Gujarat farmers' anti-land acquisition organization announces cattle rally to Gandhinagar on Jan 18

By A Representative
Fresh trouble is starting to brew for the Mandal-Bechraji special investment region (SIR) of North Gujarat, which was scaled down by the Gujarat government recently under pressure of a powerful agitation launched by the farmers under the leadership of Jameen Adhikar Andolan Gujarat (JAAG). The Gujarat government’s refusal to provide alternative land to the farmers who lost their land against the area acquired by it for the Maruti-Suzuki plant in the SIR is all set to blow into a major point of contention between it and JAAG.
“About 699 acres of land was acquired by the Gujarat government for setting up the Maruti-Suzuki plant in the SIR. Of this, about 300 acres belonged to about 200 farmers. The Gujarat government had promised to provide land to these farmers at the place of their choice. However, they are now backtracking from their promise. Most of these are small farmers, who were given land under the land reforms phase”, JAAG’s Sagar Rabari told Counterview, adding, "These farmers have also lost their common village land which was meant for the cattle, rendering the farmers dependent on animal husbandry without any means of livelihood."
“The farmers have demanded that either they should be given back their land, handed over to Maruti-Suzuki plant against their wishes, or they should be given land just opposite of the plant. They do not wish to take land at any other place. They also oppose handing over of grazing land for the cattle to Maruti-Suzuki. As the state government is refusing to oblige, these farmers, who belong to Hansalpur village, where the plant is coming up, have decided to kickstart an agitation once again”, Rabari said.
The state government, say sources close to the development, is refusing to oblige because most of the area opposite the plant demanded by the farmers was "bought over" by one of the senior-most ministers of the Narendra Modi Cabinet, known to be extremely close to the Gujarat chief minister for several decades. “The land acquisition was carried out despite farmers’ disapproval of the plant. Now, the farmers cannot be cheated by handing over to them any type of land against their wishes”, the JAAG leader said.
The agitation against Mandal-Bechraji SIR had forced the state government to denotify the SIR from 36 villages out of 44, where it was originally planned. Now, the SIR is being planned only in eight of the villages. JAAG has claimed, instead of stopping any type of land acquisition without farmers’ consent, the state government has begun doing it from the backdoor – through the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC).
“It is refusing to heed to the provisions of the new land acquisition Act, which makes it mandatory for the government to take the consent of 80 per cent of the villagers”, JAAG sources said, adding, “Nor is the Act’s new provision that the farmers be paid four times the price of the land is being followed. It should provide land to those farmers who do not want cash compensation, but even this is not happening.”
Meanwhile, in a statement, JAAG said, “In the eight villages, where the SIR will now be implemented, the state government has nothing to ensure that the farmers’ land is not triggered, as it had promised. Without cancelling the SIR, the GIDC has started acquiring land there.”
Pointing out that the “land issue of the residents of village Hansalpur has remained as is, without the administration paying any heed to it”, JAAG said, to press for their demand to cancel any type of land acquisition, the farmers will start a cattle rally from Hansalpur villae to Gandhinagar on January 18. “The rally was planned earlier but was postponed based on the assurances received from the administration that they would look into the matter and come back to them with a positive response.”
“It has been a long time now and the government has not responded to the farmers/pastoralists”, JAAG said, adding, “The farmers/pastoralists have now lost their patience. They are now going to set off from Hansalpur on the morning of January 18 2014 at 9am with 500 cattle heads for Gandhinagar where they will hand over their cattle to the government and the administration, because they do not have any land to feed the cattle. The area which was meant for the cattle, the common village land, has been acquired by the state government for Maruti-Suzuki.”

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog