By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Reni witnessed massive flash flood on February 7th, 2021 because of the bursting of a glacial lake on the river Rishiganga, which originates from the Nanda Devi peak. The devastation at village Reni, about 30 km from Joshimath,  and later at Tapovan and Vishnuprayag, was intimidating. Over 200 lives were lost and property and livelihood of many villages were lost.  The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) power project at Tapovan was completely washed away. A few other bridges which link Reni to the border areas also swept in the rising waters of both Rishi Ganga and Dhauli Ganga. Reni today is declared unsafe for living. People want alternative place. I visited the place in December 2021 and recorded conversation with local people and activists, who were part of the Chipko movement. The 45 minutes video tells us about his experiences of the movement and the people.  Listening to them, one would realise why the movement of which he was ...

By Harsh Thakor  Few batsmen struck a cricket ball with such vengeance or contempt as Clive Lloyd, who was the ultimate embodiment of power. Perhaps no left-hander batted more like Gary Sobers. Hard to think of any left hander in is time, with such wide range of strokes or at best batting in a more cavalier or imperious manner. At his best Clive could take domination to the scale rarely transcended and was a spectacle to witness.. It is hard to do justice to the joy Clive radiated out on the middle. Clive Lloyd nurtured and knitted a bunch of talented individuals to transform into possibly the best test team ever in the 1980's.Literally led a renaissance or gave a new dimension to Caribbean cricket. Never did West Indian cricket nurture such father figure.  Clive made a great contribution in elevating the morale or epitomising the spirit of the Afro-American West Indian Community and image of black people in the eyes of the white Community. As a cricketer he gave the ultimate ...

By Bharat Dogra*  The recent tragic development of many houses (and other buildings) being devastated and many families having to leave their homes in Joshimath and to a lesser extent in some other parts of Uttarakhand has once again raised serious questions regarding the path of development being pursued in the Himalayan region. 

Statement by Fr Anthoniraj Thumma, Secretary, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), Office for Dialogue & Desk for Ecumenism, Nellore, on observing World Interfaith Harmony Week and International Day of Human Fraternity: *** Greetings of Peace and joy to you from the CBCI – Office for Dialogue! Kindly allow me to bring to your notice the significant days related to interreligious dialogue occurring in the coming month of February 2023: 1. World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) – February 01-07: The World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) was adopted by the UN General Assembly resolution (A/RES/65/5) on 20 October 2010 declaring the first week of February each year as World Interfaith Harmony week. In the resolution, the General Assembly, pointed out that mutual understanding and interreligious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace and established World Interfaith Harmony Week as a way to promote harmony between all people regardless of their Faith. Recog...

By Bharat Dogra*  There was a lot of troubled questioning in the streets of Khyala in West Delhi. Many people were asking -- has that terrible liquor shop opened once again? There were reasons why the people were so worried. This liquor vend had created simply too many problems in the past as the liquor shop and the neighboring snack joints became the gathering place for many anti-social elements. Women and girls felt more insecure than ever before as drunk strangers made lewd gestures. What angered local people most was that the liquor vend was located too close to temples, gurdwaras and a school, violating policy guidelines. Hence small efforts to oppose the liquor vend started. However some powerful local persons were in favor of the vend, particularly those who had been able to earn high rent from shops selling liquor and snacks, and so some people were also a bit scared to become too vocal in protesting against the liquor vend. However, matters soon came to a head when the gat...

Statement demanding investigation of Hindenburg Research Report on Adani Group, signed by Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary, All India Trade Union Congress: *** In a shocking revelation Hindenburg Research, an investment research firm has published a research report on Adani Group claiming that the conglomerate has engaged in “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”. Presenting evidence the report says that the seven listed companies of Adani Conglomerate are 85% over valued. Report of the Hindenburg research is of a serious nature. The report has come out with substantiating evidences of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. It goes on to allege that inflated stock values are pledged with the banks to raise loans. The report also claims to have investigated a complex web of offshore entities and shell entities linked to Adani group. If the allegations are proved to be true, the ramifications will be very serious given the size of stocks...

By Nava Thakuria   According to official claims, incidents of poaching related to rhinoceros in various forest reserves of Assam in northeast India have decreased drastically. Brutal laws against the poachers, strengthening of ground staff inside the protected forest areas and increasing public awareness in the fringe localities of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the State are the reasons cited for positively impacting the mission to save the one-horned rhinos. Officials records suggest, only two rhinos were poached in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve since 1 January 2021 till date. The last incident took place probably in the last week of December 2021, as a decomposed carcass of a fully-grown (around 30 years old) female rhino was recovered inside the world-famous forest reserve next month. As the precious horn was missing, for which the gigantic animal was apparently hunted down, it could not be a natural death. Ironically, however, it was not confi...

Counterview Desk  A senior civil rights leader has said that even after 75 years of Independence, the Noudapara area of Mamabhagina village of the North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, has no electricity connection. Stating that the BSF has "prohibited power transmission at Noudapara", in a representation to the home department of the West Bengal government, Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), the action is "preventing education for children, treatment of sick persons, and other household activities where power connections are a necessity." He regretted, on November 1, 2022, 62 people from the Noudapara area submitted a mass petition with their demand at the SDO at Bongaon in the North 24 Paraganas district, yet nobody seemed to care. Text: This letter requires your immediate attention to sufferings of Noudapara area of Mamabhagina village under Police Station & Block Bagdah of North 24 Parganas District in West Bengal accessi...

By NS Venkataraman*  The view appears to have gone strong in some circles that just after a period of less than 24 months of entering Tamil Nadu politics and becoming the President of Tamil Nadu BJP and with no prior political experience, Annamalai has become a “strike force” in Tamil Nadu politics. Indeed, many feel, he may outshine many experienced politicians in Tamil Nadu, including those in the opposition and the Tamil Nadu BJP. Annamalai has entered politics when some sections in the state seem to have become tired of Dravidian politics in Tamil Nadu, which is ruling the state for 60 years now, marked by controversies, including high level corruption, increasing number of people, including children, getting addicted to liquor, and caste based politics. People have been voting for one Dravidian party or the other, since they have no other alternate party to bank upon. Poor people have been voting for any one of the Dravidian parties based on what have been dubbed...

By Bharat Dogra  Two most prominently stated facts about climate change are—firstly, it is extremely important to check climate change and secondly, that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced very significantly at a very fast pace, as scientifically determined. Both of these statements are absolutely correct. However if we confine ourselves just to these statements, then by themselves these can only give us a reductionist and isolationist understanding which, while technically correct, is not very helpful either for resolving this problem or for creating a better and safer world. There is an urgent need to reformulate the climate change framework, a task to which this writer has devoted much attention and effort in recent times. On the basis of this study and effort I would like to reformulate the basic issue as follows—Climate change is a critical survival issue which should be resolved on the basis of urgency by creating a world based on peace and disarmament, justice and equa...

By Arhaan Baaghi  Various democratic student organizations (bsCEM, fraternity, DSU, SIO, AIRSO) had planned a screening of the BBC documentary "India: The Modi Question" in the Delhi University Arts Faculty, but the guards of the university and the Delhi police along with paramilitary forcefully detained the students just because we were trying to watch a documentary that scrutinizes the role of Modi in 2002 Gujarat riots. At first when the students started screening the documentary, the electricity of the department building was cut down. Students were brutally beaten by the police and university guards. Female students were also brutally manhandled and beaten. This whole incident shows the Brahmanical Hindutva fascist nature of the government and the university authority that is working as its puppet. An activist of bsCEM was manhandled by a male security guard, who tried to pull out his T shirt. Also various female activist were dragged by male security guards and their h...

Kirity Roy, Secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), writes to the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission: *** On the eve of 61st Republic Day, I want to bring your urgent attention to a case of unsafe and insecure migration of villagers of Koiladangi of North Dinajpur district of West Bengal due to livelihood issues. Due to social and economic insecurity and degrading life conditions these villagers are being forced to undertake these migration efforts for a better life. But, due to the hazardous conditions under which these people are undertaking migration, instead of having a better life they are falling prey to numerous hostile situations. Thus, I would describe the situation to you, and demand for some positive and fruitful actions. I hope that after reading the details of the case you will take steps with utmost empathy to secu...

By Venkatesh Nayak*  Readers may remember from earlier this week, a detailed write-up about the refusal of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoI&B) to publicly disclose orders to block content on social and digital media platforms under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (2021 Rules) notified under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). 

By Harsh Thakor*  After the conclusion of the historic farmers' struggle in Delhi, farmers' organizations are moving along the trail in different ways regarding the remaining demands taking off from where the Delhi protest ended last year. During this past year, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has undertaken a spate of militant actions at various levels. A massive gathering of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other neighbouring States was staged on January 26 on the call of raising voices in different ways encompassing the whole the country on their issues. The spirit of resistance simmered at a crescendo like a spark turned into a prairie fire. SKM, the umbrella front of hundreds of farmer’s organisations, pledged to intensify the movement at the all-India level for achieving the crucial issues on which the Central government has backed out despite written assurances. The leaders at Jind appeared prepared for a long haul struggle for getting legal guarantee of minimum support ...

By Harsh Thakor  Gundappa Vishwanath scaled zones in batting artistry or wizardry unparalleled amongst Indian batsmen. The best of his batting was a manifestation of the divine. He was also the epitome of cricketing sportsmanship. Sadly 40 years ago he unceremoniously bid farewell to the International cricket world, after the concluding test at Karachi in 1982-83., in January end. Very hard to visualise a character like Vishwanath being reborn today His memories are embedded in cricket lovers today when sportsmanship and grace have virtually been relegated to oblivion with the game of cricket turned into a commercial commodity. Today agro and unsporting behaviour is a routine feature Vishy shimmered cricket’s spirituality. His behaviour on the cricket field was grace personified, No one in his age defined cricket more as a gentleman’s game, than Vishy. Vishwanath could execute strokes that were surreal with his steel wrists. His strokeplay resembled the touches of a painter’s bru...

By Prasanna Mohanty  How do you describe a nation that is the fastest-growing major economy in the world and also the fifth largest economy in the world (by overtaking the UK) in 2022 and yet is forced to feed 62.5% of its population, or 813.5 million people, with “free ration”? Two days after the Indian government announced “free ration” for 813.5 million Indians , Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the nation, in his monthly radio talk “Mann ki Baat” on December 25, 2022, that the country entered “Amrit Kaal” (golden period) in 2022 with tremendous economic progress. He said: “2022 has indeed been very inspiring, wonderful in many ways. This year India completed 75 years of her independence, and this very year Amritkal commenced. This year the country gained a new momentum…India attaining the status of the world’s fifth largest economy …” Since 2013’s National Food Security Act (NFSA), 75% of rural and 50% of urban households (62.5% households in all) are entitled to and getting (...