Seven Adivasis, including three women, brutally attacked in South Gujarat: Protests planned on Foundation Day, May 1

By A Representative
In a gruesome incident, seven Adivasis, including three women, of Manekpur village of Bardoli taluka of South Gujarat were brutally attacked on Tuesday. All of them are members of the Adavasi Kisan Sangharsh Morcha (AKSM), which has been fast expanding its wings among the Adivasis of South Gujarat districts.

The attack, says AKSM, is part of the ruling BJP's effort to cow down the Adivasis of the area, as they have decided to hold parallel protests against Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel. Patel will to bein the Adivasi town of Vyara for Gujarat foundation day function on May 1. An FIR has been filed against the alleged culprits, most of whom are allegedly BJP supporters.
Claiming that Bardoli BJP MLA Jitu Vasia is the "mastermind" of the attack on the AKSM workers, the organization's leader Romel Sutariya said, the attack took place late on Monday night after the supporters of the MLA broke into Adivasi houses and attacked seven of them -- Vanmalibhai Rathod, Rameshbhai Rathod, Natubhai Rathod, Keralbhai Rathod, Ushaben Rathod, Bhanuben Rathod, and Sumitraben Rathod.
"On learning that they have been attacked, AKSM workers immediately rushed to the spot and shifted them to Bardoli Sardar Smarak Hospital", Sutariya said, adding, "While all of them have been admitted in the hospital, Vanmalibhai Rathod is in the intensive care unit. I have personally talked with the district superintendent of police (SP) to take immediate action. I have been assured that the culprits will not be set free."

The poster which attacked police action against Sutariya, others

Earlier last week, several of AKSM's workers, including Sutariya, were were detained in Ahmedabad for a day after they tried to protest against the Gujarat government for failing to pay Rs 17 crore dues to Adivasi farmers who had sold their sugarcane to the sugar mills in South Gujarat. The police said, the AKSM protest took place the fact that the organization was "refused" permission to protest.
The arrests also happened as the AKSM put up posters in Ahmedabad which said the Gujarat chief minister was "missing", even as alleging failure of the state government to act to up sugarcane dues. Sutariya in a statement later described the day-long detention as "violation of the democratic rights, as enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution." The "missing" posters were also put up in Vyara, where May 1 functions have been proposed.
In his statement, Sutariya has denied the allegation that the AKSM is wedded to the Maoist ideology, saying, "I have been frequently asked by the police why did I visit Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. This is a strange question. I will go to every place where the oppressed are struggling for their rights."
He clarified, "However, we wish to clarify, we are wedded to continue our struggle through non-violent means, and there no question of adopting extra-constitutional method. We are proud that the Gujarat Foundation day ceremoney is taking place on May 1 in South Gujarat, but we have a democratic right to protest as well. We have decided to launch door-to-door campaign to protest against state government failures."

Comments

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

The Galgotia model: How India is losing the war on knowledge

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Galgotia is the face of 'quality education' as envisioned by those who never considered education a tool for social change or national uplift — and yet this is precisely the model Narendra Modi pursued in Gujarat as Chief Minister. In the mid-eighties, when many of us were growing up, 'Nirma' became one of the most popular advertisements on Doordarshan. Whether the product was any good hardly seemed to matter.

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

Search This Blog