X has #blocked the account of @KhaledBeydoun on its platform in India.
Software Freedom Law Centre, India (SFLC.in) has been reporting on the blocking of social media accounts and #websites. Please #report any blocking cases you may have seen to us.
Send us an email at mail@sflc.in or mention @sflcin on social media platforms.
In another context, there was a discussion, in recent past, that some members of Indian government suggested taking the extreme measure of blocking Proton due to a hoax bomb threat that were sent through Proton Mail. Finally it did not happen.
I believe that that Meta will not pull out of India and the existing encryption standards of WhatsApp will not change for Indian users. With more than 500 million active users in India, the stakes are too high from either side.
As an Indian I am not surprised to learn from Robert Reich's post that the top 0.1% of Americans control $20 trillion in wealth and the bottom 50% control $3.7 trillion in wealth.
I have been haplessly observing the brutality of inequality since my childhood while putting my best efforts to remain on the other side.
Our estimates suggest that inequality declined post-independence till the early 1980s, after which it began rising and has skyrocketed since the early 2000s. Trends of top income and wealth shares track each other over the entire period of our study. Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration. By 2022-23, top 1% income and wealth shares (22.6% and 40.1%) are at their highest historical levels and India’s top 1% income share is among the very highest in the world.
In other words, the ‘Billionaire Raj’ headed by India’s modern bourgeoisie is now more unequal than the British Raj headed by the colonialist forces. It is unclear how long such inequality levels can sustain without major social and political upheaval. While there is no reason to believe income and wealth inequality will slow down by itself, historical evidence suggests that it can be kept in check via policy.
The root cause may be absence of appropriate policies through legislation.
The authors of the above mentioned paper lament that:> In line with earlier work, we find suggestive evidence that the Indian income tax system might be regressive when viewed from the lens of net wealth. We emphasize that the quality of economic data in India is notably poor and has seen a decline recently. It is therefore likely that our results represent a lower bound to actual inequality levels.
As an Indian I am not surprised to learn from Robert Reich's post that the top 0.1% of Americans control $20 trillion in wealth and the bottom 50% control $3.7 trillion in wealth.
I have been haplessly observing the brutality of inequality since my childhood while putting my best efforts to remain on the other side.
Our estimates suggest that inequality declined post-independence till the early 1980s, after which it began rising and has skyrocketed since the early 2000s. Trends of top income and wealth shares track each other over the entire period of our study. Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration. By 2022-23, top 1% income and wealth shares (22.6% and 40.1%) are at their highest historical levels and India’s top 1% income share is among the very highest in the world.
In other words, the ‘Billionaire Raj’ headed by India’s modern bourgeoisie is now more unequal than the British Raj headed by the colonialist forces. It is unclear how long such inequality levels can sustain without major social and political upheaval. While there is no reason to believe income and wealth inequality will slow down by itself, historical evidence suggests that it can be kept in check via policy.
The root cause may be absence of appropriate policies through legislation.
The authors of the above mentioned paper lament that:> In line with earlier work, we find suggestive evidence that the Indian income tax system might be regressive when viewed from the lens of net wealth. We emphasize that the quality of economic data in India is notably poor and has seen a decline recently. It is therefore likely that our results represent a lower bound to actual inequality levels.
This 99% invisible episode is fascinating. It starts with some background on Zoroastrianism death rites, goes to the decline of vultures in India, and then the decline of Zoroastrian Parsi communities.
"According to IMD, many parts of the east coast and the peninsular south will record heat index of 40-50 degrees C, with some places even going up to 60°C, as per heat index forecasts provided by IMD."
The White House went to extraordinary lengths last year to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra #Modi in a state visit meant to bolster ties with an ascendant power and potential partner against #China.
But even as the Indian leader was basking in #US adulation on June 22, an officer in India’s intelligence service was relaying final instructions to a hired hit team to kill one of Modi’s most vocal critics in the United States.