Nemi Devi Freelance scholars and student volunteers interested in action-oriented research, socio-economic rights and related issues have carried out a survey on primary school children in a village in Jharkhand. A small writeup based on Road Scholarz’s twitter thread : *** We did a house-to-house survey of primary-school children in Dumbi, a fairly typical Dalit-Adivasi hamlet of Jharkhand. Out of 36 children, 30 could not read a single word. Many parents feel that their children are lapsing into illiteracy. Nemi Devi explains . Online learning is a fiction in Dumbi. With the village closed in the last 16 months, primary education is at a standstill. Most children are just milling around, some are working in the fields. Kusmi Devi In almost every house there was a sad story of poor parents who are struggling to educate their children, but most have no smartphone and no money for tuitions. Kusmi Devi, mother of 4 illiterate children, explains . One of Kusmi’s daughters, Chandni, is in ...

By Rajiv Shah  A just-released study, sponsored by a Netherlands-based non-profit, Arisa , “Seeds of Oppression Wage sharecropping in Bt cottonseed production in Gujarat, India”, has said that a new form of bondage, or forced labour, exists in North India’s Bt cottonseed farms, in which bhagiyas, or wage sharecroppers, are employed against advances and are then often required to work for years together “without regular payment of wages.”

By Our Representative Centre for Labour Research and Action (CLRA),  a labour rights NGO of informal and migrant workers in Gujarat, has written letters to cottonseed companies operating in Gujarat demanding hike in procurement rates for farmers to factor the increase in agriculture labour minimum wages rate in the state. Gujarat. A copy of the letters has been sent to the state labour commissioner.

By Simi Mehta, Ritika Gupta, Amita Bhaduri  To understand the far-reaching and disproportionate impact of rising sea-level on coastal communities, the Centre for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CECCSD), Impact and Policy Research Institute ( IMPRI ), Tarun Bharat Sangh , India Water Portal , and Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan organized a #WebPolicyTalk on Sea Rise Induced Displacement in the Bay of Bengal: The Need for Suitable Rehabilitation Policy as part of its #WaterAndClimate series.

Prafull Samantara By Mohammad Irshad Ansari*  The struggle for “Jal, Jungle and Jameen” has been a long-drawn battle for the tribal communities of India. This tussle was once again in the limelight with the proposed diamond mining in the Buxwaha forest of Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh). The only difference in this movement was the massive social media support it gained, which actually seems to tilt the scale for the tribal people in a long time.

Counterview Desk   At a time when there is a huge demand to ensure that vaccination should be universal in order to gain immunity against the pandemic, an organisation called Indian Doctors for Truth, have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the “urgent need to stop the overzealous universal vaccination drive against Covid-19.  Read the letter, signed by 18 doctors and a health expert: *** We, the undersigned Indian Doctors for Truth, want to bring to your notice certain scientific facts about immunity achieved by Indian population among adults and children, alike, in the light of the latest sero-survey done by AIIMS along with WHO, for immediate action. Looking at the evidence, we urge you to immediately stop the drive for vaccination of the entire population and limit it to voluntary vaccination of only those above 60 years and/or people with severe degree of comorbidity. The first principle of medicine is Do No Harm. This is often considered a main component of the Hippo...

By Mansee Bal Bhargava*  The number of women ministers is doubled in early July from the first term after cabinet reshuffle by the present government led by Narendra Modi. While there were 06 women ministers in the previous term, this term there are 11. The previous two governments led by Dr Manmohan Singh had 10 women ministers in each tenure. Are these number of women ministers something to rejoice in the near 75 years of independence? Yes maybe, if we think that things are slowly improving in the patriarchal system. This change is less likely to achieve gender balance in the parliament otherwise we require more than 11 as per the 33% reservation . This change is also less likely because the men politicians’ inability to handle the country’s mess is becoming more and more evident and especially during the corona crisis. Seems, the addition of more women ministers may be a result of the recent assembly elections where women played a decisive role in the election results. For exa...

By Rajiv Shah  As would generally happen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet – that not only was he “absolutely delighted” with the news of UNESCO tag to Dholavira, but he “ first visited ” the site during his “student days and was mesmerised by the place” – is being doubted by his detractors. None of the two tweets, strangely, even recalls once that it’s a Harappan site in Gujarat.

Counterview Desk  In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, well-known Gujarat-based environmentalist, Mahesh Pandya of the Paryavaran Mitra, has protested against the manner in with the Gujarat government is continuing with its deep sea effluent disposal project despite environmental concerns.

Counterview Desk  In a letter to the Municipal Commissioner, Vadodara, with copies to several senior Government of India officials -- including secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti; secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change; chairman, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) -- and their Gujarat counterparts, several concerned citizens of Gujarat’s cultural capital have insisted upon stopping what they have called “utterly destructive” clean up activities at the Vishwamitri River banks, continuing since July 10, 2021.

By Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury*  Third time elected West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee is on a whirlwind tour of Delhi, meeting everyone who matters within and beyond the government, the Prime Minister, the President, some Cabinet ministers, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, several other opposition leaders, et al.

By Advocate Mohammad Shoaib, Sandeep Pandey* That corruption is rampant in police department is a common experience. However, there is another form of corruption which devastates lives of individuals and their families. It has now emerged as a common phenomenon that police more often than not register false cases because of which individuals have to spend number of years in jail.

By Dr Palla Trinadha Rao* During a recent AP Tribes Advisory Council meeting held on 23rd July, 2021, the issue of non recognition of ST women’s right in inherited property in the family has come for discussion. The meeting chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister, Tribal Welfare Pushpa Srivani discussed the issue with a positive note and passed a resolution to bring the item in the next meeting for a final decision. The Tribes Advisory Council is a constitutional body formed under Fifth Schedule to the Constitution. The issue is a long pending one and has to be viewed in the context of both customary laws as well as fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. Modern jurisprudence of rights to natural resources (whether usufructuary or property) are grounded on ‘private property’ perspective that have emerged since colonial period. This idea of property offers a limited scope for people to own resources; only ‘legal persons’, an individual, company, or other entity which...

By Ishita Chatterjee, Neelesh Kumar, Manju Menon, Vimal Bhai* On July 23, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation told the Supreme Court that they have cleared 74 acres out of 150 acres. Despite the affidavit of the Municipal Corporation, the court, on the complaint of various litigants, that the arrangements for living, food etc. have not been made for the people. 

By Nava Thakuria*  With Nobel peace laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus receiving the Olympic Laurel award at the opening ceremony of 32nd Games of the Olympiad Tokyo 2020, organized under the shadow of Covid-19 pandemic with no audience on the ground, his motherland in South Asia incorporated its name in the history of Olympics.

Part 2 of interaction with Thiru K Veeramani, deological disciple of EVR Periyar and one of the senior most leaders of the Dravidian movemen, by  Vidya Bhushan Rawat*: *** Thiru K Veeramani is the ideological disciple of EVR Periyar and one of the senior most leaders of the Dravidian movement at the moment. He started working under his mentor EVR Periyar at the age of 10 years when he delivered his first speech in Salem. Veeramani is President of Dravidar Kazhagam and editor of Modern Rationalist, a monthly journal devoted to Periyar’s ideas. That apart, he is editor of many other magazines and journals in Tamil. This interview was conducted by Vidya Bhushan Rawat at the Periyar Thidal on November 1st, 2019. These are some of the excerpts and the entire interview can be viewed at the youtube link being provided at the end of the article. Dravidian movement internationally Thiru Veeramani said that “It is high time that Periyar must be globalised now. He said that it was easier in...