Much of India was shut down Sept. 20 in a Bharat Bandh—an all-India general strike—called by opposition parties to protest new neoliberal economic measures by the center-left United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The bandh was most widely observed in Calcutta and Bangalore, which were virtually paralyzed. The Confederation of Indian Industry estimated losses of over $2 billion to the national economy. At issue was the UPA government's decision to hike fuel prices and allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector—which the opposition charges will allow foreign-owend box-store chains to squeeze out local businesses. WalMart, reacting swiftly to the government announcement, has already announced plans to open outlets in India in the coming months. 

A months-long civil disobedience campaign against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) at Idinthakarai village, Tirunelveli district, in southern India's Tamil Nadu state, turned violent on Sept. 10 when the police used teargas and baton charges against protesters at a checkpoint near the plant. Protesters later massed at police stations, and set police barricades on fire at another checkpoint, and the uprising spread to neighboring districts. One man was killed when police fired on protesters who attempted to storm the police station in Manapadu village of Thoothukudi district.

An Indian court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's main city, on Aug. 29 convicted 32 individuals for their roles in the deaths of 95 people during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Among the convicted was Maya Kodnani, the minister of education and child welfare in the Gujarat government, who was arrested in 2009 on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy. She resigned from her office when she was arrested but remained as the member of the state's legislative assembly. The riots began following the death of 60 Hindus in a fire aboard a train for which Muslims were blamed. The riots resulted in death of more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. With the conviction, the court acquitted 29 other defendants. The court is expected to announce the sentences imminently.

Tribal communities across Bangladesh on Aug. 9 observed the International Day of the World's Indigenous People with rallies to demand their constitutional recognition as "indigenous people." An especially large mobilization was held in Rangamati in the southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts. (See map.) The protests were a reaction to recent statements by Foreign Minister Dipu Moni that the tribal peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts are "ethnic minorities" and should not be called "indigenous" to the region. Tribal leaders criticized the government for failure to fully implement Chittagong Hill Tracts peace accord, reached in 1997 to secure land rights for the region's tribal peoples. "There is regular bloodshed in the hills," said Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council. "Either the peace accord in the hills will be implemented or the Jumma people will be extinct."

In his inaugural speech July 25, India's new president, Pranab Mukherjee, called the fight against terrorism the "fourth world war," and portrayed his own country as a frontline state. Said Mukherjee: "We are in the midst of a fourth world war; the third was the Cold War, but it was very warm in Asia, Africa and Latin America till it ended in the early 1990s. The war against terrorism is the fourth. India has been on the frontline of this war long before many others recognised its vicious depth or consequences." (Hindustan Times, July 25)

Rights advocates and left-wing political parties in India are demanding a judicial inquiry into the June 27 massacre of 19 adivasi (tribal) villagers in a remote part of Chhattisgarh state. Advocates are also demanding the government suspend its combing operations and initiate peace talks with the Naxalite rebels. The massacre took place in the forests of Silger, Bijapur district, when a contingent of some 300 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops allegedly uncovered a Naxalite meeting at Kottaguda panchayat (village). A 15-year-old girl was among the dead. Authorities say the villagers fired first, and that six CRPF troops were wounded in the clash. Two villagers have been detained. The violence took place near Chintalnar, Dantewada district, where Naxals carried out their biggest ever attack on security forces, killing 75 CRPF troops and one state police agent in April 2010. (Times of India, July 3; IBN, July 2; PTI, June 30; PTI, June 29)

The Sri Lanka Police on May 13 released the names of thousands of people being held under that country's anti-terror laws. The release comes three years after the end of the country's 26-year civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The announcement is the first release of this type of information by the Sri Lankan government. This information release is likely in response to continued calls from the international community to address human rights concerns in the country. In March the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) urged the government of Sri Lanka to adequately investigate alleged war crimes that occurred during the civil war.

The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh (ICTB) on May 13 indicted a former opposition leader for alleged human rights atrocities committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan. Ghulam Azam, 89, is the former head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party. He opposed the independence of Bangladesh and reportedly aided the Pakistani Army during the war. Azam stands accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, murder, rape, arson and other international crimes carried out during the liberation conflict, in which Azam allegedly created and led violent pro-Pakistan militias. Azam is the third suspect and highest profile opposition figure to have been charged since the ICTB was established by Bangladesh in 2010. He claims that the charges against him are politically motivated. The trial is set to begin on June 5.