Opposition to land acquisition in Gujarat picks up, with JAAG expanding its wings towards Dholera SIR

By A Representative
Movement against “indiscriminate” acquisition of land for industrial use has come to Ahmedabad’s footsteps. Jameen Adhikar Andolan Gujarat (JAAG), the state body which led a campaign against Mandal-Becharaji special investment region (SIR) in North Gujarat, forcing the Gujarat government to remove 36 of the 44 villages from the SIR area, held its first meeting to give vent to “people’s anger” against the formation of Gujarat’s biggest SIR – in Dholera region in Ahmedabad district.
At a well-attended meeting at village Bawaliari decided to hold several protest rallies against the SIR, including a motorbike rally, which would go around all the 22 villages encompassed in Dholera SIR.
JAAG statement said, “The farmers in the Dholera SIR area, spread over 920 sq km, also want to save their farmlands, pasturelands and wastelands. They contacted the activists of JAAG seeking support in their struggle. Consequently, a meeting of the people of the area was called on December 18, 2013, in village Bawaliari. The meeting saw the presence of leaders from various villages and activists numbering around 250.”
The statement quoted leader of Bawaliari village, Pradyumansinh Chudasama, as telling the meeting that the government’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for Dholera SIR had included in the SIR area “the submerged village of Mandvipura, where a recreation zone has been planned”. Expressing surprise over this, he underlined, there were “numerous such examples to prove that the report prepared by the government had no connection with the actual condition on the ground, it was false and misleading and prepared with people sitting in offices.”
Another instance Chudasama cited was the allotment of the final plot for agriculture which has been, for the last about a decade, lying “submerged under seawater.” Worse, he added, “there are resolutions and government resolutions (GRs) seeking to impose betterment taxes”, which was in sharp contrast to the earlier promise that the land would be developed at no cost to them. “This was grossly unjust and that the farmers’ pleas had gone unheeded”, he declared, calling for a strong resistance to this “injustice.”
Participating in the meeting, former finance minister of Gujarat Sanat Mehta, called upon the farmers to fight the government on this issue. He recalled his struggle to get the Narmada waters to the Bhal region, but said, “The present government is going all out to decommand the area from the Narmada command area.”
Yet another participant, former MLA from Mahua and the president of Gujarat Khedut Samaj, Dr Kanubhai Kalsariya, pledged full support to the movement and called upon the people of Dholera region area to “put their differences aside and put up a united fight to save their lands”, JAAG said.
JAAG leader Lalji Desai focussed on “consolidating the organisational strength” of the farmers’ body, while senior activist Rajnibhai Dave talked about “alternative development paradigm”. Yet another activist, Anand Mazgaonkar outlined the important issues to be borne in mind during the Environmental Public Hearing, to be held on January 3, 2014, in Dholera, and the “machinations of the government and officials.”
Another JAAG leader Sagar Rabari outlined the various provisions of the SIR Act, the newly enacted irrigation and drainage Act, and how these new legal instruments were actually anti-people. “He called for a strong organisational response to this”, JAAG said. Among other activists who participated the meeting were Raju Deepti, Swati Desai, Persis Ginwalla, Deepti Raju, Micheal Mazgoankar, Sonal Mehta, Mahesh Parmar, Krishnakant, Rohit Prajapati, Lakhan Musafir, and others.
Taking strong exception to the manner in which the government was seeking to sell/lease pastureland, wasteland and other common property resources in the state, the JAAG statement said, “The Government of Gujarat brought out the Special Investment Region Act in 2009 (with provisions of Town Planning taken from the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1973) to give in to the ever-increasing greed of the corporate lobby.”
It insisted, “This will facilitate releasing nearly 50 per cent of land holdings of private land owners/farmers without any compensation whatsoever. The farmers in the Mandal-Bechraji SIR area fought against this machination of the government and the government had to bow to the people’s wishes.”

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Centre criminally negligent': SKM demands national disaster declaration in flood-hit states

By A Representative The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has urged the Centre to immediately declare the recent floods and landslides in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Haryana as a national disaster, warning that the delay in doing so has deepened the suffering of the affected population.

Saffron Kingdom – a cinematic counter-narrative to The Kashmir Files

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* “Saffron Kingdom” is a film produced in the United States by members of the Kashmiri diaspora, positioned as a response to the 2022 release “The Kashmir Files.” While the latter focused on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and framed Kashmiri Muslims as perpetrators of violence, “Saffron Kingdom” seeks to present an alternate perspective—highlighting the experiences of Kashmiri Muslims facing alleged abuses by Indian security forces.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

From lazy to lost? The myths and realities behind generational panic about youth

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak Older generations in many societies often describe the young with labels such as “lazy, unproductive, lost, anxious, depoliticised, unpatriotic or wayward.” Others see them as “social media, mobile phone and porn addicts.” Such judgments arise from a generational anxiety rooted in fears of losing control and from distorted perceptions about youth, especially in the context of economic crises, conflicts, and wars in which many young lives are lost.

Counterview

Search This Blog