Withdraw SIR status to Bhechraji-Mandal, clear Maruti-Suzuki of the area, else face agitation: JAAG to Modi

By A Representative
In a strong statement, Lalji Desai and Sagar Rabari of the Jameen Adhikar Aandolan – Gujarat (JAAG) have reiterated that they would expect Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the status of the special investment region (SIR) granted to the Bhechraji-Mandal area. They have simultaneously demanded that the Maruti-Suzuki company “should removed from the area” and “the Narmada canal areas that have been de-commanded be brought back into the command area”.
Pointing out that they will not accept anything short of this, the statement reads, “Till such time we will not rest nor let the government rest in peace”. The statement comes ahead of a possible crucial announcement from Modi on SIR, which he had promised during JAAG leaders’ meeting with him a month ago. Suspecting that Modi seems to be employing “the time-tested method of tiring out the people physically, mentally and financially”, the statement warns, in case he refuses to withdraw the SIR and goes back on his word, fresh struggle would be launched.
Announcing a programme of action, the statement says, the people of 101 villages (44 of the SIR and other neighbouring villages) will meet on August 15, 2013 at 8.30 am at village Naviyani road, near Hansalpur village for flag hoisting. And in case the “CM does not make a declaration withdrawing the SIR in his Independence Day speech, then we will announce a surprise programme against the Maruti Suzuki company”.
And, in due course, the following programme will be held:
· A bike rally of youths from village Dalod to Ahmedabad to give a memorandum to the Ahmedabad district collector,
· A bike rally from Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad to Rajghat New Delhi to garner support for the agitation;
· A press conference in New Delhi at the end of the bike rally suggesting the callousness with which the Gujarat government is treating the farmers and their concerns; and
· A mass gathering in Delhi, and a meeting with the President to ask for his intervention.
Pointing out that there is reason for the JAAG to suspect the intention of the CM, the statement says, the suspicion is based on following facts:
· On July 24 some pro-SIR people organised a meeting in village Sitapur;
· The meeting was a fiasco, and yet the government holds the view that the people of the area want the SIR;
· These elements also tried to divide the agitation on caste lines which failed;
· On August 2, Chaitanya Shambhu Maharaj and his associates announced their plan to go to all the villages to make the people aware of the advantages of the SIR;
· On August 4, the first day of their proposed programme, they held the meeting in village Zanzarva, where the people flatly rejected their support to SIR.
“All of this proves that the government has been taken aback by the intensity and spread of the agitation and wanted to buy time in order to break the agitation, in which mal-intention they failed miserably”, the statement says, adding, “Nearly 50,884 ha. of land of 44 villages has been earmarked for the Mandal-Bechraji SIR. Additionally, land has been given to the Maruti Suzuki Co. in village Hansalpur. As a ploy to hasten the process of farmers selling off their lands the Narmada canal command area (which was to supply water to the farms here) was de-commanded.”
All this led the “farmers in this area organised themselves and under the joint aegis of the Azad Vikas Sangathan and JAAG launched a campaign against the SIR. “ As a result, JAAG “achieved” important successes, including formation of organisation and launching of struggle against the SIR; first public meeting on May 6, in village Naviyani and was addressed by, among others, noted Gandhian Chunibhai Vaidya, former finance minister of Gujarat Sanat Mehta and Kanubhai Kalsariya; public meeting in village Vasna on May 30, attended by 15,000 people apart from civil society leaders from Gujarat; a motorcycle rally on May 28.
Then, there was a massive tractor rally from the SIR to Gandhinagar on June 28 and a memorandum was given to the revenue minister; and a meeting was held with Modi on July 11, 2013, where the CM gave an assurance that he would make a major announcement on Independence Day. Thereafter, on July 30, four ministers whom he had appointed to look into the matter called JAAG leaders for meeting and told them that an agriculture zone would be declared in the area, but that “the SIR would not be withdrawn at any cost.”

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Fragmented opposition and identity politics shaping Tamil Nadu’s 2026 election battle

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Tamil Nadu is set to go to the polls in April 2026, and the political battle lines are beginning to take shape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on January 23, 2026, marked the formal launch of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Addressing multiple public meetings, the Prime Minister accused the DMK government of corruption, criminality, and dynastic politics, and called for Tamil Nadu to be “freed from DMK’s chains.” PM Modi alleged that the DMK had turned Tamil Nadu into a drug-ridden state and betrayed public trust by governing through what he described as “Corruption, Mafia and Crime,” derisively terming it “CMC rule.” He claimed that despite making numerous promises, the DMK had failed to deliver meaningful development. He also targeted what he described as the party’s dynastic character, arguing that the government functioned primarily for the benefit of a single family a...

Search This Blog