Tribal women, children arrested, as Gujarat "presses ahead" with tourism project off Narmada

Function for Shreshtra Bhawan

By A Representative
According to latest information from near the Narmada dam in Gujarat, five women, one man and three minors were arrested by the police between 11.00 am and 6.30 pm on Saturday from Kevadia village, situated about 12 kilometres downstream of the controversial dam, currently under construction to its full reservoir level. After being transported to the Tilakwada Thana, 29 km away, they were held without proper food and other facilities.
Taking strong exception to the development, a senior human rights activist from Vadodara, Gujarat's cultural capital, Trupti Shah has said, "The family members were not informed about the arrest, nor the place to which they were taken. The police thereafter forcibly entered into the farm land of the villagers with a JCB Machine, damaging a pipeline used by villagers for irrigation." Shah is with the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and leads a women's organization, Sahyar.
In her letter to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman K G Balakrishnan, Shah says, those who were arrested are Sarojben Sukhrambhai Tadvi, her two sons Roshankumar (10 years) and Jathankumar (7 years), Jyotiben Kanchanbhai Tadvi, Savitaben Rameshbhai Tadvi, Champaben Chandra Kantbhai Tadvi, Jyotshnaben Sanjaybhai Tadvi and her son, Smithkumar (5 years) and Sukrambhai Ukad Tadvi.
Shah has sent copies of the letter to National Commission of Scheduled Tribes chairman Dr Rameshwar Oraon, Gujarat chief secretary DJ Pandian, and Gujarat police chief PC Thakur.
Calling the arrests "illegal" with the intention to "harass women and children" and intimidate the local people, Shah says, "Although the police provided no reason for this brute exercise of force, it was clear to the local villagers that the raison d'être was to crush the people’s democratic opposition to their forcible eviction for the purpose of streamlining the construction of the Shreshtha Bharat Bhavan, a part of the Statue of Unity tourism project."
She says, "The aggrieved belong to the around 70 people of six tribal families who have been living for generations in village Kevadia, which falls within an area protected by the fifth schedule of the Constitution of India. In 1963 this land belonging to six families was acquired for the canal project for the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP)." Later, she adds, "the actual location of the dam was moved a few kilometres upstream to village vadgam."
"Now", Shah points out, "It appears that the Government of Gujarat has casually changed the purpose of acquisition from a canal to the establishment of the three-star hotel known as Shreshtha Bharat Bhavan, without obtaining the mandatory environmental clearances or following due process of law."
Meanwhile, Shah says, "The government with alliance of a private contractor has also recently erected fencing around the homes and land of these six families. A 24 hour police force guards the land. Villagers are routinely terrorised, harassed and prevented from operating their small shops which are their source of income." The latest arrest, she adds, took place as "the local people were protesting the construction of this illegal Open Air Prison."

Comments

The silencing of conscience: Ideological attacks on India’s judiciary and free thought

By Sunil Kumar* “Volunteers will pick up sticks to remove every obstacle that comes in the way of Sanatan and saints’ work.” — RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat (November 6, 2024, Chitrakoot) Eleven months later, on October 6, 2025, a man who threw a shoe inside the Supreme Court shouted, “India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan.” This incident was not an isolated act but a continuation of a pattern seen over the past decade—attacks on intellectuals, writers, activists, and journalists, sometimes in the name of institutions, sometimes by individual actors or organizations.

'Violation of Apex Court order': Delhi authorities blamed for dog-bite incidents at JLN Stadium

By A Representative People for Animals (PFA), led by Ms. Ambika Shukla, has held the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) responsible for the recent dog-bite incidents at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, accusing it of violating Supreme Court directions regarding community dogs. The organisation’s on-ground fact-finding mission met stadium authorities and the two affected coaches to verify details surrounding the incidents, both of which occurred on October 3.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Citizens’ group to recall Justice Chagla’s alarm as India faces ‘undeclared' Emergency

By A Representative In a move likely to raise eyebrows among the powers-that-be, a voluntary organisation founded during the “dark days” of the Indira Gandhi -imposed Emergency has announced that it will hold a public conference in Ahmedabad to highlight what its office-bearers call today’s “undeclared Emergency.”

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

From seed to soil: How transnational control is endangering food sovereignty

By Bharat Dogra In recent decades, the world has witnessed a steady erosion of plant diversity in many countries, particularly those in the Global South that were once richly endowed with natural plant wealth. Much of this diversity has been removed from its original ecological and cultural contexts and transferred into gene banks concentrated in developed nations. While conservation of genetic resources is important, the problem arises when access to these collections becomes unequal, particularly when they fall under the control of transnational corporations.

Counterview

Search This Blog