India's North-Eastern States opened up for "corporate loot", Assam being treated as chicken corridor: Land rights meet

By A Representative
Arguing strongly against the Government of India allegedly curtailing the special category status to India's North-Eastern States, the country's well-known land rights apex body, Bhumi Adhikar Andolan (BAA), has said that this is being done in order to open the region for corporate "loot and plunder."
Well-known civil rights activist Akhil Gogoi of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, speaking at a BAA meet in Delhi, said that Assam as also other North Eastern States are already in the throes of deep economic crisis because the special category status of the region has been "removed" by the Government of India.
According to him, this has resulted in "stopping the flow of central fund, centre-sponsored schemes and also limiting the state’s taxation powers by imposing Goods and Services Tax (GST)."
Gogoi said, "In the light of these changes the picture that emerges is that the government has deliberately halted the infrastructural and developmental activities along with the funds for government schemes to cripple the economy of the region and create a state of emergency."
Instead of the special category status, the Government of India, he said, was imposing special industrial policy for the North-Eastern states. While the North East Industrial Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), which accelerated industrial growth in the region with subsidies and incentives for small scale as well as big enterprises, has been suspended, it been replaced by the North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS).
Announced recently by Central cabinet, the new scheme, he told the meet, imposed budgetary curbs to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore for the interim period till 2020 for all the eight states of the North East, further escalating the economic crisis. Those who are suffering the most, according to him, are marginal farmers and landless people, forming 32 per cent and 28 per cent of the population, respectively.
According to him, "There is no intention to implement land reform in the region, or a policy framework to address the flood and erosion problem of the state", Gogoi said, adding, instead the government is coming up with diversionary tactics like the citizenship amendment bill, "which tries to disrupt the social and cultural fabric of Assam."
Joining in, Jitendra Chaudhary, joint secretary of All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), member of Parliament from Tripura, said that that Assam "was once one of the most economically prosperous regions of the Indian subcontinent, but after the partition it has been reduced to being the chicken corridor due to neglect and underdeveloped.*
"The North Eastern region could have been a buffer for the country, we could have contributed more for the development of the country but the government is dividing the people against caste lines and it has no intention to address the issue of livelihood that they face", he said.
Former MP and senior CPI(M) farmer leader Hannan Mollah stressed on the need to intensify struggle. He informed the meet that BAA has now 14 state chapters and has initiated the process of state committee formation. "Our focus is on the need to have extended reach and bring together issues of farmers from across the country and form a collective strength", he added.
The meet condemned what it called "state-sponsored atrocities" in Tripura after the BJP government came to power, and in order to saffronize the politics and society, is actively seeking to eliminate any opposition and dissenting voices in the state. The ground situation has been worsening with vigilantes backed by the ruling BJP government breaking into CPI(M) offices and vandalizing property.

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

India's chemical industry: The missing piece of Atmanirbhar Bharat

By N.S. Venkataraman* Rarely a day passes without the Prime Minister or a cabinet minister speaking about the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat . The Start-up India scheme is a pillar in promoting this vision, and considerable enthusiasm has been reported in promoting start-up projects across the country. While these developments are positive, Atmanirbhar Bharat does not seem to have made significant progress within the Indian chemical industry . This is a matter of high concern that needs urgent and dispassionate analysis.

Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront under scrutiny after Subhash Bridge damage

By Rosamma Thomas* Large cracks have appeared on Subhash Bridge across the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, close to the Gandhi Ashram . Built in 1973, this bridge, named after Subhash Chandra Bose , connects the eastern and western parts of the city and is located close to major commercial areas. The four-lane bridge has sidewalks for pedestrians, and is vital for access to Ashram Road , Ellis Bridge , Gandhinagar and the Sabarmati Railway Station .

Remembering a remarkable rebel: Personal recollections of Comrade Himmat Shah

By Rajiv Shah I first came in contact with Himmat Shah in the second half of the 1970s during one of my routine visits to Ahmedabad , my maternal hometown. I do not recall the exact year, but at that time I was working in Delhi with the CPI -owned People’s Publishing House (PPH) as its assistant editor, editing books and writing occasional articles for small periodicals. Himmatbhai — as I would call him — worked at the People’s Book House (PBH), the CPI’s bookshop on Relief Road in Ahmedabad.

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.

No action yet on complaint over assault on lawyer during Tirunelveli public hearing

By A Representative A day after a detailed complaint was filed seeking disciplinary action against ten lawyers in Tirunelveli for allegedly assaulting human rights lawyer Dr. V. Suresh, no action has yet been taken by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, according to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Farewell to Robin Smith, England’s Lionhearted Warrior Against Pace

By Harsh Thakor* Robin Smith, who has died at the age of 62, was among the most adept and convincing players of fast bowling during an era when English cricket was in decline and pace bowling was at its most lethal. Unwavering against the tormenting West Indies pace attack or the relentless Australians, Smith epitomised courage and stroke-making prowess. His trademark shot, an immensely powerful square cut, made him a scourge of opponents. Wearing a blue England helmet without a visor or grille, he relished pulling, hooking and cutting the quicks.

Muslim women’s rights advocates demand criminalisation of polygamy: Petition launched

By A Representative An online petition seeking a legal ban on polygamy has been floated by Javed Anand, co-editor of Sabrang and National Convener of Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), inviting endorsements from citizens, organisations and activists. The petition, titled “Indian Muslims & Secular Progressive Citizens Demand a Legal Ban on Polygamy,” urges the Central and State governments, Parliament and political parties to abolish polygamy through statutory reform, backed by extensive data from the 2025 national study conducted by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA).

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 ...

Search This Blog