Govt of India terms Green Nobel prize winner Samanata-inspired tribal rights body "Maoist affiliate", invites ire

By Our Representative
In a shocking revelation, the Annual Report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, for the year 2016-17 has qualified the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS), which has been working under the guidance of one of the topmost tribal rights activists, Prafulla Samantara, a “Maoist affiliate.”
The MHA allegation has come to light even as Samantara, known for his Gandhian methods of agitation, has been awarded what is called Green Nobel – the Goldman Environmental Prize for 2017 for Asia, for his 12-year-long legal battle for Odisha's indigenous Dongria Kondh community’s forest and land rights in Niamgiri hills. Samantara won the battle, forcing British MNC Vedanta to abandon its plans to mine the hills.
Another organization MHA has been termed “Maoist-affiliate” is Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan (VVJVA) of Jharkhand, an umbrella of 30 organizations across the state protesting against displacement of villagers because of corporate, including multinational, investment in tribal regions.
MHA’s 372-page 2016-17 Annual Report says, "In 2016, the issue of displacement of local communities remained the main plank of mobilization by the mass organisations”, accusing NSS for guiding agitations in Niyamgiri Hills area in the districts of Rayagada and Kalahandi, Odisha.
“Similarly”, says MHA, “in Jharkhand the VVJVA, a front of the CPI (Maoist), tried to take up pro-tribal issues and opposed amendments to the Chhotanagpur and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Acts, modifications in Domicile Policy etc.”
MHA adds, “Maoist affiliates also undertook protest programmes and resorted to anti-Government propaganda over alleged atrocities by Security Forces."
Bringing this to light, a draft statement floated by a senior civil rights activist, Dr Gopal Krishna, has sought the signature of those who believe that the MHA is making “an unfounded connection between a banned organisations and a peoples’ rights struggle”.
Pointing out that the MHA allegations have come as “a consequence of enactment of amendments in the Companies Act, 2013, through Finance Act, 2017 as a Money Bill”, Dr Krishna says, minister Arun Jaitley has sought to justify all this as saying donors to political parties have “expressed reluctance in donating by cheque or other transparent methods as it would disclose their identity.”
According to Dr Krishna says, “As a consequence of the amendment faceless entities can now make anonymous donations of infinite amount” political parties.
Pointing out that the two main national political parties – BJP and Congress – received Rs 84 crore and Rs 82 crore from just one foreign company, as revealed by account statement submitted to the Election Commission of India, Dr Krishna says, “Instead of taking action against these parties for accepting foreign donations, MHA is defaming peoples’ struggle groups.”
“As a consequence of the Finance Act 2017, such donor companies can now provide anonymous donations to ensure that their interests in adivasi and mining areas”, Dr Krishna alleges, adding, at the same time, the MHA is “spreading misinformation and giving undue credit to Maoists in order to serve the interests of the anonymous corporate donors of political parties.”
Sharply criticizing the Maoists for failing to “save tribal land from these donors, who are blinded by their naked lust for profit at any human and environmental, cost unmindful of inter-generational and intra generational equity”, Dr Krishna calls proposed signatories to “denounce this deliberate attempt to defame people's genuine struggle for access and control over natural resources.”

Comments

Buddhist shrines massively destroyed by Brahmanical rulers in "pre-Islamic" era: Historian DN Jha's survey

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative 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".

Did Modi promote Dholavira, a UNESCO site now, as Gujarat CM? Facts don't tally

By Rajiv Shah As would generally happen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet – that not only was he “absolutely delighted” with the news of UNESCO tag to Dholavira, but he “ first visited ” the site during his “student days and was mesmerised by the place” – is being doubted by his detractors. None of the two tweets, strangely, even recalls once that it’s a Harappan site in Gujarat.

Labelling a Jesuit a Marxist? It's like saying if you use a plane, you become American

Jesuits: Cedric Prakash, Stan Swamy By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ* A thirteen- fourteen-year-old has many dreams! That's an impressionable age; at the cusp of finishing school. It is also a time when one tastes a different kind of freedom: to go for camps with boys of your own age (not with ones family). Such camps and outings were always enjoyed to the hilt. The ones, however, which still remain etched in my memory are the mission camps to the Jesuit missions in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Giant conglomerates 'favoured': Whither tribal rights for jal-jungle-jameen?

Prafull Samantara By Mohammad Irshad Ansari* The struggle for “Jal, Jungle and Jameen” has been a long-drawn battle for the tribal communities of India. This tussle was once again in the limelight with the proposed diamond mining in the Buxwaha forest of Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh). The only difference in this movement was the massive social media support it gained, which actually seems to tilt the scale for the tribal people in a long time.

If not Modi, then who? Why? I (an ordinary citizen) am there! Main hoon naa!

By Mansee Bal Bhargava* The number of women ministers is doubled in early July from the first term after cabinet reshuffle by the present government led by Narendra Modi. While there were 06 women ministers in the previous term, this term there are 11. The previous two governments led by Dr Manmohan Singh had 10 women ministers in each tenure. Are these number of women ministers something to rejoice in the near 75 years of independence? Yes maybe, if we think that things are slowly improving in the patriarchal system. This change is less likely to achieve gender balance in the parliament otherwise we require more than 11 as per the 33% reservation . This change is also less likely because the men politicians’ inability to handle the country’s mess is becoming more and more evident and especially during the corona crisis. Seems, the addition of more women ministers may be a result of the recent assembly elections where women played a decisive role in the election results. For example

Effluent discharge into deep sea? Modi told to 'reconsider' Rs 2275 crore Gujarat project

Counterview Desk In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, well-known Gujarat-based environmentalist, Mahesh Pandya of the Paryavaran Mitra, has protested against the manner in with the Gujarat government is continuing with its deep sea effluent disposal project despite environmental concerns.

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.

Gujarat govt gender insensitive? Cyclone package for fisherfolk 'ignores' poor women

By Our Representative A memorandum submitted to the Gujarat government by various fisherfolk associations of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat under the leadership of Ahmedabad NGO Centre for Social Justice's senior activist Arvind Khuman, who is based in Amreli, has suggested that the relief package offered to the fishermen affected by the Tauktae cyclone is not only inadequate, it is also gender insensitive.

Debt bondage, forced labour, sexual abuse in Gujarat's Bt cottonseed farms: Dutch study

By Rajiv Shah A just-released study, sponsored by a Netherlands-based non-profit, Arisa , “Seeds of Oppression Wage sharecropping in Bt cottonseed production in Gujarat, India”, has said that a new form of bondage, or forced labour, exists in North India’s Bt cottonseed farms, in which bhagiyas, or wage sharecroppers, are employed against advances and are then often required to work for years together “without regular payment of wages.”

Tussle between Modi-led BJP govt, Young India 'key to political battle': NAPM

Counterview Desk In its month-long campaign, civil rights network National Alliance for People’s Movements (NAPM) carried out what it called Young People's Political Persecution and Resistance in “solidarity with all comrades facing political persecution and remembering human rights defender Stan Swamy…”

Counterview

Search This Blog