By Our Representative Several senior activists under the banner of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) in an open letter to Trivendra Rawat, chief minister, Uttarakhand, and Vijay Bardhwal, president, State Women's Commission, have regretted that incidents of rape of Dalits girls is constantly on the rise in the state. Referring to the May 30 incident, in which 24-year-old Vipin Panwar raped a mine-year-old minor Dalit girl his village in Nainbagh Tehsil, Jaunpur, Tehri Garhwal, the letter said, efforts by the family to get justice failed, but things came to light only after the girl's mother reached Dehradun with her unconscious daughter for treatment. Pointing out that the accused is absconding, NAPM said, four years ago, a young woman of the Dalit family was gangraped by young men of the village. She was later murdered. The matter was suppressed under the pretext that it would bring bad name to the village. NAPM said, the incident took place in the villag...

Trivendra Rawat, chief minister, Uttarakhand Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan’s excitement on their first day as MPs was overshadowed by a barrage of sexism over their ‘non- sanskari’ outfits, a group of civil society activists have said in a statement. According to Aarushi Nigam, Divya Kaushik, Riya Sharma, Ruman Ganguly, and Anulekha Agarwal, both Bengali actors and first-time MPs "were certainly excited to take them on when they posted pictures from their new workplace on social media." Hit by misogynistic comments, the activists say, "Their choice of workwear – jeans and a white button-down shirt for Mimi, a wine-coloured peplum suit for Nusrat – was the first and last word on their political competence for many." “You’re not on vacation”, “they have mistaken Parliament for Kolkata’s Nicco Park or City Centre”, “this is not a photo studio, this is a place where you should fight for people’s rights and legislate”, “keep some respect towards your Bengali society”...

Village Perka in Jharkhand By Gladson Dungdung* A village called Perka is situated at Murhu development block in Khunti district of Jharkhand, which is approximately 55 kilometers from Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand. A hundred and thirteen families reside in this village. As per the Census 2011, the village hasa  total population of 581, of which 300 are males while 281 are females.

By Nava Thakuria* Amidst talk of majority-based politics and Hindu-centric propagandas vertically dividing the country and one man worship, the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) triumphed again in the recently concluded national elections of India. There was an undercurrent of cautious nationalism, which led to the NDA crossed the tally of winners up to 353 in the 543 member Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.

By Moin Qazi* The idea that helping others is part of a meaningful life has been around for several years. For Muslims, charity is a central aspect of faith and practice. In Islam, a culture of giving is interwoven into the fabric of its modes of worship and it is one of the five basic requirements (arkan or “pillars”) of Islam. It connotes the path to purity, comprehension of material responsibility, and a heightened sense of spirituality. The centrality of zakat is underscored by the many times it is coupled with the command for prayer and also identified as a continuation of the practice of past prophets. In the Qurʾān, almsgiving is often cited along with prayer as a duty of the Muslim: ‘Perform the prayer, and give the alms’ (Q2: 43, 110, 277). . The two are often mentioned simultaneously in the symmetrical rhythm of the Qur’an. The tradition of humanitarian stewardship and egalitarian values are at the foundation of Islamic beliefs. Governed by a worldview in which all things...

By Our Representative The Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches (APFC), an apex body of the Bishops and Church Heads of mainline Churches and major Christian Denominations, has in a representation to new chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that it hopes he would fulfill “the hopes, aspirations and expectations of the people, especially of the poor and marginalized, without any fright, hatred, discrimination, favoritism and partiality.” “May God grant you wisdom and discernment, courage and fortitude, generosity and magnanimity”, it said, adding, “We pray in a special way that God may enable and empower you to provide good governance free of corruption and crime, and casteism and communalism.” APFC further said, “We, the Archbishops, Bishops, Church Heads and Leaders of Churches assure your Government wholehearted support and cooperation in the implementation of the Navaratnalu of your Government for the development of our State and prosperity of our people.” The representation ha...

By Rajiv Shah Top global NGO Save the Children’s latest report marking its 100 years of existence, “Changing Lives in Our Lifetime: Global Childhood Report 2019” has said that, while there is “much child survival progress to celebrate around the world, the job is nowhere near done”, India has scored poorly on this score. Especially focusing on deaths in early infanthood, the report, even as refusing to provide comparative figures, says, death rates of children in the first days after birth in India “have remained stubbornly high.”

Counterview Desk National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah recently said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot remove Article 35-A and Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), adding, "Let him be as powerful as he likes, he cannot remove Article 370 and article 35-A...” Taking a similar stance, his son, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had earlier said his party, National Conference (NC), was fighting the Lok Sabha elections for the protection of the state's special status and not on developmental issues.

A March 2017 demonstration against EVM in Gorakhpur Counterview Desk Even as opposition to the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) allegedly to rig polls is growing, a group of prominent citizens who have come together to form the EVM Virodhi Rashtriya Jan Andolan has controversially called for a national protest against EVMs on May 30, demanding future elections should be held only on ballot paper.

Family, neighbours of Naresh Bhuiyan Counterview Desk The civil rights organization Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), describing the recent arrest of Naresh Bhuiyan, an active member of the Bhartiya Bhuiyan Vikas Parishad and currently involved in protests against the Mandal Dam, as “unlawful”, has demanded that the state government should “immediately” initiate an independent enquiry into efforts to brand him as a Maoist.

By Our Representative Well-known women's rights organization, Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS), in an open letter to the complainant in the Chief Justice of India (CJI) sexual harassment case, has assured her that WSS will work with her "to ensure that due process is followed and that all institutions are held accountable, even at the highest court of the country." Calling the "harassment" she and her family face even since she raised her voice against CJI Ranjan Gogoi as brazenly patriarchal, the letter praises her "resolve" to speak out against CJI. Saying that it suggests her "resilience", the letter continues, her resolve "has forced into public domain, questions of accountability of the highest judicial body of this country, and demands that they demonstrate their commitment to the rule of law and justice, which they are supposed to uphold." Signed by WSS conveners Ajita, Nisha, Rinchin and Shalini, the...

The Uttar Pradesh civil rights organization Rihai Manch has sharply criticized the Punjab and Haryana High Court for saying that the two State governments should form a law to “finish off” criminals on the pattern of UP within six months, alleging it is speaking the language of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath. In a statement, the Rihai Manch said, a delegation of the civil rights body met the family members of Shahzad after they raised questions over the manner in which he was killed in a police encounter in Saharanpur. The delegation consisted of Ravish Alam, Ashu Chaudhary, Engineer Usman, Ash Muhammad, Amir Ahmed, Arsh Tyagi and Sajid. Following the meeting, the Rihai Manch issued a statement, where it criticized the Yogi government for the law which gives powers to the police powers to finish off gangsters and anti-social elements, insisting the High Court order has come at a time when backwards, Dalits and minorities are being targeted in UP. In many cases, the National Human R...

By Sheshu Babu* 'That the caste system must be abolished if the Hindu society is to be reconstructed on the basis of equality, goes without saying. Untouchability has its roots in the caste system. They cannot expect the Brahmins to rise in revolt against the caste system. Also we cannot rely upon the non- Brahmins and ask them to fight our battle' -- Dr BR Ambedkar *** Discrimination on caste and communal lines seems to be spreading to many parts of the country. A Dalit youth was thrashed and was beaten up for sitting on a chair and eating in front of upper caste community in district of Tehri (Uttarakhand) and succumbed to the injuries days later. With great difficulty, the family registered a case against the accused upper caste people. Even in higher education institutions, this disease of caste differentiation is taking the lives of lower caste students. The institutional murder of Rohith Vemula is still waiting for justice and, meanwhile, many Dalits and Muslims a...

Counterview Desk A recent report  titled “Torture: Indian State’s Instrument of Control in Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir”, published by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), has claimed to build “on the body of human rights documentation on torture” in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) through an examination of 432 case studies. It seeks to focus on "the trends and patterns, targets, perpetrators, contexts and impact of torture" in the state.

By Our Representative A group of social activists led by senior academic Sandeep Pandey, supporting Mayawati’s demand to re-conduct polls using ballot papers, have said that :the manner in which recently conducted Lok Sabha elections have given an unprecedented one-sided mandate favouring Bhartiya Janta Party "casts aspersions on electoral process.” Organized under the Lok Rajniti Manch, they said in a statement, “It appears as if BJP had managed a grip to control all institutions in democracy to get its desired results. We demand that to ensure citizens of India continue to believe in democracy, 100% VVPAT and EVMs data be tallied.” The statement adds, “If irregularity to large extent is found then as demanded by national leader of Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati, entire election be conducted using ballot paper.” The statement has been also signed by Rajeev Yadav, Gaurav Singh (Lucknow), Yugal Kishore Shastri (Ayodhya), Faisal Khan (Delhi), Lubna Sarwath (Hyderabad), Gurumurti M (...

By Our Representative The Congress Working Comittee (CWC), even as unanimously "rejecting" Rahul Gandhi's resignation as party president following the poll debacle, in its list "challenges" India faces has put "the issue of surging oil prices post-sanctions against Iran as also price rise stares us in the face" at the very top. Then comes the banking sector which is allegedly in "dire straits with uncontrolled and unchecked non-performing assets (NPAs) soaring to nearly Rs 12 lakh crore, over last five years, threatening the very stability of banking operations", followed by "financial viability of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), wherein hard earned savings of the people’s life are invested." This is followed by "the downturn of economy coupled with lack of private investment and a steep fall in consumption patterns, point towards grave economic slowdown", the "looming job crisis" , the "agrarian cri...

By Mohan Guruswamy* Last year the number of foreign tourists who came to India was about 90 million. By contrast domestic tourism totaled over 1,400 million visits, clearly suggesting that its implied economics are far bigger than the foreign business. It also suggests that very many of our people make several trips for tourism every year.

SUCI demonstration in Surat By Our Representative In a memorandum to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), Gujarat, a political group, has said that the Takshshila fire tragedy in Surat, which has led to the death of 23 students , suggests that the Gujarat government has not learned any lesson over the last two years, during which period 11 incidents of fire tragedy leading to the loss of 27 lives took place in the city. “Has your government learned any lessons from it? Or the same noise, same reaction of strict action by your government to forget it and to move on further?”, SUCI’s Meenakshi Joshi said, adding, “Every day, In our country there are 59 deaths due to fire incidents. This is much more than death due to terrorism or crime.” Asserting that “fire safety norms are never complied in Gujarat”, Joshi said, “Three fire tragedies took place in past six months in Gujarat. Now after the incident in Takhshila tuition class, the government su...

Vishnu Pandya By Rajiv Shah A little over a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized BJP candidate from Bhopal Pragya Thakur for calling Nathuram Godse a patriot saying he would never forgive her for the remark, a top Sangh Parivar ideologue, known to close to Modi in Gujarat, has supported her, saying her statement should be seen “within a context.” Thakur won from Bhopal by more than 3.5 lakh votes defeating her nearest rival, veteran Congressman and ex-Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh.

Rahul Gandhi with civil society leaders By Joe Athialy* “The winner takes it all, the loser standing small” -- ABBA Now that BJP won has emphatically, everything BJP did is right, ‘touching a chord with the common people’, one is a Chanakya, and another a giant. Every other party and leader got it all wrong. Their slogans did not strike. Their strategies were wrong, they woke up to forming alliances late, and all that.

By Rajiv Shah Elections were over, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already won a landslide, yet the poll fever seemed to continue unabated among the middle classes of Ahmedabad. Ordinary citizens of Ahmedabad, called Amdavadis, are quite sparing when it comes to bets. They ensure that they do not splurge. One of the bets that I came across on the D-day, May 23, was to tell the most correct number of seats the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would win.

By Moin Qazi* Pride and dignity would belong to women if only men would leave them alone. – Egyptian Proverb During the last two decades the gender landscape in rural India has been slowly greening and women are now on the cusp of a powerful social and political revolution. The harbinger of this social and political change is a unique policy experiment in village-level governance \ has brought transformative results for its most oppressed class: the village women. India’s affirmative action, aimed at chipping away centuries of powerlessness, is one of the many watershed stories. Women have risen to participate in decision-making processes and play a role in public life. In 1993, India introduced the Panchayati Raj (Village Government) Act, mandating a three-tiered structure of local governance at the village, block and district levels with reservation of one third of all posts in gram panchayats – village councils at the bottom tier of India’s decentralized governance system – for...

By Santosh Gedam* Reserve and protected forest ideas evolved during colonial period to allow British government unfettered access to further its interests by trampling rights of forest dwellers. Forest governance has an interesting history in India from British East Indies Company trying to capture it for timber from the Malabar region of west coast after impressing Britain Royal Navy with Malabar timber warship in the eighteenth century to British government taking over its control to serve colonial projects.

By Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury It is a decisive win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP and NDA. And we need to explore the reasons too. As for the Congress-led UPA, the situation appears only a little better than what it hitherto was. And as for the regional parties, they seem to be on the decline, except for the YSR Congress in Andhra, the BJD in Odisha, the TRS in Telengana and the DMK in Tamil Nadu (largely in South India). The Left is totally left out.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* India has ultimately 'decided' as what kind of government we want. Our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru truly lost today as Narendra Modi was actually fighting election against him. Throughout the campaign BJP did not give any 'hisab' of its governance but spoke about the past of Gandhis. 

By Our Representative In May first week, several political activists got together and launched a missed call campaign (on the phone No 9667655855) in support of the demand that the 2019 Lok Sabha elections must be declared only after verification of 50 percent electronic voting machine (EVM) data with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) receipts. During the counting for the Lok Sabha polls on May 23, as per the Supreme Court guidelines, only two percent EVM data will be verified with VVPAT slips. As of May 21, morning (10.30 am) 83,994 persons gave a missed call supporting the demand of 50 percent EVM verification with VVPAT. On the day of the polls, May 23, this number touched 2.50 lakh. At the same time, senior political activist and environmentalist Mahesh Pandya had simultaneously launched a petition through change.org with the same demand of 50 percent EVM verification in each Assembly Constituency with VVPAT. As of May 21, 10.30 am, 9,973 people signed the petition. On M...

Counterview Desk In a letter to Gujarat government officials, including state chief secretary, and senior officials responsible for urban development and environment and forests, a group of concerned citizens* led by senior environmentalist Rohit Prajapati have sought urgent action to prevent anticipated disasters, flooding, and water logging due to deliberate negligence regarding the reclamation of ravines in Gujarat's cultural capital Vadodara.

The Dalit meet in Lhor village By Rajiv Shah As one reaches Lhor, one can sense an atmosphere of unease gripping one of the five villages where Dalit wedding processions was recently blocked by non-Dalits in this small medium-sized North Gujarat village, barely 30 kilometres off the seat of the state's political power centre, Gandhinagar. Despite punitive steps, the village remains as divided on caste lines, just it was before the incident which shot into prominence after May 6, when the bridegroom Mehul was not allowed to ride a horse in a wedding procession on the main village street.

By Venkatesh Nayak* All seven phases of voting to elect members of the 17th Lok Sabha have been completed. The votes will be counted on May 23, 2019. Soon after the last phase of polling ended, pollsters had a field day with their exit poll findings about the likely performance of political parties and pre-poll/post-poll alliances. So did the bulls in the stock market the next day.

By Our Representative A group of concerned citizens have in an appeal said they are "deeply perturbed" with reports coming in from various parts of the country of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and even a voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) being transported in unauthorized trucks and private vehicles, allegedly to exchange EVMs from strong rooms and replace them with alternate EVMs. Pointing out that there are also videos of EVMs being stored in unauthorized storage houses and shops, the appeal says, "While the Election Commission (EC) has denied over years that EVMs can be tampered, many of us have been raising the issue of EVM tampering from Gujarat 2002 election onwards." Signed by academicians, litterateurs, trade union leaders, social activists and film makers, the appeal says, "We are concerned that voters’ verdict sealed inside the EVM machines is sought to be tampered. We strongly believe that the responsibility of ensuring that the Voters’ Ve...

Counterview Desk People’s Watch, a human rights organisation, in its new report, “A Year After Thoothukudi Burned”, has said it is "surprised" by the silence of the National Human Rights Commission, the CBI and the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of inquiry over the police firing on peaceful protestors in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, "brutally" killing 11.

By Rajiv Shah Rural Punjab may be richer compared to the rest of India's rural areas, but a recent study has raised the alarm that, except for big farmers, all other categories – marginal, small, semi-medium and medium in accordance with their farmsize – are forced to spend more than what they actually earn. Titled “Levels of Living of Farmers and Agricultural Labourers in Rural Punjab”, the study insists, the result is, “Large sections of the farm households have been facing a great deal of distress and increased debt burden.”

By Our Representative About 45 Gujarat activists have, in a memorandum to the President of India on the vandalisation of the statue of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar last week in West Bengal, have said that the incident is "the culmination of the culture and politics of hatred that has unleashed in our country." The memorandu, however, refrains from naming any political party. "Words fail to condemn the vandalisation of the bust of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, one of the pioneers of Indian social reform movement, during the election campaign of Loksabha poll at Kolkata", the memorandum reads, adding, "Starting from Vivekananda, Gandhiji, Tagore and many were inspired by Vidyasagar. Devaluating the greatness of renaissance and freedom struggle will push us to the dark age of feudal society." Continues the memorandum, "A culture of talibisation has usurped in the country. Statues of Gandhiji, Ambedkar, Periyar, and Lenin have been vandalized in recent past. Vanda...