#Minorities

A paddy field in Thoubal district, Manipur

Hands tied, stab wounds: 71-year-old Kuki farmer found dead a day after abduction in Manipur

Hemjang Haokip, a 71-year-old Kuki farmer from Khunkho Kuki village in Kangpokpi district, was abducted from his paddy field on Saturday afternoon; his body was found a day later with his hands tied and stab injuries. The Kuki Youth Organisation alleged suspected NSCN-IM cadres took him and burned his field hut; the Committee on Tribal Unity alleged NSCN-IM and ZUF-Kamson involvement. The allegations remain unverified. Combined state and central forces, including CRPF CoBRA commandos, have been deployed in the Leimakhong-Khunkho area, where Kuki groups allege Naga residents have been blocking Kuki villagers from their agricultural fields.

4 October 2026 · 2 min read

India

'Vote chori' charge sheet: ex-BJP MLA Guttedar named in 5,994-voter deletion racket, gets anticipatory bail

A Karnataka SIT has filed a 22,000-page charge sheet naming former BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar, his son and five others in an alleged racket to delete 5,994 voters' names in Aland during the 2023 elections, while a special court granted the accused anticipatory bail.

4 October 2026 · 2 min read

Women voters queue at a polling booth (file photo).

India

'They were never dead': Karnataka's fake voter-deletion racket targeted Muslims and Dalits

Karnataka's chief electoral officer has ordered criminal action over bulk Form 7 voter-deletion applications -- many with faked death certificates -- after the CM alleged a BJP-JD(S) conspiracy to delete 45 lakh voters, mostly minorities and Dalits.

4 October 2026 · 2 min read

India

'Hindus neither need nor want them': Jammu march demands blanket ban on halal certification

The Jan Jagran Manch marched in Jammu on October 3 demanding a complete ban on halal certification 'like in Uttar Pradesh', calling it 'an attack on the livelihood of Hindus and Sikhs'. The campaign comes as the Supreme Court examines the UP ban and the Centre moves to criminalise private halal...

4 October 2026 · 2 min read

India

Pushed across the border despite the court's mercy: Assam's missing women and the machinery that 'lost' them

Gaurav Gogoi has written to S. Jaishankar seeking help to bring back two Assam women pushed into Bangladesh, even as the Gauhati High Court set aside the tribunal opinions against them and found the state's machinery acted 'in tandem' to deny them judicial review.

3 October 2026 · 2 min read

Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, seat of the Karnataka government

India

Five-hour sit-in forces the poll body's hand: ECI orders probe into Karnataka's bulk Form-7 deletions

Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar and his cabinet staged a five-hour sit-in outside the state election office over mass Form-7 filings seeking voter deletions. The CEO ordered an inquiry and action against false filings, while the BJP calls the five FIRs against its workers political persecution.

3 October 2026 · 3 min read

Opinion

The democracy that deletes you: why 'Operation Form 7' is the voter roll as a weapon

Karnataka's Form-7 scandal shows disenfranchisement no longer needs a lathi charge — it needs a printer, a party office, and a pliable process. When the roll itself becomes the weapon, the republic's first duty is to disarm it.

3 October 2026 · 3 min read

India

Pre-printed and pre-targeted: the Form-7 paper trail threatening Muslim voters in Karnataka

Across Karnataka, pre-printed Form-7 applications seeking the bulk deletion of Muslim voters' names have surfaced during the SIR of electoral rolls — from Kodagu to Belagavi to Bhalki. FIRs allege forgery and conspiracy; the CEO has ordered legal action. The BJP calls it legitimate verification.

3 October 2026 · 3 min read