Category Archives: Government

Bad ideas, Capitalism, Centre watch, Countryside, Debates, Ecology/Environment, Government, Law

‘A Call for Rejecting 2011 Land Acquisition Bill’

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This joint statement, signed and endorsed by various organisations and individuals from across India, named at the end, was put out on 12 November 2011. 

The 2011 Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill is a dangerous exercise in doublespeak that will worsen the injustice and devastation caused by the present law. Below is a joint statement on this legislation from a number of organisations and individuals, calling for the rejection of the new Bill and raising the basic issues that need to be addressed by any legal framework.

The statement points out that:

Continue reading ‘A Call for Rejecting 2011 Land Acquisition Bill’ →

Centre watch, Frontiers, Government, Identities, Law, Mirror Worlds, Violence/Conflict

Govt must do more to protect minorities: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

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This press release was put out by the HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN, Lahore, on 9 November 2011

The brazen murder of three brothers from the Hindu community in Shikarpur district on Eid day demonstrates that the perpetrators believe they can get away with murder simply because the victims are non-Muslim, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said.

In a statement issued on Wednesday the Commission said: “HRCP is shocked at the brazen murder of the three Hindu citizens in Shikarpur and shares the sense of outrage of the Hindu community, not least because of the utter failure of the police to prevent the killings or arrest the killers even though threats of violence had been brought to their notice. Continue reading Govt must do more to protect minorities: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan →

Bad ideas, Debates, Genders, Government, Identities, Sex

Invitation to a Debate: Queer Politics and Aid Conditionalities

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Breaking from usual practice, I am cross-posting a piece from Akshay Khanna writing as part of the Participation, Power and Social Change blog over at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Akshay is writing in response to this statement by UK Prime Minister David Cameron where, in a nutshell, he threatens cutting off aid to countries that still ban or make homosexuality illegal. Continue reading Invitation to a Debate: Queer Politics and Aid Conditionalities →

Centre watch, Government, Politics

Giving democracy in Pakistan a chance: Raza Rumi

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Guest post by RAZA RUMI

Endless predictions about the fall of the PPP-led coalition government in Pakistan have been made by pundits since the very day it came to power. The recent hullabaloo about this has been in the context of the forthcoming Senate Elections, due in March 2012, which ceteris paribus will ensure a simple majority to the PPP and its allies in the upper house. Given that the Senate is an equaliser in federalist politics, this would mean that legitimate representatives of smaller provinces would be permanent stakeholders in the system beyond this government. Continue reading Giving democracy in Pakistan a chance: Raza Rumi →

Frontiers, Government, Media politics, Mirror Worlds

Bhutan’s cautious tryst with democracy

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Bhutan’s shift to plural politics remains carefully calibrated, but the emergence of a relatively free press and democratic institutions are important achievements. An account from Thimpu

Political changes in Bhutan over the past five years — the introduction of a ‘democratic constitution,’ the retreat by the fourth King and the coronation of his son, elections to Parliament which now has both a ruling and an opposition party, and governance being the prerogative of the elected government — have triggered two opposite reactions generally. One school has hailed the vision of the Bhutanese monarchy and its act of ‘renunciation,’ and has declared the ‘democracy story’ to be a success. Many others dismiss the transition as being a ‘farce,’ claiming that the King still calls the shots and that Bhutan remains a tight autocracy. Continue reading Bhutan’s cautious tryst with democracy →

Government, Identities, Law, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Violence/Conflict

“We are not like Iran here”: Alia Allana reports from Tunisia

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This guest post by ALIA ALLANA is an account of polling day in Tunisia

They had already waited so long, what was a few more hours? Continue reading “We are not like Iran here”: Alia Allana reports from Tunisia →

Countryside, Government, Law

Child Malnutrition in Karnataka- A Report

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In light of the Planning Commission’s cruel joke of pegging the poverty level at an expenditure level of Thirty Rupees day, I wanted to bring our attention to a recent report compiled by Clifton D’Rozario in his capacity as an advisor  to the Commisioners on the right to food. The report may be downloaded from here

 

Continue reading Child Malnutrition in Karnataka- A Report →

Empire/ Imperialism, Excavation, Frontiers, Government, Law, Violence/Conflict

Lies about sanctions under AFSPA: JKCCS

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This press statement was issued by the JAMMU AND KASHMIR COALITION OF CIVIL SOCIETY on 19 October 2011 
 
Over the last 22 years in Jammu and Kashmir, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Cr.P.C. 197 has provided absolute legal impunity to the armed forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The Government of India claims that despite the imposition of AFSPA, mechanisms of justice are functional and deliver whenever anyone is found indulging in human rights abuses, but facts provided by the state institutions contradict the claim of the Indian state. Continue reading Lies about sanctions under AFSPA: JKCCS →
Frontiers, Government, Identities, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Mickey wants to be the first one to vote: Alia Allana reports from Tunisia

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This guest post for Kafila by ALIA ALLANA from Sidi Bou Said on the outskirts of the capital Tunis captures the mood a day before Tunisia goes to the polls. Photos by Alia Allana

Continue reading Mickey wants to be the first one to vote: Alia Allana reports from Tunisia →

Government, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

The Minister of Information maintains that there is no revolution: Alia Allana reports from Damascus

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This guest post by ALIA ALLANA is a despatch for Kafila from Damascus, the Syrian capital. All photos by Alia Allana

“You don’t think I’m afraid?” asked Bouthaina Shaaban, advisor to Syrian President, Bashar al Assad.

We were sitting in the Ministry of Protocol in Damascus and she tugged on her black pearl necklace and fidgeted with her black and white tweed jacket. She had more reason to be afraid, she said – not just because she was a woman but also because she is a supporter of the current regime.

Continue reading The Minister of Information maintains that there is no revolution: Alia Allana reports from Damascus →

Frontiers, Government, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Violence/Conflict

A Despatch from Homs: Alia Allana

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This guest post by ALIA ALLANA is a despatch for Kafila from Homs, Syria. All photos by Alia Allana


He was found shot in the chest, bleeding on the streets, alone.

He has no name. He’s just another struggling body in the hospital in Homs — only he’s much younger than most. He’s only four. He doesn’t move, his small frail body is gobbled by wires. The doctors say he hasn’t opened his eyes, hasn’t made a sound, nor has he called out for anyone. Saliva runs down his mouth but there is no one to wipe it off his face. This isn’t the first case and the doctors fear it won’t be the last. There will be other children who will take his place, there will be more victims of random shooting, more deaths and no one knows by whose gun.  Continue reading A Despatch from Homs: Alia Allana →

Capitalism, Ecology/Environment, Government, Politics, Right watch

Development in the ICU: Swagato Sarkar

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Guest post by SWAGATO SARKAR

Montek Singh Ahluwalia (MSA) has taken over the English news channels [okay, perhaps not all, but two “exclusive” interviews to Headlines Today and CNN-IBN’s FTN (F stands for ‘Face’, btw)] tonight to shoot back at his opponents and detractors, the likes of Roys, Drezes, Aiyars. The discourse had three parts: the sermon, gloss and proto-penance, and the affirmation of the revealed Truth.

The Planning of Commission of the sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic of India is not a Stalinist Planning Commission. It has the solemn duty of finding India’s rightful place in the world at the average rate of 8% per year. But India is a poor country [exclusive news which cannot be shared at Davos]. The GDP has to enlarge. Market is what will make it happen. But market has limits. Hence, welfare. But MSA is not happy that the Growth-Decline story did not work out as he would have wished. But that is no reason to be anti-Growth [now go to the first line of the para and read it all over again.]

Continue reading Development in the ICU: Swagato Sarkar →

Capitalism, Empire/ Imperialism, Government, Movements, Politics

Occupy Wall Street – An American Spring Amidst Media Blackout?

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As governments across the world prostrate themselves before corporations and corporate greed takes over the daily business of governing, mass struggles are breaking out all over the world. What started as the much propagated ‘Arab Spring’ – apparently the Arab world’s yearning for American and Western values represented by ‘democracy’, has now, after spreading through Europe (France, Greece, Spain, Portugal…) engulfed the heart of Empire – the United States of America. The Occupy Wall Street movement that started almost three weeks ago, with thousands of people assembling in Zucotti Park in Lower Manhattan, New York, has now spread amdist media blackout and police repression, to other parts across the United States. A glimpse of the situation about a week ago:

Continue reading Occupy Wall Street – An American Spring Amidst Media Blackout? →

Bad ideas, Government, Law, Mirror Worlds, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Kavita Srivastava: ‘Chhattisgarh Police Raided My House Today in Collusion with Jaipur Police’

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A note from KAVITA SRIVASTAVA

3rd October, 2011

Dear friends,

The police today raided my house between 6.30 and 7 am. I was out of the house when they did it. One of those days when I was not at home. They came with a search warrant and said that a khatarnak Naxalite was being shielded in my house.

My family was unable to gather the name, but they had come looking for a woman they said some Sunit / Sumit Sodi. The Bajaj Nagar police station of Jaipur, which very well knows my house, brought them. It was led by the DY SP of our area Rajendra Singh Shekhwat and they also sent police outside the People’s Union for Civil Liberties office. The Chhattisgarh raid was led by one Mr. Memon who was in plain clothes. His rank we do not know. He got papers from a court that my house has to be searched. Continue reading Kavita Srivastava: ‘Chhattisgarh Police Raided My House Today in Collusion with Jaipur Police’ →

Bad ideas, Empire/ Imperialism, Frontiers, Government, Identities, Law, Mirror Worlds, Violence/Conflict

Release Indian and Pakistani fishermen with their boats

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PRESS STATEMENT: We, the undersigned, express our deep concern regarding the continuous arrests of Indian and Pakistani fishermen and confiscation of their boats by each country of the other. The poor, innocent fishermen go to sea to catch fish and in the deep sea it becomes virtually impossible for them to recognise where their countries waters end and other’s start.

The fishing season has begun couple of days ago and boats in a big number go to the mid-sea to catch and earn some money. Both the governments need to recognise the fact that these traditional fishermen go to the mid-sea for their livelihood. Arresting them and confiscating their boats means depriving their families from the livelihood, and causing them extreme distress. Continue reading Release Indian and Pakistani fishermen with their boats →

Centre watch, Government, Law, Movements

Statement condemning raid on Kavita Srivastava’s house: Right to Food Campaign

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This statement come from the RIGHT TO FOOD CAMPAIGN

October 3rd, 2011

Arbitrary Raid on Kavita Srivastava’s house: Latest act of harassment of human rights workers

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the arbitrary raid this morning (3 October), in Jaipur, on the house of Kavita Srivastava, General Secretary of PUCL and convenor of the Right to Food Campaign’s steering group. This is yet another instance of harassment of human rights workers under the cover of fighting Naxalism. Kavita Srivastava is the convenor of the Steering Committee of the Right to Food Campaign and PUCL is the petitioner in the Supreme Court case on the Right to Food which has recently challenged the Government on the issue of the poverty line. Continue reading Statement condemning raid on Kavita Srivastava’s house: Right to Food Campaign →

Countryside, Culture, Everyday Life, Government, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Silent changes amidst terror in the Jungle Mahal of West Bengal: Kumar Rana

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Guest post by KUMAR RANA

Nothing seems to have changed in the past quarter decade. Past Jhargram, the town in the woods, the metal road connecting Lodhasuli to National Highway No. 6 wraps itself in a shady serenity. At occasional intervals, the artificiality of a clamour, emitted by a motor engine, creates an unquiet irritation, murdering the resonance of the forest and interrupting its slumber. The bus-stops at Kalabani and Boria are as lonely as they used to be; Gar-Salboni, a roadside village, is stuck in its eternal search for a path to survival. The mud road that breaks from the main road to meet the villages Sirsi, Joalbhanga and Lab-Kush, is as tranquil as it had been 25 years ago. Past the lush green rice fields by the road begins the forest that hems the horizon. The leaves that have just had a splash of shower glistens with the brilliance of the sun.

— Last year it was different, whispered the road.

— Yes, I have heard of it – there had been a drought. And it was the same in the year before the last. It used to follow a cycle like this 25 years ago. Rain ensures the crop. Hunger rides free when there is a drought.

Continue reading Silent changes amidst terror in the Jungle Mahal of West Bengal: Kumar Rana →

Centre watch, Government

Sufi Doctors and Nehru’s Ailing Centre of Excellence: Kaveri Gill

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Guest post by KAVERI GILL

“AIIMS is like my aging mother, whose clothes are in tatters, and I feel I must hold them together to cover and protect her”. A senior anaesthetist said this the evening before I was due to have a relatively small but complex surgery, and my search for the best surgeon had bought me to the institute’s doorstep. Fifty five years after Nehru’s dream of a medical centre of excellence materialised, with state of the art teaching, world class research and high quality patient care, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi is mostly in the news for all the wrong reasons: fracas over reservation, cheating on entrance exams and charges of  mismanagement.

Continue reading Sufi Doctors and Nehru’s Ailing Centre of Excellence: Kaveri Gill →

Centre watch, Countryside, Government

Nutritional Neglect: Starving Our Future: Priyanka Nandi

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Guest post by PRIYANKA NANDI

Urja aehi, swadha aehi, sunrita chirawatyehiti
[Come nutrition, come food, come truth, come security]
– Atharvasamhita 8.10.4

“Come nutrition, come food, come truth, come security”, invites the Atharvasamhita. Clearly, this is not the expensive military view of security we are encouraged to take these days. What, then, is this security?

This is the security that comes from having access to regular and adequate nutrition. From not having to starve, or suffer chronic hunger. There is no violence in this idea of security, except the quiet, steady violence done to generations of ‘common’ people by making something as basic as daily nutrition unavailable to them. Continue reading Nutritional Neglect: Starving Our Future: Priyanka Nandi →

Everyday Life, Government, Identities, Metropolis, Technology, Violence/Conflict

The Biometricwallah

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Contrary to what his name suggests, Bechu Lal Yadav, 29, isn’t a seller of goods. He is a recordist of identity. He is amongst a new breed of technical professionals that have come up overnight – the Biometricwallahs.  Continue reading The Biometricwallah →

Empire/ Imperialism, Frontiers, Government, Law, Violence/Conflict

An open letter from Amnesty International to members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly

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This is a public statement by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

AI Index: ASA 20/046/2011 26 September 2011

As the session of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly opens in Srinagar, Amnesty International is writing to all members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) to raise human rights concerns in the house and ensure that such issues are not ignored during the session.

Although there appears to be a consistent decrease in the overall numbers of members of armed groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), human right violations continue to remain a significant and widespread concern in the state.

Amnesty International calls on all MLAs to raise human rights issues during the assembly session and call upon the state government to take immediate action required to remedy the situation. In particular, Amnesty International asks you to raise the specific issues below. While not an exhaustive list of human rights concerns in the state, discussion on these would indicate the commitment to human rights of the state legislative assembly and be an important step towards improving the human rights of all residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

Continue reading An open letter from Amnesty International to members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly →