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Showing posts from December, 2015

Odisha saffron outfit "blocks" Christmas celebrations in Kandhamal district, known for communal tensions

By Our Representative Notorious for communal violence, Kandhamal district of Odisha once again saw tension following saffron outfits’ alleged threat to Christians not to celebrate Christmas. Ajaya Kumar Singh, a well-known social activist working in the area, reports that roads to several villages were “blocked” by felling trees and putting huge rocks so that the police force could not reach the place where they were “rampaging.”

Top Gujarat-based woman rights activist regrets it's "common" for Indian women leaders to face sexual abuse

Manjula Pradeep during a women rights campaign By Our Representative Foremost woman Dalit rights activist from Gujarat, Manjula Pradeep, executive director of Navsarjan Trust, referring to a gruesome incident of sexual abuse in a Facebook post on October 30, 2015 on her timeline, has said that “it is high time" one raised the point of concern as it is not only happening or happen to one person, but many women across India who are in leadership position.”

Muslims rally in Ahmedabad to protest "interference" in Muslim Personal Law, Congress leaders attend meet

By Mohammed Kaleem Siddiqui For the first time after 2002, Muslims of Gujarat showed their numbers in Ahmedabad on the occasion of 17th national convention of All India Milli Council. The last time Muslims gathered on such mass scale was when the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board held convention in Ahmedabad in 1992 just ahead of the Babri Masjid demolition.

Parliament must scrutinize rules under RTI Act made in states

Venkatesh Nayak, Programme Coordinator, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi, writes to Sanjay Kothari, IAS, Secretary to Government of India, Department of Personnel and Training on the need to resolve the constitutional conundrum regarding oversight of the unbridled exercise of powers of delegated legislation by appropriate governments and competent authorities under The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act): *** I am writing to draw your attention to the unresolved issue of the unreasonable exercise of the power of delegated legislation under the RTI Act by delegatees and the absence of effective parliamentary/legislative oversight of the same. You are aware of the fact that some appropriate governments acting under Section 27 and several competent authorities including heads of State Legislatures and Chief Justices of High Courts acting under Section 28 have notified Rules for the implementation of the Act in their jurisdiction that ar

Impact of "improvement" in economic complexity under UPA: By 2024 India to be fastest growing economy

Top 20 countries which will grow fastest till 2024 By Our Representative Basing on analysis of decade-long economic growth data and policies between 2004 and 2014 – which Manmohan Singh was India’s Prime Minister – the Centre for International Development (CID) at Harvard University has predicted that India has the “potential to be the fastest growing economy over the coming decade.”

Sohrabuddin fake enounter: "Extreme pressure" led to withdrawal of case against BJP chief Amit Shah

Rubabuddin By Our Representative Well-known human rights lawyer Mihir Desai has alleged "extreme pressure" on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has taken finally a U-turn against its own charge sheet in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. He says, this appears to be a clear case of “caged parrot syndrome”, even as indicating it simultaneously suggests an effort to bury the case itself.

Levels of radiation from Uranium Corporation of India operations are 60 times "safe levels" set in US

Subarnarekha river, "affected" by uranium waste By Our Representative As India seeks to go nuclear signing one pact after another with other countries, a US-based non-profit organization, Centre for Public Integrity (CPI), has come down heavily on the state-owned Uranium Corporation of India Ltd ’s (UCIL’s) operations in Jadugoda, Jharkhand, for failing to protect “nuclear workers, village residents, and children living near mines and factories” from “persistent exposure to unsafe radiation.”

World Bank decides action on "sweeping failures" in rehabilitating people affected by projects funded by it

Fishing community in Gujarat "affected" by World Bank power project By Our Representative The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a powerful group of cross-border journalists, has appreciated that, after years of delay, the World Bank has initiated “action to address sweeping failures in its oversight of development projects that force people from their land or harm their livelihoods.”

Image of Gujaratis as tolerant damaged after 2002 riots, may "affect" ethnic entrepreneurial tradition

The front page of an Indian daily By Our Representative Top British journal “The Economist” has wondered whether Gujaratis, qualified as the world’s “best businesspeople”, would continue to enjoy the same reputation in the future, especially when their image of “religious and ethnic tolerance on which so much of their commercial ethos was built” stands damaged.

Black money: Govt of India refuses info about action on whistleblower's expose of unaccounted money in HSBC

Falciani By Our Representative Yet another instance has come to light suggesting the Government of India isn’t keen on sharing information on black money. The Ministry of Finance has lately refused to part with official information on action taken following former Geneva-based HSBC Bank employee and whistleblower Herve Falciani’s leaked information on account holders who had stashed away black money in the bank.

Why should income tax department decide, reject RTI pleas to Black Money SIT?

By Venkatesh Nayak*  In November 2015, the media reported extensively on a press conference addressed by one Mr. Herve Falciani former employee of HSBC who leaked information about account holders who had stashed away what is alleged to be “black money” in that Bank. Mr. Falciani participating in the presser via skype had alleged that the Government lacked seriousness in acting on the information that he provided to them regarding black money stashed abroad. He claimed to have written to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Chairperson of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted in May 2014 to investigate unaccounted money stashed abroad by Indians. RTI application sent to the Black Money SIT As the bureaucrats in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) are extremely reluctant about sharing information about almost everything sought under The Right Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) I sent an RTI application along with the news clipping about the presser to the Public Information Office

Examine RTI's exemption categories before releasing human rights violation report: Gujarat's top Info Commissioner

Balwant Singh By Rajiv Shah Gujarat’s chief information commissioner Balwant Singh, in a ruling, which is unlikely to be taken kindly by RTI activists, has said that senior IAS official Sanjay Prasad’s two-year-old report on the death of three Dalit youths in police firing of September 2012, may be public, as it relates to a “human rights violation”, but under certain condition.

How Modi government in Gujarat used to give primacy to politics of vendetta over corruption

By RK Misra* Vendetta politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, and applying the wrong remedy, or so goes an oft repeated saying. Cold Delhi was sizzled on December 15 as the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) sought to ‘marinate’ the Delhi Chief Minister’s Office in a controversial raid that saw temperatures soaring in Parliament and fingers pointed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for resorting to such a practice.

"Rampant" land acquisition in Karnataka for building nuclear weapons capacity, alleges top US non-profit body

The wall around the "proposed" N-site By Our Representative A “secret” acquisition of of nearly 4,290 acres of land adjacent to Varavu Kaval and Khudapura villages in the district of Chitradurga, Karnataka, which place seven months after India’s Parliament ratified the US-Indian nuclear cooperation by Parliament May 2009, has gone internationally controversial six years after the process began.

With two more silicosis deaths, toll reaches 20: Gujarat govt in “no hurry” to prevent disease, implement NHRC plea

Naresh M Rathod,  Rafik Husen Malek By Jagdish Patel* With the death of two more agate workers due to silicosis, Rafik Husen Malek (43) and Naresh M Rathod (42), the toll because of the deadly occupational disease in Gujarat has reached 20 this year. Both were residents of Shakarpur, Khambhat taluka of Central Gujarat. Last year, 25 deaths took place as a result of silicosis.

US chemical giant DuPont, which merged with Dow, must take responsibility for Bhopal gas tragedy: Amnesty

Modi with Dow CEO By Our Representative The decision of Dow Chemicals, which took over $130 billion all-stock merger with US chemical giant DuPont last week, with the combined company to be named DowDuPont, has made top international NGO Amnesty to declare this doesn't absolve if of Bhopal gas tragedy in which 22,000 people died in 1984.

India's constitutional conundrum? State, legislative, judicial bodies' RTI rules "not in consonance" with Central rules

By Our Representative Facts have come to light suggesting that several state governments, and other authorities, including state legislatures and high courts, are taking advantage of lack of constitutional clarity on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, in order to come up with RTI rules which “undermine” the Act’s “letter and spirit”.

Gujarat PUCL's "secular" chief approvingly quotes RSS boss Mohan Bhagwat on new education policy

Bhagwat Counterview Desk In a surprise move, a senior official of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has quoted RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to justify his arguments in on working out a new education policy, for which Union human resources minister Smriti Irani had sought comments by December 15.

Lack of hygiene, "doubtful" quality of medicines behind 66 Madhya Pradesh patients losing eyesight

By Our Representative A civil society investigation has blamed organizers of the eye surgery camp of criminal negligence, leading to the gruesome incident leading last month to the loss of eyesight of 66 patients belonging to Barwani and Dhar districts of Madhya Pradesh. The investigation team consisted of Rakesh Chandore, Dhara, Amulya Nidhi, and SR Azad of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan; and Medha Patkar, Devisingh Tomar, Bhagirath Dhangar, and Rahul Yadav of the Narmada Bachao Andolan.

What lay behind Gujarat's top officials' recent "meeting" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi

K Kailashnathan By RK Misra* Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, for this time it tolls nearer home. The resurgence of the Congress in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bastion of Gujarat during recent local body polls is cause for enough concern for him. This became evident when, a few days back, chief secretary GR Aloria, DGP PC Thakur and chief principal secretary of the chief minister KK Kailasnathan called on him in New Delhi.

Bureaucracy is stumbling block on road to accountable governance: Kerala SIC

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Supreme Court in a landmark judgement about transparency in the banking sector announced on December 16, expressed its concerns about the manner in which many Public Information Officers reject people’s requests for information under The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). Some Information Commissions are only adding their weight to the problems that are increasingly preventing the effective implementation of the Act, instead of resolving them. The latest instance of this trend is from Kerala. In January 2015, Ms. Shikha Chhibbar, Project Officer, Access to Justice Programme, CHRI, submitted an RTI application to the Home Department, Government of Kerala seeking information about action taken to comply with the Supreme Court’s directives in the matter of State of Gujarat vs Kishanbhal [(2014) 5 SCC 108] delivered in in January 2014. She paid the RTI application fee of Rs. 10 using an Indian Postal Order (IPO). The Public Information Officer (PIO) of th

Do you have girl friend? When will you get married?: Gujarat police to Hardik Patel during investigation

By Our Representative The Gujarat police is learnt to be asking strange questions to young pro-quota Patidar leader Hardik Patel, currently in Surat’s Lajpore jail of Gujarat on charges of sedition. Details of the questions asked during the police interrogation suggest, among the questions he was asked included whether he had a girl friend, and when would he get married.

India's financial literacy worse than Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, BRICS nations: Top rating agency S&P

By Our Representative A new survey released by well-known rating agency Standard & Poor (S&P) has found that just 24 per cent of the adult Indians are financially literate, which is worse than not just the “competing” BRICS economies but two of its important neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan’s 26 per cent and Sri Lanka’s 35 per cent adults are financially literate, it says. Bangladesh's financial literacy rate is 19 per cent.

Non-disclosure of RTI information on bank frauds "detrimental" to public interest: Supreme Court to RBI

Shailesh Gandhi By Our Representative In what is being described as a “landmark judgment” in the history of the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the Supreme Court of India has rejected the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plea not to disclose information to the general public about the action it takes on banks against their alleged irregularities.

RBI as watchdog should dedicate to disclosing info under RTI Act

Shailesh Gandhi By Venkatesh Nayak* In what will be described as a landmark judgement in the history of the implementation of The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act), the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has thrown out hook, line and sinker, the plea of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI – India’s Central Bank) not to disclose information to the general public about the action it takes against Banks against their alleged irregularities. In a batch matter of 11 cases transferred from the High Courts of Bombay and Delhi namely, Reserve Bank of India vs Jayantilal N. Mistry [Transferred Case (Civil) No. 707 of 2012 & other related matters] the Apex Court upheld the orders of Single Commissioner Benches of the Central Information Commission (CIC) directing RBI to disclose a deal of information about action taken regarding irregularities of Banks, loan defaulters etc. It is noteworthy that ten of these cases were decided by the then Information Commissioner, Mr. Shailesh Gandhi and one b

Foreign funding rules to "affect" Indian NGOs working on human rights, policy, governance, electoral reforms

By Rajiv Shah India’s civil society organizations have strongly objected to the new Foreign Contribution Regulation (FRC) Rules  notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which require the NGOs to give an "affirmation" that they are not used the foreign contribution for activities that are likely to “prejudicially affect” the sovereignty and integrity of the country, the security, strategic, scientific and economic interests of the state and the public interest.

Delhi people's organizations' meet protests proposed changes in India's forest and environmental laws

By Our Representative A broad spectrum of civil society and people’s organizations under the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan (BAA) has demanded from the Government of India to work for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 in its letter and spirit, even as ensuring that collective rights of tribal communities are upheld.

Govt of India denies information on gangster Chhota Rajan's passport under RTI, says it's a "personal" matter

By Our Representative The Union ministry of external affairs (MEA) has rejected the release, under the right to information (RTI) Act, to records relating to the issue of the fake passport of top underworld don Chhota Rajan, whose capture in Indonesia last month was sought to be projected as a major breakthrough by the Government of India.

India suffers loss of 28.6 percent in Human Development Index due to socio-economic inequalities: UN report

By Our Representative The latest Human Development Report 2015 suggests that though India’s Human Development Index (HDI) for 2014 is 0.609 on a scale of 1000, below the average of 0.630 for countries in the medium human development group,  above the average of 0.607 for countries in South Asia, its international ranking of 130th of 188 countries would have been much better if the country had fought socio-economic inequalities.

Paragraphs "planted" in NIA report to prove Ishrat Jahaan was LET mole involved in 2004 plot to assassinate Modi

By Pratik Sinha* David Headley, the Pakistani American who scouted targets for the 26/11 terror attack by the Lashar-e-Toiba (LET), has been news for turning into an approver. He has also been news  regarding the Ishrat Jahaan case, with a section of the media highlighting, on the basis of information provided by powerful sections in New Delhi, how Headley had said that Ishrat was an LET mole.

Human rights covenants of United Nations: India has a long way to go

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ* On December 16th 1966, the United Nations General Assembly adopted two significant International Covenants on Human Rights: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These two Covenants, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), form the International Bill of Human Rights, setting out the civil, political, cultural, economic and social rights that are the birth right of all human beings. As we observe December 10th, the anniversary of the UDHR once again, the United Nations has invited everyone to enter a year-long campaign on the golden jubilee of the two international Covenants on Human Rights. The theme this year is ‘Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always!’ which aims to promote and raise awareness of the two Covenants. The campaign revolves around key rights and freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear which

Top global report praises UPA govt effort in 2005-14 to reduce hunger, after bringing in major policy changes

Counterview Desk Even as ranking India 80th in Global Hunger Index (GHI) among 104 developing countries, a new study, carried out by a group of research organizations led by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says that the country’s has been able to successfully fight against child undernutrition in India after 2005.

Gujarat may take 287 years to clear lower court backlog, "tops" with 34 pending cases per 1000 people: Data site

By Our Representative  A top data analysis website has revealed that, as of October 2015, Gujarat has the highest number of cases per 1000 people pending in its lower courts. While the all-India average of pending cases is 18 per 1000 people, Gujarat can have the distinction of having almost double as many pending cases – 34 per 1000.

Judgment on disqualifying panchayat candidates to "disenfanchise" 50% Haryana women, is "anti-UN convention"

By Our Representative The Supreme Court judgment of December 10, which upholds amendment to Haryana's Panchayati Raj law seeking to disqualify those contesting panchayat polls for not possessing minimum educational qualifications, non-payment of electricity bills or dues to cooperative banks, and not having a toilet in their homes is being widely interpreted as anti-women, anti-Dalit, and against international laws, to which India is a signatory.

Gujarat passport office "adds" to woes of abandoned children, doesn't know birth certificate isn't mandatory

By Our Representative Does the passport office in Gujarat, widely proclaimed as a “model” state, not know that orphan/abandoned children are exempted from the mandatory requirement of submission of a birth certificate along with passport application form? It would seem so if what happened on Friday is any indication.

Pay dues, go to school, build toilet to contest panchayat polls; what about MP, MLA?

By Venkatesh Nayak* On December 10, the Supreme Court of India pronounced its judgement on a challenge to a set of recent amendments to the law relating to Panchayati Raj institutions in the north Indian State of Haryana. In the matter of Rajbala & Ors vs State of Haryana & Ors . [Writ Petition (Civil) 671/2015] the Apex Court has held that the action of the State Legislature of Haryana of introducing three grounds for disqualifying voters from contesting elections to the Panchayats at all 3 levels (village, taluka/tehsil and district) on the grounds of: not possessing minimum educational qualifications; non-payment of electricity Bills or dues to cooperative banks; and (believe it or not) not having a toilet in their homes. The Apex Court has held that these disqualifications do not violate the right to equality guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution and they are not unreasonable or arbitrary. One of the judges on the Bench which delivered the judgement in a separate con