Jaitley's Melbourne visit: Students, environmentalists protest against Adanis' Australian coalmining project

By A Representative
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who addressed students at the Melbourne University on April 2, was preceded by students' and faculty members' protest against the controversial coalmining project, taken up by one of the most influential business houses in India, Adanis, in Australia's Queensland state.
The snap protest was organised by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) outside a public lecture by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at the Melbourne University. AYCC has a huge following in the university.
Their placards read "No future funds for coal" and "Coral not coal". The project is being implemented in Queensland's Carmichael region. The high-quality coal is proposed to be exported to other countries, particularly via the North Galilee Basin rail project.
Environmentalists, particularly well-known environmental NGO Greenpeace and other groups, have accused the Australian authorities for having cleared the project, pointing towards how it would affect the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
The aborigines, who have gone to the Federal Court against the 16 billion dollar project, have joined in to say that the project is being implemented without taking into account their land rights.
Unmindful of the protests, Jaitley told Australian students how the Modi government cared for the marginalized population of India. He said, the Government of India planned to continue with the "reservations in jobs and educational institutions for Scheduled Casts (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) for a long time", reports South Asia Times.
Jaitley's address at the Melbourne University and an interaction following that was organized by the Australia India Institute (AII) and the Indian Consulate, Melbourne, and conducted by AII Director Craig Jeffery.

Jaitley admitted that the ST were still the most deprived sections of Indian society for whom the quality of life had not improved, even as pointing towards how the Indian economy was on the upswing. He said, "The Indian market-oriented development model has to have a social aspect", so that a large population, suffering from inequality, does not suffer.
Jaitley also admitted that agriculturists, except for the few rich ones, were "in a bad shape" and his government was "trying" to empower the rural people with different schemes.
There a flutter when a question was asked to him as to what could Australia do in the ‘Make in India’ scheme, when it itself had little manufacturing.
Jaitley replied, India was looking at Australian resources, food processing and infrastructure projects like highways, railway stations and airports. "Lots of investment funds in Australia are looking for investing and there has been some positive response,” he said, but did not elaborate.
Students wanted to know about the atmosphere of unrest among Indian universities, especially the University of Hyderabad and the Jawaharlal Nehru. Jaitley defended the Modi government’s stand, but bypassed any direct answer, saying India was "the worst affected by terrorism".
Referring to the Mumbai blasts and the terrorist attack on Parliament he said there was a need to defend "sovereignty of India", and under special circumstances there were bound to "exceptions to freedom of speech."

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Beyond the rhetoric: Gujarat’s 2047 promise and its hidden faultlines

By Rajiv Shah A few days ago, I met a veteran Gujarat-based economist, the author of several books offering a critical evaluation of the state’s economy, poverty, and gender discrimination . Also present was a retired Gujarat-cadre bureaucrat with an economics background, known for his popularity in the cities and districts where he served during his heyday.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

NHRC seeks action report on contaminated water outbreak in Ahmedabad

By A Representative The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in New Delhi has issued notices to the Secretary of the Water Supply Department in Gandhinagar , the Ahmedabad District Collector and the Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad, seeking an action-taken report within four weeks on allegations of human rights violations arising from a major outbreak of waterborne diseases in Behrampura , Danilimda ward of Ahmedabad city.

Is India emulating west, 'using' anti-terror plank to justify state-supported violence?

Fahad Ahmad, Baljit Nagra* Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of being involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, on Canadian soil. Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Indian government is defiant and denies involvement. Indian officials have instead admonished Canada for being a “ safe haven ” for Sikh “terrorism,” a pejorative for Sikh self-determination .

Search This Blog