Fishermen 'protect' ecosystem, yet have no right over water bodies: NAPM meet told

By A Representative
India's top civil engineer rights network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), which held its 12th national convention on completion of its 25 years in Puri, Odisha, with the participation of over 1,000 people's representatives, saw Lakhan Musafir of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Gujarat, taking strong exception to the world's tallest Statue of Unity, saying, it has led to tribals losing their agricultural land and fodder for their cattle.
Started with a human chain in a show of strength of the people’s movements at Puri's famous sea beach, Musafir further told the meet, "Loss of land has forced us to become bonded labourers. Instead of addressing this crisis, the state government is forcefully evicting us from our lands because they want to construct some colony there."
"On the other hand", he added, "There is humongous corruption in the Sardar Sarovar dam project in Gujarat as you will not find any details of the earning and expenditure of the project available for public scrutiny. We are slapped with false charges whenever we protest against this corruption”.
Participating in the session on ‘Political Economy of Fascist State: Our Resources, Our Constitution, Our Struggles’, Kailash Meena from Rajasthan apprised participants of the struggle to protect air, water and natural resources in the Aravalli region of the state, pointing towards the role of women in this, while Aloka Kujur from Jharkhand said, for the past several years, there has been a struggle against the corporate plunder in the state, stressing on the need for change in strategy to fight repression.
Kujur said, now the government no longer uses guns and batons to crush a people’s movements. It crushes people’s movements by abusing the Constitution. In the ongoing Pathalgadhi movement in Jharkhand, about 3,000 people have been charged with treason.Contemporary Jharkhand has become a synonym for mob lynchings. About 21 cases have been reported so far.
Satyam Mahar of the Niyamgiri Sangharsh Samiti, Odisha, said that the Niyamgiri movement has been going on peacefully. The Supreme Court in an order had insisted that mining should be stopped in the region. But ever since the Modi government came to power in 2014, false cases are being registered on many activists who are associated with the movement.
Mahar added, many people have been picked up from road and put in jail for a long time without any information provided to their families. Whenever there is an event for the movement, the administration does not allow such programmes to be held, instead it puts the organizers of the event in jail by accusing them of being Maoists.

Manshi Asher from Himachal Pradesh said that communities living in the Himalayan region have been suffering from landslides. In these areas the forest is spread on a very large scale and people's lives are depend on forests. Along with this, rivers are also an important resource here. But today all these resources are being looted.
Asher added, the British took away forests from us by saying that we do not know forest management. Today, about 30 percent of the forested area consists of pine forests that catch fire. The same British system continues. Today, the government is displacing forest dwellers by calling them encroachers.
Pradip Chatterjee from West Bengal, who is fighting for the rights of small fishermen, said that there are about six million of them in this country, yet unfortunately the country does not yet have a policy for them. Fishermen do not pollute water bodies. They protect the water ecosystem, as their livelihood is dependent on catching and selling fish.
Yet, he regretted, these fishermen have no rights over water bodies. Farmers own land but fishermen do not have their own water. Currently, many water bodies are being used for big projects, tourism and river linking projects. Many water bodies are being destroyed by the Union government by implementing industrial projects.
Kiran Vissa, who represents Rayathu Swaraj Vedike, Telangana, said that the farm sector is in a big crisis. The biggest challenge is to save the land for farming. For this, we have to wage a strong fight against displacement. Along with land, seed is also an important part of agricultural resources. At present in India due to the corporatization of agriculture many indigenous varieties of seeds are in a position of extinction.

Comments

Countrywide protest by gig workers puts spotlight on algorithmic exploitation

By A Representative A nationwide protest led largely by women gig and platform workers was held across several states on February 3, with the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claiming the mobilisation as a success and a strong assertion of workers’ rights against what it described as widespread exploitation by digital platform companies. Demonstrations took place in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states, covering major cities including New Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with multiple districts across the country.

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.

CFA flags ‘welfare retreat’ in Union Budget 2026–27, alleges corporate bias

By Jag Jivan The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has sharply criticised the Union Budget 2026–27 , calling it a “budget sans kartavya” that weakens public welfare while favouring private corporations, even as inequality, climate risks and social distress deepen across the country.

'Gandhi Talks': Cinema that dares to be quiet, where music, image and silence speak

By Vikas Meshram In today’s digital age, where reels and short videos dominate attention spans, watching a silent film for over two hours feels almost like an act of resistance. Directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar, “Gandhi Talks” is a bold cinematic experiment that turns silence into language and wordlessness into a powerful storytelling device. The film is not mere entertainment; it is an experience that pushes the viewer inward, compelling reflection on life, values, and society.

Budget 2026 focuses on pharma and medical tourism, overlooks public health needs: JSAI

By A Representative Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSAI) has criticised the Union Budget 2026, stating that it overlooks core public health needs while prioritising the pharmaceutical industry, private healthcare, medical tourism, public-private partnerships, and exports related to AYUSH systems. In a press note issued from New Delhi, the public health network said that primary healthcare services and public health infrastructure continue to remain underfunded despite repeated policy assurances.

The Epstein shock, global power games and India’s foreign policy dilemma

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The “Epstein” tsunami has jolted establishments everywhere. Politicians, bureaucrats, billionaires, celebrities, intellectuals, academics, religious gurus, and preachers—all appear to be under scrutiny, even dismantled. At first glance, it may seem like a story cutting across left, right, centre, Democrats, Republicans, socialists, capitalists—every label one can think of. Much of it, of course, is gossip, as people seek solace in the possible inclusion of names they personally dislike.

Gujarat No 1 in Govt of India pushed report? Not in labour, infrastructure, economy

By Rajiv Shah A report by a top Delhi-based think tank, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), prepared under the direct leadership of Amitabh Kant, ex-secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, has claims that Gujarat ranks No 1 in the NCAER State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI), though there is a dig. N-SIPI has been divided into two separate indices. The first one includes five “pillars” based on which the index has been arrived it. These pillars are: labour, infrastructure, economic conditions, political stability and governance, and perceptions of a good business climate. It is called N-SIPI 21, as it includes a survey of 21 states out of 29.

Gujarat agate worker, who fought against bondage, died of silicosis, won compensation

Raju Parmar By Jagdish Patel* This is about an agate worker of Khambhat in Central Gujarat. Born in a Vankar family, Raju Parmar first visited our weekly OPD clinic in Shakarpur on March 4, 2009. Aged 45 then, he was assigned OPD No 199/03/2009. He was referred to the Cardiac Care Centre, Khambhat, to get chest X-ray free of charge. Accordingly, he got it done and submitted his report. At that time he was working in an agate crushing unit of one Kishan Bhil.

Planning failures? Mysuru’s traditional water networks decline as city expands

By Prajna Kumaraswamy, Mansee Bal Bhargava The tropical land–water-scape of India shapes every settlement through lakes, ponds, wetlands, and rivers. Mysuru (Mysore) is a city profoundly shaped by both natural and humanly constructed water systems. For generations, it has carried a collective identity tied to the seasonal rhythms of the monsoon, the life-giving presence of the Cauvery and Kabini rivers , and the intricate network of lakes and ponds that dot the cityscape. Water transcends being merely a resource; it is part of collective memory, embedded in place names, agricultural heritage, and the very land beneath our feet. In an era of rapid urbanization and climate-induced land–water transformations, understanding this profound relationship with the land–water-scape is strategic for sustainability, resilience, and even survival.

Search This Blog