A new  book , “The Struggle for Narmada: An Oral History of the Narmada Bachao Andolan”, authored by a former NBA activist Nandini Oza, has gone a long way to reveal the type of worldview held by the powers-that-be who wanted hundreds of villages submerged and lakhs, all in the name of development, in order to build what was qualified as the world’s largest dam on the perennial river Narmada. Based on lengthy conversations Oza had with two NBA activist-leaders, Keshavbhau Vasave and Kevalsingh Vasave, both from Maharashra, Keshavbhau quotes Gujarat chief minister Chimanbhai Patel as telling a meeting held in early 1990s in Mumbai with the intention of having consensus on the dam amidst unprecedented opposition from Adivasis, that the project would resettle Adivasis, living in “monstrous” conditions, “near urban areas” and make them “human.”

Huge brass coins weighing 2,700 kg, largest one 1,000 kg and the rest relatively small, prepared from brass donated mainly by Dalits of 758 Gujarat villages, have been released at the Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), a technical-cum-Dalit empowerment institute operating about 20 kilometres from Ahmedabad. With BR Ambedkar’s image on one side, and of Lord Buddha’s on the other, embossed on the coins is the phrase, “Will Dr Ambedkar’s dream to end untouchability end come true by 2047?”

A new report, based on research carried out by Dalit women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in 13 Indian States, where they have been handling cases of caste-based sexual violence, has said that that in most of the cases, the perpetrators of sexual violence against Dalit women and girls belong to dominant castes.

An on-ground fact finding report by the the human rights organisation, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), taking a nuanced look at the plight of the traditional weaving industry in Purvanchal (eastern Uttar Pradesh), has estimated that the handicraft, handloom and power loom business suffered a loss Rs 3,000 crore during and after the lockdown. The report is based on a survey by a 17-member team led by Dr Muniza Khan, a Varanasi-based social science researcher, which conducted detailed interviews of 204 respondents, including 37 video interviews and 19 audio-interviews in the neighbourhoods of those engaged in weaving the famous Banarasi fabric and allied activities. The locations of the respondents were: Varanasi (13 locations), Gorakhpur (Rasoolpur, Purana Gorakhnath), Azamgarh (Mubarakpur, Ibrahimpur, Shahpur) and Mau (Ghosi, Madhuban). The report states, "The artisanal weaving industry as well as the Zardozi industry, that has been in a state of crisis for decades given the...

Continuing to “holiday” in US, a few weeks back, I went to live with a very fine family friend in New Jersey (NJ). My fourth visit to the US, for the first time, we went by a local train to NJ, a comfortable four-and-half hour journey amidst sub-zero temperature. During our lovely stay, which lasted for about a week, we were taken, among other places, to a spot about which I was told something bizarre by a trade union leader based in Ahmedabad, Ashim Roy. As a journalist I was interested.