Senior Gandhian, two others detained in Gujarat as Modi began summit with tycoons at Mahatma Mandir

Indukumar Jani

In shocking incident, three veteran civil rights activists – Gandhian and editor of the periodical “Naya Marg" Indukumar Jani, senior economist Rohit Shukla, and Gautam Thakar, general secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) -- were detained for the whole day on January 11, when the high profile Vibrant Gujarat Investors' summit took off in Gujarat capital, Gandhinagar. The trio were mysteriously picked up from near the Passport Office, around the time when they had just begun to drive to Adalaj circle, on way to Gandhinagar, about 25 kilometres away.
“We were on our way to the farmers' protest meet, which was to take place at Adalaj circle”, Thaker told Counterview, adding, “Indukumar Jani was driving the car. He was pushed out, and was asked to sit in the back. The police took control of the car, and drove us to the Gaekwad Haveli, the police crime branch office, as if we were criminals. No formal reason was given, though informally the cops told us that we were the brains behind the protest, lest farmers – whose brains equaled that of buffaloes – wouldn't even think of protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Picked up at around 9.00 am, and “let off” at 6.00 pm, interestingly, the three are known even among NGO circles as “most harmless individuals”. A statement by prominent citizens, informing media about the detention, said, their mobiles were confiscated, adding, the illegal detention without specifying any rhyme or reason was a clear indication of the type of authoritarian rule India will soon be witnessing. “They were detained despite the fact that we had no direct relation with the farmers' movement. We were proceeding to the spot only give moral support to the protest”, the statement said.
Among those who have signed the statement include former BJP chief minister Suresh Mehta, well-known human rights lawyer Girish Patel, senior critic and litterateur Prakash N Shah, human rights activist Rajni Dave, environmental expert Mahesh Pandya, Jesuit human rights activist Father Cedric Prakash, Dwarkanath Rath of Lok Andolan Gujarat, Jimmy Dabhi of Human Development and Research Centre, and Ahmedabad Women's Action Group's Sara Baldiwala.

Sanat Mehta on being detained in Gandhinagar

In a separate statement, farmers' leader Sagar Rabari of Gujarat Khedut Samaj, one of the three organisations which were behind the farmers' protest, said, “Iron-curtain of police presence all over Gujarat was an instance of a hell-shocked and petrified government.” He added, “During campaigning for the 2014 elections, those who shouted slogans like 'Subsidy in Mutton, why not for Cotton?', are today clamping down on the reasonable demands of the farmers.”
The statement said, “Preventive detention of the leaders of the Sanyukt Khedut Sangharsh Samiti (joint action committee of farmers) began yesterday and continued till 2 pm. Late night detentions and a literal cordon at all entry points in the city reveals a government that is terrified and scared. There is no doubt that the government has revealed its fascist tendencies in this undemocratic act of repressing the voice of farmers.”
It added, “While world leaders, corporate and MNC heads and industrialists were being entertained at taxpayers' money, the farmers who were going to come to Mahatma Mandir were detained in the early hours of the morning (2 am and 4 am) in Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Amreli, Sabarkantha, Arvalli, Bharuch, Narmada, andSurat districts. The police cordon was as if they were out to nab terrorists.”
The statement further said, “The police presence at Adalaj crossroads would make one think that Gandhinagar was attacked by foreign forces. On the one hand the government was spreading out a feast for its foreign guests, the toiling cotton and groundnut farmers’ demands for fair prices did not find one sympathetic ear in the government – state or central.”
“Government apathy and thick-skinned disregard of the toiling masses’ demand for remunerative and fair prices is an example of the government’s sell-out to international and national corporate houses. The well-worn ploy of pitching the police against the people has been understood by the people and when the time comes the government will be brought to account. As long as the demands are not addressed, the agitation will continue. The forthcoming programmes will be decided after a meeting and we will see to it that our demands are met", the statement concluded.

Comments

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

Search This Blog