India

**Updates IFEX alert of 21 August 2000** (WAN/IFEX) – In a 23 August 2000 letter to President Kocheril Raman Narayanan, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed outrage at the murder of newspaper editor Brajamani Singh. According to reports, two gunmen broke into the house of Singh, editor of the English-language “Manipur News”, late at […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a 21 August 2000 letter to the chief minister of the Indian State of Manipur, W. Nipamacha Singh, RSF expressed concern over the murder of Thounaojam Brajamani Singh, editor of the daily “Manipur News”. The organisation urged the minister to do everything in his power to establish “the exact motives for the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a 17 August 2000 letter to the chief minister of West Bengal State, Jyoti Basu, RSF protested assaults on journalists by activists of the Communist Party India-Marxist (CPI-M, the ruling party in this eastern Indian state). The organisation asked the chief minister if his declarations condemning the attacks could be followed by […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In an 11 August 2000 letter to Syed Salahuddin, Supreme Commander of the Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, CPJ condemned the 10 August bomb attack in Srinagar, which killed one journalist and seriously injured at least six others. Pradeep Bhatia, a photographer for the Indian newspaper “The Hindustan Times”, was one of twelve people killed in […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahidden, Syed Salahuddin, RSF expressed its indignation at the death of Pradeep Bhatia, a photo reporter with the daily “Hindustan Times”. RSF asked Salahuddin, who leads the largest armed separatist movement in Kashmir, to “stop the blind bombings that cost the lives of civilians […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the head minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Karunanidhi, RSF expressed its concern after the murder of V. Selvaraj, a journalist with the biweekly “Nakkeeran”. Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary general, urged him to do everything possible to establish “the exact motives for the murder.” RSF asked the head minister […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the governor of Assam State, S. K. Sinha, RSF protested the assault on a journalist by a magistrate. RSF asked the governor to sanction the magistrate. “Your duty as a governor is to protect journalists who are merely trying to do their work,” Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, reminded […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a 6 June 2000 letter to Home Affairs Minister Lal Krishna Advani, RSF expressed concern about the adoption by the Lower House of Parliament of a law on Internet use, and the presentation of a bill concerning terrorist activities. According to Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, “these two laws contain some clauses […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 20 April 2000 letter to Chief Minister Wahengbam Nipamacha Singh, CPJ noted that it is deeply disturbed by the imprisonment of Nongthonbam Biren, chief editor of the Manipuri-language daily “Naharolgi Thoudang”, and Thounaojam Iboyaima, the author of a speech recently published in the newspaper. Biren and Iboyaima were arrested on 14 […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a 19 April 2000 letter to the chief minister of India’s Manipur state, W. Nipamacha Singh, RSF protested the arrest of N. Biren Singh, editor of the daily “Naharlogi Thoudang”. The organisation called on the minister to “ensure the immediate release of the journalist”. RSF believes that a jail sentence would constitute […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a 17 April 2000 letter to the governor of Jammu and Kashmir state, Girish Chander Saxena, RSF expressed concern about the climate of violence facing the public and private press, especially after the explosion of a landmine near the building that houses the government station Radio Kashmir. RSF asked Girish Chander Saxena […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a 29 March 2000 letter to the chief minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, RSF expressed concern about the sanctions taken against journalist Sukhbir Singh Osan. RSF asked the governor to ensure that the journalist could recover his accreditation with the Punjab authorities. Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary general, reminded the authorities that […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is deeply concerned about the actions taken last week by a customs official in Calcutta to censor the 21 February 2000 edition of “Time”, an international weekly newsmagazine. On 16 February, customs agents at the Calcutta airport blocked the distribution of 3,000 issues of “Time” magazine because they contained a one-page interview […]

(WAN/IFEX) – In a letter to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, WAN has expressed its serious concern at an attack on the home of newspaper editor Jeelani Qadri. According to reports, early on the morning of 23 November 1999, Kashmiri militants threw a grenade at the Srinigar home of Qadri, editor of the daily […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a 15 October 1999 letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, RSF expressed its indignation over the murder of N. A. Lalrohlu, editor of the local vernacular newspaper “Shan”. RSF asked that “a serious and thorough investigation is conducted to identify and punish the authors of the murder, which seems to be […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is deeply concerned by the latest efforts to suppress discussion of the social and environmental costs of Gujarat’s Sardar Sarovar dam construction, part of a controversial irrigation and hydroelectric project along the Narmada River. India’s Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for 29 July 1999, to decide whether to initiate contempt of […]