Activists, member of Parliament, refused to meet rights activist in Assam jail, allege suppression of right to dissent

By A Representative
Following the refusal to a civil society delegation to meet Krishak Multi Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi in jail in Dibrugadh, Assam, several farmers' leaders, who have got together under Bhumi Adhikar Andolan (BAA), have decided to raise their voice against "the continued incarceration of Gogoi is a political ploy to completely silence any voice of dissent in Assam today”.
Talking with newspersons in Delhi, they said, they went to meet Gogoi -- who has been in jail since September 13 under various charges 120B, 121,124, 109, 153, 153A and under National Security Act since September 25 -- on November 12. Hannan Mollah, general secretary, All-India Kisan Sabha, said, Gogoi has been "targeted primarily because he has been raising the voice of the farmers and workers. His activities are all constitutional. He has done nothing unconstitutional. The trumped up charges against him are only an indication of the fascistic tendencies of the Assam government, completely in line with the Central government."
Well-known forest workers' union leader Dr Sunilam, who led the delegation along with Raju Shetty, member of Parliament, alleged that "the behaviour of the whole Assam government, including the district and state government, is completely undemocratic and doesn’t go well in a democratic society."
"The denial of permission on the ground that they need to conduct a background check on him and a sitting member of Parliament only reflects their ill intent. There was no plausible reason given by anyone on why they couldn’t meet Akhil Gogoi, even though permission was sought on October 8th itself through proper channels", he added.
"This is nothing but political persecution, since the issues undertaken by KMSS and matters of corruption raised by them have all been proved true. The water scam, the Public Distribution System (PDS) scam, and now the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) scam have been raised by the KMSS. However, the corrupt Assam government is doing nothing", he said.
Senior activist Roma, who had met Gogoi in jail on October 31, in Dibrugarh jail said that "KMSS has been working to implement the Forest Rights Act and ensure community rights of the tribals and other traditional forest dwelling communities. It has openly challenged the feudal forces and the growth of communal forces, and this has only threatened them."
"His incarceration under the National Security Act is like what has been done to Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar Ravan. This is a clear indication that those fighting for the rights of the marginalized will only face worst kind of oppression under BJP regime", she said.
Meanwhile, BAA announced that, in coordination with other farmer’s organisations of the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, would launch a movement on the issue of "oppression against KMSS at the Kisan Mukti Sansad from November 20 onwards in Delhi."

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

From protest to proof: Why civil society must rethink environmental resistance

By Shankar Sharma* As concerned environmentalists and informed citizens, many of us share deep unease about the way environmental governance in our country is being managed—or mismanaged. Our complaints range across sectors and regions, and most of them are legitimate. Yet a hard question confronts us: are complaints, by themselves, effective? Experience suggests they are not.

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Kolkata event marks 100 years since first Communist conference in India

By Harsh Thakor* A public assembly was held in Kolkata on December 24, 2025, to mark the centenary of the First Communist Conference in India , originally convened in Kanpur from December 26 to 28, 1925. The programme was organised by CPI (ML) New Democracy at Subodh Mallik Square on Lenin Sarani. According to the organisers, around 2,000 people attended the assembly.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

The architect of Congolese liberation: The life and legacy of Patrice Lumumba

By Harsh Thakor* Patrice Émery Lumumba remains a central figure in the history of African decolonization, serving as the first Prime Minister of the independent Republic of the Congo. Born on July 2, 1925, Lumumba emerged as a radical anti-colonial leader who sought to unify a nation fractured by decades of Belgian rule. His tenure, however, lasted less than seven months before his dismissal and subsequent assassination on January 17, 1961.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Search This Blog