Counterview

By Our Representative  The All India Kisan Sabha and the Kerala Karshaka Sangham that represents the largest rubber producing state of Kerala along with rubber farmers have sought intervention against the monopoly tyre companies that have formed a cartel against the interests of consumers and farmers.  Vijoo Krishnan, AIKS General Secretary, Valsan Panoli, Kerala Karshaka Sangham General Secretary, and four farmers representing different rubber growing regions of Kerala have filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The geriatric ideology of feudalism, patriarchy, nationalism, religious culture, market led consumerism, monetised society and capitalism continues to propagate the notion that contemporary youths and students are deviants, lazy, unproductive, and useless idiots. They are depicted as being addicted to the digital world, lacking direction and commitment to their own lives, as well as to the state and society.

By Harsh Thakor*  Police in the entire USA have reportedly pounded on the students engaging in protests in solidarity with Gaza. Displaying relentless courage,  student protesters on campuses such as the University of Texas-Austin and the University of Southern California battled to the last inch. Scenes were reminiscent of protests during Vietnam war. This happened even as President Biden approved a bill that would provide USD 26 billion to Israel.

By Salman Rafi Sheikh*  When Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term in India with a landslide victory in 2019, his government acted swiftly. Just months after the election, the Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India. In doing so, it stripped the special constitutional status conferred on Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, and downgraded its status from a state with its own elected assembly to a union territory administered by the central government in Delhi. 

By Rosamma Thomas*  “VVPAT machine is totally opaque,” messaged one voter who voted in Kanniyakumari constituency on April 19, when polling began for the Lok Sabha elections. The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Election Commission, on a petition seeking the counting of all Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail slips cast in the 2024 elections, instead of only verifying five randomly selected Electronic Voting Machines in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency.

By Parineeta Dandekar*  The recently-concluded World Fisheries Congress in Seattle in March 2024  discussed several themes relating to the health of our rivers, dependent communities and fish. Of the several interesting sessions, the  symposium on ‘Dam Removal as a River Restoration Tool at the Water-Energy-Food Nexus’ was of particular interest.   I was simultaneously at two parallel sessions and hence was unable to attend some of the presentations but have tried to provide an overview of the presentations and discussions, in addition to the session where I presented a paper.

By Bhim Singh Rawat*  Ken is lifeline of Bundelkhand and among key tributaries of Lower Yamuna basin. The river is relatively clean and free of industrial pollution. However, its existence is under threat due to catchment degradation and the proposed Ken-Betwa interlinking proposal. Apart from this, the river eco-system and dependent people have been at receiving end of large scale mechanized and unsustainable, mostly illegal mining practices for the past many years.

By By Justin Podur*  If there is a single false claim to “nonviolent” struggle that has most powerfully captured the imagination of the world, it is the claim that India, under Gandhi’s leadership, defeated the mighty British Empire and won her independence through the nonviolent method.

By Sukla Sen*  ["Tum use chhinane ki baat kar rahe ho apne manifesto mein. Gold le lenge, aur sabko vitrit kar denge. Aur pehele jab unki sarkar thi to unhone kaha tha, ki desh ki sampatti par pehela adhikar Musalmano ka hai. Iska matlab, ye sampatti ikhatti karke kisko batenge…..jinke jyada bacche hai unko batenge…Ghuspaithiyo ko batenge. Kya apki mehenat ki kamayi ka paisa ghuspaithiyo ko diya jayega….Apko manzur hai ye… Ye congress ka manifesto ke raha hai ki wo matao aur beheno ka sone ka hisab karenge, uski jadti karenge, jankari lenge aur phir uss sampatti ko baat denge. Aur unko batenge…jinko Manmohan Singhji ki sarkar ne kaha tha ki sampatti par pehela adhikar musalmano ka hai. Bhaiyo beheno.. ye urban naxal ki soch.. mere matao aur beheno ye apka mangal sutra bhi bachne nahi denge”. (Re: video above, 28.39 to 29.54 mins.)