People's bodies hold rally against land acquisition ordinance sans Congress despite previous decision for joint action

By A Representative
The talk of a joint fight against the land acquisition ordinance appears to have shortlived. A National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM)-sponsored rally in Delhi saw significant absence of Congress and its leaders, who had decided to organize it on April 2. The rally, where large number of farmers, landless workers, fisherfolk and other sections of the rural population participated, was addressed by senior Left leaders, their opponents in West Bengal Tranamool Congress, a junior Janata Dal (United) leader, senior activists of the NAPM.
On April 2, in what seemed to be a unity of people's organizations and political parties across the spectrum, Congress, Communists and senior activists fighting against the land acquisition Bill, then pending clearance of the Rajya Sabha, joined hands to form a new body called Bhoomi Adhikar Sangharsh Andolan (BASA) as a “movement of land rights”, declaring their intention for hold a well-represented rallies in different states, culminating at Parliament Street on May 5.
Calling it continuation of “the joint movement against the draconian Land Acquisition Bill, 2015”, on April 2 the NAPM, which is the apex body of rights-based organizations in India, said, on May 5 there was going to be the third “massive protest” and which would be "bigger" than the one held on February 24. At the “strategy meeting”, it was decided to unite forces to launch “protests with massive participation in all states", before reaching Delhi.
Among those who had decided for the joint action on May 5 included Jairam Ramesh (Congress), Sitaram Yechury (Communist Party India-Marxist), D Raja (Communist Party of India), KC Tyagi (Janata Dal-United), and all the splinter left parties. While Congress, in the meanwhile, held its own rally, followed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). On May 5, if the NAPM statement is any indication, the Congress, which is the biggest of these parties, was conspicuous by its absence.
The May 5 rally was addressed, apart from Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar and her partners, by CPI-M's Yechury, CPI's Raja, and JD-U's Rajya Sabha MP Pavan Verma, and Trinamool Congress' Dola Sen. The NAPM claimed in its statement, "thousands participated in the rally", with people coming in from several states, including Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Ndu, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The NAPM statement suggested Gujarat's farmers' organizations, which have "opposed" land acquisition, was not represented at the meeting, including the Jameen Adhikar Andolan Gujarat (JAAG), whose leader Sagar Rabari has lately gone close to NBA leader Medha Patkar.

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

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.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

The war on junk food: Why India must adopt global warning labels

By Jag Jivan The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi).

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma* The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.

Madhav Gadgil: The ecologist who taught India to listen to nature

By Raj Kumar Sinha* Among the exceptional individuals who laid the intellectual and scientific foundations of environmental conservation in India—and challenged the dominant development discourse—Professor Madhav Dhondo Keshav Gadgil stands as a towering figure. He was not only a pioneering ecologist, but also among the first to view environmental protection through the lens of democracy, local communities and social justice.

Search This Blog