Skip to main content

Opposition parties, civil society unite, share platform in Lucknow at convention to mark anniversary of 1857 rebellion

By Our Representative
In an unusual show of anti-BJP unity, representatives from Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and Communist parties shared a civil society platform in Lucknow, where nearly celebrations took place began on May 10 to mark the 160th anniversary of India’s first war of Independence, 1857. They had gathered for a “national convention for safeguarding the Constitution”.
Party representatives who participated the meet, including Arvind Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Surendra Rajput of the Congress, Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Javed Raza of JDU, Lal Bahadur Singh of the UP Jan Manch, DP Tripathi of Nationalist Congress Party, Ashish Mittal of the CPI-ML, SP Kashyap of the CPI-M, and Asha Mishra of the CPI, pointing towards the need to “support” creation of combined resistance against BJP.
Welcoming the civil society efforts for the creation of common platform, the political leaders said, there is an “urgent need” to form a joint front against the politics of the BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS, along more democratic and secular lines.
Also Buddha Purnima day, the convention celebrated Gautam Budhha as a champion of human rights in ancient India, even as pointing towards the importance of Buddha in safeguarding the constitution and bringing together social movements across the country against the attack on their constitutional rights.
A communique issued by organizers of the convention said, “The initiative is a collective response to numerous instances of abuse of power, fascist, right-wing policies of the BJP-led central and state governments. The victory of the BJP in UP elections and the events that have followed require immediate attention of all progressive forces of the country.”
The convention saw Rakesh Bedi, renowned theatre artist of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), noted social activist Teesta Setalvad, bureaucrat-turned-activist Harsh Mandar, Saharanpur activist Sanjay Garg, Varanasi activist Deepak Mallick, student leader Ramkaran of the Allahbad University, Lal Bahadur Singh and Rooprekha from Sanjhi Duniya, discuss participation of youth in politics.
Speaking on the occasion, young Samajwadi Party leader Richa Singh spoke at length on how attacks were taken place against public-run institutions higher learning such as Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Hydebarabad Central University.Singh said, hew Universities Grants Commission guidelines cuts up to 85% of seats at M Phil and PhD.
Ramkaran, student leader and activist pursuing law at the Allahabad University threw light on the systematic targeting of Dalit and other marginalized community students.
Other speakers agreed on what they called “unprecedented attack on the constitutional rights by the BJP.” Issues discussed included the communally divisive agenda of BJP, blatant saffronization, autocratic, non-democratic methods of working, abuse of power, anti-poor, pro-corporate economic policies, stoking of communal tensions and hypocritical u-turns of the Modi government at the Centre.
There was sharp focus on the rise of cow vigilantism, on one hand, and 'depoliticisation' of the youth in the country, on the other, with speakers stressing on the need for mass level political education, especially of the youth, on principles of Constitutionalism, rule of law and the historical learning experiences of national movements.
Participants questioned the Prime Minister’s silence on most of the issues, whether it was demonetization, land reforms, train ticket price hikes, scaling down of health and employment opportunities, and so on.
Mandar said while one can fight against anti-people discriminatory policies of the government, the silence of people and fellow citizens against injustice, such as the mob attack,s was harder to accept. Pointing towards the 'India Exclusion Report' published by Mr. Mandar's organisation, which is to be released on May 12, he added, it has carefully scrutinized the adverse impact of the BJP's strategy of 'social engineering'.

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

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".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.