Human Rights Watch condemns killings on Indo-Bangladeshi border

Human Rights Watch last month called for the Indian Government to investigate alleged "killings, torture, and other abuses" by the Border Security Forces (BSF) on the Indo-Bangladeshi border.  They reference Bangladeshi NGO Odhikar's figure of 17 Bangladeshi deaths at the hands of the BSF to date in 2011.

Autonomy for Gorkhaland



Kurseong (photo: Alec Leonello)

The West Bengal government recently announced it would cede autonomy to Gorkhaland, encompassing Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.  The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) does however maintain its call for full statehood, according to a report in the Hindu.


IndiaKnowledge@Wharton has an interesting discussion on this development, considering its implications for other regions of the country with separatist tendencies, and the question of the relationship between size of state and quality of governance in general.