Page 22 - Protest

Hasina's ouster watershed moment for student activism in B'desh: Analysts

The recent student movement in Bangladesh, culminating in the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, marks a watershed moment in the nation's political landscape, fuelled by a 70-year legacy of student activism from the 1952 Language Movement to the Liberation War and beyond. Political analysts and observers view the recent student protests, which many in Bangladesh have christened as the Bangla Spring taking a cue from the Arab Spring or the Monsoon Revolution, as a watershed moment in Bangladesh's political landscape, driven by the same spirit of activism that has characterised student movements in the country for over 70 years, even before its independence in 1971, when it was known as East Pakistan. The latest movement, which began in July 2024, was sparked by the Court's decision to reinstate a controversial job quota system, a move that reignited long-standing frustrations among students and the general public. The reinstatement of the job quota system, which had been ...

Despite regime change, Dhaka traffic more chaotic due to sporadic protests

Dhaka's roads, known for its notorious traffic, have become more chaotic as sporadic protests by various organisations have led to severe congestion, leaving commuters stranded and scrambling for alternative routes. On Monday morning, rickshaw pullers blocked the Shahbagh intersection to demand a ban on battery-operated auto rickshaws and other issues, stopping all traffic on nearby roads. The protest began around 10:30 a.m. The rickshaw pullers protesting at Shahbagh claimed that autorickshaw drivers were charging too littleTk20 (approx Rs 14) instead of the standard Tk50 (approx Rs 35)from passengers, which meant they weren't getting any business. They also pointed out that autorickshaws, which previously operated in the alleys, now run on main roads, ignoring traffic rules and causing traffic jams and accidents. This situation has worsened the already chaotic traffic and led to a shortage of public transportation options for commuters. On Sunday, the city's traffic came to a .

Proposed students' rally on Tuesday demanding CM's resignation illegal: TMC

Senior West Bengal Minister and TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya described the proposed 'Nabanna Abhijan' rally on Tuesday by a student outfit called Chhatra Samaj, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the rape-murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor at R G Kar hospital, as "illegal and an attempt to incite widespread unrest in Kolkata". At a press conference here on Monday, Bhattacharya claimed that the rally has been called without police permission and suggested it was part of a plan by some elements to disrupt peace and stability in the state. Bhattacharjee, who was joined by TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Joyprakash Majumdar, emphasised that the investigation into the rape-murder of the doctor has been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and dismissed the call for the CM's resignation as politically motivated. "The call for this rally has been given on social media by Chhatra Samaj, which has not intimated police about their plans

Protesters against overhaul plan urge Mexican prez to 'respect democracy'

Thousands demonstrated in Mexico's capital Sunday in the latest opposition to President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador's proposed judicial overhaul and other moves by the governing party that critics say will weaken democratic checks and balances. Throngs of people, many of them striking federal court workers and judges, ended their march outside the Supreme Court building in the heart of the capital, waving flags reading Judicial independence and Respect democracy." Right now, we're protesting the reforms, but it's not just the reforms, said lawyer Mauricio Espinosa. Its all of these attacks against the judicial branch and other autonomous bodies. What it does is end up strengthening the executive, the next president. Following big electoral victories in June by the president's Morena party and its allies, the government has pushed for sweeping changes to Mexico's judicial system, long at odds with Lpez Obrador, a populist who has openly attacked judges and ignored court orders. His ..

Kolkata rape-murder update: Protests erupt, CBI probes ex-principal

CBI was made to wait 90 minutes before being granted entrance into RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former principal Sandeep Ghosh's residence on Sunday

WB Artists' Forum protests RG Kar incident, demands strict punishment

On Saturday, a delegation of resident doctors met with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials

Shakti Bill lingers as Badlapur protests grow over schoolchildren rape

The Shakti Bill, which was unanimously passed by the Maharashtra Assembly nearly three years ago, remains unimplemented

UN team to arrive in Bangladesh's Dhaka to probe killings of protesters

A team of UN experts is set to arrive in Dhaka on Thursday to set a framework for the fact-finding mission that will investigate the killings of at least 650 protesters ahead of and in the aftermath of Sheikh Hasina's resignation as the prime minister earlier this month. "This is the primary UN team of experts before the UN fact-finding mission comes and investigates (the atrocities). We are expecting to sign an agreement of framework for the probe," The Daily Star newspaper quoted a UN official based in Dhaka as saying on Wednesday. The UN team is expected to discuss detailed terms and conditions for investigating all the human rights violations that took place between July 1 and August 15, the official said. The delegation will stay here for at least a week and meet the civil society groups, victims of human rights violations, students and government officials and any other actors concerned, the official added. Foreign ministry officials also confirmed the arrival of the ...

JNU V-C meets protesting students, urges them to end hunger strike

JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit on Wednesday met the students protesting against the university's alleged unresponsive attitude to their various demands, including increasing scholarship amounts, and urged them to end their hunger strike which entered the 10th day. The students have been demanding that the V-C meet and address them on their charter of demands since August 11. Their demands also include a caste census, lifting the ban on protests on campus and withdrawal of proctorial inquiries initiated against students for participating in protests on campus. In a purported video, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) V-C is seen trying to convince the protesters to end their hunger strike. "I am doing whatever I can for all of you. You all are like my children. I am requesting you to end this strike. It makes me feel bad. Even I come from a backward class and I know the struggle that you had to face to reach here...," Pandit is heard telling the protesters. In the video,

Bharat Bandh: SCs, STs protest against SC ruling on quota. Their 5 demands

The 'Bharat Bandh' call comes in response to the August 1 judgement of the Supreme Court, which ruled that states are allowed to make further sub-classifications within the SCs and STs

Bharat Bandh 2024: All you need to know about nationwide shutdown on Aug 21

The Bharat Bandh has been called for protest against the Supreme Court's decision regarding reservations for SC/ST. In Rajasthan, the SC/ST groups have extended their support for the bandh

Kolkata rape-murder: Women's organisation holds 'mashal julush' in Siliguri

The 'mashal julush' protest rally led by a women's voluntary organisation was held to denounce the incident

Educational institutions in Bangladesh reopen after a month of shutdown

Bangladesh on Sunday reopened all educational institutions, including universities, secondary schools and colleges, across the country after more than a month of closure due to violence centring the student-led protests that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The educational institutions in Bangladesh were closed indefinitely on July 17 to ensure the safety of students in the wake of clashes that erupted during the recent movement demanding reform of the job quota system. The Ministry of Education on Thursday issued a directive to reopen the institutions under its jurisdiction. All the educational institutions reopened on Sunday, after a month of closure. According to Somoy Television, a Bengali news channel based in Dhaka, All concerned have been asked to take necessary steps to resume academic activities in all the educational institutions from August 18 following the instruction of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, a notification signed by deputy secretary Mosammat ..

Resident doctors' strike intensifies in Maharashtra as seniors join them

The resident doctor's indefinite strike intensified in Maharashtra on its fourth day on Friday, with their seniors joining the protest, disrupting services at government and civic hospitals and inconveniencing thousands of patients in the state. Dr Pratik Debaje, president of Maharashtra State Association of Residential Doctors (Central-MARD) told PTI that 6000-7000 senior resident doctors affiliated to the Maharashtra Association of Bonded Resident Doctors (MABRD) and the Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI) joined the strike on Friday. 17,000-18,000 (resident) doctors in Maharashtra are on strike at present, Debaje said. Resident doctors in the state launched an indefinite strike on Tuesday morning to express solidarity with the nationwide agitation against the rape-murder of a post-graduate trainee in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last week. On the fourth day of the resident doctor's strike, elective services, including OPDs, OTs, and lab procedures, remai

CBI summons 4 doctors of RG Kar College as nationwide protests continue

According to the sources, the CBI will interrogate these PGT (PG trainees) regarding what happened the night of the incident

Kolkata rape-murder: Over 1,000 Goa doctors to keep OPDs shut for a day

More than 1,000 doctors at private and government hospitals in Goa will stay away from attending outpatient department (OPD) services for 24 hours from August 17 morning to protest the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee physician in Kolkata and seek speedy justice for her, it was announced on Thursday. Indian Medical Association (Goa Branch) president Dr Sandesh Chodankar told PTI that there will be shutdown of OPD services in private and government medical establishments in the state from 6 am on August 17 to 6 am on August 18. The OPD closure decision was part of the nationwide strike call given by the IMA to denounce the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at the West Bengal government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last week. The Goa IMA functionary said more than 1,000 doctors will be on strike during this period and discussions are also being held with the support staff at hospitals to join the state-wide protest. Chodankar said the Goa unit of ..

RG Kar Hospital nurses protest after unidentified goons vandalise premises

Nurses protested vandalism at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Thursday morning, hours after unidentified miscreants ransacked a part of the medical establishment where a woman doctor was found dead last week. The vandalism took place amid midnight protests by women in various parts of the state against the alleged rape and murder of the doctor in the seminar hall of the hospital. Nurses at the hospital protested the vandalism and demanded proper security on the premises. "Such hooliganism inside a hospital is unacceptable," one of the protesting nurses said. According to the police, nearly 40 people, masquerading as protestors, entered the hospital premises, vandalized property, and pelted the police personnel present with stones, prompting the force to burst tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. The miscreants carrying sticks, bricks and rods, vandalised the Emergency ward, its nursing station and medicine store, besides a section of the Out Patie

Columbia university President Shafik resigns after months of campus tumult

She will be replaced on an interim basis by Katrina Armstrong, chief executive officer of Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Kolkata doctor case: Women fill Bengal's streets at midnight, seek justice

Thousands of women from all walks of life hit the streets across West Bengal at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, protesting the horrific rape-murder of a doctor on duty at a Kolkata hospital last week. Spurred by the 'Reclaim the Night' campaign, which gained momentum through social media, the protests began at 11:55 pm, aligning with Independence Day celebrations, and spread across key areas in both small towns and big cities, including several landmarks in Kolkata. As night descended, the streets buzzed with chants of "We Want Justice," echoing the collective anger and sorrow of women from every corner - students, professionals, and homemakers - marching together to demand accountability and an end to violence against women. Political party flags were banned, but flags from marginalised communities, such as LGBTQ+ groups, were proudly displayed. Rimjhim Sinha, the movement's initiator, described the event as a new freedom struggle for women, symbolised by a viral poster of a

B'desh interim govt urges protesters to surrender illegal firearms in a wk

Bangladesh interim government's Home Affairs Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain on Monday asked protesters to surrender by August 19 all illegal and unauthorised firearms, including the rifles looted from law enforcers during the recent violence, according to a media report. Hussain said that if those arms were not returned to nearby police stations, then the authorities would undertake a search and if anyone is found in possession of unauthorised weapons, charges would be lodged against them, The Daily Star newspaper reported. Hussain was talking to reporters at the Combined Military Hospital here after visiting the paramilitary Bangladesh Ansar members who suffered injuries during the mass protest that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina resigned and fled to India last week leaving the country in turmoil following deadly protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs. Hussain said that around 500 people, including