Category Archives: Law

Countryside, Government, Law, Politics

NBA Welcomes SC Dismissal of MP Govt Application Denying Right to Land to Sardar Sarovar Oustees

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We are publishing below the text of a statement issued by the NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN in New Delhi today following a significant Supreme Court order on the rehabilitation of Sardar Sarovar oustees

In a significant Order, the Social Justice Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Jst. Madan Lokur and Jst. Uday Umesh Lalit today dismissed an Application filed by the Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) / Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) seeking a ‘modification / clarification’ of the Apex Court’s previous judgements of 2000 and 2005, thereby denying right to land of a few thousand adult sons of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) affected farmers.

The Hon’ble Court held among other things that the Application by State of MP suffers from gross delay / laches having being filed many years after the judgements were issued (upholding the right to land of the SSP adult sons) and the rights / entitlements already accrued to the oustees in principle cannot be taken away. The Bench also had to take note of the fact that while the entitlement of most of the adult sons have already been recognized many many years ago, one set of oustees have been offered land / Special Rehabilitation Package (5.5. lakhs for 5 acres) since the judgement of 15/3/2005 of the Apex Court and another set of oustees are being denied the same; this would result in a clear violation of Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees a fundamental right to equality. Terming this “not to be good governance”, the Court summarily dismissed the Application.   Continue reading NBA Welcomes SC Dismissal of MP Govt Application Denying Right to Land to Sardar Sarovar Oustees →

Bad ideas, Capitalism, Centre watch, Government, Law, Left watch, Metropolis, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Workers right to unionize being trampled upon in yet another factory in Manesar: Report

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Report on the protest by automobile workers in Manesar by BIGUL MAZDOOR DASTA AND AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY CONTRACT WORKERS UNION

 

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On the morning of 18 September 2015 when the workers employed in the Bridgestone company reached their factory gates they were met with Police officers and hired bouncers at the gate. When the workers tried to enter the factory premises they were resisted by the uniformed and the non-uniformed goons of the Factory Management. The Police beat up the workers and prevented them from entering the premises of the factory in spite of having a court order for tool down and without any prior notice the workers were sacked by the company. More than 400 workers employed in Bridgestone Factory in Manesar have been unlawfully sacked by the Company authorities after the workers demanded to get their Union registered. The workers are currently protesting outside the factory and have gathered there to raise their voice against the injustice and oppression that they are facing at the hands of the factory management.

Continue reading Workers right to unionize being trampled upon in yet another factory in Manesar: Report →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Countryside, Empire/ Imperialism, Frontiers, Government, Identities, Law, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

A Contested line – Implementation of Inner Line Permit in Manipur: Deepak Naorem

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This is a guest post by DEEPAK NAOREM

Violence and the accompanying disruption of everyday life in Manipur is not a recent phenomenon. This year too, the state was plunged into a spiral of violence following demands for the implementation of Inner Permit Line, a law originating in the colonial period. This demand is based on real or imagined fears that Manipur, like Sikkim and Tripura, would be overwhelmed by the ‘outsiders’ and that the ‘indigenous people’ of Manipur would become a minority in their homeland. Such demands are neither new nor surprising in this part of the world, where a nearly-unfathomable ethnic, demographic and political jigsaw puzzle was created by British colonialism; one that was deepened by even more myopic and inconsistent policy in the post-colonial years. However, this year, following the death of a young student by police firing during a student protest in Imphal, the movement demanding the Inner Line Permit (ILP) gained considerable momentum in Manipur. Subsequently, the legislature was forced to introduce three bills in the Manipur State Legislative Assembly on 28th August, 2015, ensuring the implementation of Inner Line Permit in the state. This in turn triggered another wave of violence with the ‘tribals’ and tribal organizations opposing the three bills, eventually bringing life to a standstill in the state.

Continue reading A Contested line – Implementation of Inner Line Permit in Manipur: Deepak Naorem →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Law, Right watch

पेटलावद विस्फोट – मौतों पर बजती तालियाँ : जसबीर चावला

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Guest Post by Jasveer Chawla

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who visited the blast site at Petlawad near Jhabua this morning, faced protests from angry residents               (Photo courtesy : http://www.odishanewsinsight.com)

मध्यप्रदेश के झाबुआ जिले के पेटलावद क़स्बे में बस स्टेंड के पास भीड भरे स्थान पर रहवासी और व्यवसायिक क्षेत्र के एक मकान में अवैध रूप से रखे विस्फोटक जिलेटिन के भंडार में शनिवार विस्फोट हो गया. विस्फोट से ९० लोगों की मौत हो गई और दर्जनों घायल हैं जिनमें से कई की हालत गंभीर है,जिन्हे इंदौर,दाहोद अादि जगह भेजा गया.

मुख्यमंत्री श्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान ने रविवार को घटनास्थल का दौरा किया और सार्वजनिक रूप से घोषणा की कि सरकार हायकोर्ट के किसी जज से इसकी न्यायिक जाँच करवायेगी.दोषियों को दंडित किया जायेगा. मृतकों के परिजनों को १० लाख रुपये और घायलों के इलाज का सारा खर्च सरकार करेगी और पीड़ित परिवारों के रोजगार पर भी सरकार ध्यान देगी.

✔️ ‘व्यापमं’ प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री जब ये घोषणायें कर रहे थे तो उनके पास खड़े उनके दल के लोग उनकी ‘भामाशाही’ घोषणाओं पर बार बार तालियाँ बजा कर स्वागत कर रहे थे.सामने दुखी और पीड़ितों का विरोध करता हुजूम था.

✔️ इस ‘विस्फोट’ से सीधे प्रश्न उठते है.मध्यप्रदेश कोई सीमावर्ती राज्य नहीं है जहाँ कोई आतंकवादी आ गया और मुठभेड़ हुई और मकान में रखे विस्फोटक सुलग उठे ना ऐसी आतंकवादी घटना है जिसमे आतंकवादी बाजार/घर / ट्रेन/बस में बम प्लांट कर देते हैं और रिमोट से या आत्मघाती तरीके से विस्फोट कर देते हैं.ऐसा कुछ नहीं था.

यहां के जैन समुदाय का एक व्यापारी (आतंकवादी की कोई जाति या धर्म नही होता,ऐसा ही लिखते हैं ना ?) जो भाजपा के स्थानीय व्यापारिक प्रकोष्ठ का पदाधिकारी था (अपराधी किसी भी राजनैतिक दल का हो सकता है ?) १० वर्षों से क़स्बे में एवं मध्य व्यवसायिक क्षेत्र में अवैध रूप से किराये के मकान में भारी मात्रा में रखे जिलेटिन डायनामाइट का भंडारण कर रहा था.

इतनें वर्षों तक पुलिस, प्रशासन सोया था जो वहाँ पर इतनी मात्रा में कुएँ /खदानों में वैध/अवैध विस्फोट के लिये जिलेटिन का भंडारण हो रहा था ? Continue reading पेटलावद विस्फोट – मौतों पर बजती तालियाँ : जसबीर चावला →

Bad ideas, Government, Law, Politics

A Consummate Hanging Bares Gaping Holes in Nation State’s Democratic Facade : Sanjay Kumar

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Guest Post by Sanjay Kumar

At 7AM on 30 July, 2015, the Republic of India hanged a man named Yakub Memon. By all means, though without anyone’s planning, the hanging turned out to be the endpoint of a consummate exercise. Three judges of the highest court of the land sat through the night, right up to two hours before the execution to decide on the last petition of the condemned convict. The highest law official of the central government came to put forth arguments against the petition at two thirty in the morning, while some of the most respected and best legal minds of the country argued for it. Even before this post mid night hearing, the case of Mr Memon had been through more than one round of curative and review petitions in the Supreme Court, and mercy petitions with the President of the Republic. Much earlier, in fact more than twenty years ago, the Mumbai police had carried out perhaps the most painstaking, and detailed investigation of independent India into the 12 March, 1993 blasts; cracking the case within two days and filing a 10,000 page charge sheet within eight months. The trial involving 123 accused, 684 witnesses and voluminous material evidence ran for ten years. After Mr Memon’s guilt and conviction were established by the trial court, his appeals had gone on in the Supreme Court for nearly a decade. Two years ago the then Government of India had hanged Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri convicted in the Parliament attack case, without informing his family, and refused to hand his dead body to them. Nothing of that shameful behaviour was repeated this time. What more could the criminal justice system of the country have done in the case of Mr Memon! Yet, his execution has left behind more questions on the institutional biases, and ideological underpinnings of the Indian state, than perhaps any other execution. Continue reading A Consummate Hanging Bares Gaping Holes in Nation State’s Democratic Facade : Sanjay Kumar →

Bad ideas, Law, Violence/Conflict

The State Playing God and Magician – Thoughts after Yakub Memon’s Death: Sharib Ali

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Guest Post by Sharib Ali

With a finality that only history possesses, Yakub Abdul Razak Menon, an accused in the Bombay blast case, has transformed for many over the last few days, including me, into just Yakub. His name pronounced with a deep felt sadness that has come to characterize so many of our days. Days leading to terrible, terrible nights.
It is indeed sad, when a criminal -a sauve 20 year old looking for a way out- is, in death, turned into a rallying symbol of injustice. Flowing white beard, and a bloated body, suddenly turned around into an idea draped in flowers, garlanded, and marched on the shoulders of thousands of men through narrow streets- in complete silence. There were whispers, though, in the sweltering heat of bodies. But the pact was made. There would be no sloganeering. The state was there- to keep peace, no less. And it did what it does best: lined the streets with policemen. The policemen were out there defending a strange paradox: That it is right to kill to punish those who kill, so that others are deterred from killing. Stithi niyantran mein hai, still, they said. The rest, were silent.

Continue reading The State Playing God and Magician – Thoughts after Yakub Memon’s Death: Sharib Ali →

Bad ideas, Culture, Everyday Life, Identities, Law, Right watch

Of Housing, Jobs and Everyday Communalism: Saidalavi P.C.

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Guest post by SAIDALAVI P.C.

“True generosity consists precisely in fighting to destroy the causes which nourish false charity”

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

On the evening of 21 February, 2015 I and my friend walked through the narrow lines of Vasant Kunj, New Delhi looking for an accommodation for him. On both sides of narrow roads, three-storied buildings blocked sun rays reaching the ground. Here and there scrapheap assaulted our nostrils and a flock of bees and mosquitoes hovered around the area keeping watch. Our eyes waded through the gates of the buildings looking for a signboard announcing vacancies. We pushed a gate open and entered the building looking for the owner. A middle-aged man announced his presence pushing his belly in front of him. We asked, room koi khali hai, bhayya (Is there any room vacant, brother?) He scrutinised us for a moment. May be nonplussed by seeing no marks of our identity (we are clean shaven, well-dressed, normative secular self with supposedly a neutral identity in public) he was bit confused and his lips contorted a bit towards the left. Impassively, he nodded us to follow him since the room was on the second floor. My friend was visibly satisfied by the room, it was well-furnished, with a bathroom, kitchen and a balcony. He said he would take it. Listening to it, the owner’s face had taken a bit more serious expression, and at last he asked what our names are. It seemed our neutral identity was the bomb he wanted to diffuse. The moment we uttered our names, his facial expression changed into one who is caught by colic, he was startled and flushed, and his ears instantly became red. We were unable to make sense of what he was thinking. Then, he spoke hoarsely and told us to leave immediately. He said that if he had known earlier that we were Muslims, he wouldn’t have invited us to see the rooms. He never let rooms to Muslims. We tried to reason with him by asking why he is not renting it to Muslims.

Continue reading Of Housing, Jobs and Everyday Communalism: Saidalavi P.C. →

Bad ideas, Debates, Everyday Life, Government, Identities, Language, Law

Who gets caught – From death row convicts to ‘criminals by birth’: Anuja Agrawal

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Guest Post by Anuja Agrawal

The recent reports regarding the findings of the Death Penalty Project of the National Law University, Delhi, confirm some of the worst fears we have about our criminal justice system: the system is exceedingly tilted against the interests of the poor, disadvantaged and the marginal while the rich and the advantaged often get away, literally, with murder. The results are very important as such systematic studies help in confirming what are often vague impressions and unconfirmed suspicions.

While this study focuses only on the convicts on death row, what we urgently need is data which give us a caste and community wise breakup of the incarcerated population as a whole. While some may think that this would be useful in establishing the ‘criminality’ of some social groups, in fact this data, when juxtaposed with degrees of conviction, will help in establishing not only the conditions in which people take to criminal activities but also how our system is systematically biased towards particular groups.

Continue reading Who gets caught – From death row convicts to ‘criminals by birth’: Anuja Agrawal →

Debates, Law, Politics

Response to ‘Open letter by a Cop’ on Yakub Memon: Ishani Cordeiro

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Guest post by ISHANI CORDEIRO

A reply to ‘An Open Letter By A Cop To Those Opposing Death Penalty To Yakub Memon’ by ‘ A Thulla’.

Dear ‘Thulla’

Let me begin by stating, for the record, that a lot of people who have raised their voice against death penalty (and not just Yakub Memon’s) are not necessarily sitting in ‘plush AC offices’ or writing ‘editorials seeking clemency for a murderer’ or visiting TV studios and shouting themselves hoarse. A lot of them are activists and lawyers and the aam aadmi – working on the ground. Having said that, let’s not disregard the voices of the public based merely on where they decide to park their backside! Also, I would like to bring to your notice that terms like human rights, due process and fake encounter are not ‘ramifications’ of pulling a trigger per se. The term ‘ramification’ implies an unwelcome consequence of an action. Human rights and due process are pillars of a democracy and fake encounters are constitutional infringements. The fact that ‘terrorists’ don’t consider these of much value but you have to consider these burdensome terms before taking any action also implies that the law (read constitution) considers you to be ‘reasonable person’ and not the ‘terrorist’. Continue reading Response to ‘Open letter by a Cop’ on Yakub Memon: Ishani Cordeiro →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Language, Law, Violence/Conflict

All That Remains for Us to Consider in the Wake of the Death of Yakub Memon

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Yakub Menon was murdered yesterday morning. Apparently it was his birthday. When his brother Suleman and his cousin Usman met him on Wednesday afternoon his words to them, as reported in today’s Indian Express, were – “Agar woh mujhey mere bhai ke gunahon ke liye sazaa de rahe hain, toh mujhe kabool hai. Par agar unko lagta hai ki mein gunehgaar hoon aur sazaa de rahe hain, toh yeh galat hai. Main bekasoor hoon.” (If they are punishing me for the sins of my brother, then I accept this verdict. But if they are punishing me because they think I am guilty, then it is wrong. I am innocent.)

Continue reading All That Remains for Us to Consider in the Wake of the Death of Yakub Memon →

Law, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

The courts of this country are on trial, not Teesta: Indira Jaising

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INDIRA JAISING writes in The Times of India

The hounding of Teesta Setalvad is timed to coincide with the publicly articulated urge of the Prime Minister to get a “clean chit” from the courts in relation to the ongoing cases in Gujarat, which Teesta has been doggedly pursuing. She is the victim of the pursuit for justice.

We are being asked to roll back the clock, consign the 2002 Gujarat carnage to the dustbin of history and replace Teesta Setalvad as the villain, who hounded the then chief minister…Can the collective amnesia on the Gujarat riots, and the view that we must move on be legitimized?

All this could possibly happen if Zakia Jafri and Teesta Setalvad, who are doing everything constitutionally and legally possibe to hold the head of the then government accountable, are checkmated, preferably gagged, and put into jail.

Read the rest of this damning indictment of the Indian justice system here.

Government, Law, Media politics, Right watch

Gujarat State Crime Branch Claims and the Reality Behind the Charges Against Teesta Setalvad

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[In the light of a concerted campaign against Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand and their organizations Citizens for Justice and Peace and Sabrang Trust, launched by the Gujarat government and parroted by the media at large, we are reproducing a note prepared by Teesta and Javed, along with the details regarding their statement on finances (which were prepared over four months ago in February 2015 and which are also submitted before the Supreme Court). There seems a veritable media trial on with the versions of CJP and Sabrang Trust virtually blacked out, except for a few honourable exceptions. ]

A NOTE ON CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE; SABRANG TRUST

Concerning the allegations of embezzlement of funds by Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand by the Gujarat police, presented below are some facts:

CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE:

Primary Activity: Legal Aid to victims of mass crimes (communalism, terrorism)

  • Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) was formed in April 2002 by 11 prominent, law-abiding Mumbaikars, each one of whom had been individually and collectively engaged in building peace and seeking justice in the aftermath of the 1992-93 communal violence in Mumbai. Noted playwright, late Vijay Tendulkar was the founding President of CJP and remained at that post till his sad demise in May 2008.
  • Bearing in mind that the victims of the 1984 communal carnages in Delhi and in Mumbai in 1992-93 had been denied justice, the founding members of CJP resolved to focus their efforts in legal intervention in the courts to ensure Rule of Law and impartial policing.
  • The very first activity of CJP was to set-up a Citizens Tribunal headed by the late Justice VR Krishna Iyer, former justice of the Supreme Court of India. Other members of the Tribunal included former judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice P. B. Sawant and former judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice Hosbet Suresh.

Continue reading Gujarat State Crime Branch Claims and the Reality Behind the Charges Against Teesta Setalvad →

Government, Identities, Law, Media politics

Modasa – It is just a Beginning

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How Hindutva Supremacists are rushing to give themselves Clean Chit in terror related cases

(Picture : Courtesy – Indian Express)

Introduction

Whether investigations into Hindutva terror related cases are changing course? A series of apparently unconnected developments definitely strengthen the belief.

Close on the heels of renowned public prosecutor Rohini Salian’s revelations that she is being pressurised to go slow on the Malegaon bomb blast case (2008) and news of no of witnesses turning hostile in the Ajmer bomb blast case (2007) and sudden decision of the NIA to shift the Sunil Joshi murder case back to M.P,  has come the news that the NIA has finally decided to close the Modasa bomb blast case citing ‘insufficient evidence’.

As is being rightly said it is the first concrete indication that with the assumption of power by the BJP investigations into Hindutva terror related cases a shift in emphasis is visible. Perhaps an indication of the changed times is the statement by a senior Minister that there is ‘nothing like Hindu terror in the country’ despite being aware of the fact that the NIA, the premier investigating agency formed after 2008 terror attack in Mumbai to focus on terror related cases, is handling at least a sixteen high profile cases supposedly involving Hindutva terrorists and many of their top bosses are still under scanner.

Bomb blast at Modasa, part of Sabarkantha district then and recently made into a separate district, which witnessed one death and injuries to many, is one of the least explored bomb blast in the country. The following write-up tries to discuss the blast, discusses the prevalent ambience then when bombs were discovered at different places without anyone claiming responsibility for it, the interim findings of the NIA when it took over the particular case during the UPA II regime and the announcement by the then home minister P Chidambaram that the central probe agency has achieved a “breakthrough” in the 2008 Modasa (Gujarat) blast case.

The sudden turnaround by the NIA is baffling and incomprehensible, to say the least. Continue reading Modasa – It is just a Beginning →

Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Identities, Images, Law, Politics, Right watch

Appeal to Release Raif Badawi, a Saudi Blogger: Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism

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Guest Post by Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism

To:

The Ambassador,
Embassy of Saudi Arabia at New Delhi,
2- Pachchimi Marg, VasantVihar,!
New Delhi-110057  Fax: 00911126144244

This is an appeal regarding Raif Badawi, a blogger and Saudi citizen, founder of the website ‘Free Saudi Liberals’. Mr Badawi has been under arrest since 2012 for insulting Islam and apostasy. He was sentenced to be punished with 10 years in prison along with 1000 lashes (50 lashes to be received on every Friday) and a fine of one million riyals. Though he was cleared of charges of apostasy in 2013, there are new reports that indicate he may be tried again under the same charge.

We are mindful that India and Saudi Arabia have long-standing friendly political and commercial relations and that large numbers of Indians live and work in your country. It is because of this that we feel constrained to convey to you our concerns. Raif Badawi is a public intellectual who communicated his thoughts to the public through a blog. We do not believe that any of its contents constituted a threat to the state. To the contrary, his advocacy for secularism and the separation of religion and state is a suggestion that would strengthen it.

Whether or not his ideas are pleasing to your government, the fact remains that as a member state of the United Nations, Saudi Arabia is presumed to be respectful of the freedom of speech that is provided for under Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. This article states: ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers‘.

The sharing of information and ideas is a basic human practice and natural right that should be available to everyone regardless of their nationality or identity and (barring extremist incitement) should not be restricted by law. The state should protect and promote our rights instead of restricting them.

It has been reported that Raif Badawi received the first set of lashes on 9 January, after Friday prayers outside the Al-Juffali Mosque in Jeddah. The next round of punishment has been suspended on medical grounds to give his wounds time to heal prior to wounding him again. We consider this an example of barbaric cruelty, not befitting any member state of the UNO. Such practices are a travesty of justice and will bring you only disrepute.

We are Indian citizens who speak for human rights both within our own country and beyond. We are in solidarity with Raif Badawi and all those demanding freedom of speech in Saudi Arabia. We condemn the inhuman punishment being meted out to him as we condemn all measures that punish people for defending human rights and sharing their thoughts

We ask that Saudi Arabia:
•  Immediately suspend the punishment of Raif Badawi,
•  Release Raif Badawi and provide him security,
•  Take measures towards the provision of full freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia

Submitted by:

Ravi Nitesh, Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism
, Dipak Dholakia
, Rajashri Dasgupta, 
Prithvi R Sharma, 
Rana P Behal, 
Shamsul Islam, 
Suman Keshari, 
Aseem Shrivastava, 
Viren Lobo
, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Kashif Ahmed Faraz, R.Sasankan, Journalist, Delhi , Rohit Sharma, Pilani, India
, Mandeep Singh from Revolutionary Youth Student Front
, Firoz Ahmad, Public School Teacher
, Chaman Lal, 
J.S.Bandukwala
, Devika Mittal (Mission Bhartiyam), 
Apoorvanand
, Sudha Vasan
, Dheeraj Gaba, 
Nawed Akhter, 
Dilip Simeon , Shabnam Hashmi, Rohini Hensman 
Ovais Sultan Khan, Ram Puniyani, Vinerjeet Kaur, Kiran Shaheen
, Battini Rao, Convener, Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS)
, Javed Anand
, Harsh Kapoor
, Subash Mohapatra, Global Human Rights Communications, Bhubaneswar 
Sagar Rabari, Ahmedabad
, Nayanjyoti
, Shailendra Dhar, Journalist, Nihal Parashar
, Linus Ayangwoh 
Embe, Peter Marshall , Sudarshan Juyal
, Dhruv Singhal (Political Science student), 
Mohammad Imran, NRISAHI, Suresh Bhat
, Prof. S Ratnagar, Mumbai
, Ilma Iqbal
, Michael Karadjis
, Vasantharajan, Research Scholar , Rabin Chakraborty, 
Shruti Arora
, Hiren Gandhi, 
Anand Patwardhan, Dr. D. Gabriele, Mukul Mangalik, Neeraj Malik, academic, 
Suhas Borker
, Virginia Saldanha, Mumbai , Kasim Sait
, Waliullah Ahmed Laskar
, Kaveri Rajaraman, University of Hyderabad, 
Parth Sarthu
 Ram
, Mahesh Elkunchwar,  
Suman Kumar , Kamayani Bali Mahabal, 
Syed Ghazanfar Abbas, Jawad Mohammed
, Prof. Anil Sadgopal, Shiksha Adhikar Manch, Bhopal
Satya Pal, Secretary General – South Asian Fraternity 
Deepak Kabir / Veena Rana, Dastak, Lucknow 
Madhu Sarin
, Kavita Panjabi, Kolkata
, Xavier Dias Editor, Khan Kaneej aur ADHIKAR ,Jharkhand India , Muhammad Murad, from Pakistan, Sindh
, Sanjay Halder
, Gurpreet Singh, Ravi Tripathi, Francis Gonsalves
, Subhash Gatade, New Socialist Initiative, 
Shahid Siddiqui
, P.I. Jose, 
Ishwarbhai Prajapati, 
Deepak Kabir
, Fr. T.K.John , Professor 
Rohan Dandavate – TPI WORD, Daniel Varghese
, Sanjay T , Prasanth Menon
, Zakia Soman and Dr. Noorjehan SN from Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan , Antony Aruloraj, New Delhi, India, 
Aarti Tikoo
, Ashish Biswas, Online Journalist, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 
Devaki Khanna, 
Alok Chadha
, Renu Singh, Samir Dholakia, Mushtaq Dar
, Narinder Singh Sandhu, 
P R Vaidya, Bombay
, Dr V Prasad
, Ameeque Jamei
, Padma Velaskar, Bhanu Bharti, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Delhi
, M.Balanna, PADS, Andhra Pradesh
, Ajay Kumar, PADS Andhra Pradesh
, Roja Ramani Mahila Sravanti, Kurnool

Bad ideas, Everyday Life, Government, Identities, Law

Suicide of a ‘Criminal’ or Murder of the Stigmatized? : Anuja Agrawal

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This is a guest post by ANUJA AGRAWAL

‘Criminal sets self ablaze outside police station’, says a small news item in a local edition of a leading newspaper. The report suggests that a 22- year- old ‘criminal’ set himself ablaze outside a police station in Nanded district, Maharashtra, after some members of his family were arrested. It claims that the young man was a known ‘property offender’ with three cases against him and goes on to describe how the police had been assaulted by his family members when they had gone to investigate a case filed against him by a local trader.  Why a ‘hardened’ criminal should have committed suicide outside the police station would elude the readers if they pondered over the content of this news item. But by now most of us would have moved to the next ‘story’ Continue reading Suicide of a ‘Criminal’ or Murder of the Stigmatized? : Anuja Agrawal →

Bad ideas, Government, Law, Politics

The Arrest of G. N. Sai Baba – Insane, Inhuman: Nirmalangshu Mukherji

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Guest post by NIRMALANGSHU MUKHERJI

N. Sai Baba, an Assistant Professor of English in Ramlal Anand College of Delhi University was arrested by Maharashtra Police in opaque circumstances in May 2014. For the past year, there has been a small but sustained protest against Sai Baba’s arrest. Most recently, a day-long fast was held by some activists and university teachers in front of the Art’s Faculty in Delhi University. Despite impressive campaign in the social media by a group of dedicated individuals, just a few dozen well-known protestors showed up for the fast. The event was barely reported in the mainstream. In staying away from the event, the wider left-liberal fraternity in Delhi, and the rest of the country, has once again failed a vital democratic cause.

Sai Baba is one of those rare individuals in the current Indian academia—otherwise marked by its unconcealed opportunism and abject surrender to the establishment—who is at once a serious scholar, a dedicated and widely-popular teacher, and a death-defying political activist.

Sai Baba believes that Indian society must undergo an armed proletarian revolution along Maoist lines to usher in a new democratic republic as a step toward a classless egalitarian society. He has strengthened his beliefs with a deep study of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and has advocated them in a variety of public forums. Continue reading The Arrest of G. N. Sai Baba – Insane, Inhuman: Nirmalangshu Mukherji →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Education, Government, Law, Movements, Politics, Right watch, Technology

Position Paper on Higher Education: Academics for Creative Reform

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“The manner in which the state is intervening in higher education is causing concern and even alarm in the academic community. Both the unlamented UPA—II regime and the current NDA government have been remarkably similar in their authoritarian impatience to introduce wholesale changes without adequate or careful preparation. This position paper is the collective product of roughly six months of discussion among teachers of several central universities in Delhi. It is an attempt to participate in the process of critical self evaluation of the university system as it is today. It is also our considered response to the many policy statements and directives issued by the MHRD and the UGC recently”

Please click on the link below for the complete position paper on proposed reforms in higher education, prepared by Delhi-based Academics for Creative Reform and released at a press conference today:

PositionPaper12May2015

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Empire/ Imperialism, Frontiers, Law, Scams, Violence/Conflict

Much Better to Run Over the Poor Than to Speak Up for Them

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Yesterday, the 9th of May, one day after the court granted what must be the fastest bail and suspension of sentence in the history of India to India’s favourite Dabangg, a diminutive woman stood under the blazing Delhi sun and spoke of her husband who had been in jail for the past one year. In May 2014, lecturer in English at Ramlal Anand College, Delhi University, G. N Saibaba was returning home after evaluating answer scripts when he was abducted by unknown men, who later identified themselves as Maharashtra Police.

Professor Saibaba. Image Courtesy FRS Blog
Professor Saibaba. Image Courtesy FRS Blog

Saibaba was not produced before a magistrate in Delhi but taken directly to Aheri, a small town in Maharashtra and then to Nagpur, to be put in solitary confinement in the famous anda cell of Nagpur jail. Let’s call this cell famous instead of the usual epithet “notorious” because all over the country, children are probably playing with each other right now saying to each other, “saale main tujhe anda cell mein daal doonga“, while their parents look on indulgently, congratulating themselves on the kid’s excellent G.K.

Continue reading Much Better to Run Over the Poor Than to Speak Up for Them →

Bad ideas, Government, Law, Right watch, Scams

Delhi Police Blames AAP for Gajendra Suicide – Remember Constable Tomar’s Death?

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Reports have it that Delhi Police has blamed the AAP for the death of Gajendra Singh at its rally recently – not surprisingly, as we had noted in our previous post on the suicide. We had suggested in that post there seemed to have been prior instructions to the Police from the Central government, under which it functions, not to act. And the reports today about Delhi Police reporting to their higher ups only confirm our suspicions.

Here is what one of the reports has to say:

In a letter to the Home Ministry, the Delhi Police has claimed that the mob including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers incited Gajendra Singh to commit suicide at a party rally in Delhi. The letter also claims that untrained volunteers climbed the tree which led to Gajendra falling off.

The report states that AAP volunteers and leaders were clapping and raising slogans which incited him to engage in more dangerous acts. It also adds on to say that though police requested AAP volunteers to stop provoking him through clapping and solganeering, neither the volunteers nor the leaders present on the state acceded to the request info.

Another report in a channel known for its BJP connections, says:

As per the Delhi Police report, AAP leaders were making provocative speeches, and the crowd present at the rally venue instigated and provoked Gajendra to commit suicide. The report also alleged that AAP did not heed to the police’s request to change the rally’s venue to Ram Lila Maidan.

Continue reading Delhi Police Blames AAP for Gajendra Suicide – Remember Constable Tomar’s Death? →

Debates, Government, Law

Media Studies Group’s Statement on Internet Neutrality

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Media Studies Group demands that TRAI place Consultation document in Indian languages and extend deadline for feedback on Net Neutrality. 

New Delhi: April 20, 2015: Media Studies Group, a Delhi based think tank on communication studies, held a marathon meeting on Sunday on internet neutrality in the light of TRAI’s consultation paper on over-the-top (OTT) services. The meeting discussed various technical, legal and social aspects emerging out of Airtel’s Plan Zero and the internet.org venture of Facebook.

There was complete unanimity that the issue of net neutrality is complex in nature and that the masses need to be educated in simple and non-technical language so that a fair opinion can be generated on the functioning of the internet as the present move, if successful, will pose a serious challenge to the principle of equality and democratic character of the internet.

The meeting took a critical view of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for its failure to present the consultation document in Indian languages. To have chosen to make the document available only in English is a move which has the potential of altering the fair access to internet by large numbers of users of Hindi and other regional languages. Media Studies Group also felt that the deadline of April 24 is unreasonable and should be extended.

It has been decided that a representation will be given to TRAI to demand presentation of the consultation document in Indian languages in easy to understand language and to set a new reasonable deadline for feedback . Media Studies Group has also decided to give a detailed representation to TRAI on the issue of Net Neutrality with a holistic view seeking protection of fundamental principles and rights enshrined in the Constitution of India.

On behalf of MSG,

Anil Chamadia, Chairman, Media Studies Group.

Email – msgroup.india@gmail.com

Countryside, Government, Law, Politics, Right watch

Land Acquisition and Delays Over Democracy: Shubham Jain, Sarangan Rajeshkumar, Dhruva Gandhi

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Guest post by SHUBHAM JAIN, SARANGAN RAJESHKUMAR and DHRUVA GANDHI

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Act, 2013 was passed with Objective to promote transparency and participative governance in the acquisition of land for industrialisation and urbanisation and to, thereby, ensure overall socio-economic development. In the pursuit of this objective, the law introduced mechanisms as Social Impact Assessment, Consent, and Rehabilitation et al.

This law, however, attracted widespread criticism from the industry on account of the supposedly time consuming barriers created for the acquisition of land. Accordingly, the Ordinance of 2015 was promulgated as a measure to hasten the process of Land Acquisition and to, thereby, contribute towards the economic development of the country. Unfortunately, most of the debate on this Ordinance has barely focussed on the problems it sought to address and, consequentially, there has been a dearth of an analysis of solutions proposed therein in the backdrop of these problems. Let us, therefore, contextualise the debate on the Ordinance and, then, examine the merits of the same. Continue reading Land Acquisition and Delays Over Democracy: Shubham Jain, Sarangan Rajeshkumar, Dhruva Gandhi →