Gujarat High Court sets aside police decision to prohibit farmers' padyatra to protest Smart City in Dholera SIR

Dholera SIR farmers

By A Representative
In a setback to the Gujarat government, the Gujarat High Court has set aside the state police decision to bar farmers of the prestigious Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) from taking out a six-day long padyatra or footmarch to oppose the proposal of smart city in the largely rural area. The foot march was to begin on Thursday.
Smart city in Dholera is one of the proposals floated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was Gujarat chief minister. It is one of the most important projects envisaged by him.
Upcoming farmers' organization Khedut Samaj - Gujarat (KSG) leader Sagar Rabari said, the High Court has "directed" the farmers' organization to reschedule its programme, as pending High Court hearing, the padyatra could not start.
The foot march was to begin in Bavaliyari village of Dholera SIR with the participation of 100 persons and end on November 3 in front of the Ahmedabad district collector's office, where the farmers' leaders were to submit an application seeking beginning of hearing for regularizing farmers' landownership rights.
A large number of poor farmers of Dholera SIR, who were allocated land during the land reforms days in the 1960s, have still not become the rightful owners of the land they have been tilling for decades. Meanwhile, the Gujarat government declared about 28,503 hectares (ha) of land, mainly belongng to these farmers, as government-owned.
The poor farmers, meanwhile, are now being orally told that the lands they were tilling did not belong to them but had been transferred to the Dholera SIR Authority in order to implement the smart city project.
Ironically, the district collector, Ahmedabad, had promised to begin land kacheris (hearings) in each of the 22 villages of Dholera SIR at the Environmental Public Hearing (EPH), held on January 3, 2014, in order to regularize the landownership. The land kacheris have still not been held.
Rabari said, following the High Court order, the KSG, in consultation with the local farmers' organization, Bhal Bachao Samiti, would "meet soon and declare new dates."
Well-known High court advocate Anand Yagnik, who argued for the farmers, referring to several court judgements, and said that the state goverment or the police had "no right to prevent the farmers from expressing their grievances against the government's decision."
Yagnik wondered how could the Gujarat police allow half-a-million Patels to march in Ahmedabad on August 25, while it was denying permission to about 100 farmers taking out padyatra from one village to another.
The Gujarat police, while refusing permission, cited reasons like forthcoming Diwali festivals and dangers to law and order due to lack of police force.
Rabari said, the obstacle in starting padyatra had been "created by the Gujarat government" in order to "restrain the farmers of the state from voicing their grievances", which reflected its "anti-rural and anti-farmer mindset".
Calling the state government move "greatly disappointing" to the farmers of Dholera SIR, he added, "The people of the area are extremely angry with the deployment of a huge police force, police jeeps and trucks, and water cannons all over."
Terming this "the government’s strong resolve to crush the farmers", Rabari said, "They are more enraged and disillusioned by the government’s discrimination against them." While there is "over-enthusiasm to welcome the corporates", the government is "turning a deaf ear" to the farmers' issues.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog