Protest at Chellanam fishing harbour By Our Representative The National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), which called for a nation-wide protest on October 30, 2018 against the proposed shipping corridor, has claimed “massive turnout” of thousands of fishermen and general public in several Indian states. In Kerala, KV Thomas, MP, inaugurated the protests, while in Maharasthra various fishing unions rallied for livelihood and opposed the government’s “one sided notification”, even as Mahadev Janker, Minister of Cattle and Dairy Development, Fisheries, attended the protests and heard the fishing communities’ demands. In Goa, fishermen burned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effigy, pointed towards what their leaders called “disastrous effects of the Blue Economy, including the Sagarmala project”. In West Bengal, fishing unions submitted a memorandum outlining their fears and listing their demands to the concerned Ministry. Odisha and Tamil Nadu also saw a turnout of hundreds of fishermen standing i...

Yogesh Hembram: One of those who gave testimony before the fact-finding committee By Siraj Dutta* With much fanfare, the Jharkhand government signed an MoU with the Adani Group in 2016 to setup a power plant in Godda district. A recent fact-finding visit of members of Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha , an umbrella network of more than 30 people’s organisations, found that this project has gathered several accolades in the last two years - forceful acquisition of land, severe violation of processes set by land acquisition Act, 2013, bulldozing standing crops of farmers, lying to people about the potential benefits, intimidating affected people with police brutalities, lawsuits and so on.

Some of the prominent activists who have been detained By Our Representative In a swoop ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicating the Statue of Unity to the nation, more than 90 activists from around Gujarat have been detained by the Narmada district police in Rajpipla and other places. The move comes amidst a civil society declaration that, as a mark of protest, people of 72 Narmada-dam affected villages have decided not to cook food on October 31. Among those who who are reported to have been detained include Gandhian activist Nita Mahadev, social activist Mudita Vidrohi, top environmentalist Rohit Prajapati, anti-Narmada dam campaigner in Narmada Valley Lakhan Musafir, apart from several tribal activists such as Amarsinh Chaudhary, Bhupendra Chaudhary and Virji Varadia. Narmada is a predominantly tribal district. No reason for detention has been given. According to reports from local sources, a whole government -- the executive, administration, regular police, Reserve Police ...

By Ravi Kuchimanchi* My main problem with the statue of Sardar Patel is that it looks like an enlargement of a passport size picture. It may be the tallest statue but does it make an impact? Built to mimic a photograph, devoid of any artistic license, with hands to the side just dangling doing nothing, this is the statue that is supposed to depict unity and pay homage to Sardar Patel.

By Our Representative Deepak Debnath of Udalgiri district, Assam, has become the 30th person who committed suicide by hanging himself in a grove near his house after being accused of being a ‘foreigner’. Reporting on the suicide death, Sabrang India, a human rights site, said, Debnath’s name appeared in the first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), published on December,31, 2017 but had been struck off the NRC final draft released on July 30 this year. The site underlined, "The reason listed for rejection was a 'Pending case in Foreigners Tribunal’ case that the Border Police has mysteriously foisted on him in the intervening months. In a cruel twist of fate, his ‘legacy’ data, that establishes him as a bonafide Indian citizen as his name in the 1971 voter list." It added, "The humiliation of being labelled a ‘foreigner’ in his own land, fearful of what the future holds for him and his family, especially in the light of rampant fearmongering by right-Wi...

Counterview Desk On October 31, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in Budha Ismail Jam vs International Finance Corporation (IFC), a case that will consider whether international organizations, like the World Bank Group, are immune from lawsuits in US courts. 

Modi with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Counterview Desk The Bhumi Adhikar Andolan (BAA), in alliance with 12 representatives of major Indian political parties, have submitted a memorandum to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is funding Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project, claiming that farmers, Adivasis and other affected communities want the project to be scrapped, as it is being implemented alleged through coercion and impingement on their democratic rights.

By Mohan Guruswamy* Narendra Modi will tomorrow inaugurate the giant Sardar Patel statue facing the Narmada Dam, 3.2 km away on the river island called Sadhu Bet near Rajpipla in Gujarat. Standing almost six hundred feet tall, it is the world's tallest statue. The project began in December 2013, and is probably the only achievement the Modi government has to show. The project worth Rs. 2989 crores was won by Larsen and Toubro (L&T). Initially the total cost of the project was estimated to be about Rs 3,001 crore and was paid for by the Government of India. 

By Mahesh Trivedi* Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been shouting from rooftops that the 750-seat, 10-coach, 350-km-an hour train linking India’s financial capital Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the largest city of his home state of Gujarat, will cover the 508-km elevated rail line in two hours flat even after halting at 12 stations and will benefit well-heeled textile traders, diamond merchants and other professionals shuttling between the two metros.

The "tallest" statue Counterview Desk In a sharp critique ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicating the 182-metres high statue of Sardar Patel to the nation, a well-known advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has said that even the Sardar would have felt "uncomfortable" with the so-called Statue of Unity. The reason, according to SANDRP, is that the statue has been built setting aside all environmental and legal prerequisites.

By Our Representative The National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) has said that the Sagarmala project and its impacts on local communities are going to be huge. Port advancements, connecting it to industries, and creating coastal economic zones will only alienate the fisherpeople and handover the natural resources in the hands of corporates, Olencio Simmoes of NFF said at Panjim, Goa, while addressing participants of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)-sponsored Samvidhan Samman Yatra. Simmoes said, “Six rivers in Goa are proposed to be nationalised, under National Waterways Act, and thus Goa will lose 184 Kms of its rivers to corporates and their greed. Plans are afoot to build shipping corridors where fishing will be restricted for local communities. It is only to benefit private players.” He informed the participants in the yatra, “Out of 190 Panchayats, almost 140 Panchayats have already passed resolution against this. In the name of autonomy to ports, land grabbing is bei...

Counterview Desk Several Central trade union organisations have come together to insist on the need to repeal Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), because it is allegedly being used to silent dissent in India. Even as demanding the withdrawal of "fabricated charges" against those arrested under UAPA and National Security Act (NSA) and the release of activists arrested under them in the recent past, they said, "An overwhelming number of UAPA detenues are acquitted after years of incarceration. This is robust evidence that government merely uses UAPA as a means to victimise democratic dissenters."

By Moin Qazi* Do not show the face of Islam to others; instead show your face as the follower of true Islam representing character, knowledge, tolerance and piety. ― Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (October 17, 1817 – March 27, 1898) An educated, secular and liberal Indian Muslim is in a bind; he is torn between finding the right balance between loyalty to his faith and adherence to the new tests of patriotism being imposed by certain intolerant groups. The high voltage saffronisation wave that is demonising Muslims has broken the resistance of even strong neutral and secular groups who are now inclined to go with the official tide.

Counterview Desk Members of the Delhi University’s Academic Council have protested the university’s decision to remove Kancha Illaiah Shepherd’s books from the curricullum, saying, "The Standing Committee on Academic Affairs carries no brief on the privilege of determining the academic value of his works. By branding him ‘anti-Hindu’, it conflates the philosophical critique of Brahminical Hinduism with the abuse of faith."

By Our Representative Twenty six Korean NGOs, including human rights groups, have protested the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation’s recent decision to award Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year’s Seoul Peace Prize, saying he "does not deserve the honour as he has a history of being complicit in violence against Muslims in India." “We demand (the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation) retract its decision to give the Seoul Peace Prize to Modi,” the 26 groups, including the Center for Refugee Rights in Korea and the Korean House of International Solidarity, said at a press conference in Seoul. .Calling Modi “the perfect candidate,” the prize committee had said the Indian prime minister was being recognized for “Modinomics,” saying the economic reform programme had “reduced social and economic disparity between the rich and the poor” in India. The award follows Korean President Moon Jae-in's Delhi summit with Modi in July. Human rights groups in Korea said, "Mo...

Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah By RK Misra* Pebble-stirred ripples both caution and crush. In either case they leave a lasting impact. Three news items that appeared in the recent past bear eloquent testimony to it.The first, pertains to the account of Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah (retd) who had been dispatched at the head of a 3,000 strong army contingent to control the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. 

By Sheshu Babu* This is a rare phase in history where women are fearlessly voicing their rights despite the obstacles raised by male chauvinists. While many people are applauding the movements some are either deriding or expressing some apprehensions. The movements have not only brought out tales of exploitation of women but also exposed caste contradiction and communal discrimination to the fore.

A saffron protest in Thiruvananthapuram against Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala Counterview Desk RB Sreekumar, IPS (Retd), former DGP, Gujarat, in a letter to Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala, has said that the state is passing through an "existential crisis" because of the "retrogressive agitation to oppose entry of women in Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple".

By Manohar Chauhan Dongaria Kondhs, under the banner of Niaymgiri Surashkya Samittee (NSS), has demanded immediate halt to police repression and asked for peaceful life in Niyamgiri Hills. Alleging state repression on their peaceful movement towards saving Niyamgiri Hills, Lada Sikaka, president of NSS, accused the Government of Odisha of pushing pro-corporate and anti-tribal activities in the state.

By Abhirr VP* Amnesty India’s bank accounts have been frozen by the Enforcement Directorate, effectively stopping its work. Amnesty India is thus the latest target of the government’s assault on civil society in the country. The accounts of Greenpeace India were frozen earlier this month.

By Sandeep Pandey, Lubna Sarwath, Gurumoorthy M* Whether it was a slightly high dose of Potassium at the All-Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Rishikesh which ultimately caused cardiac arrest or deliberate neglect by the government over 112 days of fast-unto-death to demand a law for conservation of Ganga by Professor Guru Das Agrawal turned Swami Sanand, the Central government, and especially the Prime Minister, will be held responsible for his death. Matre Sadan, the ashram in Haridwar where Prof Agrawal fasted, has accused the government of murder by poisoning him.

By Moin Qazi* India produces enough food to meet the needs of its entire population, and has at its disposal arable land that has the potential to produce food surplus for export. Yet, it is unable to feed millions of its people, especially women and children. India ranks 100th among 119 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2017, where it has consistently ranked poorly. Indeed, the world’s zero-hunger goal appears to be slipping further into the future rather than getting ever closer. Imagine a land mass greater than China. Now imagine that land is only used to produce food. Then suppose all the crops and produce from those 2.5bn acres are not eaten and left to rot. Imagine all of that – and you get an idea of the amount of food the world wastes every year. It is almost a third of the world’s . In terms of weight, it adds up to around 1.3bn tonnes. The case for action becomes even stronger when we consider that 1 in 9 people are malnourished worldwide. Despite the fact that every...

By RB Sreekumar* Mahatma Gandhi cautioned all citizens about seven evil tendencies or sins increasingly enfeebling ideals of Indian culture and ethos. These sins are: 1. Education without character 2. Pleasure without conscience 3. Worship without sacrifice 4. Wealth without work 5. Service without humanity 6. Commerce without morality 7. Politics without principles

By Sheshu Babu*  Sujalam suphalam bharat desh mein/ Roti mehengi kyon rey bhai (In Bharat, where there’s plenty of water and resources, why is bread so very costly?). -- From 'Bharat Apna Mahan Bhumi', performed by the Revolutionary Cultural Front. Song originally written by poet-singer Gaddar, translated into Hindi by Villas Ghogre

By Syed Mujtaba* The former ruler of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Maharaja Hari Singh, signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947, joining the whole of his princely state to the Dominion of India. By accepting the accession, the Dominion of India acquired jurisdiction over the state only with respect to defence, external affairs and communications. Clause 7 of the Instrument of Accession specifically protected the state’s right to ratify the application of any future constitution of India in its territory.

By Our Representative In its second phase, the Samvidhan Samman Yatra, organized by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), travelled through Islampur, Kolhapur, Vaibhav Wadi, and Kankavali on the third day, with people expressing concern that rightwing forces were hell bent on changing the Constitution, vowing to unitedly defeat these elements. In Kolhapur, the yatra was welcomed by Shobha Bondre, city mayor. Participating in a public rally, she released revolutionary books written by Govind Pansare. NAPM convener Madhuresh Kumar said, “When activists like Dabholkar, Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh, and Govind Pansare were killed, we all joined the fight against fascist forces.” He added, “They didn't get killed because of personal grudges but their strong opinions against extreme and violent Hindutva, casteism, religious intolerance got them killed. They fought for the opinions and rationality which opposition wanted to silence. We are now determined to fight for our constit...

By Our Representative The Working Group of Women and Land Ownership (WGWLO) has demanded separate budgetary allocation for women working in agriculture. A day-long WGWLO workshop, held in Gandhinagar, and participated by over 250 representatives from Gujarat’s 17 districts, put forward this demand, pointing out that 65% agricultural workers in India are women. In Gujarat, as per the 2011 Census, about 44 lakh women are involved in farming activities. The workshop heard views of women farmers on erratic monsoon, organic agriculture, contribution of women in agriculture, and providing forest land rights to women farmers. At the end of the workshop, a memorandum consisting several demands by women farmers was handed over the Gujarat government. The memorandum insisted, there should be a separate data base for male and female farmers, even as seeking special concessions as bank loans to women farmers and their organizations. Other demands put forward at the workshop included ensuring lando...

By Our Representative Reporting 29th case of National Register of Citizens (NRC)-driven suicide in Assam, one of India’s human rights campaign sites has said that, on October 20, tragedy struck Kharupetia town in Darrang district of Assam, when a retired school teacher and advocate Nirod Baran Das “took his life by hanging himself to a fan in his home.” The report adds, “The NRC process has so far claimed over two dozen such lives in the past four months alone.”

Girish Patel (left) at a #NotInMyName demonstration in Ahmedabad in July 2017 By Darshini Mahadevia*, Ghanshyam Shah** Girish Patel, a prominent presence and voice in the radical section of Gujarat’s civil society, human rights lawyer and social activist, breathed his last on 6 October 2018, at the age of 86 years. Girishbhai, as he was popularly known, was the son of a sanitary inspector in the Ahmedabad municipality. His career began in 1958 as a professor in one of Ahmedabad’s law colleges. He went on to study at the Harvard Law School where he got his Master of Laws degree and also learnt about the vast philosophical aspects of law. He then studied at The Hague Academy of International Law.

Counterview Desk “As India's #MeToo movement mounts, we mustn't forget Bhanwari Devi's struggle”, says Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) in an email alert. Releasing her profile, CJP, one of India’s premier civil rights organizations, has pointed towards how, despite the “horrific assault” on her, she has retaliated with “path-breaking work as a saathin”, and “for over 26 years, Bhanwari has fought a long and challenging battle in the pursuit of justice.” At the same time, CJP regrets, despite the “ground-breaking Vishakha Guidelines , where the Supreme Court laid down legally binding obligations for institutions regarding the prohibition, prevention and redressal of sexual harassment in the workplace”, these couldn’t come to her aid. It underlines, “Unfortunately, Bhanwari herself could not be covered under the Vishakha judgment, because as per the law, her rapists were not her ‘employers’ and were not at work.” Text of Bhanwari Devi’s profile by Sushmita: “Ind...

A girl students' protest in MAANU Counterview Desk Has the #MeToo movement reached Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MAANU)? It would seem so if a recent letter by newly-appointed chancellor Firoz Bakht Ahmed to MAANU vice-chancellor Dr Aslam Parvaiz is any indication. Seeking reinstatement of two girl victims of “sexual harassment and humiliation”, the letter specifically names head of the department of the Media Centre for Journalism, suspecting, the problem could be much deeper. Text of the letter: It is a matter of utmost perturbation for me to receive the two representations from the girls studying in the MCJ (Media Center for Journalism) regarding their sexual and subsequently, mental and social harassment at the hands of Prof Ehtesham Ahmad Khan, the HOD, MCJ. We do not know, how many girls have been exploited by him and preferred to be silent for saving their family’s honour; however, there are two brave girls who stood to the depraved advances and misuse by ...

Samvidhan Samman Yatra of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), which passed through Pune and Satara, paid tribute to Senapati Bapat, the revolutionary freedom fighter and leader of the first anti-dam movement in the country. He fought against the Mulshi Dam in 1921. It recalled the struggle of the five generations of the dam displaced people who travelled with the Yatra and supported their demand for return of the land occupied by the dam operators, Tatas. The yatra, which began on October 2 at Dandi and will reach Delhi on December 10 after travelling the whole of India, comprises of 75 people from 15 states. Speaking at a public rally in Pune, Subhash Ware, eminent constitutionalist, said that Dr Ambedkar was aware of the fact that courts or Parliament alone cannot guarantee the rule of law. There is a need to struggle to achieve justice. Medha Patkar of NAPM, who is leading the yatra, said that every woman is asserting today with movements such as #MeToo on the i...

By Our Representative A #MeToo  petition begun by Koshika Krishna , addressed to Union Minister For Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi, has said that time has come for Indian workplaces to “experience its #MeToo moment.” Taking a cue from Roya Sarkar, a US-based law student, who created a flutter by published a list on Facebook accusing more than 50 Indian professors of sexual harassment, and actor Tanushree Dutta, who called out co-actor Nana Patekar, Krishna says, while many women have found the courage to speak out, what’s disturbing is that there is “deafening silence and lack of support for those individuals who have spoken out.” Pointing out that most companies have not set up Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs), as mandated under the Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act, 2013, the petition regrets, in the media world, only 7 out of 17 major production houses in Mumbai confirmed that they had sexual harassment committees in place. Seeking signatures, the ...

By Rajiv Shah  Several senior environmentalists and academics of Vadodara have written an open letter to the Municipal Commissioner, Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), asking the administration to take immediate steps to “immediately stop demolition, tree felling and clearing of vegetation, dumping of debris, discharge of untreated sewage, dredging, digging, filling, leveling, construction, etc. along the city’s Vishwamitri river and its environs.”

By Our Representative The Prakruti Suraksha Mandal (PSM), a Bharuch-based environmental NGO, has claimed that it has busted a waste disposal racket in Bharuch district. In a statement signed by PSM’s Salim Patel, it said, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) was informed about how polluting units were “illegally” discharging chemical waste from outside and dumping it into Bharuch district. PSM said, it “gathered information” and caught a tempo containing highly acidic chemical/drug-filled drum, adding, the drum contained chemical waste from Vadodara district’s Nandesiri industrial area. The tempo driver admitted that it did not have any appropriate document to carry the waste, hence GPCB officials were informed about it, PSM added. As a result of the complaint lodged by PSM, a team consisting of GPCB, Vadodara, led by Bhadresh Patel and Ashish Patel, have begun investigation.

The second phase of the Sanvidhan Samman Yatra, organised by well-known civil rights network National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), began on October 20, with a public meeting held at Chaityabhumi, Dadar, Mumbai, highlighting increasing attacks on marginalised sections. Begun with protest songs performed by the Swadeshi Hip-Hop collectives, environmentalist Stalin Dayanand of the Save Arey movement insisted on the need to preserve Aarey forests in order to save Mumbai. Another environmentalist Prakash Bhoir, also belonging to Save Arey movement, said 145 acres from the land of Adivasis has been given to the Veterinary College, where adivasis are treated worse than animals. “We had to fight even for the basic facilities like toilet. Our land has been given for construction of the Mumbai Metro and now they are throwing us out of the our land”, he said. Rekha Ghatge, activist, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGBA), said, she was a victim of the failed rehabilitation at Mahul, wh...

By Sheshu Babu* For the last few days, #MeToo movement has picked up momentum and many women are coming out with horrific tales of severe harassment in their past lives. They are not afraid anymore to expose famous persons including those at ministerial levels. As a senior journalist Neeraja Chowdhury opined (“An exit, a beginning”, October 18, 2018, indianexpress.com), "The #MeToo revelations are like the eruption of a volcano which was imminent, given the journey working women have covered. It was not easy to make public what they had gone through,and take on powerful men.”

Counterview Desk Well-known civil rights organization, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), which claims to have championed the cause of 900 protesting workers of the Birlas-owned Century mills in Madhya Pradesh, has taken strong objection to established unions such as INTUC (Congress), AITUC (CPI) and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BJP) for failing to consult the workers in agreeing to choose the option of voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), one of the three offered by the Birlas.

Migrants from north India queue up to leave Gujarat Counterview Desk Senior Gujarat Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil, currently in charge of Bihar and national spokesperson, All-India Congress Committee, has sent a legal notice to chief minister Vijay Rupani threatening criminal case and civil defamation suit for accusing him with "baseless statement" that he was responsible for attacks on north Indians in Gujarat.

Several senior environmentalists and academics* of Vadodara have written an open letter to the Municipal Commissioner, Vadodara Municipal Corporation – copies of which have been sent to the secretary, Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change, and Gujarat chief secretary and other senior officials of Gujarat government looking after environment and urban development departments – to immediately stop demolition, tree felling and clearing of vegetation, dumping of debris, discharge of untreated sewage, dredging, digging, filling, levelling, construction, etc. along the city’s Vishwamitri river and its environs. Seeking to thoroughly relook the “development” works going on in and around Vadodara city, the letter says that the activities around the river are in violation of the Gujarat High Court Order dated February 2, 2002, interim order of the National Green Tribunal dated May 25, 2016; and the order of the Supreme Court dated February 22, 2017. Accusing the administrat...