Salt farmers hit: Railways "uproots" track in Little Rann of Kutch on Dandi march day

By Pankti Jog*
Agariyas from Dhangadhra and Patadi, the towns situated along the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, may not participate in voting on April 23, the day polling takes place in the state, as a mark of protest against an “insensitive step” that the Indian Railways has taken – to close down the Kuda-Dhangadhra Railway line and uproot the track.
They have been farming crystal salt in the Little Rann for over 600 years. This has been one of the oldest traditional production systems in the region. During the British rule, a railway line was laid down right up to the Little Rann in order to facilitate the transportation of salt. There were schools for kids, and pipeline for the supply of drinking water, too.
On March 12, the Dandi Satyagraha Day, we proudly remembered how a pinch of salt played a key role in shaking up the British empire in India. Ironically, on the same day, the Railways began the work of removing the track of the Dhangadhra-Kuda railway line, which is Agariyas of the Little Rann consider as their lifeline, as it helps them transport salt from their salt farms.
“The Railways told us that they are closing down this line as it is not making profit. But how can the government forget that this railway line is giving livelihood to thousands of Agariyas in the Little Rann and giving over 30 lakh tonnes of salt per year to the rest of the country?”, wondered Bharat Somera, district coordinator, Surendranagar, Agariya Heet Rakshak Manch (AHRM), a civil rights organization representing Agariyas of Gujarat.

“Agariyas made several representations to both state and Central governments, and also to the committee formed by the Railways which came for the site visit last year for inspection. But they appear to have ignored us”, Somera regretted.
“It is worth recalling that when the railway line was repaired a few years ago, contributions from salt cess were also made, as this railway line benefits the transportation of salt. And yet, Agariyas were not consulted before the officials of the Railways took the decision to uproot the tracks”, he added.

Agariya representatives with district election officer, Surendranagar

“We did not expect such an insensitive approach and step from the government towards Agariyas’ livelihood. By closing down the cheapest transport mode, the government is ruining our livelihood and life”, said an Agariya salt farmer.
“Of all days, they chose March 12, the 89th anniversary of the Dandi march, to start removing the tracks laid down to help us”, he said, adding, “We all are terribly disappointed and have approached the District Election Officer to inform him that we are not going to participate in voting.”
“Over 18,000 to 20,000 Agariyas, including their family members, might not vote in protest against this cruel decision of the Indian Railways, implemented ahead of the elections,” said Harinesh Pandya, founder, Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), the state’s civil rights watchdog for the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Significantly, MAGP is currently involved in the Matadar Jagruti Jumbesh 2019, a campaign for maximizing voter turnout on April 23, the day Gujarat goes to polls, and ethical voting. “We too have drawn attention of the District Election Officer about this thoughtless act and hope he would take appropriate action”, Pandya added.
In a written representation on March 12, sarpanches of several villages of Dhangadhra taluka have supported the Agariyas, and urged the state and Central governments to immediately look into the matter. If the government fails to address this issue immediately, Agariyas will go on strike, the sarpanches have warned.
---
*With Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Ahmedabad

Comments

India’s climate tech ecosystem in dire need of both early, growth-stage funding: Report

By Our Representative India’s climate tech ecosystem, which boasts over 800 startups, is in dire need of both early and growth-stage funding to leverage its full potential, according to a report by Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (Ventures) and MUFG Bank , Japan. Despite a robust initial funding landscape, with approximately two-thirds of climate tech startups receiving seed capital, growth-stage investments remain critically lacking.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded reaction in the form of a link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

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.

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.

UNEP report on how climate crisis is impacting displacement, global conflicts, declining health

By Shankar Sharma* A recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), titled "A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing," warrants urgent attention from our country’s developmental perspective. The findings, detailed in the report, should be a source of significant concern not only globally but especially for our nation, which has a vast population and limited natural resources.

Industries fueling climate crisis draining public funds in Global South: ActionAid

By Our Representative A new ActionAid report has exposed the alarming financial drain on the Global South, as climate-wrecking industries like fossil fuels and industrial agriculture receive over US$600 billion annually in public subsidies. The report, "How the Finance Flows: Corporate Capture of Public Finance Fuelling the Climate Crisis in the Global South", reveals that an average of US$677 billion in public finance is directed toward climate-destructive sectors each year, depriving crucial social sectors such as education.

75 years of revolution: How China moved away from ideals of struggle for human liberation

By Harsh Thakor* On October 1st, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, a pivotal moment in the struggle for human liberation. From 1949 to 1976, China achieved remarkable social equality and revolutionary democracy, outpacing other developing nations in literacy, health care, agricultural output, and industrial production.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Overcoming extreme backwardness 75 yrs ago, China has 'risen to 2nd largest economy of the world'

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* On October 1, 1949, the revolutionary people of China established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by defeating Western imperialism, Japanese colonialism, and Chinese feudal warlords who unleashed a ‘white terror’ on Chinese people, communists and revolutionaries.

Search This Blog