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Showing posts from August, 2016

West Bengal Left Front handing over 1,000 acres land in 2006 to Tata Nano "illegal", return it to farmers: SC

By A Representative In a crucial judgment, the Supreme Court has quashed the acquisition of 1,000 acres of land in Singur by West Bengal’s Left Front government in 2006 for Tata’s Nano project, saying it was “illegal” and “violation of law”. Civil rights organizations, backed by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, had moved the apex court challenging the acquisition.

Unite against RSS ideology in order to fight atrocities on Dalits, exhorts Ambedkar's grandson at Rajkot rally

By A Representative A major Dalit rights national meet on Wednesday at Rajkot, the nerve centre of Gujarat’s Saurashtra region, saw Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr BR Ambedkar, making a frontal attack on the RSS, pointing out that the “BJP is nothing but its front organization.” He asked all those who stand for Dalit rights to come on one platform, and shedding political differences, fight RSS ideology.

A "secular" arm of state, Tarun Sagar shouldn't have been invited to address in Haryana assembly: AAP leader

Vishal Dadlani By A Representative Well-known Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashutosh has taken strong exception to Jain religious guru Tarun Sagar being invited by the “elected Haryana assembly to address legislators in the house”, saying “it should keep itself away from the religion, religious practices and religious gurus.”

Gujarat Dalit youths to pledge: Wouldn't ever abandon our mothers like those who send cows to shelter homes

By A Representative In a clear message to cow vigilante groups, around 1,000 Dalit youths plan to garland their mothers in Rajkot, Gujarat, declaring that, to them, the women gave birth to them, are their only mothers, and that they would not abandon them like those who consider cow as their mother.

India's exports "expected to fall in 2016", top item petroleum products "suffer" $26 billion decline: CII

By A Representative India's top corporate body, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), has said the Gross Domestic Produce (GDP) growth rates in eight of India’s top ten export markets are “expected to fall in 2016”, asking the Government of India for “intensified policy measures for trade facilitation and promotion.”

Nitish Kumar "supports" anti-Narmada dam protesters ahead of crucial Aug 31 NCA meet to decide on dam's gates

By A Representative In a surprise move, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has thrown his weight behind the powerful anti-dam organization, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), fighting for the rehabilitation of more than 15,000 Narmada dam oustees, which it says have been “left out” from any package to resettle the dam-affected families.

Modi told: You are "not following" Vajpayee, who talked with Kashmiri separatists and won them over

By A Representative AS Dulat, former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief under Atal Behari Vajpayee between 2001 and 2004, has advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to begin talking with his predecessor, Dr Manmohan Singh, to understand how Vajapayee successfully “engaged” Kashmiri leaders.

Following wide protests, Bill proposing sweeping surveillance powers to state, cops in Maharashtra withdrawn

By A Representative Following wide protests and public pressure, including by two civil rights organizations, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and Police Reforms Watch (PRW),  a new internal security law in Maharashtra – Protection of Internal Security Bill 2016, seeking to give sweeping powers to executive and police over private spaces - has been withdrawn.

Monsanto "withdraws" new GM cotton seed in protest, as Govt of India asks MNC to share technology with local cos

By A Representative Top US multinational corporation (MNC) Monsanto has withdrawn a new GM cotton seed it was planning to introduce in India. Pointing out that the MNC was doing it in protest, Mayank Bhardwaj of Reuters news agency says, the MNC has “withdrawn” its application seeking approval for its next generation of genetically modified cotton seeds in India.

Dangerous portends for India: Kashmir "slipping" out, intelligence network is "cracking", normalcy is "deceptive"

Prem Shankar Jha By A Representative If true, these are dangerous portends for the protagonists of integrity of India. Powerful individuals visiting Kashmir have, for the first time, begun saying that the valley is "slipping" out of India's hands. Other reports quote army officials as saying that its intelligence network is starting to crack up across the state.

Iconic Irom Sharmila, Manipur human rights activist, backs anti-Narmada dam stir, wants Modi to rehab oustees

Irom Sharmila By A Representative Some of India's top personalities, including iconic Manipur social activist Irom Sharmila, well-known right to information (RTI) activist Aruna Roy and filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to allow the Narmada dam's gates to be closed till completion of the rehabilitation of thousands of oustees.

Socially-committed Gujarat doctor's abduction: Medical community, NGOs suspect vested interests played a role

The car from which Dr Rajesh Mehta was abducted By Sridhar Srikantiah In what is being interpreted as the clear indication of deteriorating law and order situation in Gujuarat, an outstanding doctor, teacher and deeply-committed social worker, Prof (Dr) Rajesh Mehta was abducted in broad daylight from his car between Patan and Deesa in North Gujarat on Friday, August 19, 2016.

A day ahead of Dalit rally, Gujarat govt forced to reopen case of death of three Dalit youths in Thangarh police firing

A rally poster By A Representative The Gujarat government has finally bowed under pressure. Four years after three Dalit youths died in police firing in the industrial town of Thangarh in Surendranagar district, the state government has announced to reopen the case by setting up special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case, which the Gujarat crime branch recently closed by filing what is called “c-summary” report.

Scary Mumbai?: Cow vigilantes get suspicious over leather bag, ask auto traveler if a cow was slaughtered

Barun Kashyap By A Representative In a scary incident which has sent a shock wave in Mumbai, a middle-class writer and director associated working in a communications firm was harassed by what he terms as “self-proclaimed cow protectors” just because he happened to carry a leather bag. 

Expectations run high from new Gujarat Dalit leader: Mevani accused of "failing" to stand by atrocity victims

Valjibhai Rathod on dharna in Gandhinagar By A Representative Following successful completion of the Independence Day Dalit protest rally in Una, sharp questions are beginning to the raised about whether the Dalit rebellion, which began in protest against the despicable act of flogging four Dalit youths in the town on July 11, would at all sustain.

Coca Cola's second biggest India plant "shuts" production after it was found to be flouting environmental norms

By A Representative The world’s leading environmental affairs site, www.theecologist.org , previously journal “The Ecologist”, has reported that Coca-Cola's second largest bottling plant in India has shut production due to “pollution violations”. It says, top NGO India Resource Centre has “confirmed” this after a visit to the plant.

More Gujarat Dalit protests planned in next fortnight, starting Aug 21 rally in Gandhinagar on Thangarh police firing

Thangarh victims' families on dharna in Gandhinagar By A Representative Following the successful completion of the Dalit mega rally on August 15, held to protest against the July 11 flogging of four youths belonging to the Rohit (chamar) sub-caste in Una for skinning dead cattle, Gujarat Dalits have planned at least half-a-dozen major protests across the state over the next one fortnight, starting with August 21 in the state capital, Gandhinagar.

Sedition law being "misused" to fight dissent in India: Activists close ranks, file petition in Supreme Court

Kashmiri families at the Bangaluru event By A Representative Following sedition charge slapped on Amnesty India for organizing a debate on human rights violations in Kashmir in Karnataka, India's top activists have begun to close ranks to strongly oppose the sedition law, which they believe involves the misuse of section 124A of the Indian penal Code (IPC) against any form of dissent.

Sri Lanka’s RTI Act: Benefits of disclosure outweigh harm

By Venkatesh Nayak* On 04 August, 2016, the Hon’ble Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka certified their RTI Bill as having been “duly passed by Parliament”. With this certification, the RTI Bill has become law in Sri Lanka. Unlike many countries that have adopted the Westminster form of government, a Bill duly enacted by Sri Lanka’s Parliament does not have to go to the Head of the State for his/her assent, to become law. A certification on the Bill appended by the Speaker under Article 79 of the Constitution that it has been duly enacted by Parliament (unicameral or one House) is enough to make it law. The President’s certification is required only when a Bill adopted by Parliament has also received people’s approval through a referendum. So Sri Lanka’s RTI Act (see attachment) has entered the statute book on 04 August, 2016. Only Bhutan, in South Asia, remains without a national level RTI law despite guaranteeing RTI as a fundamental right to its citizens. Salient features of Sri ...

Gujarat Dalit rally to reach Una amidst wide support to stop scavenging dead cows, retaliation from upper castes

Dalits pledge not to pick up dead cattle By A Representative The Dalit Asmita Yatra, flagged off in Ahmedabad on August 5 by a Valmiki girl, will be completing its 350-long journey in Una on India’s Independence Day, August 15, where a Valmiki girl is scheduled unfurl the national flag. During the 10-day yatra, 100-odd campaigners, mostly from Ahmedabad, would reach outskirts of towns and villages, and begin 20-25 km long foot march to hold rallies with community people.

Lesson from Una attack: Since everything has changed, now it’s about cows, violence

By Gagan Sethi*  It has been about 40 years that I have been witnessing, engaging, intervening in cases of crass violence on the Dalit community in Gujarat. People say nothing has changed, the situation has remained the same, it is still like the old times. I have participated in hundreds of training programmes with Dalit men and women, helping them learn law, build confidence in their identity, cajole them to stand up to their rights, fight the fear instilled in them by their upper caste school teachers as also by cops ranging from low-level police constables to PSIs serving local police stations near villages. Many of our programmes collectively help them look at self- employment opportunities, so that they are not dependent on feudal landlords’ wages. These programmes have also helped them build cooperatives of land, forestry, salt, fish, vegetables, so that they are economically better off. They have helped them trained for jobs in banks, service industry and compete in exami...

BJP leaders remain low key in support to Modi "attack" on cow vigilantes: Party insiders can't explain why

Modi speaking in Hyderabad on August 7 By A Representative More than three weeks after the Una incident in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have expressed his “displeasure” over the way cow vigilantes attacked four Dalit youths were attacked for skinning a cow. However, even six days after his first statement, he appears to have found extremely low key support from his party or ministerial colleagues.

Economic compulsion forces Gujarat Dalits to begin picking up, dispose of dead cattle in Surendranagar district

Natubhai Parmar By A Representative The effort to take a pledge from the Dalits never to scavenge dead cattle – the main contention of the 350-km-long padyatra in protest against the cow vigilantes’ July 11 violent attack on four Dalit youths in Una town of Saurashtra region in Gujarat – is beginning to face a major roadblock.

Gujarat minor mineral rules "ignore" farmers' and tribals' rights: People's groups represent to government

By A Representative The new draft Gujarat Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2016, seeks to give unfettered powers to “reserve any area not already held under any mineral concession for undertaking mining operations”, allowing these to to be taken by a government company or corporation owned or controlled by it” for mining.

Act against cow vigilantes and we will start lifting dead cattle: Dalit community leaders tell new Gujarat CM

A vehicle used to transport dead cattle By A Representative Is the attempt to take pledge from rural Dalits belonging to the Rohit (chamar) community to give up the caste-based occupation of "scavenging" cattle carcasses during the 350-kilometre-long protest padyatra or foot march from Ahmedabad to Una, which began on August 5, facing a major hurdle in the form of economic compulsion?

CAMPA: Government of India’s pro-corporate step at the cost of the common people, especially tribals

By Sadhan Mukherjee* With the passing of the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority) bill in the Rajya Sabha on July 28, the BJP government seems to have done away with the basic rights of the tribal people to forest produce who live near and in the forests. This is one more pro-corporate step of the government at the cost of common people, especially many tribal groups who are socially and economically deprived. A last minute bid by tribal groups who sent a petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to stop the passing of the bill has failed. It spelt out: “We the Scheduled Tribes/Indigenous Peoples /Adibasis of India feel, it is anti-Adibasi and anti-Constitutional and we oppose the Parliamentarians move in diluting the rights of Gram Sabha in FRA 2006 in a very cunning manner,” the petition said. It further added that such proposals are violating not just the domestic laws but also India’s international commitments. There are several issues. Whe...

Carcass removal by Dalits in Gujarat sanctioned by law: Top activist tells PM it is "a caste-based forced labour"

A Dalit skinning a dead cow removes plastic from the body By A Representative In a major revelation, Navsarjan Trust executive director Manjula Pradeep has said that responsibility for removal of animal carcasses, including those of cows, has for long been the responsibility of the social justice committees in Gujarat's villages, which are headed by a Dalit or a tribal, suggesting the caste-based occupation is sanctioned by the state.

Gujarat Central University "deprives" SC, ST, OBC students fair admission, prefers interviews for Phil-PhD intake

By Kalyani Pradhan Serious issues of unequal opportunities and deprivation done to students from disadvantaged sections from scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST) and other backward classes (OBC) and rural India in the admission process of the Central University of Gujarat (CUG), Gandhinagar, have come to light.

NHRC chairman Dattu's intervention sought to end "violent repression" of NGO monitoring extra-judicial killings

Henri Tiphagne By A Representative An appeal, floated for signature by Henri Tiphagne of Human Rights Defenders’ Alert (HRDA), India, has sought to ask Justice (retired) HL Dattu, chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), strongly opposed the West Bengal government's “violent repression” of Banglar Manabadhikar Surakksha Mancha (MASUM), a well-known, non-foreign funded human rights organisation.

Anti-Narmada dam oustees continue protest as MP govt issues alert on threat of flooding of Rajghat, Badwani

The bridge which has begun overflowing By A Representative Amidst Narmada waters rising in “feet and meters”, to quote anti-Narmada dam activists protesting against the alleged refusal to rehabilitate an estimated 15,500 project-affected families, the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government has issued an alert about possible flooding of low lying areas of Badwani and the nearby regions in upstream of the dam.

20,000 signatures, video force Gujarat official to "investigate" manual scavenging in Surendranagar district

By Sangeeta Rane* Amidst current imbroglio around the Una incident in which four Dalits were thrashed for skinning a dead cow, the Surendranagar district collector, seeking to address Dalits' issues, has decided to take steps to “investigate” the practice of employing manual scavengers, considered the lowest category in Dalit hierarchy.

Modi's silence on cow vigilantes "shameful", Anandiben's resignation a sign of "turmoil" in Gujarat BJP: NYT

By A Representative In a major indication of setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's effort to sell Gujarat model abroad as his "vision" for India, influential American daily “The New York Times” (NYT) has described the Prime Minister's silence on Gujarat's cow vigilantes as “shameful”, affecting his “political compass.”

Angry Gujarat Dalits to protest in Amreli on August 8 against "false" FIR charging social workers with murder

Amreli advocates handing over protest letter By A Representative Even as the imbroglio around the July 11 Una incident, in which four Dalit youths were thrashed after tying them to an SUV, refuses to die down, a new wave of Dalit anger has begun to sweep in Saurashtra. This is around what is being claimed to be a false FIR against 16 Dalits youths charging them with the murder of a police constable on July 19.

Dalit, Patel agitation "shadow" over Vibrant Gujarat roadshows in Australia: Delegation considers issue "relevant"

Pankaj Kumar during roadshow in Australia By A Representative Social unrest, especially Dalit and Patel agitations, in Gujarat is beginning to find resonance abroad, with clear danger looming large over the powers-that-be that if the state government fails to handle them, these might vitiate the high-profile Vibrant Gujarat global investors' summit, planned for January 11-12, 2017.

Gujarat govt "denies" Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia to Dalits killed in Thangadh police firing, as was paid to Patel victims

Ramanlal Vora By A Representative The Gujarat government does not think that there any need to provide compensation to the three Dalit youths who died in the Thangadh police firing about four years ago on par with Patels, who died in police firing last year. Cabinet minister Ramanlal Vora is learnt to have rejected the demand, put up a group of Dalit activists, saying, “You cannot compare the two.”

Odisha tribal villages reject compensatory afforestation committees, call it violation of Forest Rights Act

By A Representative Emboldened by a major victory in the Niyamgiri Hills in Odisha, where the Dongria Kondh tribals’ sustained campaign forced the multinational company Vedanta to withdraw its proposed plan to mine bauxite for its aluminium refinery, the forest dwellers of the state have begun rejecting the state government efforts to “impose” Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) with the help of compensatory afforestation funds, coming from Government of India.

As cracks appear in BJP's Hindutva agenda, Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel "quits" second time in two months

By A Representative In a move which has surprised few political observers in Gujarat, chief minister Anandiben Patel on Monday declares her decision to quit the powerful post, which she suggested has not been easy to handle as she succeeded a "towering" Narendra Modi.

Gujarat Dalit protesters decide to hold Ahmedabad-Una "awareness" foot march with Muslim participation

By Mohammed Kaleem Sididqui* Following the successful completion of the Dalit mega-rally in Ahmedabad in which thousands participated to protest the July 11 attack on community youths in Una town of Gujarat, the Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti, which organized it, has decided to hold an Ahmedabad to Una foot march (padyatra) to “awaken” people about atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat.