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Civil Society statement for Harsh Mander/Centre for Equity Studies: Stop vendetta politics against civil society and persecution of citizens associated with civil society: *** One of the most disturbing trends in India in the recent years, along with the decline in Constitutional values and shrinking space for civil society, is the demonisation and persecution of activists and organisations. The active hounding of Harsh Mander, a former bureaucrat and one of the most respected names in civil society, and the institutions he is associated with like the Centre for Equity Studies (CES) is the most recent example of the vendetta politics of the government. An officer of the Indian Administrative Service, Harsh Mander quit the civil service in 2002 in the wake of the Gujarat riots and has since then been a part of significant civil society initiatives. He has served as the head of ActionAid India, co-founder of the Centre for Equity Studies, co-founder of Karwan-e-Mohabbat – an initiative t

Quoting a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) report , “Amnesty Move To Strip Navalny Of 'Prisoner Of Conscience' Status Sparks Outcry”, a Moscow-based journalist, Fred Weir, whom I peripherally during my Moscow days (1986-93), has brought into the light problems in which such top human rights organisations like Amnesty International, find themselves in while defending what they called “prisoners of conscience.

By Simi Mehta, Ritika Gupta, Manoswini Sarkar Climate change is one of the most pressing issues that the world is collectively facing at the moment. It is contended that strengthening the global response is pertinent to combat the threat of climate change.[1] The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted in 1992 that entered into force on 21 March, 1994, primarily aims to prevent anthropogenic interference in the earth’s climate system and stabilize Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. With this aim, the Conference of Parties meets every year to assess progress and review documents by countries on their plans to combat climate change. COP and the Paris Agreement The Conference of Parties (COP) is the core decision making body of the UNFCCC. The Parties are the States that have ratified the Convention. Their task is to review its implementation by reviewing the various documents and emission inventories submitted by Parties.[2] The first COP meeting was held in B

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to have given women right over ancestral property. This is a landmark initiative taken by the state government and must be complimented for it. According to government’s own assessment, over thirty five lakh women are going to be benefitted from this. At the time, when women’s rights groups are asking for being provided status of ‘Kisan’ in rest of India and the fact that women do not own property, particularly agricultural land, she cant get any loan even if she does more than 80% work on farming. Even the Kisan andolan have not been very supportive to this as they fear that the agricultural land would be divided which reduces its bargain power. That is why farming communities and families tend to be in the ‘joint family’ system which is often regressive for women. Most of the time, farmer leadership had been opposed to radical land reforms for the fear of land getting fragmented but the biggest fear is of women’s

National Alliance of People’s Movement’s (NAPM’s) solidarity statement in favour of the migrant labourers of Ahmedabad demanding basic living facilities: *** The past year has exposed the dire situation of migrant workers across India, who continue to work in precarious conditions. On 15th February, 2021, almost 1000 migrant labourers, members of the labour union Majur Adhikar Manch, gathered in Ahmedabad in front of the District Collector’s office, to submit a memorandum asking for immediate action to provide them with dignified housing in the city. The workers had been denied permission to hold the rally, and many were detained by the police in an absurd use of violence by lathi charging a peaceful gathering. The protestors are seasonal and permanent migrant labourers, many of whom belong to Adivasi, NT, DNT, Dalit and OBC communities from Gujarat and from West Madhya Pradesh and South Rajasthan, who come to Ahmedabad to find work through labour-nakkas. Entire families frequently un

S By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The Bahurupiyas are one of the most marginalised communities in India. They are engaged in life performances and depend on the patronage of the powerful in the villages. In the olden times, the Rajas and Maharajas patronised them as they would massage their ego. They act on impersonation but it is not to dupe any one but to perform. One day he becomes a Salim or Jahapana Akbar while other day he could be a majnoo or a Seth or a priest. I would call them ‘theatre artists’. Every day, they are on a new role and earn through begging. If you watch them or listen to them, you will realise how they created various performances to keep their patrons happy. This is their traditional occupation. In Rajasthan the contemtuous term used for them was Bhand, which is an untouchable caste, though most of them would deny that they ever face untouchability or caste discrimination in the villages yet it is a reality that their art is nothing but to keep their ‘patrons’ happy, T

By Soumyadip Chattopadhyay, Ritika Gupta The Indian economy was quite sluggish even before the pandemic made the unfortunate appearance. Inefficient policies and structural issues took a toll on the economy, further exasperated by the pandemic. Now that we are emerging from the shadows of the ill-planned lockdowns and inefficient bailout packages, the growth rates have still not returned to a healthy pace. We are also faced with new challenges of ensuring universal vaccination and the emergence of new variants of COVID-19. Given all these uncertainties, there is a need to focus on what the government can do, what the budget has done, and what it ought to have done, remarked Dr Arun Kumar, Malcolm S. Adiseshiah Chair Professor, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi. Dr Kumar was speaking at a Panel discussion held on 08 February 2021, on the topic, ‘ Pandemic & Union Budget 2021: Implementation and the way forward ’ he chaired. This pertinent deliberation was organized by IMPRI –

By Dr Anjusha Gawande* “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” … Since its inception, the year 2020 has impacted the lives of every individual in one way or other, as the COVID-19 pandemic had begun to spread its negative impact from one country to another, one state to another, one city to another, and one family to another. I remember the month of January, reading news about this catastrophic start of pandemic spread in China, that time we did not even imagine that it will spread globally and slow down wheels of life across the globe from east to west. This pandemic has impinged every sector including education. As a preventive measure, governments across the globe decided to shut down schools, colleges, and universities. Subsequently, pre-primary to higher education, all the levels of education institutions stopped operating without any certainty. Largely, India has 1.6 million schools including primary, secondary schools, 52,000 higher education institutes including u

There appears to be no end to South Asians settling abroad taking with them their casteist, anti-Dalit mindset – a fact brought to light by Deepak Joshi , a Facebook friend who lives in Melbourne, Australia. Joshi has shared on his Facebook timeline an article published in the ABC Radio National site titled “They've left South Asia, but they can't escape the discrimination and division of its caste system” authored by Karishma Luthria. It is actually a first person blog.

Releasing a fresh video on the plight of two individuals belonging to highly neglected communities of Indo-Gangetic plains, Vidya Bhushan Rawat , a human rights defender, describes the plight of the family of Banarasi Mushahar, who was found dead on a road side about 200 meters from his house in the morning of May 24, 2020, and of his injured friend Rampreet Nat, lying unconscious across the road.

National Alliance of People’s Movement’s (NAPM’s) solidarity statement for women leading the struggle to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in India and across the world says that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) must take cognizance of the matter and the unconstitutional practice must be banned in India, in consultation with organizations campaigning against it: *** As we mark the International Day for Zero Tolerance against female genital mutilation (FGM) last week (6th Feb), NAPM expresses solidarity with and support to all the women fighting this deeply discriminatory and harmful practice. In India, the struggle against FGM or khatna has been led from the front by community-based groups like WeSpeakOut and Sahiyo, who have braved many odds to build consciousness, perspective and campaign around an issue that is so often ignored. We acknowledge their significant work in a climate where the lack research and data, and the lack of legislative support to ban

Abanindranath Tagore's Bharat Mata Well-known historian DN Jha , who has been an eyesore for Hindutva protagonists, passed away recently. In a revelation which he made in 2016 years ago, he claimed the concept Bharat Mata did not exist even in 1857, which has gone down in the history as the country’s first struggle for Independence. 

Distributed by the Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre (PMARC), a Dalit media group, an article published in “Asia Samachar”, titled “Indian fascism and current farmers’ movement” says that though the discussion about Indian fascism is not new, the current farmers movement centred on the borders of the national capital Delhi, and the government's heavy handed response, has “raised the sense of concern and urgency amongst many observers.”

An investigation by the e-journal “Forward” has revealed that there are hundreds of statues and monuments in the United States and around the world to people who abetted or took part in the murder of Jews and others during the Holocaust. “How many monuments honor fascists, Nazis and murderers of Jews? You’ll be shocked”, says the author of the writeup Lev Golinkin.

Prof Patha Dasgupta Power & Climate Policy Analyst Shankar Sharma’s letter to Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, New Delhi, with copies to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union environment, forests and climate change minister Prakash Javadekar, among others, on why India cannot afford to ignore the true relevance of the findings of Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity: *** The Dasgupta Review, as referred to in the news links (click here and here ), is an independent global review on the Economics of Biodiversity led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta (Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge). The Review was commissioned in 2019 by HM Treasury and has been supported by an Advisory Panel drawn from public policy, science, economics, finance and business. This report has findings of enormous importance on how we are treating biodiversity as compared to how we should be treating it. There is a critical need for NITI Aayog to lead other associate

By Dr Arjun Kumar, Ritika Gupta* “The agriculture sector is broadly successful. The public distribution system is functioning well, food security has been achieved and productivity is outstripping expectations. However, the farmers are unhappy, their incomes are abysmally low and cases of farmer suicides are still rampant”. Highlighting this critical conundrum that is being faced by the Agri-sector, Shri P Chengal Reddy, Chief Advisor, CIFA, dwelled on the need for urgent reforms in the farm sector. He highlighted how the other sectors of the economy grew substantially and achieved global competitiveness after the 1991 economic liberalization and remarked that a similar reform in the farm sector has been long due. Shri Reddy was chairing the session, The State of Employment – #EmploymentDebate based on the topic, “Assuring Farmers’ Income in the Context of New Farm Laws: Issues and the Way Forward”. The discussion was organized by the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New D

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a Bangkok-based regional network of 81 member organisations across 21 Asian countries, with consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and consultative relationship with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. Founded in 1991, a FORUM-ASIA statement, endorsed by 122 organisations and several individuals, has demanded that Myanmar military should end its use of violence and respect democracy, stating, they “denounce an apparent coup in Myanmar, and associated violence, which has suspended civilian government and effectively returned full power to the military”: *** On 1 February, the military arbitrarily detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the National League for Democracy. A year-long state of emergency was declared, installing Vice-President and former lieutenant-general Myint Swe as the acting President. Myint Swe immediately handed over power to c

This was surprising: A nightclub in Mexico in the name of MN Roy, an early 20th century Indian revolutionary, whose thoughts are claimed to be have influenced Lenin, Einstein, Gramsci and Sun-Yat Sen! A Communist who turned a radical humanist, whatever that means, during the later period of his life, Roy founded the Mexican Communist Party and participated as one of the top representatives in the Communist International.

Phillibhai leading a Dalit rights rally By Martin Macwan* It was the month of May 1976 and I had just appeared for the old SSC board exams. A friend of mine in Nadiad had asked me to join him in a training program on social awareness to be held in Mount Abu. It is here in the building called ‘Glen View’, a Jesuit house, where I met Prof. Pheroz Contractor, called by all by his pet name, ‘Phillybhai’. Phillybhai was a professor teaching economics at St. Xavier’s college, Ahmedabad. The other trainers with him were Fr. Jose Maria Heredero, a Professor of Political Science and Prof. B. B. Siddiqui, a professor in Psychology. In few days to follow they were going to resign from the ST. Xavier’s College, even though they were 35 years of age around and set up one of the prestigious organization within the St. Xavier’s college campus; the Behavioural Science Centre (BSC). Phillybhai taught Economics at a college in Petlad before he joined as a professor at St. Xavier’s. It was his skill as