 543 in the 1984 election and only secured its first majority in 2014 under... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3012126/modis-re-election-shows-india-has-abandoned-diversity-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3012126/modis-re-election-shows-india-has-abandoned-diversity-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 May 2019 02:00:06 +0000 India’s Hindu nationalist government is playing a dangerous game sacrificing the country’s minorities to consolidate its vote bank. The game is played as follows: the central government and the state governments controlled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stoke hatred of Muslims through laws and rhetoric that target them directly and indirectly. This happened when the BJP mobilised millions of Indians in a campaign of hatred against an ancient mosque that was pulled down in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2100732/modis-theatrics-ring-hollow-victims-indias-anti-muslim-mobs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2100732/modis-theatrics-ring-hollow-victims-indias-anti-muslim-mobs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jul 2017 06:47:33 +0000