Narmada dam oustees of 3 states to begin protest march on May 27, reach Bhopal for public hearing on June 4

By Our Representative
Starting along the banks of Narmada river off the Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat, the dam affected people of three states – Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra – will begin a week-long on May 27. Seeking to highlight the plight the displaced people, the march will reach Madhya Pradesh capital
Bhopal on June 4, where a public hearing is proposed to be organised.
To pass through Khalghat on May 29, Indore on May 31 and Sehore on June 2, rally organizers, the anti-dam Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), which has been fighting for resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) of the dam oustees for three decades, has said that, apart from the farmers who have been uprooted because of the Sardar Sarovar dam, fishworkers and forest workers too would take part in the rally in large numbers.
“Farmers, including people dependent on nature and animal husbandry, fishworkers and forest workers will demand for debt free status and to get right the price for their produce. They will also demand withdrawal of false cases foisted upon farmers in the aftermath of Mandsaur killings”, the NBA said.
The rally is being organized a year after farmers' protest at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, which began on June 1, took a violent turn on June 6, when five persons were killed in police firing.
NBA said, “Once again crisis looms large over land, agriculture, water and forests of the Narmada Valley. After uprooting millionsby building dams like Bargi, Indira Sagar, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar and Jobat, destroying fertile land, centuries old traditional villages, adivasis, farmers-agricultural workers, fishworkers and artisans have not been rehabilitated even until now.”
It added, “Sardar Sarovar oustees after struggling for 32 years have managed to get a few benefits but thousands of affected people of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have still not gotten justice. To challenge the unprecedented displacement in the name of development, once again, thousands of people will set out from the Valley.”
Among the demands the NBA-led rally has decided to put forward include restoration of the “rights of the gram sabhas of those displaced” to choose the type of development they want, an “independent, transparent and unbiased study” of the socio-economic effects, as also financing and long-term benefits of big projects, and “justifiable share from progress” to the affected people.
The statement said, the conditions of all rivers of the country are in the same condition as Narmada: Destruction of forests, attack of big dams and illegal sand mining, making the rivers die, denial of farmers and workers their right to resources and livelihood.
The statement said, “The impending elections have prompted chief minister Shivaraj Chauhan to promise enough water for Malwa along with 70 other cities”, at a time when “in downstream areas in Gujarat (areas below the dam) the youth are in anguish for deprived of land, water and jobs.”
“After pushing the three states into quagmire in the name of development, the Modi government and state governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have only tried to gain political mileage in the name of Narmada waters”, hence the need to save Narmada, or “Narmada Bachao”, said NBA.
It further said, “Farmers, agricultural workers, fishworkers, cattle rearers, tribals and forest dwellers sustaining on forest produce, who will participate in the rally, will be demanding complete loan waiver”, adding, “In Madhya Pradesh, five farmers commit suicide every day. The state which gives loan waivers worth crores to corporates bears the moral responsibility to extend its support to farmers.”
“We demand minimum price of farm output as 1.5 times of cost, in food grains as well as cash crops and on vegetables, on fish and forest produce, and on milk. Cost should be fixed taking into account value of land and natural resources along with family labour that goes into farming”, NBA added.
Also taking exception to the Chutka Nuclear Plant and 13 thermal power plants, being built along Narmada, NBA said, “This means more diversion of waters and choking the river with ash.”

Comments

Buddhist shrines massively destroyed by Brahmanical rulers in "pre-Islamic" era: Historian DN Jha's survey

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".

Liberating Bengal Hindus? Worst flames of communal division, lessons from the past

By Shamsul Islam* The whole thrust of the RSS-BJP election campaign for 2021 state assembly elections in West Bengal has been to save Bengal from the rule of Mamata Bannerjee who is allegedly not a ‘Hindu’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a self-proclaimed Hindu nationalist, as usual set the polarizing agenda. While addressing the first election rally, he called upon the electorate to overthrow the ‘nirmam’ (cruel) rule of Mamata by showing a ‘Ram Card’. He did not name Hindus directly but there was no confusion about the religious identity of the electorate Indian PM was addressing to.

Pradeep Bhattacharya, who spent his life for the cause of working masses, rational thinking

By YS Gill* At 11:30 pm on May 3, 2021, I lost my best friend and comrade Pradeep Bhattacharya. He spent his life dedicated to the cause of the working masses and rational thinking. A person of thorough scientific outlook and a well-read student of Marxian thought, he was a walking encyclopedia and could speak on a wide variety of topics from art and culture to science, philosophy, history and politics.

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.

Rs 5 crore 'demand' for India Today anchor: What about 52 lesser souls who died in April?

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* A well known Hindutva protagonist masquerading as journalist passed away recently resulting in messages of condolences and tribute right from the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to progressive liberals expressing grief of his untimely death. It is said that he passed away due to cardiac arrest, though the fact is, he was also Covid infected. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister termed him a ‘brave’ journalist, insisting, his passing away has left a big ‘vacuum’.

Modi's Hindutva 'ensuring' empowerment of rich, disenfranchisement of poor

Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The Hindutva socio-psychopaths are neither nationalists nor patriotic people. These medieval reactionary forces don’t understand the idea of citizenship, justice, liberty, equality and humanism. Indian democracy is merely an electoral transaction for the Hindutva forces. Hindutva forces neither follow science nor understand the sufferings of fellow human beings. These core qualities are common among the Hindutva forces in India.

Despite crisis, Modi's Hindutva strategy 'increased' mass base in society and polity

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Narendra Modi and his RSS brethren can qualify as masters of fake claims. There is a long lists of lies spread by RSS, BJP and their IT cell workers. It is not a personality disorder or lying with fear. They are trained to defend Modi and his government’s decisions in whatever possible way. They defended demonetisation by arguing that it is “an important step” in his fight against black money and corruption.

India's Covid-19 'nightmare': A product of majoritarian Hindutva ideological praxis?

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Indians struggle to find place and time to bury their dead due to the devastating effects of the second wave of Covid-19 in India. The crematoriums in the capital cities are overflowing with dead bodies. People are dying without oxygen and basic medical support. The cities like Delhi and Mumbai are struggling to cope with the rising number of infections and COVID-19 led deaths. The deaths and destitutions are products of a defunct BJP government led by Narendra Modi.

Indian media persons collapsing to Covid disease as fast as 3 per day, third highest

Yogesh Sharma, Shailesh Rawal By Our Representative The Switzerland based media rights and safety body, Press Emblem Campaign ( PEC ) has said that it is “alarming for Indian journalists”, who have lost at least 107 colleagues to Covid-19”, noting, Indian “journo-colleagues” have been collapsing to the Covid-19 complications now as fast as three scribes per day. In a statement, PEC said, “India with 107 media corona-casualties has already placed itself on the third position just below Brazil (181 dead) and Peru (140) in the list of Covid-19 victims among journalist.”

Communal rhetoric? Hindutva preached by RSS-BJP is 'monolithic', not Hinduism

By Prem Verma* I am a devout Hindu but not a believer of RSS Hindutva form of Hinduism which brings about hatred of other religions. My Hindu religion has not taught me to look down on other religions and neither has it instilled in me to go about converting others to my religion because my religion is superior.

Counterview

Search This Blog