Kashmir: Gujarat civil society appeals to apex court for 'constitutional propriety'

By A Representative
Gujarat’s 22 civil rights activists, in a letter to the Chief Justice of India, protesting against the three-week-long clampdown in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), have said this has create an undeclared state of emergency in Kashmir. The decision to write the letter was taken following a recent meeting of the Movement for Secular Democracy in Ahmedabad.
Claiming that about 4,000 persons have been arrested amidsgt a huge military presence – there is one military man for almost five civilians – the letter says, this is alarming because, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), endangers “sexual violence against women” and “violation of human rights” in J&K.
Protesting against the “continuing restrictions on phones and internet, disrupting publications of newspapers and curbing the freedom of press as a form of collective punishment”, the letter says, this has crippled the daily life and economic activity of Kashmir.
“Appalled” by the way in which “in one stroke” Parliament abrogated Article 370 and 35A, the letter says, the move to “integrate” J&K “was introduced ignoring parliamentary practice and decorum”.
Hoping that the Supreme Court, which will be examining the petitions filed against the Government of India move, would see things in the context of constitutional propriety, the letter says, the apex courd should give “directives to comply with due democratic process to restore Article 370 and 35A, and for the emotional integration of the people of J&K with India.”
Signatories to the letter include Prakash N Shah,president, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat; Dwarika Nath Rath, secretary, Movement for Secular Democracy; Manishi Jani of the Gujarati Lekhak Mandal; educationist Fr Francis Parmar; academic Dr Jharna Pathak; human rights activist Fr Cedric Prakash; the ex-professor, MS University, Vadodara, Dr JS Bandukwala.

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?

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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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