All posts by Nivedita Menon

Culture, Education, Violence/Conflict

In solidarity with Rohith Vemula: Concerned students and faculty at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

3 Comments

Open letter to the President of India from Concerned students and faculty at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.

To

The President of India

Subject: An urgent appeal to address discrimination and political interference in academic institutions in the wake of the death of RohithVemula.

We, a group of students and faculty of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta,expressour grief over the loss of the precious life of RohithVemula, a Dalit research scholar, at the University of Hyderabad.The events that transpired in the particular case were indeed tragic, with allegedinfringement of freedom of expression, caste discrimination and partisan interference by the higher State apparatus. This event is symptomatic of the larger malaise of failure of our institutions to provide a climate where students, irrespective of their social backgrounds, could find a way to excel. To create such a climate would require synchronised efforts in the parts of the State, the educational institutions and the society at large. Continue reading In solidarity with Rohith Vemula: Concerned students and faculty at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta →

Education, Left watch, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Saluting Rohith Vemula on Republic Day: Meena Kandasamy and Ravichandran Bathran

2 Comments

Meena Kandasamy in The Hindu:

Rohith, you have left behind your dream of becoming a science writer like Carl Sagan, and left us with only your words. Each of our words now carries the weight of your death, every tear carries your unrealised dream. We will become the explosive stardust that you speak of, the stardust that will singe this oppressive system of caste. Within every university, every college, every school in this country, each of our slogans will carry the spirit of your struggle. Dr. Ambedkar spoke of caste as the monster that crosses ones path every way one turns, and within the agraharams that are the Indian educational institutions, our very physical presence must embody the message of caste annihilation. Let every despicable casteist force wince when they encounter a Dalit, a Shudra, an Adivasi, a Bahujan, a woman staking claim within academia, let them realise that we have come here to end a system that has kept trying hard to put an end to us, that we have come here to cause nightmares to those who dared to snatch our dreams. Let them realise that Vedic times, the era of pouring molten lead into the ears of the Shudras who hear the sacred texts, the era of cutting the tongues of those who dared to utter the knowledge that was denied to them, are long gone. Let them understand that we have stormed these bastions to educate, to agitate, to organise; we did not come here to die. We have come to learn, but let the monsters of caste and their henchmen bear in mind that we have come here also to teach them an unforgettable lesson.

Read the rest of this tribute here.

RAVICHANDRAN BATHRAN in Tehelka

A person who is conscious of and sensitive about caste discrimination is certain to become alienated in every psychological, emotional, social and political sense in today’s campuses that breed free-market-loving, reservation hating students who benefit from caste-intensive social networks. This is why the Dalit and anti-caste students’ movement is crucial in democratising our campuses. These outfits question the present, past and future of the society we live in. They may be few in number and not always successful, but their actions are solely committed to the welfare of Dalit students as they have no other support system in our campuses. I am proud to say that many like me are the product of such movements in the universities.

Read the whole article here

Identities, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Manipur Tribals Protest on Republic Day: Ajita Banerjie

3 Comments

Guest Post by AJITA BANERJIE

Untitled 2

As the country prepares itself in all the glory to celebrate Republic Day, nine bodies remain unburied in Churachandpur. With what started as a local strife between the protesting tribals and the police, the struggle is now for a graver concern – land, rights and identity.

On 31st August 2015, several young people from the tribal communities in Churachandpur took to the streets protesting against the three controversial bills. The Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015, and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015, were passed unanimously by the Manipur Assembly and were a response to the earlier demand of introducing the Inner Line Permit. The protest turned violent and in the clash, nine young civilians were killed by brutal police force. Out of the nine, the youngest to have lost his life was an eleven year old boy who was shot dead by the police. What seemed like collateral damage in a political strife, became a symbol of revolution for the hill tribes. To stage their protest, the families of the 9 martyrs have refused to bury the bodies until the government takes cognizance of their demands to withdraw the three bills that threaten the very basic rights of the tribals and makes them refugees in their own land.

Continue reading Manipur Tribals Protest on Republic Day: Ajita Banerjie →

Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Academics protest Rohith Vemula’s death

3 Comments

Statement by concerned scholars

The suicide of Rohith Vemula is now the subject of a ridiculous inquiry to be conducted by a Committee set up by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani. The real reason and the politics behind it are clear to those who are willing to open their eyes. As academics, we are concerned that such a situation should prevail in Universities, and wish to register our protest.

Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai was to be screened at the University of Hyderabad. The action was planned by the Ambedkar Students’ Association. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, student goons of the RSS, used force to try and halt this. Dalit students were subjected to verbal abuse as well as physical force. As a result of agitations the ABVP had to apologise in writing. This was what caused such tremendous heartburn to the Hindutva forces. While the screening of Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai has taken place in various parts of the country, and has also given rise to conflicts in various parts of the country, it is in UoH alone that the consequences turned so aggressive with full participation of the top echelons of the University. The new Vice Chancellor, Appa Rao Podile, had five PhD students suspended. They were subjected to social ostracism as well. Thrown out of hostel, debarred from entering library, administrative spaces, they were hounded in a way that no administration has hounded any upper caste student in our memory. It is also reported that an MHRD letter designated them anti-national for opposing the hanging of Yakub Memon. The MHRD, today  proclaiming autonomy of Universities, was goading UoH through several letters to take action against the ASA. Rohith had even written a letter to the Vice Chancellor a couple of weeks ago, where he suggested the University provide means of committing suicide to Dalit students. Even after this the authorities did nothing. And after the suicide, the police acted in a brutal and shameless manner, grabbing the body of Rohith and disposing of it in secrecy instead of handing it over to his relatives. 

Continue reading Academics protest Rohith Vemula’s death →

Capitalism, Culture

Pirates in our public library – Why Indian scholars are closely watching a court case in Quebec: Rochelle Pinto

1 Comment

Rochelle Pinto in Scroll.in

In 2005, Sean Dockray did what any sensible government should have done for its students. The American artist set up a sharing-enabled platform for a website then called aaaaarg.org, and uploaded digital copies of largely theoretical and philosophical texts that could be freely downloaded by readers. Before long, many of the researchers, students, teachers, and scholars who used the site began to upload scans of texts in their possession – exactly as Dockray hoped they would.

To readers based in places like India, a collection with this breadth is simply unavailable and, on first sight, unimaginable, as these books often sell at more than three or four times the price of a bestselling novel. Outside of the highly professionalised, and increasingly corporatised atmosphere of the better-funded US, European and East Asian university libraries, scholars have to settle for producing critical research without access to (or sometimes knowledge of) essential material.With aaaaarg.org, anyone with an internet connection could access mutually contributed material, reminding us that research relies on a common pool of ideas.

Since no good deed goes unpunished, Dockray has been regularly pursued with the odd legal notice. Those who punched in the address aaaaarg.org (now aaaaarg.fail) to search for this boon of a resource know that it kept adding or subtracting an “a” to its cry of frustration every six months or so in response to the threats. Aaaaarg.org sometimes took down a few texts, negotiated with publishers, and persuaded a few to back off, aided by reader support. The site is now hosted by free software advocate Marcell Mars as aaaaarg.fail. As a case filed by an unknown publisher is underway in the Superior Court of Quebec, long time users are, aside from contributing towards their legal expenses, hoping that the project does not go the way of other online sites such as library.nu and gigapedia that were forced to shut down.

Read the rest of the article here.

 

Education, Law

Constitutionalising the Administration of Higher Educational Institutions – An Important Supreme Court Decision: Aradhya Sethia

Leave a comment

Guest Post by ARADHYA SETHIA

The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Chelameshwar and Justice Sapre delivered a judgment, which will have a widespread impact on governance of higher education in India – Dr. Janet Jayapaul v. SRM University, in continuation of their “penchant” for education, recently reflected in Haryana Panchayati Rajdecision, delivered by this very bench.

By holding that a deemed university is ‘state’ under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, courts have opened the doors for application of even ‘vertical’ fundamental rights to these institutions. For an outsider to the practice of law, it may sound like an issue of mere technicality and semantics wrapped up in legal jargon. However, this case has a great potential in playing a very important role in infusing constitutional values in administration of these educational institutions. The issues such as gender discrimination, curbing of freedom of speech, right to privacy, etc. within the college environment are no more merely questions of propriety and culture, but also amenable to a claim in a court of law. Therefore, the outcome of this semantic exercise is very real, not just for the purposes of immediate case that the court was involved with, but for long-term educational reform in India. Continue reading Constitutionalising the Administration of Higher Educational Institutions – An Important Supreme Court Decision: Aradhya Sethia →

Identities, Politics

31st August in Manipur – The day and after: Roluahpuia

1 Comment

Guest Post by ROLUAHPUIA

In Manipur, most days are not merely a day as they appear in the calendar. Many days in fact are commemorated and remembered and therefore political. For instance, the 18th of June is commemorated as the Great June Uprising by the Meitei mostly led by the United Committee Manipur (UCM) as a mark of remembrance to the loss of 18 lives as a result of the protest over the extension of ceasefire beyond territorial limits between the Government of India (GoI) and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim- Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM). On the contrary, 27th August is commemorated by the Mao Naga as ‘Martyrs Day’ to commemorate the loss of seven lives in 27th August of 1948 for the cause of Naga integration movement. For the last, 13th September of every year is commemorated by the Kuki as Kuki Black Day against the mass killing of Kuki by the Naga militants. What this three different commemoration displays is the noticeable cleavages and ethnic divides among the three ethnic groups of the state. Continue reading 31st August in Manipur – The day and after: Roluahpuia →

Culture, Feminism

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Bajirao-Mastani” – A Feminist Analysis of Mastani’s Religion and Caste: Deepra Dandekar

5 Comments

Guest post by DEEPRA DANDEKAR

“Bajirao-Mastani”, a film made by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, released in 2015, has been controversial for all the wrong and Brahminical reasons – the Peshwa’s descendants raising their hackles about the veracity of events surrounding Kashibai’s life and conservative concerns over vulgarity and the attack on the the dignity of a pure Brahmin family. My concerns in this essay are however different. This essay is a feminist analysis about Mastani and about how persons of mixed Muslim parentage are culturally constructed.

What Bhansali perhaps never questioned for a minute, while making “Bajirao-Mastani” was the conundrum of Mastani’s caste and religion, when he conveniently made her Muslim, while erasing her Rajput identity in Hindu India. But he did more. While making her Muslim, Bhansali moreover produces a paradigm of “good” Muslim-ness that can be deemed morally “tolerable” by Brahmin Hindus, when it protects Hindu women from “bad” Muslims, who can then be legitimately killed. Bhansali produces this as a historical saga that integrates “good” Muslims as secondary adjuncts (second wives) in status to primary, formal, upper caste and Hindu family relationships in exchange for protection.   Continue reading Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Bajirao-Mastani” – A Feminist Analysis of Mastani’s Religion and Caste: Deepra Dandekar →

Education, Sex, Violence/Conflict

An Open Letter to the President of India – Please take sexual harassment seriously

8 Comments

STATEMENT BY CONCERNED CITIZENS

It is shocking that the Hon’ble Visitor appointed Prof Bidyut Chakrabarty to the Executive Council of JNU on 8 October 2015 and his name now features as a candidate for the prestigious position of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi, if this is accurately reported in the media. [1] Both these positions—either as a Vice Chancellor or as a nominated member in an Executive Council of a University—demand impeccable record of academic excellence and integrity. However, it would appear that a record of sexual harassment does not impact the process of appointments in Universities.

It is well known that a sexual harassment case was made by an employee of Gandhi Bhawan on 4.4.07 against the Director, Prof Bidyut Chakrabarty. The Delhi University Apex Committee on Sexual Harassment vide its report that was tabled and accepted by the Executive Council Resolution No 114 dated 8.10.07 resolved that:

  1. A letter of warning be issued to Prof Bidyut Chakrabarty.
  2. He should be asked to step down from the Directorship of Gandhi Bhawan.
  3. He should be debarred from holding any administrative post in the University for a period of three years.

Prof Chakrabarty was removed from the position of Director, Gandhi Bhawan, Head of the Department of Political Science and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences. Continue reading An Open Letter to the President of India – Please take sexual harassment seriously →

Feminism, Genders, Violence/Conflict

Three Years Later – Women Struggle for Justice and Freedom from Fear: Statement on the eve of December 16th

3 Comments

Statement by women’s groups, students’ groups, progressive groups and individuals

As 2015 comes to a close, we remember the tumultuous times in December 2012 when thousands of people – young and old – poured into the streets of Delhi in pain, rage and outrage. This was, of course, in the aftermath of the brutal gang rape and assault on a young woman that eventually led to her tragic death. That it occurred in the heart of Delhi, the capital of the country, is a shocking truth that people demanded and the government pledged to change.

Yet, in the three years since December 2012, women continue to face violence in every space they occupy, including their own homes, in public places, on public transport and at workplaces. There have been many attacks on women and girls, some accompanied by huge media coverage, but most taking place away from the public glare. Violence is the weapon used to keep them “in their place” on the basis of their identities, including caste, class race, religion and dis/ability.

These range from sexual assaults and rapes and even murder of adivasi women and girls in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, by CRPF men; on Muslim women in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh; on Dalit women in Haryana, on women from Northeast India, either in their own states or in the places they move to in search of brighter opportunities.

Women occupying workplaces in the informal and formal sectors are facing increasing levels of backlash. From women working in fields, mines or inside homes, on construction sites or tending roadside stalls, to women working in corporate offices, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, law offices or in the media, countless cases bear testament to the systematic sexual harassment they face at workplaces. While some have taken courage to file cases against their perpetrators, the severe consequences that have had to face from the media and the courts for speaking out are a matter of deep concern. Continue reading Three Years Later – Women Struggle for Justice and Freedom from Fear: Statement on the eve of December 16th →

Culture

The ‘Pinga’ Controversy, Caste and Subversion: Sneha Gole

10 Comments

Guest Post by SNEHA GOLE

Recently the song ‘Pinga’, from Sanjay Bhansali’s ‘Bajirao Mastani’ went online on YouTube and the song has given rise to a tide of criticism,  mostly from self-professed ‘Puneris’ and ‘Maharashtrians’. Much of the criticism is aimed at what is perceived as the lack of authenticity of the song – that it is unlikely that Kashibai and Mastani would dance together, that the costumes worn by the actresses in the song are historically inappropriate, that a queen would not wear such revealing clothes and dance like an ‘item girl’ along with a ‘courtesan’ etc. While I am in no ways arguing that the song is historically accurate and I can understand the discomfort of those arguing against the song, the tone of much of that writing is troubling to say the least.

While accusing the director of stereotyping, much of this writing is working from an assumption that equates Maharashtrian to Bramhin. One of the posts even talks about how “no Maharashtrian lady would be caught bobbing her head like that” (emphasis mine). Which Maharashtrian women are we talking about? There is also a distinct racist tinge to the criticisms, with a few posts commenting on Priyanka Chopra’s ‘dusky’ skin as unsuitable for Kashibai (with her fair, delicate, ‘Chitpavan’ looks)! Continue reading The ‘Pinga’ Controversy, Caste and Subversion: Sneha Gole →

Debates, Feminism, Genders

Reflections On The Limitations Of The Call For Full Criminalisation Of Marital Rape: Madhu Mehra

6 Comments

Guest Post by MADHU MEHRA

I will critically discuss the campaign for (full) criminalisation of marital rape to call attention to ways by which this campaign reduces a potentially tranformatory agenda on gender, sexuality and marriage, to one of law, crime and punishment. There is no denying that there is widespread sexual and other forms of intimate partner violence against women within marriage (including marital rape), and the absolute necessity of criminalizing such violence. Yet, the campaign for criminalsing marital rape is troubling – in terms of the aspects it selectively probelematises as harmful to women and aspects relating to sexuality and marriage that it is completely silent on. It is also problematic for privileging the criminal law remedies, over non-punitive interventions which require a broader engagement with concerns related to marriage and sexuality that are equally hurtful to women.

Let us first summarise the legal position on marital rape. Continue reading Reflections On The Limitations Of The Call For Full Criminalisation Of Marital Rape: Madhu Mehra →

Everyday Life

Moving With Darkness: Rekha Revathy

1 Comment

Guest Post by REKHA REVATHY

A so-called normal person may sometimes wonder how blind people like myself travel to work or move about in other public places like railway stations, bus stands, airports and roads. Large numbers of blind people also travel as commuters in metro trains in Mumbai as well as in buses and local trains, autorikshaws and other transport. They face many difficulties, big and small, in their travel. Some are comfortable with their daily commuting because they have adjusted to the conditions which they have endured for long. Some blind people always take the help of an escort during such travels. But finding an escort daily is not easy and also, what if a blind person depends on his/her colleague in office or a friend to travel to school or work daily, if on any day that colleague or friend is not able to come, then he/she becomes helpless. And in such situations they will be put to a new challenge of reaching their destination in time by themselves. And of course, moving to a different place or a new place is much more difficult for a blind person.

Moving about at the work place is less challenging than traveling in buses or trains for the blind, although there are still difficulties like climbing the stairs, locating their seats, keeping things in their place, going to the dining room, using the wash room and so on. But there are blind people who do all these things without any sighted help because they have adapted to their environment. But it also takes some time. Any changes made in the premises puts them in confusion – changes such as construction of a new counter, changing the positions of chairs tables etc, fitting of a new door or changing the positions of water jars. It is also a fact that blind people cannot always find a person to help them out in their work places. And sometimes they end up injuring themselves. Continue reading Moving With Darkness: Rekha Revathy →

Capitalism, Government, Politics

Armed Forces as livelihood and State power: Gautam Navlakha

5 Comments

Guest post by GAUTAM NAVLAKHA

Notwithstanding popular perception, professional soldiers do not join the armed services out of overwhelming ‘patriotism’. They are in fact driven by the desire to get a job that offers material security for them and their family. It is predominantly their own livelihood needs that drives people to enlist. On the other hand, the main objective of any government’s concern is to keep the morale of such professional soldiers high, so that they would go out and fight anyone as directed by the government, whether it is ‘enemies’ outside the nation’s borders or within – conducting the predatory war for ‘development’ which profits the corporate class or suppressing popular movements.

More than 101 Districts out of 680 in India are notified as ‘Disturbed Area’ where the military forces enjoy immunity from prosecution and exercise extraordinary authority. In addition, in 35 other districts similar conditions operate even though these have not been notified as “Disturbed Area”. However, the  Union Ministry of Home Affairs exempts the personnel, through a notification, from  prosecution for any crime they commit in course of their service in the designated areas. In the ‘Disturbed Areas’ the Army has begun to exercise veto power over both withdrawal of troops as well as  removal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act.  That apart, the very size of the military force, its use and misuse, its degradation, the fiscal ramifications and socio-political consequences of a bloated military are some of the aspects that invite scrutiny. Continue reading Armed Forces as livelihood and State power: Gautam Navlakha →

Politics, Right watch

Free to question India’s imperfections: Laila Tyabji

5 Comments

LAILA TYABJI in The Business Standard

Never in my 68 years have I thought for even a milli-second of living anywhere else except India. Not even when, in the wake of the Ayodhya agitation, I received a stream of poisonous hate mails and a packet of turds (in a mithai box!!) I love the multilayered multiplicity of India, its synergies & paradoxes, its many diverging & converging cultural streams, its colour & chaos, the hit-and-miss judaad of past and present, malls and mandirs, East and West; its unexpected but inherent certainties…. In any case, good or bad, it is MY country.

So it feels strange to be told, when I critically question any aspect, that I should go live somewhere else – Pakistan for instance. I am utterly amazed that Aamir Khan’s confession of momentary vulnerability should be termed a “moral offence” by no less a person than MJ Akbar! I used to so admire the reasoned clarity of his writing.

I have always over-used adjectives. My English teacher would red-pencil an acerbic commentary. A rebuke I secretly courted was “oxymoron”. I loved its sound as well as its meaning – two adjectives contradicting each other.

These days I am being turned into an oxymoron myself! “Indian Muslim” is an identity increasingly open to suspicion by self-proclaimed ‘patriots’; one’s own patriotism needing constant justification plus a certificate that one doesn’t eat beef or critique the nation. That a well-known Sadhvi can dub Shahrukh Khan a Pakistani agent and not be arrested for libel, instead accruing a trail of approving social media comments, or the Culture Minister awards A P J Abdul Kalam the accolade of being a good man “despite being a Muslim” is not exactly a comfortable feeling. That someone can be lynched to death for having meat in his fridge is even more eery. Continue reading Free to question India’s imperfections: Laila Tyabji →

Culture

Chhota Bheem – Anachronisms, Prejudice & Xenophobia: Sivakumar Radhakrishnan

8 Comments

Guest Post by SIVAKUMAR RADHAKRISHNAN

download (1)

The Chhota Bheem television series, highly popular among the nation’s children and also among many adults, is telecast daily in many Indian languages. The program is a long running show of many years and has its viewership in millions. Its popularity is evident from the fact that other children’s programs and advertisements are churned out from it.

The series evokes interest mainly by its plot, which is almost similar for every episode.  Also the plot is a simple one, where a cute city-state is ruled by a king, with his daughter, a princess of tender years. The king resides in a citadel atop a pretty hill.  The citizens are generally good natured.  A group of kids is shown playing in the countryside, of which the most smart and attractive is Chhota Bheem. He is assisted by a few other kids and a little talking monkey. Suddenly, evil people with sinister designs will start disturbing the peaceful city state of Dholakpur. The king will be found helpless in dealing them. At the right juncture, will enter the little Chhota Bheem and with his might, he will clear the evil elements from Dholakpur. Thus, Chhota Bheem saves the kingdom and the king at the right time. The citizens will celebrate him and continue to be happy thereafter. What could possibly be wrong with such a simple, evil-defeating, goodness-forging narrative?

Continue reading Chhota Bheem – Anachronisms, Prejudice & Xenophobia: Sivakumar Radhakrishnan →

Education, Feminism, Genders

NOT IN OUR NAME : JNU faculty for a gender-just campus

Leave a comment

We the undersigned teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University, and members of the JNU Teachers Association, hereby assert that in keeping with the best traditions of teacher politics of this university, we are committed to a gender-sensitive and gender-just university campus. This political understanding contributed to the formation of the GSCASH, and it is this politics that guides us to raise our voices AGAINST the current scenario in which:

  • Conduct of some teachers and officials does not recognise that each incident of sexual harassment results in violation of the fundamental rights of ‘gender equality’ and the ‘right of life and liberty’, wherein right to life means life with dignity.
  • University body decisions set up defendants’ representations as the benchmark against which the enquiry reports of GSCASH are to be judged, when in fact GSCASH is the sole inquiring authority into complaints of gender violence, as designated by the law of the land and the regulations of the University.
  • Confidentiality with regards to complaints enquired into by the GSCASH is blatantly violated by some teacher representatives.
  • Some teacher representatives assume that a ‘struggle for the rights of teachers’ can entail victim blaming and defamation of complainants.
  • Persons charged with (or found guilty of) sexual harassment/violence serve in statutory bodies and as teacher representatives.
  • The processes of GSCASH are perverted by some teachers’ campaigns on unfounded allegations of procedural infirmity.
  • The evaluation of a GSCASH enquiry report is done by persons not bound by the oath of confidentiality and impartiality.
  • The integrity of members of GSCASH is put on public trial in the name of guaranteeing the ‘principles of natural justice’ to defendants.

We stand FOR a campus atmosphere in which the health, and freedom of complainants is always primary and the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution ‘to carry on any occupation, trade or profession’ are realised through the provision of a “safe” working environment for all.

Ayesha Kidwai                        

Brinda Bose                            

Chirashree Dasgupta   

Chitra Harshvardhan              

G. Arunima                              

Janaki Nair                    

Madhu Sahni                           

Mohan Rao                    

Mohinder Singh

Nilika Mehrotra                        

Nivedita Menon             

Parnal Chirmuley

Pratiksha Baxi                         

Ranjani Mazumdar                  

Rohit                    

Shambhavi Prakash               

Shankari Sundararaman        

Shukla Sawant

Surajit Mazumdar                    

Tiplut Nongbri                         

Urmimala Sarkar

Vikas Bajpai                  

Government, Politics

Statement on the Order of the High Court of Meghalaya on the AFSPA

6 Comments

This statement has been sent out by TARUN BHARTIYA, PRASHANT BHUSHAN, ARUNA ROY AND NIKHIL DEY  for endorsements. Please send your endorsements by tonight (November 24, 2015) to arunaroy@gmail.com

In a recent order, the High Court of Meghalaya has made a suo motu suggestion to the Central Government for the imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, in the Garo Hills area. It is shocking and deeply disturbing that a draconian law like the AFSPA is being sought to be imposed through a judicial fiat. The order is completely devoid of any kind of legal reasoning and is based on the lay impressions of the bench.
 
 
See below a statement which carries our objections to this order. We want you to also consider lending your name to the statement. As the statement is being released to the press tomorrow, we will request you to send in your endorsement by tonight. Please do circulate the statement widely for endorsements.
Text of Statement

In a recent order, the High Court of Meghalaya has found it fit “to direct the Central Government to consider the use of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, in the Garo Hills area”[1]. We are deeply troubled by this order for several reasons.

Continue reading Statement on the Order of the High Court of Meghalaya on the AFSPA →

Bad ideas, Right watch

Vande Mataram?

5 Comments

jaipur-cow-759

An art installation ‘The Bovine Divine’ by artists Anish Ahluwalia and Chintan Upadhyay was taken down by the police at Jaipur Art Summit

The artists were taken to the police station and held for two hours.

[Correction: The art work was by Siddhartha Kararwal. Anish and Chintan are Sandarbh coordinators. But they were the ones talking to the cops and who were eventually taken to the police station.]

After the cow made of styrofoam was taken down, it was “worshipped and garlanded by a group of protesters”.

While the artists said they wanted to show what eating plastic does to cows, the SHO of Bajaj Nagar Police Station, Mahendra Gupta, was deeply disapproving.

“The way the cow was hanging in the air”, he reportedly frowned, “it was only sending a negative message.”

Read the full story at Indian Express.

Education, Government

Educationists and women’s rights activists oppose closure of Mahila Samakhya

2 Comments

Received via KALYANI MENON-SEN

Women’s rights activists, researchers, academics and scholars have written to the Minister of HRD against the government’s reported move to close the Mahila Samakhya programme. The letter, written in the backdrop of the announcement that the programme would not be funded after 31 March 2016 and a reported move to merge it with the National Rural Livelihoods Mission,  urges the government to retain the autonomy and unique character of this globally lauded programme.

The signatories to the letter include several individuals who have contributed significantly in building an inclusive policy framework and enabling public environment for gender equality in education, who have spoken eloquently of how they have been enriched through their association with  Mahila Samakhya.

Continue reading Educationists and women’s rights activists oppose closure of Mahila Samakhya →

Culture, Identities, Politics

Jain Tandoori – When the State Chickens Out: Gita Jayaraj

3 Comments

Guest post by GITA JAYARAJ

New shocks seem to await non-vegetarians almost daily, now. At a popular supermarket chain in Besant Nagar, one of the go-to places in namma Chennai, there seems nothing unusual on the evening of November 11. The floor is littered with stuff as the young shop assistants squat in the narrow aisles trying to stack the packets on the shelves; or laze in small clusters discussing workplace politics, oblivious of the customers milling around.

Seems like a normal evening. Heading towards the billing counter, I decide at the last minute to pick up some chicken. The young girl at the fresh-ground coffee counter, next to the fresh chicken refrigerator, giggles nervously as I open it. “Sale of chicken not permitted today madam”, she tells me hesitantly in Tamil. I am puzzled, has the beef ban in some states been extended to cover chicken as well in all states? Continue reading Jain Tandoori – When the State Chickens Out: Gita Jayaraj →