Post-poll meet: People's Union for Civil Liberties "ignores" human rights activists under saffron attack

Gujarat PUCL chief Gautam Thaker

By Our Representative
At a top meeting, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) ignored any mention of top human rights activists Teesta Setalvad and Father Cedric Prakash, currently target of attack by BJP rulers and their saffron supporters. Setalvad, seeking court intervention to institute a case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “involvement” in Gujarat riots, for quite some time has been target. Gujarat government has initiated an inquiry into “embezzlement” of funds of the NGO she runs. Prakash is the latest target of Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar for his meetings with Goa Christians questioning freedom of religion in Gujarat in March 2014.
At a news conference a few days ago, Parrikar not only threatened action against Prakash in the same way as he booked a Facebooker for the latter’s anti-Modi posts, but compared the Jesuit rights activist with an extremist Sri Ram Sene chief from Mangalore. When asked why PUCL has “ignored” the vicious criticism by the Goa chief minister, PUCL’s Gujarat general secretary Gautam Thaker told Counterview he came to know about it “rather late”.
Worse, none of the speakers, while discussing post-poll scenario, even once recalled attacks on human rights activists, which, most voluntary organizations admit in private, may further intensify with Modi in power, known as he is for criticizing “five star NGOs”.
Called at Gujarat Vidyapeeth, the meeting, in which Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, apart from mainly Gujarat-based well-known social activists, participated, ironically called for the need to “unite” against Modi’s “autocratic” ways. While saying that Modi will not risk communal riots, veteran advocate Girish Patel predicted, “He will certainly try to corrode existing democratic institutions”.
Congress was target of attack. “The problem was the Congress was so terribly indifferent towards winning the polls that its state party president Arjun Modhwadia was found to be playing games on his mobile most of the time. It utterly lacked self-confidence”, contended Indumar Jani, veteran social activist. Another senior activist Rajni Dave said then when it needed the NGOs’ support it came to them, but after the polls, it has not even cared to talk to them about reasons for defeat.
Harinesh Pandya, who runs Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahal, a right to information NGO, said, he apprehended attacks on the working class to intensify. “In Gujarat, the labour courts have been demolished, while minimum wages are not being implemented”, he said, adding, “Unfortunately, the Congress never took our views seriously.”
Pandya simultaneously criticized AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal saying, “I once asked Kejriwal why were so many Sangh Parivar people were there in the party, Kejriwal replied, “Bring in others, and the Sangh people will go into minority.” AAP’s Anoop Sharma blamed “lack of organization” for poor show of even activists like Kanu Kalsaria and Medha Parkar, who could not muster enough votes even to save their deposits.
Environmental expert Mahesh Pandya -- of Paryavaran Mitra -- apprehended corrosion of the NGOs’ activities by promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR). “In Gujarat, in the name of CSR, the Adanis have virtually taken control of a public hospital in Kutch”, he alleged.
There was criticism of the AAP from various speakers, who said it had initially been soft to the Sangh Parivar.
Farmers’ leader who shot into prominent for opposing Bhechraji-Mandal special investment region (SIR), Lalji Desai, one of the very few who joined the Congress ahead of the polls, said, “The corporate went against the Congress because it took a rights-based approach for jobs, for land, for forests, for food, for information, and so on.”

Comments

India’s climate tech ecosystem in dire need of both early, growth-stage funding: Report

By Our Representative India’s climate tech ecosystem, which boasts over 800 startups, is in dire need of both early and growth-stage funding to leverage its full potential, according to a report by Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (Ventures) and MUFG Bank , Japan. Despite a robust initial funding landscape, with approximately two-thirds of climate tech startups receiving seed capital, growth-stage investments remain critically lacking.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded reaction in the form of a link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Bayer's business model: 'Monopoly control over chemicals, seeds'

By Bharat Dogra* The Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has rendered a great public service by very recently publishing a report titled ‘Bayer’s Toxic Trails’ which reveals how the German agrochemical giant Bayer has been lobbying hard to promote glyphosate and GMOs, or trying to “capture public policy to pursue its private interests.” This report, written by Joao Camargo and Hans Van Scharen, follows Bayer’s toxic trail as “it maintains monopolistic control of the seed and pesticides markets, fights off regulatory challenges to its toxic products, tries to limit legal liability, and exercises political influence.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

105,000 sign protest petition, allege Nestlé’s 'double standard' over added sugar in baby food

By Kritischer Konsum* 105,000 people have signed a petition calling on Nestlé to stop adding sugar to its baby food products marketed in lower-income countries. It was handed over today at the multinational’s headquarters in Vevey, where the NGOs Public Eye, IBFAN and EKO dumped the symbolic equivalent of 10 million sugar cubes, representing the added sugar consumed each day by babies fed with Cerelac cereals. In Switzerland, such products are sold with no added sugar. The leading baby food corporation must put an end to this harmful double standard.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

UNEP report on how climate crisis is impacting displacement, global conflicts, declining health

By Shankar Sharma* A recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), titled "A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing," warrants urgent attention from our country’s developmental perspective. The findings, detailed in the report, should be a source of significant concern not only globally but especially for our nation, which has a vast population and limited natural resources.

Industries fueling climate crisis draining public funds in Global South: ActionAid

By Our Representative A new ActionAid report has exposed the alarming financial drain on the Global South, as climate-wrecking industries like fossil fuels and industrial agriculture receive over US$600 billion annually in public subsidies. The report, "How the Finance Flows: Corporate Capture of Public Finance Fuelling the Climate Crisis in the Global South", reveals that an average of US$677 billion in public finance is directed toward climate-destructive sectors each year, depriving crucial social sectors such as education.

75 years of revolution: How China moved away from ideals of struggle for human liberation

By Harsh Thakor* On October 1st, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, a pivotal moment in the struggle for human liberation. From 1949 to 1976, China achieved remarkable social equality and revolutionary democracy, outpacing other developing nations in literacy, health care, agricultural output, and industrial production.

Search This Blog