In a move to counter "radicalization" of Muslim institutes, Modi cabinet committee seeks to enhance IB capacity

By Our Representative
In an effort to what is being interpreted as a clampdown on supposedly “errant” Muslim-run educational institutes, the Government of India (GoI) wants Intelligence Bureau (IB) to create capacities that would go a long way to counter “radicalization” taking place among them.
Wanting the involvement of several government ministries and states for this, a GoI circular wants the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to play the pivotal role, even though it concerns educational institutes – which is the prime concern of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).
Signed by an official of the MHRD’s National Council for the Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), the circular is reported to have been sent to all government-accredited madrassas and other Muslim-run institutes in India.
Issued in mid-January, the circular says, the Task of National Security, which falls under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, wants implementation of such a decision, which has been “approved” by the Cabinet Committee on Security.
The circular says, “The Task Force recommends that the IB should develop capabilities for detecting and countering radicalization efforts and to take counter measures through government and non-government structures.”
Insisting “countering radicalization” and “deradicalization” are “multidisciplinary efforts”, the circular says, this would require “inputs from intelligence agencies, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the State Police Forces, and all the development departments.”
Reportedly prepared by the Secretary (Internal Home Divisions), Ministry of Home Affairs, it has also been sent to the chairman, Universities Grants Commission, UGC and director-generals police (DGPs) of all states.
It underlines, “The Ministry of Home Affairs will take the lead, but this requires the involvement of the entire government.”
The circular asks Muslim-run educational institutions to “look into the matter, even as insisting that they send “action taken report through email by maintaining security”, as these are “accredited” with the government.
It also seeks telephone and mobile number, and email address for the delivery of “letters and messages”.
It is not known if any such circular has been, if at all, issued for institutes run by trusts run by other religions – Hindu, Christian, Jain, Buddhist, and Parsi.
A top site claiming to stand for the marginalized sections of society, which is possession of copy of one such circular sent to the Centre In Charge, Urdu/Arabic/Persian Study Centre, Farogh-e-Urdu Bhawan, Jasola, New Delhi, quotes the official who signed the circular to say that the GoI effort is “to maintain the records of the students studying there”, and also “make sure that they don’t get involved in any anti-social activities.”
The official has also been quoted as saying that all the centre in-charges who had received the notice will have to comply with recommendations and should reply back to NCPUL on the steps taken by them for “national security” purposes concerning their places of learning.
Across India, there are about 1,000 “study centres” – 586 Arabic, 759 Urdu, 27 for advance computer training, 53 for calligraphy and design, and 50 for diploma in electronic appliance.

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132 Gujarat citizens, including IIM-A faculty, others declare solidarity with Kashmiris

Counterview Desk
A week after it was floated, 132 activists, academics, students, artists and other concerned citizens of Gujarat, backed by 118 living in different parts of India and the world, have signed a "solidarity letter" supporting the people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), who, it claims, have been silenced and held captive in their own land. The signatories include faculty members and scholars of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Amit Shah 'wrong': Lack of transparency characterized bank frauds, NPAs, jobs data

Counterview Desk
India's senior RTI activists Nikhil Dey, Anjali Bhardwaj, Venktesh Nayak, Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, Dr. Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, Pankti Jog and Pradip Pradhan, who are attached with the National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI), have said that Union home minister Amit Shah's claim that the Government of India is committed to transparency stands in sharp contrast to its actual actions.

Untold story of Jammu: Business 'down', students fear lynching, teachers can't speak

By Rajiv Shah
A just-released report, seeking to debunk the view that people in Jammu, the second biggest city of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) after Srinagar, people had gone “out celebrating” abrogation of Article 370 which took away the state’s special status, has reported what it calls “abominably high levels of fear” across all sections in the town.

Success of 'political' Hinduism: Kashmiris being depicted as antagonists of rest of India

By Anand K Sahay*
There are times in history when facts call attention to themselves; they assert their independence in all its amplitude and are in no need of the crutch of interpretation. Such a moment is visible in Kashmir now. Merely by being on the table, the facts there taunt the regime’s proclamations.

Gujarat's incomplete canals: Narmada dam filled up, yet benefits 'won't reach' farmers

By Our Representative
Even as the Gujarat government is making all out efforts to fill up the Sardar Sarovar dam on Narmada river up to the full reservoir level (FRL), a senior farmer rights leader has said the huge reservoir, as of today, remains a “mirage for the farmers of Gujarat”.
In a statement, Sagar Rabari of the Khedut Ekta Manch (KEM), has said that though the dam’s reservoir is being filled up, the canal network remains complete. Quoting latest government figures, he says, meanwhile, the command area of the dam has been reduced from 18,45,000 hectares (ha) to 17,92,000 ha.
“According to the website of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd, which was last updated on Friday, while the main canal, of 458 km long, has been completed, 144 km of ranch canals out of the proposed length of 2731 km remain incomplete.
Then, as against the targeted 4,569 km distributaries, 4,347 km have been constructed, suggesting work for 222 km is still pending. And of the 15,670 km of minor canal…

Kashmiris in a civil disobedience mode, are going against 'diktat' to open shops

Counterview Desk
A team of concerned citizens, including Ludhiana-based psychiatrist and writer Anirudh Kala, Mumbai-based activist and public health professional Brinelle Dsouza, Delhi-based journalist and writer Revati Laul, and social activist Shabnam Hashmi, travelled to Kashmir and Jammu to understand the impact of the abrogation of Article 370 and the subsequent security clampdown and communication blockade on the lives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Ceramic worker dies: 20,000 workers in Thangadh, Gujarat, 'risk' deadly silicosis

By Our Representative
Even as the country was busy preparing for the Janmashtami festival on Saturday, Hareshbhai, a 46-year-old ceramic worker from suffering from the fatal lung disease silicosis, passed away. He worked in a ceramic unit in Thangadh in Surendranagar district of Gujarat from 2000 to 2016.
Hareshbhai was diagnosed with the disease by the GCS Medical College, Naroda Road, Ahmedabad in 2014. He was found to be suffering from progressive massive fibrosis. He is left behind by his wife Rekha sister and two sons Deepak (18) and Umesh (12),
The death of Hareshbhai, says Jagdish Patel of the health rights group Peoples Training and Research Centre (PTRC), suggests that silicosis, an occupational disease, can be prevented but not cured, and the Factory Act has sufficient provisions to prevent this.
According to Patel, the pottery industry in the industrial town of Thangadh has evolved for a long time and locals as well as migrant workers are employed here. There are abou…

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