#NotInMyName protest in posh Ahmedabad area amidst chants of "Zinda hai to halla bol", "Le ke rahenge azadi"

By Our Representative
Ten days after “Not in my name” protests commenced in top Indian cities of India, Ahmedabad’s posh Satellite area saw a few hundred people – mostly activists and intellectuals – come together on Saturday to "demonstrate in solidarity" against frequent incidents of lynching across the country.
Held between 3 and 6 pm after the Gujarat police “allowed” the demonstration a day earlier, those who participated amidst chants of “Zinda hai to halla bol” and “Le ke rahenge azadi” by a young radical group included veteran High Court advocate Girish Patel, former BJP chief minister Suresh Mehta, senior sociologist Ghanshyam Shah, ex-National Institute of Design director Ashok Chatterjee, top Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan, among others.

While on June 28, “Not in my name” protests were held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Patna, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Gaya, Faridabad, Mumbai, Allahabad and other locations, these were followed by protests in Pune on June 29, and Chennai on July 1.
Ahmedabad protests were held amidst news coming in from Delhi that a mob assaulted six men who were transporting buffaloes to a slaughter house in east Delhi. One of the victims sustained serious injuries while the remaining five were released after receiving medical aid. The police arrived at the scene after the attackers escaped.
In their complaint, the victims said they were transporting around 80 buffaloes in mini-trucks when the mob stopped them near Baba Haridas Nagar. The mob beat the six men inside the trucks after releasing the cattle. The transporters claim to have had the required documents to ferry the animals.

Protesters in Ahmedabad complained, the BJP has been encouraging cow-related violence. Citizens across the country staged protests against the lynchings and targeted violence, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s insistence that the “killings in the name of cow worship is not acceptable.
The view was strong, the simmering anger against the incidents of violence against Muslims and Dalits boiled over across India, when a Facebook post from a filmmaker about Junaid Khan’s “unseen” public lynching became a rallying point for a spontaneous citizens’ protest that spread across cities in India on June 28.

The police permission to hold the protest, which was received on Friday afternoon, interestingly, did not allow any loudspeaker to be used by speakers. The permission was sought by Gujarat Jan Andolan, an apex body of human rights organizations of the state.
The biggest protest in India was held on July 3, when thousands walked from Kotwal Udyan to Chaityabhoomi in Dadar West, with many citizens, organisations, and Dalit and left political parties coming together under one banner of “Nafrat Ke Khilaf, Insaniyat Ki Awaaz.” The march began and ended with poetry recitation and songs.
One saw leaders like Prakash Ambedkar, artists like Dan Husain and writers like Rahman Abbas and Dorab Farooqui. Film-maker and activist Anand Patwardhan, film-maker Dibakar Banerji, photographer Chirodeep Chawdhary, feminist activists Hasina Khan, Chayanika Shah and Nandita Shah were also present, actor Shabana Azmi, among others.

Comments

India reaches 8th of 10 stage genocide: US Muslim advocacy group raises 'alert'

By Hena Zuberi* India has reached the 8th stage of genocide with the persecution of the Muslim community. Stating this, Professor Greg Stanton, who heads Genocide Watch, declared a Genocide Emergency Alert for India today at Justice For All online briefing.

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.

Mayawati's 'success' depends on how BSP taps new crop of young Amdekarite leaders

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Whatever be the election results in Uttar Pradesh on March 10, it is extremely important to understand: that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and its leader Mayawati have the potential to rise like a Phoenix any time.

Believe this: US' 95% of Covid cases are Omicron, India's 2%, model Gujarat's 0.43%

By Rajiv Shah Scanning through news stories on Omicron, the new Covonavirus variant said to have been found in South Africa, I came across an interested in story, published in the New York-based network, CBS News. According to this story, published a couple of days ago, “The Omicron variant made up around 95.4% of new Covid-19 cases in the US last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.”

Holding militant rallies across Punjab, farmers 'forced' Prime Minister to retreat to Delhi

By Harsh Thakor* The farmers' spirit, elevated and reverberated at a boiling point in Ferozpur like a spark turning into a prairie fire, appears to be behind Prime Minister Narinder Modi having being compelled to retreat to Delhi due to a virtually boycotted pandal. Demonstrations held just ahead of Modi's visit, especially in Firozpur, seemed to have already created tremors in the belly of the ruling party.

Barbaric, inhuman attack on Odisha villagers to implement JSW project: NGO networks

Counterview Desk A “solidarity statement" issued by three top civil society networks, Friends of the Earth India (FoE India), Delhi Solidarity Group (DSG) and the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), has asked the Odisha chief minister to ensure that the “inhumane barbaric attack on the villagers of Dhinkia, Odisha” in order to implement a corporate project.

Democratic leaders silently greeting Modi's 'increasingly autocratic' rule: HRW

Counterview Desk The Human Rights Watch (HRW)’s new “World Report 2022: Events of 2021”, claiming to “investigate abuses, expose facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice”, has identified India as one of the countries where “autocracy is ascendant and democracy on the decline” because of emergence of leaders with autocratic tendencies.

India's actual Covid death rate about 2500 per million, third highest in world: Study

By Rajiv Shah There is now well-researched proof, if it can be called that, indicating that the Government of India may have fudged data to show lower Covid death rate. A new paper, published in “Science”, has said that while officially the Government of India’s Covid-related death estimates as of January 1, 2022 – 345 per million population – are one-seventh of the US death rate, the actual analysis of crude death rate in India suggests, this may be a gross underestimation.

Not-so-Catholic priest expels parishioner from church: 'Woman improperly dressed'

By Rosamma Thomas* On Sunday, January 9, 2022, Fr Emmanuel, parish priest of the Lady of Guadalupe Church at Murikumphuzha, Pala, Kerala, sent his sacristan Joseph to ask a middle-aged woman to please wait a little after the morning mass – the priest would like to meet her. The woman waited, and the priest called her to his office room. “You know we are Malayalees,” he said, and asked her whether she knew what would follow. “No, please tell me,” she said. “You know women cover their heads in church, and dress politely,” he said. The woman, who had just returned to Kerala a few months prior after living elsewhere, had been getting her house repaired and had not yet unpacked all her clothes.

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".

Counterview

Search This Blog