Editor’s Note: The following “SikhFeed” is being source from Sikh Activist Network.  Please see the footer for complete source information.

Some will never celebrate Indian Independence Day because they know India can be better, adhere to international law, democratic principles, human rights and social justice.  Some care too much about India to ignore her failures, others have suffered and given up.

Every nation has shortcomings and while some celebrate Independence Days others take it as an opportunity for introspect and reflection.

1.   2 Farmers commit suicide every day

“The India Tribune estimated that an Indian farmer kills himself every 12 hours. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), between 1995 and 2009 a quarter of a million farmers have killed themselves”, yet no one seems to care. [source]

 

2.   One third of Indian Politicians face Criminal Charges

“India’s most respected election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms informed us that nearly a third of MPs – 158 of 543 – in the parliament faced criminal charges.” [source]

 

2.   Nearly 70% of Indians live on less than $2 a day

Poverty in India is widespread, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world’s poor. In 2010, the World Bank reported that 32.7% of the total Indian people fall below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 per day (PPP) while 68.7% live on less than US$ 2 per day. [source]

 

4.   The 1984 Sikh Genocide

No one has ever been prosecuted for the 1984 Sikh Genocide and the killers of innocent Sikhs are protected with state impunity. [source]

 

5.   48 Thousand cases of Child Rape

Marital rape is not a criminal offence in India and is still India’s most common crime against women. Since, 2001 there has been a 336% increase in the number of rapes against children. A report by Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) stated that 48,338 child rape cases were recorded during 2001-11. [source]

 

6.   The Caste System

Statistics compiled by India’s National Crime Records Bureau indicate that in the year 2000, the last year for which figures are available, 25,455 crimes were committed against Dalits. Every hour two Dalits are assaulted; every day three Dalit women are raped, two Dalits are murdered, and two Dalit homes are torched. No one believes these numbers are anywhere close to the reality of crimes committed against Dalits. [source]

7.  Irom Sharmila’s 13 year Fast

Irom Sharmila is a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from the Indian state of Manipur. She has been on hunger strike to demand that the Indian government repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA).  The Indian government is currently force feeding her and has her on trial for attempted suicide.  The irony is not lost here.

 

8.  The Death Penalty

” The architect of the Constitution, Babasaheb Ambedkar, admitted in the Constituent Assembly that people may not follow non-violence in practice but “they certainly adhere to the principle of non-violence as a moral mandate which they ought to observe as far as they possibly can.” With this in mind, he said, “the proper thing for this country to do is to abolish the death sentence altogether…Last year 14 eminent retired judges wrote to the President, pointing out that the Supreme Court had erroneously given the death penalty to 15 people since 1996, of whom two were hanged. The judges called this “the gravest known miscarriage of justice in the history of crime and punishment in independent India.” [source]

 

9.   Hindutva

The poster says it all.

 

10.   Narendra Modi

Because alleged perpetrator of Genocide Narendra Modi, the leader of the BJP which is linked to violent Hindutva organizations may very well become the next Prime Minister of India.  Modi has been denied a visa to the USA for his alleged role in the mass murder of Muslims in Gujarat where he currently serves as Chief Minister. [source]