Kidnapping charge against Patkar even though Madhya Pradesh official denied any such thing: Digvijay Singh

Digvijay Singh outside Dhar jail

By Our Representative
In a surprise move, senior Congress leader and ex-chief minister Digvijay Singh met Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar in Dhar jail, Madhya Pradesh, describing her as a "great social worker who has dedicated her entire life to fight for the cause of Narmada dam affected people of the state."
Singh's move comes amidst the Congress high command wary of aligning itself with Patkar or NBA because of the sensitivity involved on Narmada dam in Gujarat, which goes to polls this December. Even though the Narmada dam oustees' problem is politically sensitive in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is steadfastly taking the view that all of them have have been resettled, which is seen as a support to the BJP in Gujarat ahead of the polls.
Meanwhile, in two of the three cases -- pertaining to assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty (Section 353 of IPC) -- instituted against her, the local court granted Patkar bail. NBA now plans to move the Madhya Pradesh High Court over refusal to grant her bail in the third case, regarding alleged kidnapping of revenue department staff by the NBA activists (Section 365 of IPC) on August 1.
Coming out of the jail, Singh told reporters that the FIRs in the cases in which Patkar has been arrested don’t even bear her name, but still, warrant was issued against her. “She has been arrested for alleged kidnapping of government staff, despite the concerned government official telling the Dhar district collector over the phone that he wasn’t kidnapped,” he said.
The day Patkar and others broke their 17 day indefinite fast on August 12, the Madhya Pradesh police foisted cases of disturbing peace, kidnapping and charges on 55 named and 2,500 unnamed NBA activists and its supporters. An NBA source said, most of the cases are related to the incident on August 7 when 2,000 strong police force "violently attacked the fasting protesters, injured 42 and forcibly hospitalised 10 of them in Dhar and Indore Hospitals."

Patkar and her supporters, Dhurji Bhai, Vijay Bhai and Santu Bhai, have completed five days in different jails following their last arrest. NBA says, "All these fabricated cases have been imposed so that movement against the illegal and unjust forced eviction of 40,000 families in the Narmada Valley can be crushed."
In a statement, NBA says, "Police vehicles are roaming around the villages all day and is creating fear in the minds of people", adding, "According to the compiled information, FIRs have been registered against 72 people in 9 cases in Barwani, and FIRs have been filed against 94 people in 12 cases in Kukshi, District Dhar. There are also many other serious charges and non-bailable warrants pending."

"Today, the world recognizes the 32 years of non-violent struggle and Satyagraha of NBA. But the Madhya Pradesh Police, at the behest of the Government, is charging them in cases, such as under section 307, accusing them of being involved in murder and kidnapping", the statement alleges.
A video issued by NBA on August 15 of a song written by Patkar titled "Can we be proud of such independence?" (click HERE) wonders: "When the forests, the life and culture,/
Nurtured for centuries are destroyed forcibly/ Can we be proud of such independence?", insisting, "We shall fight, we shall win!"

Comments

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha* The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

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.

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza* An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000.

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas* Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

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.

Golwalkar's views on tricolour, martyrs, minorities, caste as per RSS archives

By Shamsul Islam* First time in the history of independent India, the in-charge minister of the Cultural Ministry in the current Modi government, Prahlad Singh Patel, has glorified MS Golwalkar, second supremo of the RSS and the most prominent ideologue of the RSS till date, on his birth anniversary, February 19. In a tweet he wrote : “Remembering a great thinker, scholar, and remarkable leader #MSGolwalkar on his birth anniversary. His thoughts will remain a source of inspiration & continue to guide generations.”

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco* Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma* Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Environmental cost of Green Revolution: India world’s second-highest fertilizer importer

By Glenn Davis Stone* Feeding a growing world population has been a serious concern for decades, but today there are new causes for alarm. Floods, heat waves and other weather extremes are making agriculture increasingly precarious, especially in the Global South .

Search This Blog