#India voting process

[suniltams]

Voting Registration Process India

Registering as a Voter: A Step-by-Step Guide

Find the Nearest Electoral Registration Office or Booth Level Officer (BLO):

To begin the offline registration process, locate the nearest Electoral Registration Office or BLO in your area. These offices are set up at various levels to facilitate the registration of voters.

Collect and Fill out Form 6:

Once you have identified the appropriate office, visit it in person. Collect Form 6, which is the application form for registering as a new voter. The form is available free of cost at the office. Ensure that you obtain the latest version of the form.

Provide Required Documents:

Before filling out the form, gather the necessary documents required for registration. These typically include:

Proof of age: Documents such as birth certificate, school leaving certificate, or passport can be used as proof of age.

Proof of residence: Documents like Aadhaar card, driving license, passport, or utility bills can be submitted as proof of residence.

Make copies of these documents and attach them to the completed Form 6. Ensure that you provide all the required documents to avoid any delays in the registration process.

Fill out Form 6:

Take your time to carefully fill out Form 6. The form generally asks for personal details, including your name, address, date of birth, and contact information. Fill in the required information accurately and legibly. Double-check the form for any errors or missing information before submission.

Submit the Completed Form:

Once you have filled out the form and attached the necessary documents, visit the Electoral Registration Office or BLO again. Submit the completed form along with the supporting documents to the concerned officer. Ensure that you provide all the required information and documents as per the instructions.

Obtain an Acknowledgment Receipt:

Upon submission of the form, the officer will provide you with an acknowledgment receipt. This receipt serves as proof of your registration application. Keep it safely for future reference and tracking.

Conclusion:

Registering as a voter is a crucial step towards participating in the democratic process in India. By following the steps mentioned above, you can complete the offline registration process smoothly. Remember, it is important to register well in advance of any upcoming elections to ensure that you can exercise your right to vote. Stay informed, exercise your franchise, and contribute to shaping the future of our nation

Read How to Vote in India?

[march10]

In this second part of our podcast I’m discussing the role of institutions and contemporary democratic movements with Jyotishman Mudiar, who is running with his colleagues the youtube channel @IndiaGlobalLeft . Have a look at their content!

[reasonsforhope]

"It was widely described as the week that India’s beleaguered democracy was pulled back from the brink. As the election results rolled in on Tuesday [June 4, 2024], all predictions and polls were defied as Narendra Modi lost his outright majority for the first time in a decade while the opposition re-emerged as a legitimate political force. On Sunday evening, Modi will be sworn in as prime minister yet many believe his power and mandate stands diminished.

For one opposition politician in particular, the humbling of the strongman prime minister was a moment to savour. Late last year, Mahua Moitra, one of the most outspoken critics of Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), found herself unceremoniously expelled from parliament and kicked out of her bungalow, after what she described as a “political witch-hunt” for daring to stand up to Modi.

The murky and allegedly undemocratic circumstances of Moitra’s expulsion from parliament was seen by many to symbolise Modi’s approach to dissenting voices and the steady erosion of India’s democracy. She was among several vocal opposition politicians who were subjected to investigations by government crime agencies.

But having won a landslide re-election in her home state of West Bengal, Moitra will return once again to parliament, part of the newly empowered opposition coalition. “I can’t wait,” said Moitra. “They went to egregious lengths to discredit and destroy me and abused every process to do it. If I had gone down, it would have meant that brute force had triumphed over democracy.”

While he may be returning for a historic third term, many have portrayed the results as something of a defeat for Modi, who has had to rely on coalition partners to form a government. The BJP’s campaign had been solely centred around him – even the manifesto was titled “Modi’s guarantee” – and in many constituencies, local BJP candidates often played second fiddle to the prime minister, who loomed large over almost every seat. He told one interviewer he believed his mandate to rule was given directly by God.

“Modi’s aura was invincibility, that the BJP could not win elections without him,” said Moitra. “But the people of India didn’t give him a simple majority. They were voting against authoritarianism and they were voting against fascism. This was an overwhelming, resounding anti-Modi vote.”

During his past decade in power, Modi and the BJP enjoyed a powerful outright majority and oversaw an unprecedented concentration of power under the prime minister’s office, where key decisions were widely known to be made by a select few.

The Modi government was accused of imposing various authoritarian measures, including the harassment and arrest of critics under terrorism laws, while the country tumbled in global democracy and press freedom rankings. Modi never faced a press conference or any committee of accountability for the often divisive actions of his government. Politicians regularly complained that parliament was simply reduced to a rubber-stamping role for the BJP’s Hindu-first agenda.

Yet on Tuesday [June 40, it became clear that the more than 25 opposition parties, united as a coalition under the acronym INDIA, had inflicted substantial losses on the BJP to take away its simple majority. Analysts said the opposition’s performance was all the more remarkable given that the BJP stands accused of subverting and manipulating the election commission, as well as putting key opposition leaders behind bars and far outspending all other parties on its campaign. The BJP has denied any attempts to skew the election in its favour.

“This election proved that the voter is still the ultimate king,” said Moitra. “Modi was so shameless, yet despite them using every tool they had to engineer this election to their advantage, our democracy fought back.”

Moitra said she was confident it was “the end of Mr Modi’s autocratic way of ruling”. Several of the parties in the BJP’s alliance who he is relying on for a parliamentary majority and who will sit in Modi’s cabinet do not share his Hindu nationalist ideology...

Moitra was not alone in describing this week’s election as a reprieve for the troubling trajectory of India’s democracy. Columns heralding that the “mirror has cracked” and the “idea of India is reborn” were plastered across the country’s biggest newspapers, and editorials spoke of the end of “supremo syndrome”. “The bulldozer now has brakes,” wrote the Deccan Chronicle newspaper. “And once a bulldozer has brakes, it becomes just a lawnmower.” ...

“This was not a normal election, it was clearly an unfair and unlevel playing field,” said Yadav. “But still, there is now a hope and a possibility that the authoritarian element could be reversed.”

Harsh Mander, one of India’s most prominent human rights and peace activists who is facing numerous criminal investigations for his work, called the election the “most important in India’s post independence history”, adding: “The resilience of Indian democracy has proved to be spectacular.”

He said it was encouraging that an “intoxication of majoritarian hate politics” had not ultimately shaped the outcome, referring to Modi’s apparent attempts to stir up religious animosity on the campaign trail as he referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”.

“The past decade has seen the freedom of religion and the freedom of conscience and dissent taken away,” said Mander. “If this election had gone fully the BJP way, then India would not remain a constitutional secular democracy.”"

-via The Guardian, June 9, 2024

[metamatar]

Hello! I wanted to ask, what does 'you can't vote out fascism' actually mean in india's context? Are we talking about how fascism necessarily captures institutions making democratic processes undemocratic? Or is it a wider commentary on how the ideology itself cant be defeated by vote alone?

Re this. You got it. That's why the post was about all the voter intimidation and rigging the BJP did. I didn't go into the second, but yes, since 2014, more and more the average indian citizen includes someone who lynches their neighbour on suspicion of having eaten beef, participates in rallies celebrating hindu rapists who have muslim victims, humiliates muslim students in their care and cheers the destruction of the homes of those deemed anti national.

Voting is not enough because fascism is a popular movement. You need to do on the ground pedagogical and propoganda work to deradicalise people, you need to fix the economic conditions that make fascism attractive, you need to abolish the rot that is hinduism and you need to reform institutions so they do not succumb to this shit as they have.

[read-write-thrive]

part 1 (both girls in their full outfits) ; part 2 (Edwina in several other outfits/sketches) ; part 3 (the companion to this piece aka Edwina getting ready :)

part 4 of my fem!payneland fanart series!!!! as I talked about with the poll, I have quite a few variations of this piece as I couldn’t make up my mind on a few of the elements, but I listened to your feedback and have included them all here !! the winner of the poll is above the cut with the rest of the variations below to hopefully make this not take up too much of your dash lol

lmk what you think - especially people who voted on the poll!! I’ve also included my thought process below the cut since I know y’all are interested :)

- first and foremost: I have absolutely no idea what order someone would get ready in with all these outfit components, so if you’re sitting here like “why is her makeup done when she has to pull a shirt over her head?” or something like that: you’re probably correct but my getting ready process is always chaos and there aren’t exactly articles on this sort of thing

- along with that: her straightening her hair is probably not accurate to how hair works but again I’ve got v little experience to pull from and trying to find a proper reference was a pain in the ass

yes her bra is fully rendered and then got covered up by her arm. I'm still mad that I did that to myself but I like the pose too much to change it so oh well

- (onto actual historical stuff!!)

- her hair is being straightened here despite straight not being in style during this era for several reasons:

1. I based her hair (and a lot of her style, as per part 1) on Rhoda Dakar of the band The Bodysnatchers, which was an all-female band that was part of the ska revival in the late 70s/early 80s. Rhoda Dakar in particular is a British artist (who’s still making music!) with an English mother and Jamaican father—so not only was she one of the only women of color I could find as part of this subgenre/in ths era/with plenty of photo references, but considering Jayden Revri is Jamaican and English (alongside Indian) himself I thought it was fitting! Her Bodysnatchers look is also much more femme leaning than the rest of the band, as well as her hair styled in a way that suggests straightening, so I carried that over to Charlotte here as well.

2. On a related note, there is a clear historical and modern difference in hairstyles worn/made popular/deemed fashionable by non-white versus white individuals and I thought it only appropriate to acknowledge that in my design of her. I even went so far as to research how her mom’s hair may have been styled since I assume that’s who would’ve been teaching her how to care for her hair in the first place. With that, I looked at popular Indian hair trends from the 60s (figuring that’s when Charlotte’s mom could’ve still been in India and following those trends) which also involved a preference for straight/wavy hair, with soft fringe made popular by Sadhana and the styles ranging from long and luscious to styled up into a very 60s beehive. Charlotte could easily also rock a beehive, especially since the 60s revival was a part of the ska revival movement and Dakar herself styled her hair as such, but I figured Charlotte is a little too much of a rebellious teenager to go for a look she’s seen her mom wear!

- her makeup is based off of the different members of The Bodysnatchers as well as other punk/ska fans at the time. The look usually required more blush that what I gave her here, but I wanted to make sure the eyes were the feature (since Charles wears eyeliner himself) and then the lips being any less just looked weird to me. Also, Dakar doesn't seem to wear the same heavy blush that the other members do, which could be a stylistic choice but could also be the potential lack of blush shades that would work well on her skin tone, so I went that route for Charlotte here

- her underwear is all based off of meticulous searching of historical advertisements, though I will admit the sources are (presumably) American since I couldn't find British equivalents (I'm hoping the styles were similar enough...) in particular:

1. Her bra is based off of: Playtex’s New Made for Me, Playtex’s Right For Me, and Playtex’s Thank Goodness It Fits (which are seriously the names of these as per the ads—how creative /s)

2. Her panties (or pants or underwear or whatever term you want to use) are based off of: Sears Best’s Nylon tricot panties, Sears Very Impressive Panties Nylon panties, and JCPenny’s eiderlon fashion panties

3. (In the below variations) Her pantyhose are theoretically based on L’eggs and Spirit by Stevens’s Slim & Slender pantyhose. But, honestly, they’re mostly based on my own experience wearing hose bc almost none of the ads showed how the gusset of the pantyhose actually looked so I needed to fill in the gaps (one of the many reasons I’m still unhappy with them—plus the wrinkles would not look right no matter what I did !!)

4. Her socks are called slouch socks! I don’t have a specific brand for them but the style was all the rage in the 80s-90s (and I want to own some so bad ngl)

- the hair straightener is just a blob based on the reference photo since trying to research historical hair tools was beyond me at the time apparently, but the style of outlet/plug is accurate to Britain in 1989 so there’s that at least (I have no idea why my brain works like this)

- since I talked about it in the poll I feel like I should address it here: technically having a bush was well out of fashion by 1989 due to the grooming boom and new types of hair removal popular throughout the 80s and 90s. However, she’s wearing multiple layers over it and is technically a teenager (in an abusive household and a catholic all-girls school, at that) so I kept going back and forth on it. It won the poll so it’s in the main post, but you’ll see in the below variations that I really went back and forth on it. that being said I do think it’s interesting given her nylon pants being semi-sheer besides at the gusset, so I’m not mad at it. plus I figured she was definitely shaving her legs/underarms, so maybe that balances it out ?

and finally here’s the other seven variations of this piece :) lmk what you think!!

[odinsblog]

Musk reactivated the accounts of Brazilian far-right politicians Carla Zambelli, Gustavo Gayer, and Nikolas Ferreira. Ferreira, a Bolsonaro supporter, openly questioned the security of Brazil’s electronic voting machines, even though he won his local legislative race.

“All of these names have been problematic for years on social media,” says Flora Rebello Arduini, campaign director at the nonprofit advocacy organization Ekō. “They've been pushing for the far-right and election misinformation for ages.”

When Musk purchased Twitter in 2022, later renaming it X, many activists in Brazil worried that he would abuse the platform to push his own agenda, Arduini says. “He has unprecedented broadcasting abilities. He is bullying a supreme court justice of a democratic country, and he is showing he will use all the resources he has available to push for whatever favors his personal opinions or his professional ambitions.”

Under Musk, X has become a haven for the far right and disinformation. After taking over, Musk offered amnesty to users who had been banned from the platform, including right-wing influencer Andrew Tate, who, along with his brother, was indicted in Romania on several charges including with rape and human trafficking in June 2023 (he has denied the allegations). Last month, one of Tate's representatives told the BBC that "they categorically reject all charges."

A 2023 study found that hate speech has increased on the platform under Musk’s leadership. The situation in Brazil is just the latest instance of Musk aligning himself with and platforming dangerous, far-right movements around the world, experts tell WIRED. "It's not about Twitter or Brazil. It's about a strategy from the global far right to overcome democracies and democratic institutions around the world," says Nina Santos, a digital democracy researcher at the Brazilian National Institute of Science & Technology who researches the Brazilian far right. “An opinion from an American billionaire should not count more than a democratic institution.”

This also comes as Brazil has continued working to understand and investigate the lead-up to January 8, 2023, when election-denying insurrectionists who refused to accept right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro’s defeat stormed Brazil’s legislature. The TSE, the country’s election court, is a special judicial body that investigates electoral crimes and is part of the mechanism for overseeing the country’s electoral processes overall. The court has been investigating the dissemination of fake news and disinformation that cast doubt on the country’s elections in the months and years leading up to the storming of the legislature on January 8, 2023. Both Arduini and Santos believe that the accounts Musk is refusing to remove are likely connected to the court’s inquiry.

“A life-and-death struggle recently took place in Brazil for the democratic rule of law and against a coup d'état, which is under investigation by this court in compliance with due legal process,” Luís Roberto Barroso, the president of the federal supreme court, said in a statement about Musk’s comments. “Nonconformity against the prevalence of democracy continues to manifest itself in the criminal exploitation of social networks.”

Santos also worries that Musk is setting a precedent that the far right will be protected and promoted on his platform, regardless of local laws or public opinion. “They are trying to use Brazil as a laboratory on how to interfere in local politics and local businesses,” she says. “They are making the case that their decision is more important than the national decision from a state democratic institution.”

Though Musk has claimed to be a free-speech advocate, and X’s public statement on the takedowns asserts that Brazilians are entitled to free speech, the platform’s application of these principles has been uneven at best. In February, on order of the Indian government, X blocked the accounts Hindutva Watch and the India Hate Lab in India, two US-based nonprofits that track incidents of religiously motivated violence perpetrated by supporters of the country’s right-wing government. A 2023 study from the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard found that X complied with more government takedown requests under Musk’s leadership than it had previously.

In March, X blocked the accounts of several prominent researchers and journalists after they identified a well-known neo-Nazi cartoonist, later changing its own terms of service to justify the decision.

—Elon Musk Is Platforming Far-Right Activists in Brazil

[geekedoutbunny]

Shiva x Reader Headcanon - Love is a process

MASTER LIST | NSFW CONTENT

Shiva, The Indian God, The Strongest God of India, The God of Destruction, and The God of Dance. He went by many titles, and he held them all with great pride, but the best title that he held, was The God of Many Lovers.

It was no secret that Shiva was a lover and that he loved having many wives, he adored his family and his friends. He was a fighter, but he was also a lover. He enjoyed dancing and making new friends. He loved it all so much, he was easily bored and was always off on a new adventure, but his newest and toughest adventure was yet to come.

It all starts with you, the deity of patients. You were humble and off on your own most of the time, it was rare when you came to a meeting, you were almost a legend, with how little you were seen. But you weren't, you were just very quiet. You didn't care too much for giant crowds and loud noises. You prefer the quietness of nature. You were usually around Buddha and Jesus, they were some of the more relaxed and peaceful gods in the lands of Valhalla, you enjoyed their company more than the others far, you didn't know of Shiva until the great meeting about humanity's fate.

Zeus, the leader of the gods, sat on his great throne of judgment, he held his gavel in his shaking hand, ready to cast judgment upon the human race. But, a lone Valkyrie stood, you personally didn't care too much for the human race, they were so loud and annoying, you voted for them to be killed off,

The sound of another god wanting the same caught your attention and you looked over at him. He was blue, with four arms, each having similar tattoos on them, they were dark blue, he had yellow tented eyes with orange pupils, around his head he had a yellow cloth wrapped around it. On his forehead was another eye, it was sideways and it was red and yellow with a black slit for the pupil.

He was wearing some yellow pants too, he was rather handsome. He was, however, very loud and too energetic for you and you didn't care too much for that. Once the meeting was over, you left, going to your lonesome, but you were stopped by the same blue handsome god.

"Hey, you're one of the deities that wander around here, right? I don't think I've ever seen such a beauty like yourself before." He said in a casual tone with a cocky smirk, you stared at him a moment longer, before you turned and continued on your way.

His smile dropped as he ran after you. "Hey, wait!!" He called after you, but you didn't look back, as you continue on your way. He huffed, but he followed you non the less. He spoke of himself and his life, but you didn't care too much, but you did listen to some of his words. Such as how he was The God of Destruction and that he was from India and that his name was Shiva. That was all you really cared about.

He followed you until you both entered a quiet area, he stopped in his strides, and he looked about in amazement at the place. "Wow, this place is beautiful... I didn't even know that Heaven even had a place like it." He said in a hushed voice, he was at a loss for words. You looked back at him and smiled. "This is the land of the celestials." You said. He looked around at the scenery. "It's beautiful here." He said. You smiled and walked over to your area he mindlessly followed you.

The place was like a beautiful and lushes jungle, the trees and the grass was so green and healthy, the flowers were from all over the earth, and they were just as big, the waters were crystal clear and it was so clean, the fishes and the animals were all so big and strong, even the fishes were too. In the waters, he could see almost every ocean combined into one, and every fish was swimming around in the waters.

The animals too were from all over the earth, they all lived in peace and harmony, there was no predator and prey, and they were all united as one. He followed you toward your area, which was under a pink willow tree, he observed the area. There were trees he never even heard of or seen before. They grew everything you could think of, from objects to snacks to food to vegetables and fruits. Even some of the trees were of colors he never saw before. He then watched as you made your way under the tree, the shading was perfect, and underneath you had a large pillow waiting for you.

It was surrounded by books, sleeping animals, and snacks. You got comfortable on your pillow, picked up a snack and you popped it into your mouth, you hummed happily at the taste and you picked up your book and began reading it. Shiva stared at you for a moment, before he decided to join you. He popped his own green pillow into existence next to yours, and he plopped down next to you. His upper arms were behind his back while his lower arms, and he laced his fingers together and rested them on his stomach.

He stared at the scenery, bewitched by its rare and unique beauty. You both sat in comfortable silence for a few hours, before he began talking. "My wives and son would love this place." He spoke quietly. You arched a brow at this, your eyes still tracing over the words in your book. "You have a family?" You asked him. He nodded. "Yeah, I may not seem like it, but I'm a family man and a ladies' man." He said with a devious smirk. You rolled your eyes at his words, but you smiled non the less.

"Are your wives also deities?" You asked him. He nodded his head once more. "Yup, they're all from India, and they're all so lovely too." He said in a fond voice, his eyes soft in the thought of his wives. You looked over at him, seeing his soft features, and you smiled at him. He seemed like a pompous ass who only liked to brag about himself when you first met him, but now that you're seeing him in a better light, he was actually a decent and honorable man.

You would say God, but Shiva was showing signs that he was more humanized than he let on.

After that, Shiva came by every day, he always came alone, and he'd relax with you for hours, you'll both engage in a light conversation, every now and then, Shiva's energetic side would come out, and he's have you dance with him, you'd always decline him, but his energy was so joyous and contagious that it'll make you get up and dance with him. You had great fun with him.

He eventually started to bring his wives with him, one by one, and you got to meet his wives. Parvati, Durga, and Kali. Parvati was the sweetest of the three, she was quiet and sweet, and you liked her the most. Durga was the most aggressive of the wives, she was rowdy and was quick to fight, but she was also more civil than her husband, you eventually learned to like her. Kali was a wild lady, she was hyper and mischievous yet she was sweet, she was a bittersweet pill.

He eventually brought his son, Ganesha, who was surprisingly a little pink elephant. You looked at his son, and then towards his wife, and lastly toward him... where the hell did the elephant come from? You silently pondered, but he noticed your expression and he waved you off. "Don't ask about it, it's weird." He said and you took him at his word. The more he visited with his family, the more you felt at ease and comfortable with them, and you quickly felt like you were one of them.

They treated you like family, they sang songs with you, they danced with you, and they shared their food and stories with you. You never felt so welcome. But you were a slow mover, you were the deity of patients after all, and you stuck to your own beliefs too. You slowly opened up to them, but it was so slow till it almost looked like you were distinct from them. Shiva would try to rush you into joining them, but you'd always decline, making him frustrated.

But you'd just smile at his childish behaviors. As time went on, he began learning how to approach you, it was hard for him, but he eventually got it, along with his wives and his son. Within 50 years, he had finally learned how to deal with you, and he felt proud of himself, but he popped you a question that you knew was coming up.

"Y/n, will you marry me?" He asked, you looked up from your book, and over at him. You then shook your head, and he gawked at you. "HUH!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NO'"!? He shouted in disbelief, you smiled at him. "I just don't feel like settling down yet, you're a sweet man Shiva, and your wives are very lovely, and Ganesha is very sweet, but I'm not ready yet, wait a little longer?" You explained and finished with a question as you cupped his cheek.

He pouted at your words, He placed one of his upper hands on your hand that was on his cheek, while the opposite lower hand was placed on your waist. "But, Y/n, It's been 50 years, surely that's more than enough time for you to make up your mind!! I've been so patient with you, I did everything you needed from me, so why?" He asked you, the hurt in his eyes shined brightly, and you couldn't help but see the human in them. Shiva was a unique case to you, he was born a god, yet he was the most human out of all the gods.

"I'm well aware, Shiva, but just give me time, after all, Love is a process." You said, as your thumb caressed his cheek, and he leaned into it. After that, Shiva didn't ask you anymore, but he treated you like you were already his. He was trying to be patient and he was doing so very well, he would come by once a week, keeping balance among all his spouses, he was quite the master at it. He was still his energetic self, but he learned to be more quieter and relaxed around you.

Another 50 years have passed, and you still weren't ready to marry yet, but Shiva didn't ask this time, he didn't want to rush you, because he was understanding that for you, love was in patients. Another 50 years went by, and this time, he asked you. "Y/n, will you do me the honor, of marrying me?" He asked you, he was resting on your pillow, he's taken to cuddling with you, wrapping one of his lower arms around your waist while his upper two rested under his head.

You were once again reading your book, you closed the book, and you looked over at him. "Yes, Shiva, I'll marry you." You said in a soft voice. His eyes widen, and they shined like a baby who was tasting sugar for the first time. He then jumped up and he wrapped you in his arms as he celebrated. 'WHOO HOOO!!!! I'M GONNA GET MARRIED!!!" He shouted into the air, you cringed at his loudness, but you hugged him back either way just last tightly.

He laughed a joyous laugh, and you smiled, your head tucked into his chest. He was so happy he jumped up with you, asking you to dance with him in celebration, you laughed and you joined him, dancing to the sound of the wind that rustled the vegetation around you both, congratulating you on your union.

MASTER LIST | NSFW CONTENT

[mohabbaat]

Still everyone knows kuch bhi hoon jaye PM kisi ko banayege aur bana bhi diya toh itna easy nahi hoga for india alliance

Dusra this time BJP ke liye kuch bhi easy nahi hai na bill pass , aur na changes toh 5 years will be difficult for everyone

Aur logo ne toh casting, religion pe vote de diya toh kya hi hoga

agreed. india alliance is vvv unstable. even if they win the government will not be able to do much. for one, the pm/cabinet ministers selection process itself will be messy. but if they lose and manage to stay together they will be a formidable opposition. bjp won't be able to take any decision unilaterally. so a win is a win!!!

[tomorrowusa]

This is a good idea...

Ban fossil fuel ads to save climate, says UN chief

Tobacco ads were banned on TV and radio in the early 1970s in the United States. That began a process of denormalization of tobacco which has continued in the years since then.

Climate change likely played a role in India's national election.

The hidden story behind India’s remarkable election results: lethal heat

The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), led by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has won more seats than the opposition alliance, and yet its victory tastes of defeat. Why? In the days leading to the election, the BJP’s main slogan had been Abki baar, 400 Paar, a call to voters to send more than 400 of its candidates to the 543-member parliament. This slogan, voiced by Modi at his campaign rallies, set a high bar for the party. Most exit polls had predicted a massive victory for the BJP – and now the results, with that party having won only 240 seats, suggest that the electorate has sent a chastening message to the ruling party and trimmed its hubris. [ ... ] People in Patna voted on 1 June, the last day of the seven-phase polling schedule. In Patna, the temperature had hovered above 40C. Local newspapers carried government ads exhorting voters to exercise their franchise, as well as half-page ads from the health ministry offering advice about how to avoid heatstroke. In the days leading to the voting in Patna, there were reports of personnel at polling stations dying from the heat. In the nation’s capital, Delhi, there were protests over water shortages. Last week, the temperature in Delhi hit 49.9C.

For the Celsius-challenged, 49.9° C = 121.8° F. That's just 0.2° F short of the all time record high temperature in Phoenix, Arizona which reputedly has "dry" heat.

As it turned out the ruling BJP did win the election but will be able to govern only with the help of electoral allies. The BJP had been boasting about getting 400 seats in the 543 seat Lok Sabha - the lower house of parliament. It ended up with just 240 with its allies winning 53 for a total of 293 seats. It is a modest working majority but is way down from the 353 seats won by the BJP & allies in the previous election.

Climate was certainly not the only issue in the election but experiencing a severe heat wave in which people were dropping dead at polling places is bound to have an impact. Politicians in India may now be more open to moving away from fossil fuels. The opposition would be wise to make climate change a bigger issue.

[particularj]

The UN Chief has invoked Article 99 of the charter, something that has not been done since 1971, during a particularly bloody phase of India-Pakistan fighting that resulted in the establishment of Bangladesh.

It calls for an immediate ceasefire under international law, to be voted on by the Security Council.

A couple things could happen:

-If the US votes it down or vetos, it signals what I think is the end of international rule since WWII. A single country being able to stop enforcement of international law to at the highest order so that a genocide may continue would be a death knell to the flimsy frame upholding current international politics and decorum.

-If the US does not somehow block this move, Israel potentially could be charged with war crimes if they continue to fire upon Gaza. It’s unclear what will happen from there, since that is a long process and over 17,000 are already dead in Gaza in less than 60 days.

In any case, I suspect that Netanyahu is being set up to be the fall guy for all of Israel’s actions. A couple far right cabinet members may go with him. Think, essentially, what is happening to Trump or what did happen to Milosevic. The occupationist establishment is willing to sacrifice an aging maniac to avoid any real consequences to Israel as a whole. This gives them time to continue expanding into the West Bank, control Gaza so it remains a disaster zone, and wait for an opportunity to push further next time Hamas or another entity that arises from this dares to fight back.

Netanyahu’s government already responded, saying a ceasefire is unacceptable and calling the UN Sec. General’s letter is a “new moral low” and shows their “bias” against Israel, that they will not stop until Hamas is defeated (something that is very unlikely through military action and is really an excuse to commit genocide, kill UN officials, kill journalists, and destroy civil and resistance infrastructures.)

Don’t stop taking about Palestine. Don’t stop talking about Sudan. Bring attention to these atrocities and demand action / donate to relief / spread the word / protest in any way you can.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

How to Understand Brazil’s Stance on Venezuela’s Election

Lula’s policy is an attempt to exert influence over Brazil’s neighbor, but the recent past suggests this may have limited effect.

In the aftermath of what looks to have been a blatantly fraudulent election in Venezuela on July 28, the administration of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has decided to join Mexico and Colombia to help facilitate a dialogue between the Maduro administration and the opposition.

This has reignited familiar discussions about Brazil’s foreign policy strategy. Similarly to its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Brazil has sought to craft a “neutral strategy,” predictably enraging those who say the facts are too clear to justify fence-sitting. Thirty former Latin American presidents recently exhorted Lula to take a tougher stance to defend democracy in Venezuela. Be it growing tensions between the West and China, the war between Russia and Ukraine, or Venezuela’s descent into full-blown dictatorship, Brazil—just like other large powers in the Global South, such as India or Indonesia—often opts for an ambiguous stance to keep all doors open. This is often described as “pragmatism” by its supporters and decried as hypocritical or morally questionable by critics.

Those opposed to Lula’s strategy of seeking to persuade Venezuelan electoral authorities to release the vote tally sheets before deciding whether to accept Maduro’s claim of victory see it as playing into the hands of Venezuela’s president. After all, calling for an “impartial verification of the results” in a country without properly functioning checks and balances or an independent electoral justice system implicitly ends up lending an autocratic government a veneer of legitimacy, as if an impartial verification were possible. Lula has a history of making similar remarks about Russia, such as calling for an independent investigation into the death, earlier this year, of Putin opponent Alexei Navalny, who endured conditions in prison that have been described as amounting to torture.

In addition, the initiative by Brazil, Colombia and Mexico certainly helps Maduro buy time as he hopes the international community will move on once the next crisis emerges someplace else, repeating a strategy he has successfully pursued for years. Lula’s off-the-cuff description of the Venezuelan elections as a “standard and orderly” process and the enthusiastic support of much of the Workers Party for Venezuela’s dictator substantiated Lula’s critics’ position. For them, Brazil was unwilling to condemn Maduro’s transition to “Ortega-style” rule, inadvertently helping Maduro avoid broader diplomatic isolation in the West and ultimately being Maduro’s “useful idiot.” Lula’s diplomatic advisor Celso Amorim’s comment that he had “no confidence” in the vote tallies provided by the opposition is likely to deepen this type of criticism further.

Those who defend Lula’s strategy, on the other hand, question the rush to denounce Maduro and say Brazil’s president is just being prudent. The Brazilian government’s argument is that cutting all diplomatic ties with Caracas would simply deepen Venezuela’s isolation, pushing it even closer to the likes of Russia, Iran and China. It’s an argument that deserves attention. Brazilian diplomats rightly point out that the strategy by Western and Latin American countries of recognizing former opposition leader Juan Guiadó a few years ago failed spectacularly and forced governments into awkwardly reestablishing ties to the Venezuelan regime as Maduro’s hold on power proved more resilient than anticipated. Finally, with both the United States and European governments facing other geopolitical challenges higher up on the list of priorities, having Brazil take the lead on the thankless task of dealing with the crisis in Venezuela has been welcomed by several Western nations.

Continue reading.

[mariacallous]

In 2017, Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair cofounded the fact-checking website AltNews in India. Almost immediately, the pair were targeted with persistent and vicious attacks from the far-right news website OpIndia. Many of the attacks claimed that Zubair was a Rohingya Muslim who illegally migrated to India and that his cousin was a rapist. In several headlines, the site described Zubair as an “Islamist” spreading fake news.

This wasn’t far off from OpIndia’s other coverage: In addition to routinely attacking journalists and news sites critical of the government, OpIndia spreads conspiracies and, at times, outright disinformation, particularly about the country’s minority Muslim population. Founded in 2014, OpIndia is regularly name-checked by leading lawmakers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the site admits it is funded in part by ads run by the BJP. As hundreds of millions of Indians vote in elections across the country, critics fear that OpIndia’s election-related disinformation and overt support of the Modi government could further undermine trust in the democratic process. Already, the website has echoed Modi’s widely criticized description of the Muslim vote as “vote jihad.”

Yet despite this, US tech companies, which have rules against hate speech and disinformation, continue to platform OpIndia and, in some cases, allow it to continue to make money through advertising. OpIndia has a robust presence on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Additionally, a new report, shared exclusively with WIRED, has found that Google’s ad platform is being used to partially fund OpIndia’s operation.

“In an increasingly polarized space, they create a vicious narrative against you,” Sinha tells WIRED. “All of this is narrative building. Their job is to defame anyone who's critical of the government, and that's what they do.”

Despite repeated efforts by activists to defund the site—and the fact that publications that have partnered with a Google-supported election fact-checking initiative, Shakti, have fact-checked OpIndia’s articles and found it routinely publishes fake news—OpIndia continues to operate thanks in part to ads that Google’s ad exchange platform places next to its content. In 2019, Poynter’s International Fact Checking Network, which accredits publications as trustworthy arbiters of information, rejected OpIndia’s application.

“Google’s own publisher policies prohibit the monetization of content that incites hatred, incitement of racism, promoting discrimination of an individual or group,” says Sarah Kay Wiley, director of policy and partnerships at Check My Ads, a nonprofit digital advertising watchdog organization and author of the new report. “Google also says that they don't monetize or work with publishers that make claims that are false and could significantly undermine trust in an election or democratic process.”

Ad exchanges allow publishers to sell ad space and advertisers to buy it through an entirely automated process that happens in the split seconds before a website loads. Ad sellers and buyers set limits for price and spending, with Google taking a cut of all transactions. Because of the automated nature of the process, advertisers likely don’t realize that their products are showing up next to hateful and misleading content.

Other ad exchanges such as Magnite have discontinued working with OpIndia. If Google were to stop working with OpIndia, says Wiley, that “would definitely have a material impact.”

On Facebook, OpIndia runs pages in English and Hindi, with 310,000 followers and 431,000 followers in each language, respectively. Both pages list their administrator as Aadhyaasi Media and Content Services Private Limited, which owns OpIndia.

On its Hindi page, OpIndia has shared stories promoting the “love jihad” conspiracy theory, which asserts that Muslim men are trying to marry, seduce, or kidnap Hindus in order to force them to convert and create a demographic shift in Hindu-majority India, and has promoted false claims, including that a new inheritance law would reallocate wealth from Hindus to Muslims. Meta spokesperson Erin McPike did not comment on whether this content violated Meta’s policies, nor on whether Meta takes into account the violations of the Hindi page when assessing the English page.

These narratives then get picked up and spread on other platforms, like X and Telegram, says Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, an analyst with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. “In some of these places there’s even more explicit calls for violence against Muslims or for the removal of Muslims,” he says. The site has international appeal as well: WIRED was able to find OpIndia articles shared in non-Indian, right-wing channels on Telegram, including a pro-Kremlin channel with over 1.3 million subscribers and numerous conspiracy channels with hundreds of thousands of followers.

The site is also highly active on the social media platform X with the official OpIndia account, which has 688,000 subscribers. OpIndia appears to pay for X Premium, giving it a blue checkmark, but did not respond to whether it subscribes to the service. WIRED has identified at least half a dozen OpIndia writers, columnists, and editors, including editor in chief Nupur Sharma, who has more than 680,000 followers, who appear to be subscribed to X Premium.

Sharma did not respond to a question about OpIndia monetizing its content via X Premium, and the company itself also failed to respond.

“It’s a hyper-partisan, right-wing outlet that set themselves up by saying that mainstream news media in India have a liberal bias, very similar to what American right-wing outlets say about professional journalism in America,” says Kalyani Chadha, an associate professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University who published an in-depth report in 2020 on India’s right-wing media ecosystem that included OpIndia. “They bill themselves as a news outlet, but there's not a lot of original reporting. A lot of it is commentary and opinion.”

In addition to Sinha and Zubair, OpIndia has regularly targeted journalists and outlets it sees as “far left.” In one piece, the site’s staff listed the Indian journalists and publications supposedly associated with billionaire George Soros, who has long been the target of conspiracies from the global far right. In another, they attacked veteran journalist Ravish Kumar, falsely accusing him of harboring sympathies for the perpetrators of a 2019 rape case. OpIndia has also spent years attacking Raqib Hameed Naik, an Indian journalist and the founder of India Hate Lab, which documents instances of hate speech and conspiracies that target India’s minority communities. This, he says, was made all the harder by government officials sharing the articles.

“The goal is to amplify this disinformation, and you have BJP leaders sharing this, so people think it’s authentic,” says Naik. “In the long term, this kind of builds the case against a critic, a journalist, that this person is bad, because there is reporting against them.”

When WIRED contacted OpIndia for comment, Sharma responded to our emailed questions by posting her responses on X.

When asked about hate speech and disinformation on her site, Sharma wrote: “Our critics are mostly Islamists, Jihadis, Terrorists, Leftists and their sympathizers—like yourself. We don't particularly care about any of them.” She then added that “Islamophobia does not exist” and pointed to an OpIndia article that outlines her position. Sharma added that it was “none of your concern” when asked if OpIndia was funded by the BJP. Sharma’s post also tagged one of the authors of this story, who then faced a torrent of abuse from Sharma’s followers.

For years, activists and researchers have tried to highlight the problematic content published by OpIndia. A 2020 campaign from UK-based advocacy group Stop Funding Hate led to a number of advertisers removing their ads from the site. Google, however, says the content published on the site does not appear to breach its own rules.

"All sites in our network, including Opindia, must adhere to our publisher policies, which explicitly prohibit ads from appearing alongside content promoting hate speech, violence, or demonstrably false claims that could undermine trust or participation in an election,” Google spokesperson Michael Aciman says. “Publishers are also subject to regular reviews, and we actively block or remove ads from any violating content."

Despite this, users can find ads for Temu or the Palm Beach Post next to many OpIndia articles promoting conspiracies and Islamophobia, placed with the help of ad-exchange platforms like Google’s Ad Manager, which is the market leader.

Facebook, meanwhile, says Wiley, is more of a “walled garden.” Once a publisher meets the company’s criteria for monetization, including having more than 1,000 followers, it can earn money from ads that run on the page.

While researchers that spoke to WIRED were unable to tell exactly how much the site has made from Google Ads and Facebook monetization, they said it’s likely that OpIndia is not solely reliant on the ad exchange for its revenue. It appears that, as with many news outlets in India, part of that funding comes in the form of more traditional advertising from a major client: the government.

“A large section of India's mainstream press depends on the government ads for their survival,” says Prashanth Bhat, professor of media studies at the University of Houston. “That revenue is critical for the mainstream media survival in a hypercompetitive media environment like in India. We have about 400 round-the-clock television news channels in India in different languages, and we have over 10,000 registered newspapers. For them to survive, they definitely need government patronage.”

Sharma confirmed that OpIndia is reliant in part on ads from the government. “Literally every media house gets advertising from various political parties,” said Sharma. “In fact, a part of your salary could also be funded by such parties and/or their sympathizers. Do get down from your high horse.”

The BJP has, however, also sought to help OpIndia in other ways. In 2019, the BJP reached out to Meta directly, asking the company to allow OpIndia to monetize on Facebook. Meta spokesperson McPike told WIRED that OpIndia’s English page is still able to monetize but that monetization on its Hindi page is currently not allowed “due to violations of our policies.”

“In order to monetize on Facebook, Pages must comply with our community standards, our partner monetization policies, and our content monetization policies,” McPike says.

Google did not respond to questions from WIRED about whether it had ever received a similar request from the Indian government. Google’s Aciman says, “As we do with all publishers, we’ve taken prior page-level enforcement action on this site when we’ve found policy violations. We will of course continue to enforce our policies on violating content across our publisher network.”

X did not respond to questions about whether OpIndia and its staff are able to monetize through X Premium or whether the company has ever received requests from the government to restore content from OpIndia or its staff. The company has complied with several takedown requests from the Indian government to ban accounts or tweets critical of the government.

But Wiley says that without transparency on the part of tech companies as to how they’re deciding which organizations are able to earn money through ads—and how much—outlets like OpIndia will continue to fall through the cracks.

“The business model of the internet at the end of the day is advertising, and what we're seeing over and over again is, that business model is broken,” she says. “Advertisers don't know where their money is going. And the biggest issue is that a lot of that is being funneled to mis- and disinformation online.”

[ajmal-v]

Understanding the Lok Sabha Elections: A Comprehensive Guide for Political Science Students

The Lok Sabha elections, a pivotal event in India’s democratic framework, offer a rich field of study for political science students. Since India’s independence in 1952, these elections have been a cornerstone of the country’s democratic process, shaping its political landscape and governance.

Key Stakeholders in the Lok Sabha Elections

The Lok Sabha elections involve a diverse range of stakeholders, each playing a crucial role in the electoral process. These include the Election Commission of India, which oversees the conduct of elections, and the political parties and candidates who vie for the electorate’s votes.

The voters themselves, the media, civil society organizations, security forces, and observers/international agencies also play significant roles. Each stakeholder has a unique part in shaping the election’s outcome and, by extension, the country’s political future.

The Lok Sabha Election Process

Understanding the Lok Sabha election process is fundamental to grasping the complexities of India’s democratic governance. The process involves several stages:

Electoral Constituencies: The country is divided into various electoral constituencies, each represented by a Member of Parliament.

Voter Registration: Eligible citizens are registered as voters.

Nomination of Candidates: Political parties or independent candidates file their nominations for the elections.

Campaigning: Candidates and parties campaign to win the electorate’s favor.

Voting: Registered voters cast their votes on Election Day.

Counting of Votes and Formation of Government: Votes are counted, and the party or alliance with the majority of seats forms the government.

Focus Areas for Political Science Students

Political science students studying the Lok Sabha elections should focus on several key areas to understand the complexities of democratic governance and political evolution. These include learning about electoral systems, political parties and alliances, election monitoring and reform, and voter behavior and participation.

By studying these areas, students can gain a comprehensive understanding of the Lok Sabha elections, equipping them with the knowledge to analyze and interpret the dynamics of India’s political landscape. To know more, read this blog

[news-of-the-day]

5/28/24

A massive landslide in Papua New Guinea buried possibly 2000 people last Friday. Hope of finding survivors is rapidly diminishing. The country is requesting the UN help coordinate resources to help, like heavy machinery to move debris, drones to map instability, extra manpower, etc.

Israel is pushing into Rafah in the face of the International Court of Justice demanding that Israel stop. An airstrike hit a tent camp that killed 45 people, and Netanyahu made a very rare concession that was a mistake, but considering, you know, all the other death it seems odd he chose this incident specifically. The Pentagon said it was suspending humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza after the floating pier it used was damaged as well as several vessels were beached due to strong currents and bad weather.

Closing statements were made at the Trump hush money trial, and it will now go to the jury.

The DNC is holding a "virtual roll call" to nominate Biden. Ohio said its ballot deadline was August 7th and the DNC convention starts on August 19th, so then people would not be able to vote for him in Ohio if the DNC doesn't expedite the process. In reality Biden has more or less been voted in as the Democratic candidate, but isn't officially until the convention when states send representatives to vote him in. Conventions are vestiges of when candidates were chosen in "smoke-filled rooms" by party top brass, but it's a way to hype up voters.

South Africa is having its elections tomorrow. Mandela's African National Congress party (ANC) has held a solid majority since apartheid ended, but massive corruption in recent years may topple it. The country has had enough political assassinations post-apartheid that it has its own wikipedia page, but for this upcoming election, the killings seem to be ramping up.

The military controlling Burkina Faso is extending its control for an additional five years before relinquishing control back to civilian rule. The country had two coups in 2022. Who knows if the transition will actually happen.

Mexico City announced it could run out of water in a month due to three years of drought.

Last February a forest fire killed 137 people in Chile. Over the weekend a firefighter and forestry official were arrested for starting it.

A fire tore through a newborns hospital in India, killing seven babies.

NYT 2) BBC, AP, Washington Post 3) AP 4) Politico 5) BBC, Washington Post 6) Al Jazeera 7) Marketplace 8) WION 9) Hindustan Times

[follow-up-news]

India on Friday announced three-phased assembly elections in disputed Kashmir, the first in a decade and in a new political environment after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019 stripped the Muslim-majority region of its semi-autonomy and downgraded it to a federally controlled territory. Since those changes the region has remained on edge, governed by a New Delhi appointed administrator and run by bureaucrats with no democratic credentials. The new polls will be held between Sept.18 and Oct. 1, India’s Election Commission said at a news conference in the capital, New Delhi. The vote will take place in a staggered process that allows the government to deploy tens of thousands of troops to prevent any outbreak of violence. Votes will be counted on Oct. 4. The multi-stage voting will elect a local government — a chief minister who will serve as the region’s top official with a council of ministers — from pro-India parties participating in the elections. However, contrary to the past, the local assembly will barely have any legislative powers with only nominal control over education and culture. Legislating laws for the region will continue to be with India’s parliament while policy decisions will be made in the capital.

[abhishekpandey123]

Elections in India

India’s national election will take place in phases over 44 days. Here’s why it takes so long

Nearly 970 million people or over 10% of the global population are eligible to vote in India’s general elections. The mammoth exercise is the biggest anywhere in the world and will take 44 days before results are announced on June 4.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aiming for a third consecutive term in office. He is set to compete against a diverse yet faltering coalition of opposition parties who are finding it difficult to counter his popularity. The majority of polls forecast a comfortable victory for the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, solidifying his position as one of the most prominent and influential leaders in the country.

WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG?

Two primary factors contribute to this situation: the vast expanse of India, the most populous nation globally, and the intricate logistics required to enable each eligible voter to participate in the electoral process.

Over the years, the duration of voting has wavered. It took nearly four months to complete the vote in India’s first elections in 1951-1952, after it gained independence from British rule, and just four days in 1980. In 2019, voting took 39 days, and this year’s election is the second longest.

With 969 million registered voters, the size of India’s electorate is bigger than the combined population of the 27 European Union member states. This includes 18 million first-time voters, and around 197 million who are in their 20s.

The vote to choose 543 lawmakers for the lower house of Parliament takes place over seven phases. India’s 28 states and eight federal territories will vote at different times. Each phase is one day, with the first held on April 19 and the last on June 1.

Some states may complete their voting process within a day, while others might require more time. For instance, Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in India with a population of 200 million, equivalent to the size of Brazil, will conduct voting over seven days. This extended duration of the voting process in India's general elections has been criticized by Modi's opponents, who argue that it provides an advantage to the prime minister in terms of campaigning and travel, particularly in states where his party is not as strong.

EVERY VOTE COUNTS

The Election Commission of India is responsible for ensuring that a voting booth is accessible within a 2-kilometer radius of each voter. Chakshu Roy from PRS Legislative Research emphasized the extensive efforts election officials must undertake to enable every voter to cast their ballot. Around 15 million election officials and security personnel will travel across deserts and mountains, utilizing various modes of transportation such as boats, walking, and even horseback riding, to reach all voters.

It can be especially arduous. In 2019, when India last held elections, a team of polling officers trekked over 480 kilometers (300 miles) for four days just so a single voter in a hamlet in the remote state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, could exercise their right.

Officials also traveled to a village tucked away high up in the Himalayas in 2019 to install a booth at 15,256 feet (4,650 meters), the highest polling station anywhere in the world.

This time too, polling stations will be installed in remote places, including one inside a wildlife sanctuary in southern Kerala state and another in a shipping container in western Gujarat state.

TIGHT SECURITY

Security is cited as a significant factor behind the multi-phase elections in India, according to experts. In order to ensure safety, a large number of federal security forces, who typically guard borders, are mobilized and work in conjunction with state police. Their primary responsibilities include preventing violence, escorting electoral officials, and transporting voting machines. Previous elections in India have been marred by deadly clashes between supporters of rival political parties, particularly in West Bengal. However, the presence of heavy security forces has contributed to a decrease in such incidents over the years, resulting in relatively peaceful voting. The geographical diversity of the country, with its rivers, mountains, snow, and jungles, poses challenges for the movements of security forces. Despite these obstacles, the chief election commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, has emphasized their commitment to ensuring a smooth voting process by going the extra mile for the convenience of voters.