#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

132 Gujarat citizens, including IIM-A faculty, others declare solidarity with Kashmiris

Counterview Desk
A week after it was floated, 132 activists, academics, students, artists and other concerned citizens of Gujarat, backed by 118 living in different parts of India and the world, have signed a "solidarity letter" supporting the people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), who, it claims, have been silenced and held captive in their own land. The signatories include faculty members and scholars of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Bharat Ratna nominee ‘joined hands’ with British masters to 'crush' Quit India

By Shamsul Islam*
The Quit India Movement (QIM), also known as ‘August Kranti' (August Revolution), was a nation-wide Civil Disobedience Movement for which a call was given on August 7, 1942 by the Bombay session of the All-India Congress Committee. It was to begin on August 9 as per Gandhi's call to 'Do or Die' in his Quit India speech delivered in Bombay at the Gowalia Tank Maidan on August 8. Since then August 9 is celebrated as August Kranti Divas.

Gujarat's incomplete canals: Narmada dam filled up, yet benefits 'won't reach' farmers

By Our Representative
Even as the Gujarat government is making all out efforts to fill up the Sardar Sarovar dam on Narmada river up to the full reservoir level (FRL), a senior farmer rights leader has said the huge reservoir, as of today, remains a “mirage for the farmers of Gujarat”.
In a statement, Sagar Rabari of the Khedut Ekta Manch (KEM), has said that though the dam’s reservoir is being filled up, the canal network remains complete. Quoting latest government figures, he says, meanwhile, the command area of the dam has been reduced from 18,45,000 hectares (ha) to 17,92,000 ha.
“According to the website of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd, which was last updated on Friday, while the main canal, of 458 km long, has been completed, 144 km of ranch canals out of the proposed length of 2731 km remain incomplete.
Then, as against the targeted 4,569 km distributaries, 4,347 km have been constructed, suggesting work for 222 km is still pending. And of the 15,670 km of minor canal…

Ceramic worker dies: 20,000 workers in Thangadh, Gujarat, 'risk' deadly silicosis

By Our Representative
Even as the country was busy preparing for the Janmashtami festival on Saturday, Hareshbhai, a 46-year-old ceramic worker from suffering from the fatal lung disease silicosis, passed away. He worked in a ceramic unit in Thangadh in Surendranagar district of Gujarat from 2000 to 2016.
Hareshbhai was diagnosed with the disease by the GCS Medical College, Naroda Road, Ahmedabad in 2014. He was found to be suffering from progressive massive fibrosis. He is left behind by his wife Rekha sister and two sons Deepak (18) and Umesh (12),
The death of Hareshbhai, says Jagdish Patel of the health rights group Peoples Training and Research Centre (PTRC), suggests that silicosis, an occupational disease, can be prevented but not cured, and the Factory Act has sufficient provisions to prevent this.
According to Patel, the pottery industry in the industrial town of Thangadh has evolved for a long time and locals as well as migrant workers are employed here. There are abou…

Cess for Gujarat construction workers: Spending less than 10%; no 'direct help' to beneficiaries

By Our Representative
While the Gujarat government’s Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, set up in 2004, as of March 31, 2019, has collected a total cess of Rs 2,097.62 crore from the the builders, it has spent less than 10% -- Rs 197.17 crore. And, as on May 31, 2019, the total cess collection has reached Rs 2,583.16 crore, said a statement issued by Bandhkam Majur Sagathan general secretary Vipul Pandya.
Pointing out that just about 6.5 lakh out of 20 lakh workers have been registered under the board, Pandya said, vis-à-vis other states, Gujarat ranks No 13th in the amount spent on the welfare of the construction workers, while 11th in the amount collected.
And while the builders are obliged to pay just about 1% of the total cost of their project, the calculation of the cess is flawed: It is Rs 3,000 per square yard; accordingly, Rs 30 per square yard is collected. “Had the cess been collected on the real construction cost, it would have been at least Rs 7,000 cr…

Counterview

Search This Blog