At a hearing centre, elderly residents, families and a retired Army jawan queue for SIR scrutiny, facing missing records, paperwork hurdles and fear of exclusion while officials verify electoral histories
West Bengal’s SIR exercise flags lakhs of voters, including Amartya Sen, raising questions of legality and fairness. Experts Jawhar Sircar and Yogendra Yadav warn genuine voters may face harassment
A Kolkata maid with Aadhaar, PAN and voter ID now faces a citizenship hearing as Bengal’s voter revision puts 1.67 crore electors under scrutiny amid multiple phases and mounting uncertainty.
Migrant workers from Murshidabad were allegedly attacked in Odisha after being accused of being “Bangladeshis” despite showing valid documents. One worker, Jewel Rana, succumbed to his injuries, while two others remain hospitalised. The lynching has renewed concerns over the safety of Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers in BJP-ruled states.
At a Kolkata event, Prof. Apoorvanand warned that weekends have become dangerous for civil rights activists in India. Citing the arrest of Prof. Ali Khan and police actions in Bastar, he said the state uses “process as punishment” to silence dissent, especially against Muslims and marginalized voices.
At a Jadavpur University lecture, U.S. historian Elisabeth Armstrong traced Trump-era authoritarianism to Cold War repression and corporate power. She emphasized how fear politics and economic precarity threaten American democracy, and called for renewed grassroots organizing, solidarity, and street-level resistance to confront today’s crises and reclaim democratic spaces.
MP and Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Aazad, speaking in Kolkata, accused BJP and Godi Media of spreading hate and using Dalits in engineered riots. He questioned the Tiranga Yatra’s purpose, emphasized unity among oppressed communities, and announced plans to contest Bengal elections with the Azad Samaj Party.
Dozens of Bengali Muslim families in Kolkata’s Rajabazar were evicted without notice, leaving them homeless. Despite decades of residence and valid documents, police demolished their huts. With no response from local leaders or rehabilitation offered, the families have appealed to the State Minorities Commission for urgent humanitarian intervention.
Ahmed Wali Faisal Rahmani warns that the Waqf Act 2025 threatens centuries-old Muslim endowments that served all communities. While global institutions like Harvard thrive on endowments, India is dismantling its own. The Act could severely impact Dalits, the poor, and lakhs of non-Muslims relying on Waqf-supported services.