Rohini Mohan Profile picture
Independent journalist, India. Chameli Devi Jain Award winner, 2020. Book: The Seasons of Trouble (on Sri Lanka) Email rohinimohan@gmail.com
Apr 23, 2023 4 tweets 4 min read
I got a call now with a recorded message from "News7" asking who will I vote for: BJP, Cong, JDS or AAP.
If I did give my choice, my voting preference will be against my mobile number, that's in turn connected to my address etc #KarnatakaElections2023 @ceo_karnataka @ECISVEEP The numbers that made the call are +917712454003, ±9117712452503. To me, this is not the same as doing street surveys, coz I did not consent to be called on phone, my digital data will be automatically connected to many other details like age, gender, religion, income @ECISVEEP
Apr 12, 2022 8 tweets 3 min read
A Sri Lankan friend tonight told me people outside the country asked her if she's safe, what with the protests and all. People are asking me also it's safe to travel to #SriLanka. Some even cancelled out of fear.
Here's my uncharacteristic message: 1. It's totally SAFE, peaceful. The protests are historic, unites the country. #SriLankaProtests in Galle Face in Colombo are inspiring to visit. Families are taking their kids.
If you don't like such things, fly into Colombo & drive/train to other parts. They're stunning.
Apr 10, 2022 14 tweets 9 min read
Scarcity and government inaction have galvanised Sri Lankans like never before. After a week of angry protests, thousands converged on Saturday (Apr 9) in Colombo's Galle Face Green, in what at times felt like a carnival of hope. #SriLankaCrisis
straitstimes.com/asia/south-asi… "The mood in Sri Lanka has changed. Everyone is fed up of the Rajapaksas. Even me, who voted for him," said Theshan Fernando, 26, a civil engineer & alumnus of the 136-year-old Ananda College, where many of the Rajapaksas went to school. #SriLankaProtests Image
May 27, 2021 8 tweets 2 min read
350 pages into the #Tejpal judgement I've already decided that if I'm ever raped or sexually assaulted (a possibility every Indian woman factors into her life), I will never report it. I'm amazed by the illogical arguments. You say you told about the assault to friends but actually they are not that close to you, so you lied abt ur closeness.
Anyway their testimony is not good quality because they were your & your husband's friends.
What!
May 1, 2021 4 tweets 2 min read
After this post, many of you offered to donate funds to get PPEs/gloves/masks for graveyard & crematorium workers. I've been asking around Bangalore to find the most reliable group to donate to, so that the kits reach efficiently with no leaks. Read the thread below + DM me. The best bet is to donate to volunteers who are already doing the rounds of graveyards, crematoriums to transport the dead. I found @mercymission1 most reliable. Spent a day with them in their hearse ambulance. Their work is pro bono, they coordinate with BBMP, grave workers too
Feb 25, 2021 7 tweets 3 min read
India filed 249 sedition cases between 2016-19 (NCRB data only from 2016).
Less than half made it to trial.
Only 5 convicted.
69% cases are pending investigation. In 2019 alone, 30 sedition trials were completed, and only one ended in a conviction, making for a conviction rate of 3.3%. In contrast, the conviction rate in murder trials the same year was 42%.
Nov 17, 2020 11 tweets 5 min read
#LoveJihad has moved from flirting & butterflies-in-the-stomach, to legitimate social & legal sanction faster than many relationships I know. Since 5 states (MP, UP, Karnataka, Haryana, Assam) are planning laws against this crime, here are some facts. 1/n The term #LoveJihad was 1st used arnd 2009 by some Hindu & Christian groups in Karn, Kerala to refer to a shadowy conspiracy by Muslim men to deceive/coerce women into converting to Islam + join terrorism. It has since led vigilantes to harass interfaith couples. 2/n
Oct 28, 2020 7 tweets 5 min read
Central Information Commission issues show-cause notice to Min of Elec & Infotech, NIC, asking why they don't have info about who created #AarogyaSetu & how, when it's a gov.in website. CIC called it "extremely preposterous"
livelaw.in/amp/top-storie…? PIOs in the ministry of Elec & Infotech don't know who developed #AarogyaSetu and how. Meanwhile... Former CTO of Goibibo says he helped build the Covid tracking app.
1/n yourstory.com/2020/07/techie…
May 28, 2020 5 tweets 1 min read
Aunties in my building have been making theplas/masala chappatis everyday to give to an NGO that distributes it to travelling migrant workers. But the conversation every time I go to give my share of rotis is revealing. I've learnt that kindness can exist without respect. 1/n Some of the comments:
"They just can't listen to instructions apparently"
"What's the need to go home now? Work has started"
"Paapa (bechare), they are so hungry they tear at food like animals."
"Only these people can live in the station like this."
Jan 22, 2020 6 tweets 4 min read
Excellent story on how the govt has been steadily placing hurdles for Muslims seeking Indian citizenship. To those pro #CAA saying "Muslims can apply for citizenship in the normal route," here's why they can't: not eligible for Long Term Visa, the first step to get citizenship Muslims from Bangaldesh, Pak, Afghanistan have to pay 213 times the overstay penalty Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jain's from there pay.
Dec 30, 2019 5 tweets 3 min read
Please read the text of the #CitizenshipAmendmentAct before you believe or disbelieve gurus. It's barely 3 pages. If you aren't clear why NPR (national population register) and NRC are connected, here, read this:
Step 1: Section 14A, Citizenship Act 1955, on creating a nationwide citizens register and issuing national identity cards. It was added in the Act in 2003.
Read step 2 next.
Dec 17, 2019 6 tweets 4 min read
Having interviewed many grassroots activists who have organised 100s of protests with even over 10,000 people, I've learnt that takes YEARS of mobilising, conversations, leadership, to keep rallies non-violent, especially when the causes are often life & death. + #CAA2019 Twitterati condemning and giving sage advise to students to keep calm, not slap a cop when he slaps a student, probably don't recognise how HARD it is to be non-violent in the face of asymmetric power of the state. + #CAA2019
Dec 4, 2019 4 tweets 1 min read
If the govt really wants to help persecuted minorities of neighbouring countries, then why have 62,000 Tamil refugees from #SriLanka, who are refugee camps in TN, been left out of the #CitizenshipAmendmentBill? They are mostly Hindus and Christians. What about the 100,000 Tibetans, also living in India? Most of them are Buddhists.
Sep 19, 2019 7 tweets 4 min read
Whenever someone from BJP talks about #NRC for the while country, even if it's @AmitShah, even if u love this govt, ask, for your own sake:
1. First have you figured out what you'll do with NRC excluded in #Assam? Show me proof this method works to deport illegals.
1/n 2. The cut off date to show citizenship in Assam is 1971, when Bangladesh was formed. What is it for regions that don't border Bangladesh?
3. FRRO is the one monitoring visas and foreigners resident in India, picks out illegal stay. How will it work with #NRC?
2/n
Jul 29, 2019 6 tweets 4 min read
news.vice.com/en_us/article/… Everyone left off the #NRC will face Assam's foreigners tribunals. How do they work?
My investigation with @VICE and @typeinvestigate done over six months, analysing 500+ tribunal judgements received through #RTI. Do read. @VICE @typeinvestigate 78% of the orders were issued without the accused present, known as an ex-parte judgement. In one tribunal, this was the case in every single judgment.
May 26, 2019 7 tweets 5 min read
Reporting in #Assam on the chaos & fear arnd the govt naming ppl foreigners, we ran into this funeral. 93-yr-old Ashrab Ali frm Salausuti, Kamrup, drank pesticide yday, after his #NRC hearing, called coz someone filed an objection against his inclusion in the citizens register Ashrab Ali's name was in the #NRC draft list. Someone filed an objection against this. When Ashrab's entire family was called for a hearing on May 23. The objector apparently didn't turn up, which is common in #Assam today, even tho 3 lakh objections were filed.
Apr 16, 2019 7 tweets 2 min read
Watched Schindler's List last night. Can't stop thinking abt the History & Litt prof who's called "not essential" at the Jews camp.
The maid who can't prevent being killed even by following rules.
Schindler's failed attempt at convincing a murderous Commander "mercy is power" Can't stop thinking abt the initial disbelief, even among Jews in captivity, abt gas chambers.
Can't stop thinking abt our own disbelief that govts can orchestrate mass exclusions & racist murders - "they mean nothing to him" - even when we see it over and over across the world
Nov 29, 2018 12 tweets 8 min read
This is especially for all the tweeple dissing the #DilliChalo farmers' rally saying they're just communists carrying flags. The main organiser is the All India Kisan Sabha, with communist history, but also 200+ groups. If ur here attending, u won't be able to diss their concerns In rural India, farmers' unions & co-ops are a norm. It's an activity u might think is left leaning,but collective bargaining is the only way to access markets, push fr good prices, regulate seeds & fertilizers, even organise life. It's as rooted as harvest festivals #dillichalo