A special court in India sentenced 11 Muslims to death Feb. 28 in connection with the Godhra train burning in 2002 that killed 59 Hindu nationalists and started the 2002 Gujarat riots. Special judge PR Patel handed down death sentences for 11 of 31 convicted last week of murder, attempted murder and/or criminal conspiracy. The remaining 20 all received sentences of life imprisonment, and 63 others were acquitted. The convictions were for setting on fire the S6 coach of Sabarmati Express, killing 59 people, mostly Vishwa Hindu Parishad members, returning from Ayodhya. The incident triggered riots in Gujarat in which more than 1,200 people were killed, mostly Muslims, in some of the worst violence between Hindus and Muslims in India since independence in 1947. The prosecution had sought the death penalty for all 31 convicted. The defense plans to appeal the death sentences and is prepared to take the matter to India's highest court.

The Jan. 4 assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who angered Islamists by calling for a revision of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, reveals escalating polarization between secular and fundamentalist forces. Shahbaz Bhatti, federal Minister for Minorities, said Taseer sacrificed his life for religious freedom and equality. "Those who issued [the] decree for killing should be investigated and blasphemy laws should be reviewed to control the increasing intolerance in society," Bhatti said. (Associated Press of Pakistan, Jan. 5)

Up to 3,000 villagers are facing arrest after taking part in a "silent protest" against the Jaitapur nuclear power project in India's Maharashtra state Oct. 29. The villagers, upset about the lack of transparency surrounding the project, organized a "Jail Bharo" (fill up the jail) protest, by showing up at the project site to await their arrest. The government reacted by issuing "preventive arrest" warrants, prohibitory orders and setting up road blocks. According to media reports, 750 people were arrested including a former Supreme Court Judge. (Times of India, Oct. 29)

An indigenous tribe in India has won a stunning victory over one of the world's biggest mining companies. In an unprecedented move, India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blocked Vedanta Resources' controversial plan to mine bauxite on the sacred hills of the Dongria Kondh tribe. 
Ramesh said Vedanta has shown a "shocking" and "blatant disregard for the rights of the tribal groups." The Minister has also questioned the legality of the massive refinery Vedanta has already built below the hills.
 The news is a crushing defeat for Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, Vedanta's majority owner and founder.


While assistance is being provided to hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis affected by the country's worst flooding within memory, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a new report Aug. 12 that relief supplies are reaching only a fraction of the millions who need help. The report says that more than 14 million—nearly one in every 10 Pakistanis—are affected by the flooding, which began in late July due to heavy monsoon rains. The official death toll has risen to 1,343, with 1,588 people now reported injured. At least two million have been left homeless.

Thousands of protesters again filled the streets in Indian-controlled Kashmir Aug. 13 after security forces killed four and injured at least eight others for defying a curfew. In the northern town of Pattan, troops enforcing the curfew reportedly killed a 65-year-old man. In Sopore, a large crowd gathered after Friday prayer services and threw stones at a camp occupied by Indian paramilitary troops, who opened fire, killing two. In Kupwara, police fired on a crowd of 2,000 who had gathered in defiance of the curfew, killing a 23-year-old man. In Srinagar, the regional capital, officials did not impose a curfew for fear of sparking further, and Friday prayer services were held at the city's historic mosque for the first time in six weeks. (NYT, AP, Aug. 13)

The paramilitary Rapid Action Force is still patrolling Srinagar even as a curfew has been lifted elsewhere in Indian-controlled Kashmir after days of deadly riots across the territory finally subsided Aug. 6. The death toll of civilians since the new unrest began June 11 now stands at 50. Meanwhile, the disastrous floods that have devastated much of Pakistan hit Kashmir, with at least 130 killed, hundreds more injured, and rescue efforts ongoing. (VOA, Hindustan Times, Aug. 7; Hindustan Times, Aug. 6)

Two people were killed June 28 as Indian security forces fired on protesters at various places around the Kashmir Valley. Eight Kashmiri civilians have now been killed in incidents involving Indian security forces in less than three weeks. Local Muslim leaders have called a campaign of civil disobedience to demand repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which permits India's security forces in Kashmir to use force with wide latitude. (World Bulletin, Hindustan Times, NYT, June 28)