India

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | July 30th, 2001 | Trackback

Bihar, one of India’s most crime-ridden states, lost 18,000 police to a week-long strike July 23. The breach was filled by a combination of military police, home guards, retired police and common citizens, but the actions don’t inspire confidence for safety in the region.

The recent kidnapping of a German traveler and the killing of three Buddhist monks in Kashmir has reconfirmed that travel in the troubled state is inadvisable. The man was taken when the truck in which he was a passenger was commandeered by Muslim militants. Authorities are searching in the Kargil and Doda areas east of Srinigar, and thus far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

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India

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | July 26th, 2001 | Trackback

Travel to the eastern state of Assam will be disrupted for some time because the Brahmaputra River has flooded wide areas of the state, driving some 2.5 million people from their homes. Many refugees are in dire straits because relief resources are stretched to the limit and water-borne diseases are spreading.

In Kashmir, the tentative opening for peace was immediately met with one of the worst days of violence since the separatist movement began. Various militant groups opposed to the peace effort have been blamed for the attacks, which killed more than 100 civilians Aug. 3. There is still hope for peace, however, as India and Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest militant group in Kashmir and the one that declared a cease-fire last month, are still talking about sitting down for discussions.

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India

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | July 25th, 2001 | Trackback

The scourges of leprosy and polio are on the verge of being eradicated here. Leprosy should be wiped out as a public health problem by next year, and polio should be gone by 2005. Last year India had only 108 known cases of wild polio virus. AIDS, on the other hand, appears to be the next public health battle, with roughly 3.5 million infected. The disease is especially prevalent in brothels and among long distance truck drivers.

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India

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | July 24th, 2001 | Trackback

The summit meeting between Indian and Pakistani leaders that was to pave the way for resolution of the Kashmir conflict failed, and in its wake a surge in violence has hit the troubled region. Within days of the unsuccessful summit some 90 people were killed in Kashmir, among them 19 Hindus in Doda district who were dragged from their homes and killed by unidentified militants. A bomb blast in Srinigar also injured eight. Travel to Kashmir should be avoided.

In Manipur, thousands of protesters defied curfews in the capital, Imphal, to protest the government’s extension of a cease-fire with Naga rebels in neighboring Nagaland. Protests began in June and 16 people have been killed in subsequent violence. In this latest round, Indian Airlines canceled all flights to Imphal.

Home » Asia, India, Insurgent violence

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India

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | July 16th, 2001 | Trackback

The Indian government announced a unilateral cease-fire in Kashmir for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins at the end of November, but the most important Kashmiri militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen, called it a meaningless act unless it marked the beginning of a larger peace process. The group vowed to continue the “holy war” to drive India out of Kashmir, but any progress toward a peaceful settlement is good news. At least it shows a willingness to consider what was formerly unthinkable.

Home » Asia, India, War/Regional conflicts

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India

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | July 16th, 2001 | Trackback

More than 100 Hindi-speaking people have been killed in the last six weeks in Assam state, the most recent incident occurring Dec. 7 when 30 were massacred in Tinsukia district when rebels opened fire on them. The main separatist group in the area has been blamed for the attacks with the intent to destabilize the government. The militants are largely indigenous people who fear that they are being marginalized by “outsiders,” and they have been waging a separatist war for years.

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