In its report released Tuesday, August 25 in Geneva, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has, first and foremost, criticised the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, and raised concerns about the subjecting of Bengali-speaking Muslims to “systematic and structural racial discrimination”.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has published findings on India first time after 2007, after 19 years, and urged the Indian government to address discrimination, hate crimes: this UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) evaluates every country on the basis of its implementation, or not, of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The CERD Committee has therefore called for the suspension of the NRC and urged New Delhi to review its legislative framework, and “urgently address discrimination, hate speech, and hate crimes against Rohingya, Bengali-speaking Muslims, migrants, and asylum-seekers”.

Interestingly, the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process was also called out in the observations, with the committee raising concern that Bengali-speaking Muslim voters were reportedly disproportionately impacted in West Bengal and Assam.

The “concluding observations” on the combined twentieth and twenty-first periodic reports of India raised wide-ranging concerns over caste discrimination, attacks on minorities, shrinking civic space, racial profiling, the treatment of migrants and the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India.

“The Committee was gravely concerned about reports of large-scale violations perpetrated by law enforcement officials against ethnic and ethno-religious groups, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, including Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, particularly Dalits, and non-citizens,” the press release has stated.

“These included racially motivated violence, excessive use of force, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary and prolonged detention without due process, torture, ill-treatment and sexual violence.”

The Committee called on India to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all such allegations and ensure accountability for those responsible.

Hence, the UN’s CERD Committee has called upon the Indian government to urgently address discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes against Rohingya, Bengali-speaking Muslims, migrants and asylum-seekers.

The Committee urged the State Party to protect their rights, refrain from collective expulsions and ensure access to international protection in line with the principle of non-refoulement.

The Committee welcomed the submissions of the State Party and constructive dialogue that took place earlier this month on August 11 and 12 with Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India, leading the high-level delegation.

Despite this pushback from the Indian government, during the session, Stamatia Stavrinaki, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said independent monitoring recorded over 1,300 anti-Muslim hate-speech incidents in 2025, including recurring rhetoric attributed to senior officials.

The delegation responded that legislation from 2023 criminalised acts amounting to hate speech and hate crimes. When offences were conducted against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, additional protections applied.  Freedom of religion was a constitutional guarantee in India, the delegation added.

In the concluding observations, the Committee also highlighted the increase in law enforcement operations targeting Rohingya, Bengali-speaking Muslims, migrants and asylum-seekers, particularly following the 2017 Home Affairs order and the April 2025 Pahalgam attack in Kashmir.

The Committee noted that the statistics provided by the State Party on scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and refugees are based on the results of the 2011 population census. It also notes the information provided by the delegation about the launch of the census in April 2026, after a five-year delay, which will collect data on caste and incorporate the principle of self-identification.

The CERD Committee remained concerned about the lack of disaggregated data on Indigenous / Tribal Peoples, ethnic and ethno-religious groups and non-citizens, such as migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons.

The Committee is also concerned that Bengali-speaking Muslims are categorised as “non-original inhabitants”, while noting the absence of a clear definition of this category in the legislative framework, and are reportedly subjected to more rigorous standards compared to other categories in relation to the verification process of the National Register of Citizens.

The entire report released on August 25 may be read here.

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As the date for the general assembly election approaches, hate crimes in India continue

The post Address Discrimination & Hate Crimes India told: CERD, UN appeared first on SabrangIndia.

It would be a sad day for the city of New York that an organisation, which is vehemently opposed to democracy, humanism, egalitarianism, multi-culturalism, equality within Hinduism, and world peace, is allowed unquestioned narration. The RSS remains a ‘threat’ to world peace and this is vouched for not just by its critics but also by its own official records.

Of multiple documents, only the author in three parts is sharing a few crucial facts from the RSS’ own archives and records of activities.

1. ANTI-HUMANITY
2. ANTI-HINDU
3. ANTI DEMOCRATIC-SECULAR INDIA

ANTI-HUMANITY

RSS’ design of Hindus ruling the world

This supremacist organization has been working overtime to establish hegemony of ‘Hindus’ over the world. Its two most important theorists, VD Savarkar (1883-1966) and MS Golwalkar (1906-1973) whom RSS follows religiously chalked out this design in the first half of 20^th century itself.  Savarkar ended his bigoted work ‘Hindutva’ (1923) with the following warning:

“22 crores of people [population of India at that time], with India for their basis of operation, for their Fatherland and for their Holyland with such a history behind them, bound together by ties of common blood and common culture, can dictate their terms to the whole world. A day will come when mankind will have to face the force.”

[Savarkar, V.D., Hindutva, VK Kelkar, Poona, 1923, p. 128]

Golwalkar under whom hundreds of thousands of cadres have been groomed rephrased the same warning on behalf of Hindus to the world in his controversial book ‘We or Our Nation Hood Defined” (1939) in the following words:

“The Race Spirit has been awakening. The lion was not dead, only sleeping. He is rousing himself up again and the world has to see the might of the regenerated Hindu nation strike down the enemy’s hosts with its mighty arm. The star has risen and is steadily climbing up the firmament. At no distant date the world shall see it and tremble with fear or dance with delight…And Race Spirit calls, National consciousness blazes forth and we Hindus rally to the Hindu Standard, the Bhagwa Dhwaja [saffron flag], set our teeth in grim determination to wipe out the opposing forces.”

[Golwalkar, MS, We or Our Nationhood Defines, Bharat Publications, Nagpur, 1939, pp. 12-13][1]                                                                                                                             

Indian Diaspora divided on communal basis

Shockingly, Bhagwat shall be preaching ‘Universal Oneness’ despite causing dangerous fracture amongst the Indian diaspora which includes Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, Animists and those who do not believe in any religion. Its international wing is named as ‘Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh’ thus having no regard for people of Indian origin who are not Hindus. This anti-India attitude has given rise to deep religious divisions within the ranks of Indian diaspora in USA and other foreign countries where RSS is active. The RSS’ design to organise only Hindus abroad has already causing serious religion-based fissures leading to violence among the Indian diaspora in many cities of the world. This sectarian act of RSS, in fact, gives strong stimulus to followers of other religions of the diaspora to say good-bye to Indianness and organise themselves on religious basis.

RSS celebrated the Holocaust & planned to execute it for cleansing Indian Muslims & Christians

The most prominent ideologue of the RSS, MS Golwalkar (known as Guru Golwalkar in the RSS fraternity) who became RSS Supremo in 1940 has declared:

“If, as is indisputably proved, Hindusthan is the land of the Hindus and is the terra firma for the Hindu nation alone to flourish upon, what is to be the fate of all those, who, today, happen to live upon the land, though not belonging to the Hindu Race, Religion and culture.”

[Golwalkar, MS, We Or Our Nationhood Defined, Nagpur, 1939, p. 45.]

It would be like the Jews under Hitler and Mussolini. Thus, Golwalkar glorified the Holocaust in the following words:

“German Race pride has now become the topic of the day. To keep up the purity of the race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races—the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by.”

[Ibid. –pp 34-35]

Golwalkar, finally, following the foot-steps of Hitler, arrived at the following solution for the minority “problem” in India; Muslims and Christians who were declared belonging to foreign races,

“From this stand point, sanctioned by the experience of shrewd old nations, the foreign races in Hindusthan [sic] must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment not even citizen’s rights. There is, at least should be, no other course for them to adopt. We are an old nation: let us deal, as old nations ought to and do deal, with the foreign races who have chosen to live in our country.”

[Ibid. pp. 47-48]

RSS rolls out racist project of producing ‘Aryan’ babies in India

According to RSS, Nazism is to be followed not only for cleansing of Muslims and Christians but also for producing the ‘Aryan’ babies as was done in Germany under Hitler. RSS has officially shared the information that one of its offshoots, Garbh Vigyan Sanskar (Uterus Science Culture), following the Vedic preaching and experiments in Germany, is conducting live trials in many parts of India for producing ‘fair’ and ‘tall’, ‘customized’ perfect babies. According to Dr. Hitesh Jani, convener of the Arogya Bharati (health wing), another outfit of RSS which is part of the project,

“Parents apparently have small, dark babies because they are impure, but purification is fortunately a simple, protocol-driven process tied to the lunar calendar. Prospective parents should copulate by astrological schedule and watch what they ingest, hear and think.”

[‘Ayurvedic eugenics: The RSS health wing promises designer babies like Germanic heroes. The fairness cream industry must be quaking.’ The Indian Express, Delhi, May 9, 2017; https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/ayurvedic-eugenics-rss-health-wing-ideal-babies-4646657/]

Neo-Nazi mass murderer of Norway, Breivik’s linkages with the RSS

Neo-Nazi mass murderer of Norway, Anders Behring Breivik, glorified Indian ‘Hindu Nationalists’. He opened a Pandora’s Box when declared “Hindu Nationalist” movement of India as a key ally in a global struggle to bring down democratic regimes across the world. Just before he went to massacre a large number of people in Norway on July 22, 2011, he released a “manifesto” of 1,518 pages, of which 102 pages dealt with the glorification of Hindutva movement of India. It declared support to “Sanatana Dharma movements and Indian nationalists in general.”

[‘Norwegian mass killer’s manifesto hails Hindutva: Goals of Indian Hindu nationalists were identical to Justiciar Knights, Anders Breivik claimed’, The Hindu, December 4, 2021. Link: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/norwegian-mass-killers-manifesto-hails- hindutva/article2293829.ece]

1. ANTI-HINDU

RSS demands promulgation of the anti-Sudra and anti-Hindu women scripture Manusmriti discarding democratic-secular constitution of India

Those who believe that RSS wants cleansing of Muslims and Christians only know half of the reality. Its project of Hindu nation also demands a sub-human existence for Sudras (Dalits) and Hindu women. In fact, RSS wanted the Indian Constitution to be replaced by Manusmriti or Manu Code (laws of Manu) that is notorious for its derogatory and inhuman references to Sudras, Untouchables and women.

The Constituent Assembly of India finalised the Constitution of India on November 26, 1949, RSS was not happy. Its organ, Organiser in an editorial on November 30, 1949, complained:

“But in our Constitution there is no mention of the unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing.”

By demanding promulgation of Manu Code in the Independent India RSS was simply following its mentor, philosopher and guide VD Savarkar who declared:

“Manusmriti is that scripture which is most worship-able after Vedas for our Hindu Nation and which from ancient times has become the basis of our culture-customs, thought and practice. This book for centuries has codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Even today the rules which are followed by crores of Hindus in their lives and practice are based on Manusmriti. Today Manusmriti is Hindu Law.”

[Savarkar, V.D., ‘Women in Manusmriti’ in Savarkar Samagar (collection of Savarkar’s writings in Hindi) volume IV, Prabhat, Delhi, 2000, p. 416.]

For RSS, Casteism is synonymous with Hindu nation

Faith of RSS brass in Manusmriti, naturally, leads them to believe in Casteism too which gave birth to the debased practice of Untouchability. For RSS Casteism is the essence of Hindu Nationalism. Golwalkar did not mince words in declaring that Casteism was synonymous with the Hindu Nation. According to him, the Hindu people are none else but,

“The Hindu People, they said, is the Virat Purusha, the Almighty manifesting Himself. Though they did not use the word ‘Hindu’, it is clear from the following description of the Almighty in Purusha-Sukta [in the 10th book of Rig Ved] wherein it is stated that the sun & the moon are His eyes, the stars and the skies are created from his nabhi [navel] and Brahmin is the head, Kshatriya the hands, Vaishya the thighs and Shudra the feet. [Italics as in the original text] This means that the people who have this fourfold arrangement, i.e., the Hindu People, is [sic] our God. This supreme vision of Godhead is the very core of our concept of ‘nation’ and has permeated our thinking and given rise to various unique concepts of our cultural heritage.”

[Golwalkar, M. S., Bunch of Thoughts, p.36-37.]

The kind of ‘Hindutva’ civilization do the RSS and their camp want to build by enforcing the laws of Manu, can be gleaned by simply glimpsing at some of the ‘laws prescribed by Manu’ for the ‘lower castes, Untouchables and women.’

Some of these dehumanizing and degenerated laws, which are presented here, are self-explanatory.

A selection of Laws of Manu denigrating Dalits/Untouchables

1. For the sake of the prosperity of the worlds (the divine one) caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arm, his thighs and his feet. (I/31)
2. One occupation only the lord prescribed to the Sudras, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes. (I/91)
3. Once-born man (a Sudra), who insults a twice-born man with gross invective, shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin. (VIII/270)
4. If he mentions the names and castes (jati) of the (twice-born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red-hot into his mouth. (VIII/271)
5. If he arrogantly teaches Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears. (VIII/272)
6. He who raises his hand or a stick, shall have his hand cut off; he who in anger kicks with his foot, shall have his foot cut off. (VIII/280)
7. A low-caste man who tries to place himself on the same seat with a man of a high caste, shall be branded on his hip and be banished, or (the king) shall cause his buttock to be gashed. (VIII/281)

As per the Manu Code if Sudras are to be given most stringent punishments for even petty violations/actions, the same Code of Manu is very lenient towards Brahmins.

Shloka 380 in Chapter VIII bestowing profound love on Brahmins decrees:

“Let him never slay a Brahmana, though he have committed all (possible) crimes; let him banish such an (offender), leaving all his property (to him) and (his body) unhurt.”

A selection of Laws of Manu demeaning Hindu women

1. Day and night woman must be kept in dependence by the males (of) their (families), and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under one’s control. (IX/2)
2. Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects (her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age; a woman is never fit for independence. (IX/3)
3. Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age; (thinking), ‘(It is enough that) he is a man,’ they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly. (IX/14)
4. Through their passion for men, through their mutable temper, through their natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they may be guarded in this (world). (IX/15)
5. (When creating them) Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed, (of their) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice, and bad conduct. (IX/17)[2]

[The above selection of Manu’s Codes is from F. Max Muller, Laws of Manu, LP Publications, Delhi, 1996; first published in 1886. The bracket after each code incorporates number of chapter/number of code according to the above edition.]

The reproduced parts of the Manu Code above need no further elaboration and commentary. They are too glaringly iniquitous, filled with venom, supremacist and written to perpetuate degeneration against Untouchables who are referred to as Sudras by Manu. Perhaps this was the reason that the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche who contributed immensely to the growth of totalitarian ideas in Europe in the 20th century, was enamoured of this this work.

Significantly, a copy of Manusmriti was burnt as a protest in the presence of Dr. BR Ambedkar during the historic Mahad agitation on December 25, 1927. Dr Ambedkar called upon Dalits to commemorate December 25 as the Manusmriti Dehen Diwas (Manusmriti burning day) in future. In fact, according to Ambedkar, it is Brahmanism, the basis of the RSS world-view that is the original brand of fascism in the history of human civilization.

[https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/manusmriti-dahan-divas-protest-staged-at-collectorate/article30396588.ece]

Golwalkar’s dehumanised take on improving the breed of Kerala Hindus

RSS which claims to be the ‘largest world organisation of Hindus’ is, in fact, working over-time to establish the hegemony of the North Indian Brahmanical order over Hindu society in South India. The RSS brand of Brahmanism treats South Indian Hindus as inferior racially. In its world-view North Indian Brahmins are the superior lot in comparison to the rest.

And RSS does this brazenly. Golwalkar was invited to address the students of the School of Social Science of Gujarat University on December 17, 1960. In this address, while underlying his firm belief in the Race Theory, he touched upon the issue of cross-breeding of human beings in the Indian society in history. He said:

“In an effort to better the human species through cross-breeding the Namboodri Brahamanas of the North were settled in Kerala and a rule was laid down that the eldest son of a Namboodri family could marry only the daughter of Vaishya, Kashtriya or Shudra communities of Kerala. Another still more courageous rule was that the first off-spring of a married woman of any class must be fathered by a Namboodri Brahman and then she could beget children by her husband. Today this experiment will be called adultery but it was not so, as it was limited to the first child.”

[M. S. Golwalkar cited in Organiser, January 2, 1961.]

Inside the RSS: Males are Volunteers and Women are Servants

The RSS, founded in 1925, was conceived as an exclusive male organisation whose cadres were to be known as swayamsevak or volunteers. The RSS top brass made its intentions clear of treating women as of lower status than males when it decided to start its women wing; Rashtr Sevika Samiti in 1936. Its nomenclature made it clear that women members were not called as swayamsevak or volunteers but Rashtr Sevika (maids servile to the nation) or female servants of the nation; the Hindu nation. This identity of women in the Rashtr Sevika Samiti as servants was not only a technical issue but the outcome of the RSS’ attitude towards Hindu women which glorifies the subservient role of women in society.  These are Rashtr Sevika Samiti members [who according to its website number around three lakh] only who pledge to maintain ‘faithfulness/virginity’, remain ‘modest’, ‘steadfast’, and not fall prey to ‘immorality and evil habits’. The RSS male swayamsevaks make no such commitment. [https://sevikasamiti.org/Prarthana]

Mohan Bhagwat, slated to be at Madison Square Garden on August 29, misses no opportunity to emphasise the subservient role of the Hindu women. While addressing leading RSS cadres at Indore, India, a stronghold of the RSS declared that Hindu women should restrict themselves to doing household chores as per the ‘social contract’.

According to him:

“Theory of contract, theory of social contract, a husband and wife are bound by a contract which says ‘you (woman) look after the household chores and satisfy me, I (man) will take care of your needs and will protect you’, and until she delivers her duties without fail, he keeps her on the contract and if she fails to honour the contract, he disowns her…”

[‘’Women meant to do household chores’: another shocker from RSS chief’, NDTV, Delhi, January 06, 2013. Link: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/women-meant-to-do-household-chores-another-shocker-from-rss-chief-509519]

2. ANTI DEMOCRATIC-SECULAR INDIA

RSS does not stand for an inclusive India but an exclusive Hindu nation

The organization was formed in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (known as Doctorji in the RSS fraternity), Balakrishna Shivram Moonje, his mentor and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the theorist of the idea of Hindutva. Hedgewar was in the Indian National Congress (INC) but left it as he was against all religious communities joining anti-British freedom struggle led by MK Gandhi which treated people of all religions as part of the Indian nation and stood for an inclusive independent India. A biography of Hedgewar published by the RSS describes that he parted with INC because, “Gandhiji worked constantly with one eye on Hindu– Muslim unity…But Doctorji sensed danger in that move. In fact, he did not even relish the newfangled slogan of ‘Hindu– Muslim Unity’.

[Seshadri, H. V. (ed.), Dr. Hedgewar, the Epoch-Maker: A Biography, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1981, p. 61.]

RSS’ antipathy to a democratic-secular India

The RSS, contrary to the principles of democracy, constantly demanded India to be ruled under a totalitarian regime. Golwalkar while delivering a speech before the 1350 top level cadres of the RSS in 1940 declared,

“RSS inspired by one flag [saffron], one leader and one ideology is lighting the flame of Hindutva in each and every corner of this great land.”

[MS Golwalkar, Shri Guruji Samagar Darshan (collected works of Golwalkar in Hindi), Bhartiya Vichar Sadhna, Nagpur, nd., Volume I, p. 11.]

RSS, a ‘cultural organisation’ worships arms

RSS claims to be a cultural organisation and the largest organisation of the Hindus of the world. But it is the only cultural-religious organization on this earth which worships armaments at a Hindu festival. The RSS was founded on Dussehra (Vijay Dashmi; festival celebrated as the day of victory of God Ram over Ravana). On this day the RSS holds its biggest programme of the year which is also celebration of its founding day. The most important part of the celebration is the ”shastr pooja” (worship of the arms) by the Supremo of the RSS.

[‘RSS Festivals: Discover the six key celebrations and their significance for the Sangh’, link: https://organiser.org/2024/08/18/251909/bharat/rss-festivals-discover-the-six-key-celebrations-and-their-significance-for-the-sangh/]

Highly decorated Indian Police officer on RSS terrorism under Modi rule

There are instances of honest senior officials who had the courage to bring in public domain record RSS’ terrorist activities. How RSS spread hatred and terrorised minorities of India in less than a year of Modi first term as the PM (2014-19) of India was described in detail by one of the most decorated cops of India, Julio Ribeiro, former ambassador to Romania and recipient of the Padma Bhushan, a prominent national award in the following words. Petrified as a Christian, he wrote on March 17, 2015:

“Today, in my 86th year, I feel threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger in my own country.  The same category of citizens who had put their trust in me to rescue them from a force they could not comprehend have now come out of the woodwork to condemn me for practising a religion that is different from theirs. I am not an Indian anymore, at least in the eyes of the proponents of the Hindu Rashtra.

“Is it coincidence or a well-thought-out plan that the systematic targeting of a small and peaceful community should begin only after the BJP government of Narendra Modi came to power last May? ‘Ghar wapsi’, the declaration of Christmas as ‘Good Governance Day’, the attack on Christian churches and schools in Delhi, all added to a sense of siege that now afflicts these peaceful people.

Christians have consistently punched above their weight — not as much as the tiny Parsi community, but just as noticeably. Education, in particular, has been their forte. Many schools, colleges, related establishments that teach skills for jobs have been set up and run by Christians. They are much in demand. Even diehard Hindus have sought admission in such centres of learning and benefited from the commitment and sincerity of Christian teachers. Incidentally, no one seems to have been converted to Christianity, though many, many have imbibed Christian values and turned ‘pseudo-secularist’.

“The Indian army was headed by a Christian general, the navy more than once, and same with the air force. The country’s defence forces have countless men and women in uniform who are Christians. How can they be declared non-Indians by Parivar hotheads out to create a pure Hindu Rashtra?

“It is tragic that these extremists have been emboldened beyond permissible limits by an atmosphere of hate and distrust. The Christian population, a mere 2 per cent of the total populace, has been subjected to a series of well-directed body blows. If these extremists later turn their attention to Muslims, which seems to be their goal, they will invite consequences that this writer dreads to imagine.”

[‘As a Christian, suddenly I am a stranger in my own country, writes Julio Ribeiro: And, as a Christian, suddenly a stranger in my own country.’ The Indian Express, Delhi, March 17, 2015]

What happened to the Gujarati Muslims when Golwalkar’s pupil, Narendra Modi ruled the state would be clear from the following words of an editorial in a prominent English daily of India, Hindustan Times,

“Daughters were gang-raped in front of their fathers and then had their heads bashed in. Their fathers were doused with petrol and set on fire. Their property was looted. Their businesses were destroyed. And the police stood by and did nothing.” [Hindustan Times, New Delhi, March 21, 2002.]

For RSS Indian Muslims and Christians are ‘internal threat’ number 1 and 2 respectively

In fact, the ‘Holy’ book for the RSS cadres Bunch of Thoughts, has a long chapter titled as ‘Internal Threats’ in which Muslim and Christian citizens of India are described as threat number one and two respectively. This chapter opens with the following statement:

“It has been the tragic lesson of the history of many a country in the world that the hostile elements within the country pose a far greater menace to national security then aggressors from outside.”

[Golwalkar, M.S., Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 177.]

While treating Muslims as ‘Internal Threat’ number 1, Golwalkar goes on to elaborate,

“Even to this day there are so many who say, ‘now there is no Muslim problem at all. All those riotous elements who supported Pakistan have gone away once for all. The remaining Muslims are devoted to our country. After all, they have no other place to go and they are bound to remain loyal’….It would be suicidal to delude ourselves into believing that they have turned patriots overnight after the creation of Pakistan. On the contrary, the Muslim menace has increased a hundredfold by the creation of Pakistan which has become a springboard for all their future aggressive designs on our country.”

[Ibid. pp. 177-78]

While deliberating on the ‘Internal Threat’ number 2, he says,

“Such is the role of Christian gentlemen residing in our land today, out to demolish not only the religious and social fabric of our life but also to establish political domination in various pockets and if possible all over the land.”

[Ibid. p. 193.]

Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism denied status of independent religions

RSS regards followers of Islam and Christianity as emigrant or foreigners and demands their cleansing as these two religions are declared to be foreign religions. However, RSS has no respect for Indian religions like Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism as these are not treated as independent religions but part of Hinduism. Guru Golwalkar set the agenda by declaring that, “the Buddhists, the Jain, the Sikh are all included in that one comprehensive word ‘Hindu’.”

[Golwalkar, MS, The Spotlights, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1974, p. 171.]

Prominent RSS ideologue Nana Deshmukh who justified 1984 Massacre of Sikhs, conferred highest national award by the Modi government

RSS claims to have always stood for the Hindu-Sikh unity. It occasionally expresses its gratitude to Sikhism for saving Hinduism from Muslim aggression. However, it must be noted that RSS does not treat Sikhism as independent religion which discarded Casteism and Brahmanical hegemony but part of the Hinduism. So far as 1984 genocide of Sikhs in India is concerned RSS blamed Sikhs for their fate. Nana Deshmukh, a prominent whole timer and ideologue of the RSS [now deceased] circulated a document titled ‘Moments of soul searching’ on November 8, 1984, justifying this horrendous genocide. Nana Deshmukh in this document presented the justification of the Sikh genocide by arguing:

1. The massacre of Sikhs was not the handiwork of any group or anti-social elements but the result of a genuine feeling of anger among Hindus.
2. Deshmukh did not distinguish the action of the two security personnel of Indira Gandhi, who happened to be Sikhs, from that of the whole Sikh community. According to his document the killers of Indira Gandhi were working under some kind of mandate of their community.
3. Sikhs themselves invited these attacks.
4. He glorified Operation Blue Star and described any opposition to it as anti-national. When Sikhs were being killed in thousands he was warning the country of Sikh extremism, thus offering ideological defense of those killings.
5. Sikh community as a whole was responsible for the violence in Punjab.
6. Sikhs should have done nothing in self-defence but showed patience and tolerance against the killer mobs.
7. These were Sikh intellectuals and not killer mobs which were responsible for the massacre. They had turned Sikhs into a militant community, cutting them off from their Hindu roots, thus inviting attacks from the nationalist Indians. Moreover, he treated all Sikhs as part of the same gang and described attacks on them as a reaction of the nationalist Hindus.
8. Shockingly, ‘Moments of Soul Searching’ was not meant for Indian state or killer squads but demanded from victim Sikhs.

Nana Deshmukh awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ (the Jewel of India), the highest national award

As if it was not enough injustice to the martyrs and survivors of the 1984 massacre, on the eve of the 2019 Republic Day RSS-BJP rulers of India, bestowed the highest national award Bharat Ratna (the gem of India) on Nana Deshmukh. Indian Prime Minister Modi praising Deshmukh said, “He personifies humility, compassion, and service to the downtrodden. He is a Bharat Ratna in the truest sense.

[https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1088814319670910977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1088814319670910977%7Ctwgr%5E0f83dbb514514c5dc975094e5590494af1f3a84f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.republicworld.com%2Findia%2Fpm-modi-hails-nanaji-deshmukh-on-bharat-ratna-honour-says-his-contribution-to-rural-development-showed-the-way-for-a-new-paradigm-of-empowerment]

This article is an appeal to all citizens from North America and the United Kingdom on the truth behind the RSS: Mohan Bhagwat its supremo is visiting USA, Canada and UK and needs to be confronted with these facts.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sabrangindia.

[1] The present supremo Mohan Bhagwat and even the present prime minister of India, Narendra Modi have been groomed in the same mould.

[2] The above selection of Manu’s Codes is from F. Max Muller, Laws of Manu, LP Publications, Delhi, 1996; first published in 1886. The bracket after each code incorporates number of chapter/number of code according to the above edition.

Related:

51st Anniversary of Emergency in India: While the RSS supported the Emergency, it now ruthlessly presides over an ‘undeclared Emergency’

Disclosure and transparency from the RSS may finally expose decades-old ambiguities

Syama Prasad Mookerjee: ‘Patriot’ or collaborator of British Rulers & Muslim League?

The post Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS’ supremo to lead ‘Universal Oneness Celebrations’ in New York! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The UN communication points to reports showing that the Home Minister presented the electoral updates before Parliament using the policy formula “Detect, Delete and Deport”. The text also notes that senior leadership repeatedly used this framing, describing the SIR as a process to “‘purify’ electoral rolls of infiltrators”.

The joint letter was sent by Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; and Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. Operating under Human Rights Council mandates, the experts requested explanations from the Indian government regarding actions that may amount to “serious violations of multiple human rights obligations”.

The scope of the ‘Special Intensive Revision’

The inquiry by UN experts centres on the large geographic scale of the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) voter roll update.  According to the details sent to the UN mandate holders, the ECI announced a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process on November 4, 2025. This administrative exercise covered nine states: Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. It also included three Union Territories: Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry. In total, the revision applied to 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly Constituencies.

This updating process, which concluded its second phase on December 4, 2025, followed an initial revision conducted in Bihar between June and September of the same year. The ECI stated that the program’s official goals were to ensure that “the names of all eligible citizens are included in the electoral roll,” that “no ineligible voter is included,” and to maintain full transparency when adding or removing names.

Reports sent to the UN indicate that approximately 52 million names were removed from the voter rolls across the 12 participating States and Union Territories. The UN experts noted that the preliminary update in Bihar had already “caused alarm over potential large-scale disenfranchisement and denationalization, particularly of Muslims and other minorities”.

Detailed reports and complaints sent to UN experts led up to this. After examining the on ground details of the allegations, the United Nations (UN) has contacted the Government of India regarding the recent voter roll updates through Special Intensive Revision (SIR). In a formal communication dated May 1, 2026, three UN Special Rapporteurs have raised serious questions concerning the potential systematic removal of ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities from electoral registers, focusing particularly on Muslim voters and people of Bengali descent.

Impact in West Bengal and the Nandigram

The removal of names heavily affected West Bengal just before its state assembly elections took place on April 23 and 29, 2026. The UN communication notes that West Bengal was “particularly affected,” with a reported 9.1 million names removed from the state’s voter registers.

Individuals affected by the deletions reported being “wrongfully excluded despite having provided valid identification”. The communication states that “Muslim voters were reportedly disproportionately impacted by the SIR process”.

Data from specific local areas highlighted significant discrepancies. The UN mandate holders pointed to the constituency of Nandigram, where reports indicated that “allegedly 95 per cent of the deleted voters were Muslims, even though Muslims only make up 25 per cent of the constituency’s electorate”.

The affected voting population in Nandigram includes “men, women, and elderly citizens who are Indian nationals with valid identity documents”.

The communication also highlights that minor issues, such as “minor spelling inconsistencies in documents”—which are “reportedly common across India due to administrative challenges”—were used as the basis for removing voter names.

Additionally, the UN mandate holders noted concerns regarding the use of technology, specifically reports pointing to “the alleged use of an AI-driven system that flagged ‘irregularities’ in voter data”. The experts stated that using automated systems in this high-stakes context introduces “serious issues related to transparency, errors, and potential bias,” which risks removing valid voters and “undermining democratic fairness”.

Official statements and rhetoric

The UN communication connects the administrative actions to the broader political environment and public statements regarding minority communities. The Special Rapporteurs noted “discriminatory rhetoric by politicians and senior public figures of the Government in the context of the SIR exercise”.

The letters state that the public comments “appear to reflect and reinforce a pattern of discriminatory rhetoric directed at Muslim, Bengali, and other minority communities”.

The communication also cites public statements from senior government figures, including the Union Home Minister, who “publicly framed the deletion of voter names as targeting ‘illegal Bangladeshi immigrants'”. The UN letter states that this description “conflates legitimate Indian Muslim citizens with foreign nationals”.

The UN communication points to reports showing that the Home Minister presented the electoral updates before Parliament using the policy formula “Detect, Delete and Deport”. The text also notes that senior leadership repeatedly used this framing, describing the SIR as a process to “‘purify’ electoral rolls of infiltrators”.

The Special Rapporteurs warned that this phrasing “could amount to potential incitement to discrimination within the meaning of article 20(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)”. This article prohibits the advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that leads to incitement, hostility, or discrimination.

The UN experts stated that this language functions to “construct Muslim citizens as presumptively foreign, criminal and undeserving of civic rights, without any individualized determination of their legal status”. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief reiterated that religious groups “must not be instrumentalised to incite hatred and violence, including for electoral purposes or political gains”.

The UN concluded that basing a state-run voter update on the removal of a specific religious group “risks constituting, at minimum, an official endorsement of discriminatory attitudes toward Muslim citizens,” and could represent the “instrumentalisation of State administrative machinery for the purpose of political targeting of a religious minority”.

The appeals process and judicial timelines

The UN letter reviewed the legal avenues available to affected citizens and how tight deadlines impacted the outcomes. Voters originally sought recourse through the ECI and filed petitions for judicial review with the Supreme Court of India. On April 6, 2026, the Supreme Court declined to put a stay on the revision process.

On April 16, 2026, the Supreme Court utilised its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution. The Court ruled that removed voters in West Bengal could restore their names if their appeals were approved by appellate tribunals by the deadlines of April 21 and April 27, 2026. The ECI was directed to update supplementary lists for these individuals, but the Court specified that “those with pending appeals would not be allowed to vote”.

The UN experts expressed concern over the logistical challenges of this legal remedy. The revision exercise led to more than 3.4 million appeals. The UN observed that “the short timeframe and sheer scale of the appeals meant to be resolved before the deadlines set by the Court… appear to have led to the exclusion of millions of eligible citizens from the elections in West Bengal”. The pressure on tribunals to process millions of cases in a few days left many voters without a resolved appeal before the voting deadlines.

Alignment with international human rights law

The UN mandate holders evaluated these events against international treaties that India has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified on April 10, 1979, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), ratified on December 3, 1968.

The annex to the communication outlines these specific standards. Article 27 of the ICCPR states that ethnic, religious, or linguistic minorities have the right “to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language”. The 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities similarly requires nations to protect minority identities and ensure their participation in public life without discrimination.

Furthermore, Article 25 of the ICCPR guarantees citizens the right to participate in public affairs and vote in periodic elections “without unreasonable restrictions” and without religious distinctions. The Human Rights Committee’s General Comment No. 25 (1996) states that voter registration processes must be facilitated, objective, reasonable, and non-discriminatory.

The UN expressed “grave concern that the SIR process of electoral rolls conducted by the ECI in West Bengal appears to have imposed conditions and procedural burdens that were neither reasonable nor proportionate, and which have disproportionately impacted Muslim citizens”. They noted that the tight timelines, the “opacity of the algorithmic methodology employed,” and the barriers faced by economically and linguistically vulnerable voters combined to form unreasonable restrictions on voting rights.

Specific questions put forward by the UN

The communication asks the Indian Government to provide detailed observations on seven specific points:

“1. Please provide any additional information and any comment you may have on the above-mentioned allegations.

2. Please provide detailed information on any steps your Excellency’s Government may have taken to ensure that the substance and implementation of the SIR process, including the administration of the claims and objection period, complies with India’s obligations under international human rights law and standards. In particular, please provide details on steps taken to ensure that the SIR process has not resulted in the exclusion of eligible voters from their participation in the public elections of 2026.
3. Please provide details on safeguards ensuring that members of ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities are not discriminated against in the framework of the SIR process and the determination of their voter status. In this context, please provide detailed information on the exact number of names that have been removed from the electoral rolls, during the SIR process, specifying the reason for deletion, as well as the number of objections and appeals filed in front of the various organs and the resulting decisions. Please also provide disaggregated data on the ethnicity and religion of individuals who have been excluded from electoral rolls, as well as individuals who have been declared ineligible after judicial adjudication. If unavailable, please explain why.
4. Please provide more details about the “claims and objections” period and, in particular, whether the process ensured a fair and effective opportunity to contest exclusions, particularly in light of reports that millions of voters were declared ineligible after judicial adjudication despite presenting valid identification.
5. Please provide details on measures taken to ensure access to effective remedies before the two-phase Assembly elections, which took place 23 and 29 April 2026, for all individuals excluded from electoral rolls.
6. Please provide information on measures undertaken to eliminate any discriminatory treatment of minorities, including Muslims and persons of Bengali descent, as well as other minorities, with regard to the right to vote and to choose their representatives freely.
7. Please provide information on measures that the State is taking to provide effective remedies to individuals found to have been wrongfully removed from electoral rolls and consequently deprived of their right to vote, particularly in cases where no timely remedy was available before the elections took place. What steps are taken to ensure accountability and to safeguard the affected individuals’ right to political participation?”

The UN provided a 60-day period for the Indian government to respond before the communication is permanently hosted on the public reporting website. The Rapporteurs noted they might issue a public statement sooner, as they consider the initial information “sufficiently reliable to indicate a matter warranting immediate attention”.

The Special Rapporteurs requested that “all necessary interim measures be taken to halt the alleged violations and prevent their re-occurrence,” and if the details are confirmed by investigation, to “ensure the accountability of any person(s) responsible for the alleged violations”.

The UN’s official Communication dated May 1, 2026 can be accessed from here

Related:

Disenfranchisement route to Majoritarian Rule: Political Logic of SIR

Exclusive Investigation SIR: How many voters did the ECI actually disenfranchise? Why do final figures show inexplicable ‘additions’?

Judgement delivered, paradox prevails: every voter a citizen, but what is the fate of 51.8 million excluded?

SC greenlights SIR, upholds ECI’s power to revise electoral rolls

The Bihar Verdict 2025: How an election was engineered before votes were cast

The post UN Rights Experts flag Discrimination in ECI’s SIR exercise, seek India’s response appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The statement has elaborated on the provisions of international humanitarian law that recognises that even in times of war, humanity must prevail, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols grant special protection to hospitals, ambulances, medical personnel, and rescue workers, recognising that those who dedicate their lives to saving others must never become targets of armed conflict. These fundamental and noble principles have been repeatedly and systematically violated by Israel, the occupying Power, says the statement.

“The destruction of healthcare infrastructure has reached catastrophic proportions. Hospitals have been bombed, besieged, and rendered inoperable. Ambulances have been attacked while attempting to rescue the wounded. Doctors, nurses, and paramedics have been killed, injured, or detained while performing their humanitarian duties.

“As of today, only 19 of Gaza’s 34 hospitals remain partially operational, operating under impossible conditions, while severe shortages of medicines, medical equipment, fuel, electricity, and clean water continue to push the healthcare system toward total collapse. In the occupied West Bank, repeated military incursions, restrictions on movement, and shortages of essential medicines have severely disrupted healthcare delivery, with approximately 11,000 surgical procedures reportedly postponed, placing thousands of patients’ lives at further risk.

“This humanitarian catastrophe is not an inevitable consequence of war; it is the result of Israel’s systematic dismantling of the Palestinian healthcare system upon which millions of Palestinian civilians depend for their survival.

“The world witnessed the tragic fate of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was targeted by the Israeli army after remaining trapped for hours. The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue her, despite prior coordination with Israeli authorities, was also attacked, killing the two paramedics. A recent United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli forces deliberately targeted both the family vehicle and the ambulance.

“Similarly, on March 23, 2025, the international community watched in horror as video evidence emerged documenting the Israeli killing of Palestinian rescue workers in Rafah while carrying out their humanitarian mission. These were not isolated tragedies, but part of a systematic pattern documented by the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and numerous international humanitarian organizations, and they represent only the tip of the iceberg.

“Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital and a respected paediatrician, has become the face of the resilience and humanitarian commitment of Palestinian healthcare workers. As northern Gaza’s healthcare system collapsed under repeated military assaults and siege, he chose to remain with his patients, refusing to abandon those who depended on his care.

“His personal sacrifice became even more profound when he lost his own son, Ibrahim, who was killed during the assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital. Despite this devastating personal tragedy, Dr. Abu Safiya returned almost immediately to caring for his patients, embodying the highest ideals of the medical profession.

“On December 27, 2024, following the assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital-the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza-Israeli forces detained Dr. Abu Safiya, together with members of the medical staff and patients, under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law. Since then, he has remained in Israeli detention. His continued detention has become a matter of grave international concern.

“Yesterday, July 8, 2026, United Nations Special Rapporteurs and independent human rights experts called for Dr. Abu Safiya’s immediate release, expressing serious concern over credible reports that he has been subjected to torture, other forms of ill-treatment, prolonged solitary confinement, denial of adequate medical care, and a severe deterioration in both his physical and psychological condition. The experts further emphasized that his detention appears to be arbitrary and urged his immediate release unless internationally recognized criminal charges are promptly brought against him.”

It is in light of these dire and precarious circumstances that the Palestinian embassy has issued the statement and appeal. The appeal calls on all Indians to support and join the call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya; advocating for the protection of Palestinian healthcare workers, hospitals, ambulances, and medical facilities in accordance with international humanitarian law; supporting independent international investigations and accountability for attacks against medical personnel and healthcare infrastructure; and backing urgent international efforts to restore and strengthen the Palestinian healthcare system while ensuring the unhindered delivery of essential medical supplies and humanitarian assistance.

The continued detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is not merely the case of one physician. It symbolizes the broader assault on the Palestinian healthcare system and the humanitarian principles that underpin international law. Wider support can make a meaningful difference in defending these universal values.

Related:

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Gaza: 700 citizens demand release of detained Madleen activists, call upon UK to fix Israel’s accountability for genocide, blockade, war crimes in Palestine

Illegality of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine

The post The arbitrary detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya: A call for justice appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Ask Palestine. The team finished second in the second round of the Asian qualifiers, behind Australia, thus qualifying for the third round for the first time in their history. Here, they were drawn in a tough group with South Korea, Jordan, Iraq, Oman and Kuwait. They played their hearts out, drawing twice against the much stronger South Korea, and would have qualified for the next round, had it not been for a penalty awarded to Oman in stoppage time during Palestine’s final match. When Oman converted, what should have been a win became a draw, and Palestine was eliminated, just one point short of progressing.

Palestine’s World Cup qualifying campaign faced extraordinary odds. In the qualifying tournaments, each team plays a ‘home’ and an ‘away’ match. Palestine has not been able to play ‘home’ matches in either the West Bank or Gaza since October 2023. These matches are played in a neutral venue. Thus, while their opponents enjoy the ‘home’ advantage, Palestine don’t. Palestinian players routinely face harassment and travel restrictions from Israeli authorities. Even getting the whole team together for training is an achievement. Several players and staff have had family members or friends killed during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

And then there’s the destruction of infrastructure. Gaza had around 40 football clubs affiliated with the Palestine Football Association (PFA) before the start of the genocide in October 2023. Gaza had several football facilities, including four stadiums: Palestine Stadium, Yarmouk Stadium, Khan Younis Stadium, Rafah Municipal Stadium. Today, nothing remains. All stadiums have been destroyed. All football facilities are in ruins. There is no functioning football club.

And what of the players? In early June this year, Israel abducted two women football players, Rand al-Halawani (released after a few days) and Natali Abu Dayyeh.

At least they are alive. In an official letter to FIFA, the PFA said that 99 footballers (among some 400 athletes) had been killed by Israel in Gaza between October 2023 and March 2024. That’s two athletes killed every day, and a footballer killed every second day. There are also numerous cases of athletes being ‘knee-capped’ – that is, shot in the knee or lower limbs – effectively terminating their playing careers. This is part of the deliberate Israeli effort to wipe out Palestinian social life, to obliterate anything that represents Palestinian culture and national pride.

This, by itself, should be enough to get the Israel Football Association sanctioned and expelled by FIFA. But there’s more.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank, built on land stolen from Palestinians, are illegal by international law. All activity on settlements, whether economic, social, cultural, or sporting, is also illegal. Several countries in the world explicitly prohibit conducting business with illegal settlement-based enterprises.

There are about half a dozen football clubs recognized by IFA operating from illegal settlements. These clubs play in Israeli leagues, and players move from illegal settlement-based clubs to other Israeli clubs, and vice-versa, all the time.

Not only is this in contravention of international law, it also explicitly violates FIFA’s own charter, which states, ‘Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without that association’s approval.’

Then there is the extreme Zionism of some Israeli clubs. The best-known is Beitar Jerusalem FC. Since its founding in 1936, it has been closely identified with Israel’s extreme right wing. Benjamin Netanyahu is a long-time Beitar supporter. The club has fan groups of the extreme right. The most notorious of these is La Familia, founded in 2005. This group of football ultras is known for its wanton violence and genocidal chants, including ‘Death to Arabs’.

Among football hooligans, Israeli fans occupy pride of place. For example, in November 2024, fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv FC went on a rampage in Amsterdam, tearing down Palestinian flags from buildings; chanting racist slogans, including ‘Death to Arabs’; indulging in acts of wanton violence; and chanting songs celebrating the Gaza genocide, including one that means ‘There are no schools in Gaza because all the children are dead’.

In typical Israeli playbook style, all this was justified with the claim that it was Maccabi fans who were first subjected to antisemitic slurs and violence. Subsequent investigations complicated the picture. While it is true that some Maccabi supporters faced public anger against the genocide in Gaza (but not antisemitism), there is no doubt that Maccabi supporters indulged in acts of hooliganism and racist provocations both before and after the match (in which Maccabi was trounced by the Dutch club Ajax 5–0), followed by retaliatory violence against some Israeli supporters.

The PFA is right in petitioning FIFA to sanction and expel IFA, of course, but for us to expect action under the present FIFA leadership would be naïve. FIFA president Gianni Infantino is Donald Trump’s poodle. Not only has FIFA not used its clout to force some degree of decency from the US in the conduct of the present World Cup, Infantino presented Trump with a completely made up ‘FIFA Peace Prize’ when Trump didn’t get his coveted Nobel. He has appeared in public wearing a red, MAGA-style hat. He pledged FIFA’s support to the ‘Board of Peace’ constituted by Trump to oversee a post-genocide plan in Gaza. During the FIFA Congress in Vancouver in April 2026, he attempted to get PFA president Jibril Rajoub to shake hands on stage with the vice president of IFA, Basim Sheikh Suliman. Rajoub refused.

FIFA’s collusion with Israel and the US is in contrast with its own stand against South Africa under apartheid. FIFA suspended South Africa in 1961 and expelled it in 1976. Today, despite a mountain of evidence against Israel, FIFA refuses to even sanction IFA, let alone suspend or expel it. Or take Russia, which was banned by FIFA just four days after its conflict with Ukraine began, in February 2022.

This, like much else, reflects geopolitical realities of the respective times. The 1960s and 70s were a time of decolonization and independence in Asia, Africa and Latin America, often inspired by socialism and Marxism; today is a time of naked racism and imperialism by the white ruling elites of the West.

When children in Gaza play football on the beach in the midst of the genocide, they are not merely escaping a terrible reality. They are also fighting to be treated with decency, dignity and self-respect. They are asserting humanity.

[This is a slightly amended version of an article that appeared on leftviews.in.]

Courtesy: Sudhanva Deshpande

The post How FIFA Colludes in the Genocide of Palestinians appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The current football World Cup is the most expansive in history. It is also the most exclusionary. International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the governing body of world football, has expanded this World Cup (WC) to 48 teams and a total of 104 matches, the most ever.

The post How FIFA is Asphyxiating the Beautiful Game appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Every age discovers its own language for discussing the human condition. The twentieth century increasingly found itself speaking through sport. Seems absurd? Twenty-two players pursue a ball around a rectangular field while millions watch. How does that evoke philosophical reflection? Yet, the deeper one looks at football, the harder it becomes to dismiss it merely as entertainment. Football has become one of the principal ways modern societies imagine themselves.

The great clubs of Europe are repositories of memory. Entire generations remember where they were when Maradona dribbled past England, when Zidane head-butted Materazzi, when Iniesta scored in Johannesburg, or when Messi finally lifted the World Cup in Qatar. Football has become one of the modern world’s great theatres of meaning.

And, thus, some of its greatest practitioners asked questions beyond tactics and trophies. What does it reveal about human beings? How should talent relate to the collective? What is the relationship between freedom and discipline? Can excellence be engineered? Can creativity be organized? These are not football questions; they are civilization questions. Football merely provides the stage on which they are performed.

Five figures stand apart for transforming football into a vehicle for thought: Johan Cruyff, César Luis Menotti, Sócrates, Jorge Valdano, and Pep Guardiola. Each seeks an answer to the same question: What is football for?

Football is about understanding space. ~ Hendrik Johannes Cruyff

Johan Cruyff’s greatest contribution to football was not tactical; it was perceptual. He changed what football looked at. Before Cruyff, football largely revolved around players. Coaches discussed positions, opponents, formations, and individuals. The football field seemed crowded with bodies competing for possession. Cruyff became fascinated by the spaces between players. Sounds simple, but it was revolutionary.

Cruyff watched football by following possibilities. The future interested him more than the present. He arrived at an insight: the game is fundamentally a struggle over space. And, the player who understands space understands football.

The pass itself is not the important event. What matters is the space created before the pass and the possibilities that follow it. The dribble changes geometry. Football becomes a shifting architecture of relationships, distances, and opportunities. Cruyff’s observation that football is played with the brain is often misunderstood. He was not praising intelligence; he was describing a way of seeing. Great footballers notice patterns before others recognize them. They enter the future slightly earlier than everyone else.

Cruyff’s vision resembles the moment when a physicist suddenly perceives an invisible structure beneath apparently chaotic phenomena. What Newton discovered in falling apples and planetary motion, Cruyff sought in football. Beneath the apparent disorder lay hidden patterns. Yet patterns alone cannot explain why football moves us. Geometry can organize a city. It cannot explain why people love it.

Cruyff’s famous dictum, ‘Toeval is logisch’ (coincidence is logical), captures this football philosophy, that football’s apparent chaos often conceals an underlying geometry. What spectators often describe as luck, chance, or coincidence is frequently the visible consequence of invisible preparation. Teams that occupy space intelligently, move collectively, and anticipate possibilities create conditions in which favourable outcomes appear accidental to outsiders. Chance remains real, but an intelligent organization determines the likely beneficiary. Indeed, one could almost place Cruyff beside chemist Louis Pasteur’s famous observation: “Chance favours only the prepared mind.”

Cruyff translated that insight into football.

Football is about freedom and beauty. ~ César Luis Menotti

If Cruyff was football’s architect, Argentina’s Menotti was its philosopher. Few coaches have thought more deeply about the moral dimensions of football. To many observers, Menotti’s preference for attacking football appeared aesthetic. His brand of football was about beauty and elegance, they said. This interpretation missed the depth. For Menotti, beauty was not decorative. Beauty was ethical.

Menotti’s core values were freedom, creativity, beauty, expression, individuality, and cultural identity. He believed football should reflect the best possibilities of human freedom. Victory mattered, but it was not enough. His sentiment can be summarized as, “Winning is important. But the manner of winning reveals who you are.”

The football field became a small republic in which larger human values revealed themselves. A society that celebrates freedom should celebrate freedom on the pitch. A society that values imagination should encourage imagination in its footballers. A society that admires creativity should resist reducing the game to mere efficiency. Menotti’s football was therefore not simply a style of play. It was a vision of human flourishing.

Human beings need beauty and results. Civilization itself oscillates endlessly between these demands. Menotti’s philosophy lies in refusing to surrender beauty entirely to practicality. He insisted that efficiency alone cannot satisfy the human spirit.

Football is about meaning and leadership. ~ Jorge Valdano

Jorge Valdano inherited his compatriot Menotti’s humanism but transformed it into something more intimate. Where Menotti spoke about freedom and style, Valdano became fascinated by leadership, fear, confidence, and meaning. He spent much of his post-playing career trying to understand why some groups achieve extraordinary things while others fail despite possessing equal talent. He repeatedly returned to a remarkably simple conclusion: Every team is a state of mind.

Modern organizations are obsessed with structures. They study incentives, processes, systems, and metrics. Valdano does not reject these, but he points out that every structure ultimately operates through human beings. The most sophisticated plan in the world passes through minds occupied by doubt, hope, courage, insecurity, and belief. Thus, football is a study of collective psychology. The great leader does not merely organize. He creates meaning. He transforms anxiety into confidence. He aligns ambitions. He creates trust. He converts a collection of individuals into a community.

Valdano was fascinated by the emotional realities hidden behind the movement of the ball. Why do some teams become stronger after adversity while others collapse? Why does belief spread through a dressing room? Why does confidence sometimes seem contagious? These questions place football in direct conversation with military history, political leadership, and organizational theory. Valdano’s football is ultimately about the human condition.

Football is about citizenship and human dignity. ~ Sócrates Brasiliero

Medical doctor. Captain. Political activist. Public intellectual. No footballer has travelled further beyond football than Sócrates. During Brazil’s military dictatorship, he helped create one of the most remarkable experiments in sporting history: Democracia Corinthiana. This was not simply a football innovation; it was an attempt to rethink authority. Players voted on decisions. Hierarchies were questioned. Participation replaced command. The football club became a laboratory for citizenship.

Sócrates asked a question almost nobody else had dared to: Can football teach people how to govern themselves?

This is a profoundly political question, but not a partisan one. It concerns the nature of freedom. Modern institutions often assume that efficiency requires hierarchy and that excellence demands control. Sócrates suspected otherwise. He wondered whether responsibility might flourish under participation and whether freedom itself could become a source of strength. In this sense, he resembles the great civic thinkers of antiquity more than a conventional footballer. The field became a classroom; the dressing room, a civic institution; and football, a rehearsal for democracy.

Football is about reconciling freedom and structure. ~ Pep Guardiola

Cruyff’s understanding of space, Menotti’s defense of creativity, Valdano’s concern with human beings, Sacchi’s organizational discipline, and modern analytics’ obsession with measurement all illuminate part of the same reality. Guardiola refuses to choose between them.

Guardiola attempts something more ambitious: he seeks reconciliation.

The great debates of football increasingly appear false from his perspective. Freedom versus structure. Creativity versus discipline. Art versus science. Humanity versus analytics. These oppositions dissolve. The purpose of structure is not to eliminate freedom; it is to create freedom. The purpose of positional play is not to constrain imagination; it is to generate possibilities for imagination. The purpose of analysis is not to replace intuition; it is to improve intuition.

Guardiola’s football represents a kind of synthesis. The highest forms of excellence emerge not when one principle defeats another but when seemingly contradictory principles learn to coexist.

At this point, football begins to reveal its power as a metaphor for human life. These five thinkers address questions faced by every civilization. Football condenses them into ninety minutes.

This may explain why the game continues to fascinate billions despite its apparent simplicity. Beneath the goals and trophies lies something deeper. Football has become one of the few remaining arenas where modern societies continue to debate the relationship between freedom and order, individual brilliance and collective purpose, science and art, efficiency and meaning. The observations and investigations over the years merge into a philosophy of human flourishing. And perhaps that is why football remains larger than any statistic, any trophy, or any result. For beneath the game lies a question that every generation must answer anew: Not how football should be played. But how human beings should live.

Check in tomorrow for our next article in the series leading to the FIFA World Cup 2026.

This series is a concise version of a long-format Substack series on the World Cup by JP Santhanam. The Substack post can be read here.

Courtesy: The AIDEM

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Upon receiving the award, Jean Drèze said: “This recognition is not something I achieved on my own. All the work I do is in collaboration with people and collectives working for change. I live and work in India, which was rightly described as a ‘museum of inequality’ by Dr B. R. Ambedkar.

India has all possible varieties of inequality—not only astronomical economic inequality, but also the caste system, huge gender disparities, massive disparities in access to education, and so forth. The silver lining is that India also has a rich history of resistance to inequality. I’ve been very fortunate to be associated with some of these movements.

My contribution consists mainly of research for public action. I’m very pleased to be associated through this award with the World Inequality Lab, a like-minded team striving in the same direction.”

In recent decades, the study of global inequalities has experienced a remarkable boom: economic, social and environmental inequalities have been the subject of a growing body of theoretical and empirical work, visible and influential throughout the world.

The World Inequality Lab (WIL) and Sciences Po’s Centre for Research on Social Inequalities (CRIS) have joined forces to establish a Global Inequality Research Award (or GiRA), which aims to recognize every two years researchers from all disciplines who have made a significant contribution to the understanding of global inequalities.

Six years ago, on April 19, 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, we had a conversation with Drèze that bears a listen and watch today:

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Economist Jean Drèze among three activists detained in Jharkhand, released

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Over many years, and in many countries, a growing view among political actors and within political science was that class was losing its punch. The line was something like this. The working class once voted for labour parties. The middle class voted conservative. But over many years) that difference between how the classes voted got smaller and smaller. In some places it disappeared.

The “decline of class” narrative suited the leaders of labour and social democratic parties.

They could safely adopt market-based neoliberal policies, with a human touch added, in the knowledge their base wouldn’t desert them. But their base was changing. It was becoming more middle class, more individualistic, more awake to the benefits of market solutions to complex problems.

Now, those politicians are shocked by the rise of far-right political parties that now claim to represent the working class. In Australia, One Nation is close to matching Labor — in some polls, it is already ahead.

In the United Kingdom, Reform is leading in all the polls, while the governing Labour party is below 20%. In Germany, the neo-nazi AfD is presently leading in all opinion polls, while the Social Democrats are below 14%.

In the United States, the Republican Party has gone full Trump, on an agenda with aspects that look eerily reminiscent of prewar Germany. In France, the National Rally candidate is ahead in all opinion polls for the next presidential election.

‘Blue collar’ is not the same as ‘working class’

In many countries, the labour and social democratic parties are mere shadows of their former selves.

Perhaps the labour parties mistook the decline in “blue-collar” (manual) jobs for the decline of the working class. In Australia, the blue-collar share of jobs fell from 44% in 1979 to 28% in 2025. It’s fallen in the UK, the US and elsewhere.

Union membership, once a mostly “blue-collar” phenomenon, declined in most industrialised countries. It fell from an average of 30% of employees across the OECD in 1985 to 19% in 2005 and 15% in 2023. The fall was even greater in Australia.

But these changes did not reflect how likely people were to identify as working class.

In Australia, national attitude and election surveys give us a good idea of trends in people’s views. Between 1979 and 2007, the proportion of respondents in a standard national survey defining themselves as working class or lower class temporarily grew from 40%, to the low 50s in the 1980s and ‘90s, then back to 44% by 2007. In 2025, after a bit more movement, it was still 44% working class.

A British survey in 1983 found 58% of people claimed to be working class. By 2005, those identifying as working class had barely fallen to 57%. In 2023, still 53% of people identified as working class.

In the US, where the phrase “working class” appeared absent from public discourse for decades until Trump, a differently worded question showed that in 1976, 51% of Americans thought of themselves as either working class or lower class. In 2006, the same survey showed 52% identifying as either working class or lower class. Within this period, numbers had fluctuated from year to year — but always between 48% and 55% expressed working or lower class identity.

A Gallup poll added “upper-middle class” to the options, and the proportion claiming working or lower class status was only 39% in 2006. In 2024, that number was 43%.

In Canada, the proportion identifying as working or lower class was 36% in 1980 and still 36% in 1995. In 2017, a different poll found 37% identified as working class.

In short, while “blue-collar” jobs have sharply declined almost everywhere, the experience of “working class” has been relatively stable, within some fluctuating bounds. Differences in class identity between countries seem more notable than differences over time, perhaps due to how questions are asked or how different cultures interpret them.

This is not to say that giving a “working class” response to a forced-choice survey question is the same as a deeply thought position on class. But if people no longer thought of themselves as working class, you would expect to see some pretty big changes over time in answers to these questions.

How the working class was left behind

Sure, jobs changed, a lot. But there has never been much middle-class glamour in the “white collar” jobs at the checkout counter, behind the hamburger hotplate or in the call-centre factory.

Class relations didn’t weaken. In fact, inequality worsened in many countries. Neoliberal policies, including those adopted by social democratic parties, made the rich much richer, but they slowed the growth in the wellbeing of the majority of people, and left the working class behind.

The proportion that thought big business had too much power, and income and wealth should be redistributed, became larger.

Unions lost ground not because their ideas became unpopular with workers. It simply became much harder for unions to recruit and retain members in the face of increasingly hostile employers, governments and laws.

Working class voters didn’t have solutions to hand. But nor were they offered any by social democratic parties that barely spoke their language. Now the door has been opened to far-right parties, presenting alternatives that appeal to some facing those class problems.

There’s life in class voting yet, just not in the way we thought of it.

Laurie Carmichael Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Future Work, and Professor Emeritus, Griffith Business School, Griffith University

Courtesy: The Conversation

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As a group of 50+ interfaith coalitions, led by Dalit leaders and advocates met with several legislators, many of whom instantly agreed to support this bill, understanding why caste equity is so important in New York State. One key meeting was with Senator James Sanders who helped introduce this bill last year, and who spoke with immense power about the need to recognise the solidarity between Black folks and Dalit communities. “Anyone who is against this [bill] doesn’t know your own history”, he said!

Ms. Swati Sawant who has been working on this bill for over three years gifted him a statue of Babasaheb and explained the connection between Black and Dalit shared histories.

Iconic writer and campaigner, Yashica Dutt, whose 2024 published Coming Out as a Dalit, is a powerful individual account that throws a spotlight on systemic injustice in India and its growing impact on US society, took a leading part in this campaigning effort.  Writing about this on her Facebook-meta page, Yashica said that she documented that day in detail “for a video to be produced later.” She also spoke about her book Coming Out as Dalit and talked about how it points to the existence of caste, right here in the United States.

The campaign has asked all those who live in New York to support A6290/S6531! Besides, at the click of a button, any person can send their letter to their New York State lawmaker in less than a minute — https://sikhcoalition.quorum.us/campaign/nycasteequity/thanks

SabrangIndia had previously reported, how in July 2025, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California in its ruling on July 18, in response to an allegation by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) that had claimed that the California civil rights department’s enforcement of anti-caste policies violated the “constitutional rights of all Hindu Americans,” dismissed HAF’s contention. HAF had attempted arguments to the effect that the California civil rights department’s enforcement of anti-caste policies violated the “constitutional rights of all Hindu Americans.” This claim had been dismissed by a US District Court.

Academics and civil rights activists had then too welcomed a landmark judgment by a US federal court upholding the California civil rights department’s constitutional authority to defence caste-oppressed individuals through state action.

Related:

In a ‘major win’ for anti-caste activists, a US Federal Court upholds California Govt’s authority to act against caste oppression

Unsealed: Suhag Shukla’s Deposition in Hindu American Foundation’s Failed Defamation Case Against Us

Debunking Myths: A Critical Analysis of Hindu American Foundation’s Ram Temple Narrative

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