Smart Cities project put to "action": Forced eviction, demolition in Indore, Pad Yatra organized to oppose move

By A Representative
The Smart Cities flagship modernization programme of the Modi government has taken a big toll in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The Biyabani and Loharpatti areas in the old part of the Indore city have borne the brunt, with the demolition of 100-150 year old houses over the last two months.
The demolition drive led to more than 100 families becoming homeless, with their shops/livelihood also in jeopardy. More than 18 roads in Indore are set to undergo a transformation and await similar the similar fate of demolition.
The demolition, said to have been carried out without any democratic process consultation, has led to the local Nagrik Seva Samiti organize a foot march (pad yatra) in the ciy, in which social workers and academics across India, includng Ashok Dube, Tapan Bhatia, Bela Bhatia, SK Dube, Vijay Dalal, Pramod Bagnani and Medha Patkar participated.
A communique issued following the pad yatra said, “The residents stressed that the authorities used force to evict them and carry on with their demolition drive; often they employing ‘bouncers’ clad in the the Indore Municipal Corporation’s uniform to fulfill their objectives.”
Prepared by the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), the communique said, “A few of the residents were subject to physical violence and assault in what is an unprecedented abuse of power and authority.”
“Durgashankar, a resident of the area, witnessed his 65 year old house demolished along with his shop Bahaniya Arts. Another resident Kesarbai Rajendra Chauhan of Bhagat Singh Marg has lost 2 shops and his house”, the communique said.

“Shyamabai Rathod, a widow who has been living on her own is now rendered homeless, while Kaliram Vaidya’s family, after whom one of the roads in the area is named after did not find any relief, neither from the in-laws of the state’s ex-Chief Minister nor from an active BJP worker, whose house has also been partly damaged,” the communique said.
“Some of the residents approached higher authorities and also sought judicial recourse in response to the initial notification regarding the demolition only to find their pleas fall on deaf ears. In some cases, the court issued a stay order on the demolition only for a period of eight days, while in other cases it turned its back on the residents and directed them to the corporation again”, the NAPM said.
While the local BJP MLA was of no help, the NAPM reported, adding, Mayor Malini Gaur, whose proposed multi-storeyed construction site, also in the area, remains unaffected. “On the other hand, Gowtam Kumar Jain’s shop opposite Gaur’s proposed multi-storeyed shopping and residential complex lies currently partly demolished and is set to be fully demolished in the coming months”, NAPM said.
Suffering from open sewer and drainage problems, the demolition drive, said NAPM, has remained “complacent to the potential dangers of malarial epidemic in the area. “Sharp objects and rubbles from the demolition drive lie unattended to heightening concerns over children safety in the area”, it underlined.
Commenting on the development, the NAPM said, “The true nature of the transformation to Smart Cities has preliminarily shown that the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution is being restricted merely to big industrialists close to the Central government while the promise of Acche Din still waits unfulfilled and in fact unattended to.”

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.

The ultimate all-time ODI XI: A personal selection of icons across eras

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time best XI chosen for ODI (One Day International) cricket: 1. Adam Gilchrist (W) – The absolute master blaster who could create the impact of exploding gunpowder with his electrifying strokeplay. No batsman was more intimidating in his era. Often his knocks decided the fate of games as though the result were premeditated. He escalated batting strike rates to surreal realms.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

Search This Blog