The revived Khudai Khidmatgar, the social harmony front originally founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, has announced it would celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi by holding a "people meet rath yatra from Chennai to Rameshwaram via Coimbatore.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has criticised the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh for failing to do enough to ensure that the Narmada dam oustees do not suffer because because of the rising water level in the river.

Recognising that in Jharkhand six out of 10 girls drop out of school and become child brides, and the state is among the worst in human trafficking, bonded labour and malnutrition, making it a challenging place to empower women, Happy Ratio, an Indian health startup, has launched #YehHaiMeriLife, what it calls “an impactful digital campaign.”

Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has rejected Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath's plea that she should end her hunger strike, which has entered the fifth day. On satyagraha along with her NBA supporters at Chhota Badda in Barwani district against "illegal drowning" of Narmada dam oustees, 10 more activists joined her hunger strike on Thursday.

Madhya Pradesh home minister Bala Bachchan called on Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar, who is on fast for the last four days to demand opening of gates of the Sardar Sarovar dam to ensure that the water levels in the dam are kept at 130 metres so that there is minimum submergence of villages in the upstream.

Farmers’ rights leader Sagar Rabari of the Khedut Ekta Manch (KEM), in a letter to the secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), has wondered how could the Government of India grant environment clearance (EC) to the UltraTech company for mining limestone in Bhavnagar district by taking away the livelihood of 25,000 people. As against this, the company, he claimed, would be employing just 30 people.

Gujarat’s 22 civil rights activists, in a letter to the Chief Justice of India, protesting against the three-week-long clampdown in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), have said this has create an undeclared state of emergency in Kashmir. The decision to write the letter was taken following a recent meeting of the Movement for Secular Democracy in Ahmedabad.

A well-attended meeting held at Nimaknagar in the presence of Dhangadhra MLA Purushottam Sabariya, and with the participation of agariyas, farmers, fisherfolk, maldharis and charcoal makers, has expressed deep concern over the probable impact the proposed Rann Sarovar project in the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK).

In Drass sector, a town in the Kargil District, a meeting was held by the locals to discuss the current situation of the Jammu and Kashmir state and its regions in light of the recent abrogation of Article 370, 35A and bifurcation of the state.

Narmada Bachao Andolan (NDA) leader Medha Patkar has begun fast, alongside 24 women associated with the top the anti-dam organization at Chhota Badda village in Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh, against the alleged refusal of the Gujarat government to close open Sardar Sarovar dam’s gates in order to keep the reservoir level low, less than 130 metres.

Several civil society activists have called for a National Convention in Defense of Democratic Rights on August 31-September 1 at Rajendra Bhawan, ITO, New Delhi, especially focusing on the recent amendments to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), empowering government to brand, without due process, any person 'a terrorist', strengthening of the National Investigation Agency Act (NIA) and the dilution of Protection of Human Rights Act.

In a representation, prepared for forwarding it to the President of India, a Delhi-based advocacy group, Sadbhav Mission, has regretted that the Government of India's "perceptions" Kashmiris and the rest of the country are very different.

Even as the country was busy preparing for the Janmashtami festival on Saturday, Hareshbhai, a 46-year-old ceramic worker from suffering from the fatal lung disease silicosis, passed away. He worked in a ceramic unit in Thangadh in Surendranagar district of Gujarat from 2000 to 2016.

Five UN human rights experts have called upon on the Government of India to end the “crackdown” on freedom of expression, access to information and peaceful protests imposed in Kashmir, even as pointing out that the use of “excessive” force against protesters, including the use of live ammunition, amounts to “violations of the right to life”.

A meeting organised by the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), Gujarat, which observed the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief on August 22 at Siddiqabad rehabilitation colony in Ahmedabad, has insisted that the 2002 Gujarat riots are a living example of oppression based on religion.

Gujarat Dalit community representatives, who met governor Acharya Dev Vrat to congratulate him for taking over the constitutional post in Gujarat, have handed over a list of demands to end untouchability especially in the state’s rural areas. Meeting the governor at Raj Bhawan, Gandhinagar , the statement issued by them following the meeting claimed that they had a “a positive discussion on the issue and discussed the abolition of untouchability.”
During the meeting, the governor said, several of the Dalits’ problems were solved when he was the governor in Himachal Pradesh. Temples put up boards allowing access of Dalits in temples, which wasn’t the case earlier. The governor, who asserted he was a follower of Arya Samaj, said, he spread the message of equality and harmony by having meal in Dalit households in Himachal Pradesh, adding, he was determined to eradicate the stigma of harassment in Gujarat.
Those who met the governor included Kirit Rathore, Kanti Parmar, PK Kalapi, Kanubha…

In a statement, the well-known Dalit rights organization, Bhim Army, has said that its peacefully protesting activists, as also those belonging to the Ravidasiya community were lathicharged “brutally”, tear gas was used and bullets were fired in air. It added, the organization’s chief Chandrashekhar Azad “got injured" in the lathicharge.
Pointing out that instead of taking him to hospital, the police arrested Azad as well as the Bhim Army’s national president Vinay Ratan Singh, the statement said, “We have no idea about their whereabouts and demand their immediate release”.
The protest took place after the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished the Sant Ravidas temple at Tughlaqabad on August 10 on the orders of the Supreme Court.
Warning the BJP government at the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party Delhi state government not to use oppressive measures on peacefully protesting Bahujan community through violence and police force, the organization has warned of nationwide protest …

A delegation of the well-known anti-dam organization, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), has asked secretary, Jalshakti Ministry, UP Singh, who is also chairman, Narmada Control Authority (NCA), that Sardar Sarovar dam should not be allowed to fill up to 139 metres, which is the full reservoir level, pointing out, so far, 32,000 families in 172 villages “still need to be rehabilitated satisfactorily.”

The Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA), a top Delhi-based advocacy group, has said that an analysis of 52 project finance deals comprising loan component across coal-fired power and renewable energy projects (hydroelectric, geothermal, wave, wind and solar power projects), shows that 80 per cent of the project money went to renewables last year.

“Hellaro”, a Gujarati feature film produced by Saarthi Productions in association with Harfanmaula Films (Ahmedabad) was declared as the Best Feature Film at the National Film Awards which was conferred by the Government of India. The film also won the Special Jury Award for the Best Actress to all the 13 actresses of the film.

In a statement in Lucknow one day after the Uttar Pradesh government barring eight activists from addressing scribes in Ayodhya, senior Magsaysay award winning social activist Sandeep Pandey and advocate Mohammad Shoaib have wondered, "Why is the government so afraid of us holding meetings?"

Senior environmentalist Rohit Prajapati has served legal notice to the authorities of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gandhinagar, and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation for allegedly violating the Construction and Demolition Rules and Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

In a statement, four authors of 'Kashmir Caged’ report, Kavita Krishnan, Jean Drèze, Maimoona Abbas Mollah, Vimal Bhai, have said that they stand by the statement that permission to screen this short video report at the Press Club of India (PCI) on 14 August was denied, “reportedly under pressure”. However, they say, their quarrel “is not and was not with the PCI, but with the Government of India that is seeking to censor such spaces.”

A new report, “Enemies of the State?: How governments and businesses silence land and environmental defenders”, published by Global Witness, a human rights organization based in London, has said that India saw the third highest number of activists killed, 23, in 2018 following Philippines 30 and Columbia 24.

Well-known political scientist Shamsul Islam has quoted the English organ of the RSS, "Organiser", in its issue dated August 14, 1947, as stating, "The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolour but it will never be respected and owned by Hindus. The word three is in itself an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country."

In a unique protest, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt, wife of Sanjiv Bhatt, former IPS officer, serving life sentence for a two decades old custodial death, tried to meet her husband along with 30,000 rakhis, 300 women, 50 men, and her son. She had gone to Palanpur in North Gujarat to give Sanjiv Bhatt "the respect and love sent by women from all across the globe in the form of tens of thousands of rakhis", she says.

Top international human rights organization, Amnesty, has said that the Supreme Court decision August 13 refusing to pass an order on lifting restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), including restoring communication services, "a blow" to the people of J&K.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has alleged that even though resettlement of 244 villages and one town is pending, and 32,000 families are still residing in the submergence area of ​​the Sardar Sarovar dam, the rehabilitation of oustees remains incomplete.

Two separate rallies -- one support of the Government of India move to revoke Article 370 and the other opposing the move -- were held in Melbourne, the business capital of Australia. Neeraj Nanda, editor, "South Asia Times", told CV News that while the Kashmiri Pandits in Melbourne and others held a rally at the Federation Square at the same spot opposing the Indian action.

The Madhya Pradesh government has said that the neighbouring Gujarat government is “not cooperating” for ensuring that thousands of Narmada dam oustees are properly rehabilitated in Madhya Pradesh. Talking with oustee representatives in Badwani, Madhya Pradesh, state Narmada minister Surendra Singh Baghel, however, assured oustees that he would stand by them and would try to “convince the authorities not to offend” the oustees in any way.

On the 77th anniversary of launch of Quit India movement, August 9, Khudai Khidmatgar launched its nationwide Yuva Nafrat Chhodo campaign from the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead. Recently revived, Khudai Khidmatgar was originally founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi, during the freedom movement.
Faisal Khan, its leader, said, the campaign has been launched to protect youth from proceeding towards hate crimes and to make them understand the essence of the very brotherhood and secular fabric of this country. Dr Sandeep Pandey, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, launched the campaign by taking and encouraging young people to take oath on non-violence.
The programme started with an all-religious prayers which Gandhiji used to recite, along with a talk on ideals of satyagraha and non-violence, with bhajans like "Vaishnav Jan" and "Raghupati Raghav" in between. Those who took oath included youth associated with the Sanatan Dharm Sanstha, and stu…

Around 200 scholars from around the world -- mainly from renowned universities and institutes of USA and Europe -- and concerned individuals have said that the Government of India move to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into two union territories "is an attempt to transform Kashmir from an international issue to a domestic one."

More than 60 signatories -- including Prof Rabinder Singh, Air vice marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, cardiologist Dr Upendra Kaul, "Kashmir Times" executive editor Anuradha Bhasin, and theatre and film artist MK Raina -- have in a petition said that Governments the of India has moved to abrogate Article 370 through "coercive means".

In a sudden U-turn, the Gujarat government has closed down all the gates atop the Narmada dam just three days after it opened 25 of the 31 gates to “ensure” that the reservoir waters do not rise above 131 metres so that dam oustees’ villages are not submerged. Earlier, late on Saturday, it closed 10 of the 25 gates it had opened.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), which had suspended its Narmada dam oustees' agitation at Badwani in Madhya Pradesh following the Gujarat government decision to open 25 of the 31 gates of the dam to keep water levels in the reservoir at 131 metres, has asserted that the state government is now "playing" with the situation.

While the Gujarat government has been "forced" to open 25 gates of the Sardar Sarovar dam in order to save the lives of thousands of dam oustees following a Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) agitation at Rajghat, Badwani, Madhya Pradesh, NBA in a statement said, the drowning of the affected villages continues unabated following incessant rains.
As a result of the agitation, NBA claimed, the district collector, Badwani, reached the spot and was told that the dam's gates be urgently opened lest there would be massive drowning. On his assurance, the satyagraha was postponed, after which 25 gates were opened, and 1 lakh cusecs of water was released from the dam.
Even when the agitation was on, NBA said, news started pouring in that rising Narmada waters were submerging the lower settlements of Nisarpur and reaching even big houses and shops of several of the nearby villages, including Chhota Badda,Pichodi, Bagud, Piplud, Chhota Badda, Kadmal, Akek and so on. The rehabilitation…

Gujarat civil rights leader Jatin Sheth, convener, Nagrik Sashaktikaran Manch, in a letter to Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra has sought his intervention for proper repair of roads which have suffered major damage due to monsoon rains. Providing several photographs, Sheth has cited the road cave-in at Helmet Circle, where shoddy work repair job is allegedly putting lives of people riding vehicles at risk.
At the site, said Sheth, only two labourers were at work, there was no supervisor, there was no contact detail available with any of them on whom to complain in case some defect was detected, and no board providing proper information about the repaired work.
He added, "Cavities can be seen in the photographs. The top area was filled with mud on which asphalt was poured. Already, following the repair, the crack seems to be visible again. Filling in the cavity would require stones or pebbles and extra clay. Nothing appears to have been done. Even today, if you dig ther…

The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has begun satyagraha at Rajghat in Badwani in Madhya Pradesh, on the banks of Narmada river, to urge authorities complete rehabilitation before submerging the villages affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam. An NBA note issued on the occasion claimed that even today, along the ​​214 km length of the Narmada river, 32,000 of 192 villages of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat remain to be rehabilitated.
Criticizing the “insensitivity” of the rulers, NBA said, people are fighting in a non-violent way against the “unjust decisions” which has led to the displacement of peasants, labourers, fishermen, potters, boatmen and traders. The corrupt broker-officer nexus has looted the poor by making wrong lists of rehabilitated families, it added.
Saying that the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government it has learned some lesson after holding dialogue with NBA, the people’s organization regretted, even today corruption continues unabated in the allocation of liveli…

In a scathing critique of the Government of India's decision to revoke the "semiautonomous" status of Kashmir, which was "accompanied" by a huge security clampdown, the New York Times (NYT) has called the step "dangerous and wrong", warning, "Bloodshed is all but certain, and tension with Pakistan will soar."

The Manthan Adhyayan Kendra (MAK), a non-profit study centre based in Pune, has alleged that the Inland Waterways Authority of India has been carrying out capital dredging to maintain an assured draft in the navigation channel for National Inland Waterways in violation of the country’s environmental law.

Terming it a "unilateral decision", top international NGO Amnesty has said that the Government of India decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) "without consulting J&K stakeholders and amidst a complete clampdown on civil liberties and communications blackout is likely to inflame prevailing tensions."

The Shramik Janata Sangh (SJS), led by top Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar, claiming to be representing the 1,000-odd workers of the Century Mills, closed since October 17, 2017, has said that the mill owners have been eyeing on selling its assets, which are worth Rs 2.5 billion, adding, the workers' struggle to reopen the mill and run it under their control would continue.

On August 1, several activists who had gone to the Rashtrapati Bhawan to petition the President to appeal to him to withhold assent to the RTI Amendment Bill were detained by the police and taken to the Mandir Marg police station. They were planning to hand over petitions the President, which are claimed have been endorsed by lakhs of people.

A recent sample study involving Odisha’s construction workers has found that of the 140 persons working in three project settlements (80 from Kargil Basti, 45 from Kelasahi and 15 from Palaspalli), only 101 (Kargil Basti 71, Kelasahi 19 and Palaspalli 11) are registered under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Act and Cess (BOCWWC) Act, 1996.

An Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) survey has said that around 55% of the firms in June 2019 reported that increase in costs has been more than 3% during the last one year, adding, the proportion of firms perceiving significant cost increase (more than 6%) in June 2019 has increased noticeably to 31% as compared to 26%reported in May 2019.

Is the support for the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), considered an "untouchable" by politicians of all hues, growing in Gujarat? It would seem so, if one goes by what a veteran leader from Saurashtra, Pravinsinh Jadeja, former Gujarat environment minister, had to say at an NBA-sponsored meet in Badwani, Madhya Pradesh, where hundreds of displaced persons had gathered in a protest rally.