Counterview

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*
Is globalisation over after the Covid-19 pandemic? There are three visible signs during the unending Coronavirus led health crisis, which substantiates the end of globalisation thesis. The first sign indicates reversal of capitalist globalisation led by market integrations. The people and their nation states are fighting the pandemic alone. As a result, there is growth of ultra nationalist and right-wing forces during this pandemic.

By Our Representative
A new study, carried out by an organization that has been working for the advancement of the building artisan, mainly masons, for nearly two decades, has found that only 5% respondents are aware of taking the three necessary precautions amidst Covid-19 crisis while on work on site and at home -- use masks, physical distancing, and washing hands.

By Subhanshi Negi*
It is somewhat ironic that even when we are amidst a major national health crisis, one of the paramount health issues of ‘menstrual hygiene,’ which is recognized as global public health and human right by the United Nations, is being thrust aside by the Government of India. Many organizations have pointed out that India is suffering from ‘period poverty.’

By Our Representative
In a representation to Gujarat Chief Justice Vikramnath Singh, senior advocates, scholars and activists have come together to express their “serious concern” over his decision to replace the High Court bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and IJ Vora with a new bench comprising himself and Justice JB Pardiwala. Justices Pardiwala and Vora had passed strong strictures on the state BJP government for its “inept” handling of the Covid-19 crisis.

Counterview Desk
In a representation to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, My City Our City (MCOC), a civil society network of activists, academics and urban planners have said that nearly 1.91 lakh street vendors of the state need “immediate relief and consideration” from the government, especially because they are one of the most adversely affected sections due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Counterview Desk
A civil rights organization, Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch (JMM), has taken strong exception to what it calls “contradictory statements by government officials in caste-based discrimination case in the Hazaribagh Banaso Panchayat quarantine centre, demanding the state authorities must seek clarification from officials concerned as to “why the dry ration was arranged in the quarantine centre and why confirmation regarding the incident was given to media.

Counterview Desk
Calling for coordinated and urgent actions for migrants in distress, a group of senior academics and social activists* in a statement, following a well-represented discussion on May 26 to understand the reasons behind their plight, have said that “no government authority, at the centre or in states, has any comprehensive understanding of scale and type of migrant workers, especially those who are in vulnerable, insecure and informal employment and occupations.”

By Our Representative
Findings of a telephonic-survey by interviewing 3,121 households across 50 plus cities of the country from May 7 to May 17, 2020 by scholars of the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), Delhi, have suggested that eight out of 10 casual daily wage labourers and six out of 10 salaried workers reported unemployed or loss employment during lockdown due to closure of business/construction activities and inability to visit their workplaces.

Counterview Desk
In a representation to the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Gopal Krishna, who is with the Toxics Watch Alliance (TWA) and Occupational Health India (OHI), has accused the top talcum powder producer, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) of “doublespeak”, stating that while the commodity has been withdrawn in North America, it continues to be a “cause of exposure of Indians to hazardous asbestos mineral fibers” which allegedly contaminate the powder.