By Sudhansu R Das  The Indian political sector is growing faster than any other sector in the world. This sector has been fully liberalised. Political career in India is open to any age group starting from 25 plus to 90 plus; people with any educational background, even an illiterate person can contest election in India. An old man or woman with multiple organ failure can become leader of a political party; they can control party workers from the hospital bed also. Social status, physical and mental ability seldom stand in the way of a political leader. Advanced age is not an issue which can be reversed with effortless ease. 

J&K RTI Foundation and Founder Civil Rights Movement Kupwara note on how RTI Pend is empowering Kupwara with insights on Right to Information Act: *** RTI Pend, the grassroots initiative aimed at democratizing access to information, hosted its 2nd event in Kupwara. On the request of the Civil Rights Movement Kupwara, this event was tailored to enlighten the people of Kupwara with the intricacies of the Right to Information Act, presented in their local language and dialects. The event successfully bridged both offline and online participation, addressing queries on the spot and offering applicants practical solutions.

By Harsh Thakor  State of Israel has boundlessly continued to rip the flesh of the Palestinian people, to champion Zionism. Nevertheless, Palestinians led by the National Liberation Movement with relentless or death defying courage are retaliating the Israeli might, like a phoenix rising from the ashes or cornered tigers .A protracted battle is simmering.

ActionAid note on drive to empower informal sector workers Odisha with the support of District Labour Department: *** The Odisha Unorganised Workers Social Security Board (OUWSSB) facilitated an Unorganized Workers Awareness Camp at the Red Cross Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The event took place in collaboration with the District Labour Department at Khordha, Centre for Child and Women Development and ActionAid Association. This informative event aimed at empowering informal sector workers by disseminating crucial information regarding their eligibility for various social security schemes provided by the Government of Odisha.

By Busani Bafana*  Mango farmer Eufria Nyadome used to earn $60 from selling a 20-litre bucket of fresh mangoes and now can barely make $20 even though her mango trees are giving a good yield. She is throwing away buckets of rotten mangoes.

By Harsh Thakor  On 23rd September we commemorate the 50th death anniversary of Pablo Neruda, whose contribution to revolutionary poetry was path breaking. Pablo Neruda’s poetry manifested the spiritual essence of revolutionary poetry and how poetry was a weapon for a revolutionary struggle. The story of his life illustrated the spiritual transformation undergone a human being to transform him into a revolutionary and how environment shapes the lie of revolutionary.

By Bharat Dogra  Jarva Chauki is a village in Atarra rural area of Banda District (Uttar Pradesh). Several households face a livelihood crisis here and at times lack the minimum food stock needed to keep away hunger. These problems increased after the pandemic related distress.

A note on religious leaders'  Satya Dharam Samvad in Haridwar: *** In a groundbreaking gathering, more than 25 religious leaders including Swamis, Acharyas, Pujaris, Gurus, and Sadhvis from all over India convened to discuss the tenets of Hinduism on September 16th, 2023, in Haridwar, to discuss and discern the current trajectory of Hinduism. This brand new initiative, the Satya Dharam Samvad, was inspired to organize its first assembly in response to the December 2021 Dharma Sansad, where hate speech and calls for violence against the Muslim community contravened the essential principles of Hinduism. Religion is being used to incite riots among Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, etc. In the face of such hatred, Swami Raghavendra felt that something meaningful should be done in the present climate. 

By Bharat Dogra  As debates leading up to 2024 union elections in India preceded by some important state assembly become intense, it is not enough to talk about election alignments among various political parties and their seat adjustments; the questions relating to the most important priorities and a future agenda based on justice, equality, peace, environment protection and democracy must get the most importance.

By NS Venkataraman*  For over fifty years now, Tamil Nadu has been ruled by two Dravidian parties namely DMK and AIADMK alternately. Before the Dravidian party came to power, Tamil Nadu was ruled by the congress party and had experienced the golden rule by K. Kamaraj who was succeeded by Bhaktavatsalam for a short period.

By Chandra Vikash*  Jahnavi Kandula, an Indian student from Andhra Pradesh, studying in America was killed in a road accident by a police motor car in January 2023. Now, 8 months after the accident, a bodycam video of Daniel Orderer, who is the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, has gone viral on social media. He was laughing at her death and saying that “she was 26 years old, anyway… she had limited value… just give her $11,000 (ie Rs 9.13 lakh)”.

By Prof Sudhanshu Tripathi*  A crucial question before humanity, still unresolved, is to comprehend the true nature and expanse of Time and Space in Universe. If both are indeed limitless, there is no question then to go beyond them. Because both Time and Space are indeed the two key determinants in this mundane world which define the very expanse of the life period of all living organisms and non-living entities and their relative spatial area producing mental and extra-mental consciousness. 

By Bharat Dogra  Rajaram Ka Purva is a remote rural hamlet in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh inhabited by the poorest of the poor. Almost none of the children in this hamlet are able to go to school. The reasons relate to poverty, distance of the nearest school as well as the unsafe path to school.

By Edgardo Ayala*  El Salvador’s efforts to improve the educational level in the country seem to be falling short, with rundown schools, especially in rural areas, and little progress in overcoming illiteracy. In almost a decade, this Central American country of 6.7 million inhabitants has moved just two percentage points in its fight against illiteracy , going from 11.8 percent in 2013 to 9.7 percent in 2021, the last year with available official data.

By Bharat Dogra  Himachal Pradesh has suffered heavier damage during this monsoon season than in any recent year that most people here can recall. While over 300 people have died and economic damage has been put at Rs. 12,000 crore till early September, given the extreme nature of the devastation the mortality figure could have been much higher but for the noble efforts of many brave rescuers.

By Akshay Deshmane  It was 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic was ripping through India, crippling the country’s health system and bringing the economy to a standstill. But for Anil Agarwal, chairman of the energy and mining giant Vedanta Resources Ltd, the crisis presented an opportunity.

A Kapaeeng Foundation note on consultation in partnership with Indigenous Peoples organizations and communities from Asia led by the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) with the support from CIVICUS, as part of preparation for the COP 28 this November in UAE: *** Climate Change is a serious issue that affects the entire species of flora and fauna in the natural world. It further impacts the livelihoods of human beings but affects the Indigenous Peoples the most who depend on nature and forests for their livelihoods. Realizing the urgent need to act against the issue, Kapaeeng Foundation organized a “Community Consultation on Indigenous Peoples Rights and Climate Change” on 26 June 2023 at Rangamati in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The consultation was organized with the support from IPMSDL and CIVICUS. Mr. Pavel Partha, Researcher, Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation was present as resource person in the consultation while Mr.

By Sudhansu R Das  House buyers in Hyderabad have flooded the State government with revenue. Over two decades, villas, apartments and gated housing communities have been mushrooming in and around Hyderabad city; it has phenomenally increased the size of Hyderabad city. People who have invested their lifelong savings and bank loans in buying houses have entered into a far bigger crisis than before.   The majority of the registered housing societies in the city have become the hotbed of corruption and mismanagement. Corrupt people take advantage of the innocent resident members; they enter into the Managing Committees of the societies to loot the societies’ funds. In many societies they eat up the Corpus funds also. Diversion of funds, money laundering and needless expenditures are very much rampant in many housing societies. The resident owners silently suffer; when they lodge complaints, they are harassed by the MC members through different means.  A few housing societies in Hydera

By Harsh Thakor  Telengana armed struggle from 1946-51 was path breaking period in the Indian Communist Movement, enabling it to reject the Russian insurrectionist path and emulate the Chinese model. The intensity of the movement escalated people’s democratic power to a scale unparalleled in Indian history. It literally dawned a new era. Revolutionary zeal climbed heights rarely traversed in semi-colonies. The death defying spirit which the comrades displayed in giving a blow to the Nizam ruler of Hyderabad and the Razakar landlords will be written forever in the red letters of history. Tragically it was crushed by the Congress party led by Nehru, who mercilessly ordered the army to swoop on the rebellion, with the Communist Party of India adopting a compromising position. It was ample proof of how Nehru and the Congress party collaborated with the feudal landlord class.

  By Bharat Dogra*  It is an undeniable fact of Indian history that all those leaders of the freedom movement who received the greatest support and affection of people were those who had very firm faith in communal harmony. For Jawaharlal Nehru inter-faith harmony was a matter of the deepest commitment and a firm base for the progress of the country.

By Harsh Thakor  Democrats and true progressives are rocked by the implementation of the “Marco Temporal” [Time frame, law which denies the claims of indigenous peoples on their ancestral lands] law at the Commission of the Agrarian Reform and Agriculture of the Chamber of Deputies It will place into oblivion 523 years of genocide and deny five centuries of theft of indigenous lands by the Portuguese invaders and the privileged Brazilian lords of lands and slaves, as well as their descendants and beneficiaries.

By Marko Phiri*  Zimbabwe’s ballooning informal sector has, in recent years, spawned the over-exploitation of the country’s natural resources, with the fisheries taking some of the most felt battering. Amidst challenges brought by economic hardships, fisheries—for long imagined to be an infinite resource by hawkers and fishermen—are providing women with livelihoods against odds brought by climate change and competition from male fishmongers who go into the water.

By Harsh Thakor  September 11th, 1973, marks the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état sparked by army led by Pinochet and the execution of Salvador Allende. One of the highest turning points or defining moments in history of Latin America or the world, in paving breeding ground for neo-fascism or military rule. No more perfect illustration of how the USA government through the Central Intelligence Agency patronised or nurtured military dictatorships to perpetrate their hegemony of neo-colonialism, and penetrate the social base of third world countries.

By Abdul Puncharwala*  Baba and Mama the Jai-Veeru Jodi of Shuddh desi politics bring an excellent opportunity of employment to all the bright matriculate drop-outs busy with their Insta and YouTube reels. Keep your phones aside for a moment and read this advert carefully. It is going to change your life forever.

An AISEC Gujarat note on dharna against Common University Act in Vadodara: *** The All India Save Education Committee (AISEC) along with Teachers' Union of all the universities organised an impactful dharna against Common University Act in Vadodara opposite to MS University jointly by AISEC, Abhivyakti ni Azadi, Baroda University Teachers' Association (BUTA), Baroda University Staff Association (BUSA) as well as Students against CUB. Eminent personalities like I. I. Pandya, Dr. Bharat Mehta, Dhiru Mistry, Amee Ravat, Ajay Dave, Narendra Ravat and others participated in Dharna. Prof. Hemantkumar Shah and Dr. Kanu Khadadiya, Joint Secretary, Gujarat Chapter, AISEC, specially came to participate from Ahmedabad. Earlier, an impactful dharna against the Common University Act was organised in Ahmedabad. Also H. D. Patel, President, Sardar Patel University Area Teachers' Association (SPUATA) as well as the former secretary, M. G. Mansuri also came from Vallabh Vidyanagar in solida

J&K RTI Foundation note on RTI Pend Initiative's successful inaugural event, which explores the transformative power of the Right to Information (RTI) for transparency and community empowerment: *** The RTI Pend Initiative, a community-driven platform dedicated to transparency, accountability, and community empowerment, made a significant impact with its inaugural event, "RTI Pend 1st," held on September 10, 2023. The event, both online and at the J&K RTI Foundation's office in Magam, brought together individuals, activists, and community leaders to explore the transformative potential of the Right to Information (RTI). Irfan Banka, a social activist, anthropologist, and the founder of J&K RTI Foundation, assumed the role of host and warmly welcomed participants, setting the stage for a day of engaging discussions and shared insights. Sheikh Maqbool, Co-Founder of J&K RTI Foundation, graced the event as the esteemed guest speaker. His profound insight

By Bharat Dogra  It is a very commendable effort that the G-20 Summit could issue a common declaration with consensus. The most praiseworthy part of this declaration is the basic precept given on the cover of the declaration—One Earth, One family, One Future. The very first sentence of the declaration says—We are One Earth, One Family, and we share One Future. In keeping with this precept, the declaration also asserts that this is not the era for wars and the world should instead have a common increased commitment to protection of environment, justice, sustainable livelihoods and sustainable development goals.

By Steve Rocha*  As India welcomed the world leaders for the G20 Summit, over 200 students representing schools and not-for-profits from across the country gathered virtually for the finale of their Kidizens’20 (K20). Kidizens (child-citizens) is a word coined by children themselves to represent their engagement as active citizens of today’s decision-making processes.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The Sanatan debate is growing while important issues are getting ignored. Amidst the heat of this debate there are issues being sidelined or sidetracked by all. Of course, all that is happening despite hosting G-20 or sending our mission Chandrayan on the moon, things at home reflect a growing attempt by the ruling elite to push people back to old system where caste hierarchies work accordingly and every superstition is considered as 'culture' and 'tradition'.

By NS Venkataraman*  Kanchi Paramacharya, Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi were amongst the great saints who lived in India and who highlighted the fact that basic approach of all religions are essentially the same and there is really no particular conflict between them, though the rituals and day today practices differ from one religion to another. The saints hailed Sanatana Dharma, evolved by ancient Indian philosophers, as the ultimate universal message to promote human harmony and decisively improve the standard and quality of one’s life. It was stressed that Sanatana Dharma is relevant for all people all over the world for all time to come.

By Bharat Dogra  India has a strong Right to Information (RTI) law that has been considered a model law by many countries. Despite this, in recent times, there have been several complaints that RTI applications are leading to rather evasive replies that are not very helpful leading to more need for appeals to get proper information. Unfortunately, however, even after appeals the proper information is frequently not becoming available in time, one reason being that the arrangement for timely responding to appeals has been weakened at many places. While the situation may not be the same in all the states, an overall decline in the ability to get timely and proper information has been noticed widely.

A Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan, Odisha, note seeking urgent inquiry be conducted into the kidnapping and then release of Shri Prafulla Samantara, calling it is an attack on dissent and demanding release of arrested villagers: *** It is more than 10 days since Shri Prafulla Samantara, a prominent environmentalist, writer and socialist thinker of the state, was kidnapped from a hotel in Rayagada town on August 29 and then released. Despite all the newspapers and electronic-media clearly indicated that the abductors were the state police themselves, it is neither being investigated by the state government nor it is ascertained that the state government's police department is not behind the kidnapping. Such a mafia regime of the state government is an attack on dissent, which the Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan, Odisha,  strongly condemns. In the meantime, 23 villagers have been arrested for opposing the bauxite mining operation of Vedanta-Maitri Company at

By Harsh Thakor  On Tuesday 29th of August the UN declared the official figures of murdered in the Amhara region, to 183 dead people from the end of July until the end of August. These dead are the outcome of the emergence of new clashes in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. This tickled or shook the Ethiopian State so much in it’s belly that it was forced to declare the state of emergency in the region and try to occupy it militarily. The Internet had been banned in the area, to mask the atrocities committed by the State there. Map of the regions of Ethiopia. Source: Mapsales website.

By Proshakha Maitra*, Megha Gupta*, Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava**  The rapid growth rates of population, urbanization and industrialization in India has put the country in a critical state with respect to environmental degradation. The essay focuses on water pollution which is among the most acute environmental threats among others. About 50,000 million liters of wastewater is generated in India every year from various industrial and domestic activities (Chakraborty & Mukhopadhaya, 2012). This wastewater often flows into the nearby waterbodies mostly untreated and thus raising the pollution levels of the waterbodies beyond a tolerable limit. Despite spending huge amount of money on the various schemes to treat waste water, water pollution remains the biggest challenge of the water crises.

By Orlando Milesi*  Women social activists recognize that gender equality is gaining ground in Chile, but maintain that there is still a long way to go to turn into reality the promises to “level the playing field” between women and men, while they highlight the importance of addressing the issue of care work.

  By Bharat Dogra*  Several eminent scholars have warned time and again that false misrepresentation of history in communal terms can be very harmful for national unity, and it is very sad that despite such warnings such damaging trends have intensified further in some contexts. Due to such repeated misrepresentation most of the battles fought during the years of the Mughal rule have become embedded in public mind as battles between Hindus and Muslims and people are surprised when told that Shivaji’s army had a significant number of Muslim soldiers fighting very bravely on his behalf and that all through Aurangzeb’s rule several Hindu nobles continued to occupy an important place in the Mughal court and army. The names of many of these Hindu nobles in Aurangzeb’s court are available in historical documents.

By Edgardo Ayala*   In his green cornfield, Salvadoran farmer Medardo Pérez set about filling the hand-held spray pump that hangs on his back, with the right mixture of water and paraquat, a potent herbicide, and began spraying the weeds. Paraquat, the active ingredient in brands such as Gramaxone, from the German pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer, is sold without any restrictions in El Salvador and in other nations in Central America and around the world, despite its toxicity and the fact that the label clearly states “controlled product”.

By Harsh Thakor  Richard Hadlee is the greatest cricketer ever to have set foot on a cricket field from New Zealand, who shaped his country into major cricketing power. Few cricketing colossuses have played the role of a one man army as Sir Richard. or manifested cricketing computer, skill and artistry, more.

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ*  Teachers, and very sadly so, are today in the news, for all the wrong reasons! In Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, a school teacher made the students of her class come up and slap a Muslim child in the classroom. She was caught on camera saying. "I have declared jitne bhi Mohammedan bachhe hai...”as she called the rest of the class one after the other to take turns hitting the Muslim child. She even berated some of the children who did not slap the Muslim child hard enough! In Delhi, a fourteen-year-old boy slit the throat of his teacher for sexually abusing him and blackmailing him!

By Amanda Yee On August 22, the U.S. State Department renewed its ban on the use of U.S. passports for travel to North Korea. This travel ban prohibits as many as 100,000 Korean Americans living in the United States from visiting their relatives in North Korea. The ban was first set in place by the Trump administration in 2017, and—in spite of Korean American activists’ repeated calls to lift the draconian ban—has been renewed annually since.

Civil Society Organisation note on asking Government to provide seeds for second crop to Odisha farmers by mid-October *** In an effort to empower farmers and enhance agricultural productivity, civil society organisations (CSOs), namely Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha, Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, and Atmashakti Trust, organised a press conference to demand the provision of seeds for the upcoming second crop by mid-October, organising special Gram Sabha on Agriculture and resolving farmers’ registration issues on Krushak portal.

By Bharat Dogra  Those who understand the terrible implications of the onslaught of the GM lobby (genetically modified food and crops lobby) on Indian farming and farmers and are devoted to protecting India’s farmers and farming from this onslaught had reason to be both happy and sad this week ( August-end). Happy because the Supreme Court acted with so much wisdom and firmness when it withstood the pressures exerted by the government for allowing cultivation of GM Mustard. A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said—“Environmental harm cannot be reversed.” ( hence a lot of caution is needed).

A frontline story, released by BankTrack, to accompany the 2023 Banking on Climate Chaos report, produced in collaboration with Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR), 7 Directions of Service and Rainforest Action Network *** When US President Joe Biden signed the debt ceiling bill on Friday, June 2, 2023, it placed the Mountain Valley Pipeline in the spotlight once again, thanks to sweeping provisions in the bill that expedites approvals of permits needed to complete this controversial project. The methane gas pipeline would run from West Virginia to Virginia, with a proposed Southgate extension into North Carolina. It has been stalled for years due to fierce community resistance and the company’s negligence and unethical construction practices. These negligent practices thwarted environmental laws, resulting in over 400 water quality violations and led to various court challenges . Unfortunately, the pipeline is likely to move forward due to a provision in the debt ceiling bill

By Harsh Thakor  Fred Hampton was a manifestation or mascot in the quest for Black emancipation, revolution and socialism or a model for progressive and revolutionary people. Hampton served as the Deputy Chairman from the Illinois branch of the Black Panther Party. He was one of the most impactful and constructive leaders in the Black Panther Party nationally till his death. Few characters more manifested that era or the spirit of black rebellion against tyranny or as much manifested the aspirations of black people to emancipate from the clutches of oppression.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  This is the state of India where an entire state apparatus becomes Hindu for the Kanwariyas and any dereliction of duty by the police officials might cost them their job. Again, railway police constable kills four innocent persons including his boss and three Muslim passengers yet nothing much happens to him so far except the usual stories of ‘disturbed’ minds. We don’t hear anything from the police which is otherwise very active if the crime is committed by a Muslim or a Dalit-Adivasi. The third incident has recently come to news from Saharanpur where Tripta Tygai, a teacher of Neha Public School encouraged her students to hit an eight years old Muslim student just because he was unable to do some work or memorise what was told to him. The teacher is enjoying and giving interviews to media while UP police has filed cases against Mohammad Zubair, a journalist with Alt News who exposed the criminal act of Tripta Tygai. In a case like this in J & K, a Muslim

By NS Venkataraman*   Accidents may happen in industries in shop floor during handling of materials or noxious fumes arising due to any unexpected process reactions or fire accidents and so on. This may happen in spite of the care and caution taken during plant design erection and operation. Even well known multinational companies like Du Pont operating with high safety standards could not avoid such occasional accidents.

By Bharat Dogra  In Bundelkhand region in many meetings on issues relating to justice and development, people wait eagerly to hear songs sung by Mata Dayal. It is quite possible that Mata Dayal may sing a song written and composed by himself. He shows me a diary on which he has written several of these songs, probably 50 or so. However he is equally at home singing folk-songs or songs written by others, as long as these have some message of justice, environment protection and creating a better world, and he maintains a rich collection of these songs.

By Harsh Thakor*  The State of Israel has left no stone unturned in attacking the Palestinian people since the Jenin offensive and inflicting the same mortal blows. So far this year more than 200 Palestinians have been killed in repeated Israeli attacks on Palestinian towns and villages. The State of Israel has killed 31 Palestinian children so far this year in the Occupied West Bank, and another six in the Gaza Strip.