Gujarat meet to demand anti-lynching legislation: Budget 'quiet' on minorities

Nitin Patel, finance minister

By A Representative
The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), a Gujarat-based civil rights organisation, will be holding a state-level conference to demand from the Gujarat government to come up with a separate legislation to prevent rising incidents of lynchings. Proposed to be called Minorities (Prevention of Atrocities) Bill, MCC will hold a meeting on July 18 in Gandhinagar with the participation of minority rights activists and experts.
MCC convener Mujahid Nafees told CV News, "We have approached the political parties to send their legislators for the consultation in order to elicit their opinion." To take place at the Ambedkar Hall in Sector 12 of the state capital, the meet is being held amidst Gujarat budget allegedly providing no solace for the minorities. Nafees regretted, finance minister Nitin Patel's budget speech does not even mention minorities.
An MCC statement said, minorities in Gujarat, forming 11.5% of the population, live in constant fear because of the ruling party's "discriminatory" attitude. Those transporting buffaloes are attacked by cow vigilantes. The slogan of Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao is proving to be fake, with Muslim girls' school dropout rate at the primary level (classes 1-5) being 10.58%. Yet there is no concrete action on this.
MCC added, there is no minorities commission in Gujarat to listen to the complaints of the minorities, even though such commissions exist at the Centre and other states. This is a "clear example" of discrimination against minorities. In fact, minorities in Gujarat are "not entitled" to those rights which are available in other states.

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram* About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

India has spent billions on skilling. Where are the jobs?

By Vikas Gupta India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.

BAPS, the Eiffel Tower and the curious silence on secularism

By Rajiv Shah I was a little surprised to see how some of those whom I respect for taking a firm stand on patriarchal issues reacted to the manner in which they responded to the recent incident in Paris, in which women employees of the Eiffel Tower were asked to remain "invisible" on September 5 when 100 BAPS sadhus visited one of the world's top tourist destinations.

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