Citizens for Justice and Peace
Romeo must Die! How Anti-Romeo Squad unleashes terror in UP with full state support
05-Mar-2018
Romeo, a Shakespearean character was the protagonist of the tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Montague’s son, he secretly loved Juliet. Forced into exile after killing Juliet’s cousin Tybalt in a dramatic twist and turn of events, Romeo commits suicide on hearing about Juliet’s false death. Romeo had realized the full extent of killing Tybalt only after his death…
Secularism is at the core of Modernity How a cautiously designed system of checks and balances is being debilitated
05-Mar-2018
‘Constitution is workable, flexible and strong enough to hold the country together both in peace time and in war time. If things go wrong under the new Constitution, the reason will not be that we had a bad Constitution. What we will have to say is that Man is vile,’ observed Dr. Ambedkar in the…
Amnesty: “Hate-filled narratives by governments” threaten minorities
23-Feb-2018
Amnesty International, in its newly released annual report, has said that “hate-filled narratives by governments around the world” have enabled discrimination and bigotry against people who are already vulnerable, the Guardian reported, saying that the report depicts a situation in which human rights declined in 2017. Salil Shetty, the organisation’s secretary-general, said that there are “few governments…
Harmony of the Hills Why the Baba Budhan Giri issue mirrors the Ayodhya Dispute
08-Feb-2018
Baba Budan Giri is also known as the Babri of the south. This beautiful film explores the story and charts out the struggle of memory against forgetting. As the Babri Masjid issue is being heard by the Supreme Court, CJP looks at other, similar, cynical, politically motivated disputes that put the Ram Janma Bhoomi movement…
As Woman, Citizen and a Muslim: How Courts Have Treated the Hadiya Case Love Jihad and Freedom of Faith, How have the Kerala HC and SC Dealt with Both
01-Jan-2018
The Indian judiciary has gained a reputation for its tenuous tussles with the concept of religion. Interfaith marriages and religious conversion have been met with suspicion and convolutions ‘born as the result of a macabre mating ritual between patriarchy and bigotry’. ‘Love Jihad’ has been woven into a dominant caste Hindu narrative of religious extremism,…
एस आर बोम्मई बनाम यूनियन ऑफ इंडिया मामले के महत्व को स्पष्ट करने के लिए एक तथ्य पत्र
28-Dec-2017
मार्च 1994, में आया एस आर बोम्मई बनाम भारतीय संघ का फैसला न सिर्फ भारतीय संघवाद का समर्थन करता है बल्कि राजनीति में धर्म की बढ़ती दखल पर भी तीखे सवाल उठाते हुए भारतीय धर्मनिरपेक्षता की रक्षा करता है. बोम्मई का निष्पक्ष संघ बनाये रखने का वादा, अदालत का धर्मनिरपेक्षता स्थापित रखने का निर्णय जो…
When Love is an Act of Defiance A Timeline of Love Jihad cases From Silja to Hadiya to Afrazul
27-Dec-2017
It all began when a man fell in love with a woman and they decided to get married. Ordinarily that would make for a Badjatiya approved sanskaari romance, but because it was an interfaith marriage, specifically one between a Hindu woman and a Muslim man, things got violent, ugly and bitter quickly. This is the…
Curbing Freedom of Faith: India’s Anti-Conversion laws A Factsheet showcasing laws enacted by different states to curb conversions
26-Dec-2017
The Indian Constitution grants every citizen the freedom ‘to practice and propagate his/her faith.’ (Article 25) Yet several states, currently ruled by the supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have in place laws enacted to ostensibly stop ‘forcible conversions.’ This when conversion, by extension of Article 25 remains a fundamental right, at least on paper. Arguably,…
A Blue Christmas How caroling can get you thrown in jail in 2017
24-Dec-2017
Winters in Central India are cold and dry. Parishioners can often be seen huddled together, despite their layers of winter wear, as they sing the Lord’s praises in the run up to Christmas. But the winter of 2017 was particularly harsh for men of faith in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. Over 30 seminarians and…
Christmas as a symbol of Democracy John Dayal on Christmas in 2017
22-Dec-2017
It could have been said a long time ago, but Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India was not too late in saying the faith of the Christian community has become shaky in the wake of increased attacks on Christians and members of the clergy. There was more he could…
Stark Realities of the Kashmiri Pandit Struggle CJP supports Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley
10-Dec-2017
Committed to supporting distressed minorities of all faiths and hues, CJP has been campaigning for the 800 Kashmiri Pandit families living in the Valley. Sanjay Tikoo of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS) explains their plight.
15 Years of CJP A Timeline of campaigns and petitions spearheaded by us
29-Nov-2017
Over the last 15 years CJP has been working tirelessly to secure justice for victims and survivors of communal violence. We have been fighting for the rights of all Indians in the courts and beyond. Here’s a quick timeline of all our big and small accomplishments so far. [TIMELINE-23263]
Civilisation and Fascism Kumar Ketkar's Exclusive Blog by Special Invitation
27-Nov-2017
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had presciently warned us exactly seventy years ago, in precise words, of the dangers of fascism in India. But we, meaning all of us, the Leftists, Liberals, Media, Academics and Intellectuals were either complacent, indifferent or irresponsible. We took for granted that we as a nation, we as a civilisation, we as…
Anti-Muslim Violence in India: 15 Years Later, a Widow’s Chance to Receive Justice Zakia Jafri's complaint makes allegations against 62 government officials, police officers and private citizens.
28-Apr-2017
After the mass violence that shook Gujarat, India, in the early months of 2002, a shockingly high level of impunity caused Indian statutory bodies like the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to make scathing indictments on the state executive’s malfeasance—which continues to be a festering sore for the majoritarian juggernaut that is the Narendra Modi…
The Good, Bad and Ugly – “The Good”
01-Dec-1993
The good…. While many institutions of Indian democracy wilted under Hindutva’s onslaught, the secular press held its ground Peace-loving, liberal, secular-minded people who lived or ventured inside the Muslim mohallas in Bombay and elsewhere in the country in December, 1992 and in January, 1993 had a tough job on their hands. Because of Ayodhya and…