Madhya Pradesh Adivasis protest govt move to displace 8,000 people, allow diamond mining

By Our Representative
Over 3,000 Adivasis reportedly stormed the Khandwa collectorate in Madhya Pradesh (MP) in order to “teach” law to district administration and officials responsible for “illegal evictions and assault on Adivasi families”. NGO sources said, the raid took place under the banned of the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS), which staged a demonstration against the forest department and the district administration (DC), Khandwa.
According JADS, enraged Adivasis made their way to the DC office via the DFO office and the MP Forest Development Corporation District Office, where the forest department had “illegally assaulted” and “confined” three Adivasis who were picked up during the “illegal eviction action” of the Forest Department on July 10, 2021. The three Adivasis were “illegally detained” for over 10 hours.
Calling it a “hypocrisy of the forest department and the State government illegally evicting Adivasis in the name of protecting forests”, JADAS said, this happened even as the MP government “plans to handover 382 hectares of forest to fell at least 2.15 lakh trees and displace over 8,000 people for the sake of diamond mining in a region infamous for drought and water scarcity.”
The protesters opposed “loot and dacoity” of 40 Adivasi families overseen by the forest department during their “illegal eviction drive”, said JADS, adding, “Many Adivasi activists who have been demanding action on illegal felling highlighted the connivance of the forest department with timber smugglers and those involved in illegal felling of trees while the forest department continuously makes Adivasis scapegoats of the same.”
“Raising slogans of ‘Adivasi hai toh jungle hai’, ‘jungle hai toh adivasi hai’, ‘Van vibhag ki Tanashahi nahi chalegi’, protesting Adivasis also warned the adminstration that further violence by the administration will only force Adivasis to escalate their movement against the violence by the forest department”, JADS said in a statement.

Comments

US govt funding 'dubious PR firm' to discredit anti-GM, anti-pesticide activists?

By Our Representative The Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) has vocally condemned the financial support provided by the US Government to what it calls questionable public relations firms aimed at undermining the efforts of activists opposed to pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in India.

Modi govt distancing from Adanis? MoEFCC 'defers' 1500 MW project in Western Ghats

By Rajiv Shah Is the Narendra Modi government, in its third but what would appear to be a weaker avatar, seeking to show that it would keep a distance, albeit temporarily, from its most favorite business house, the Adanis? It would seem so if the latest move of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) latest to "defer" the Adani Energy’s application for 1500 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pump Storage Project is any indication.

Fostered by those in power, hatred 'hasn't been' part of Indian narrative

By Osman Sher* It is strikingly ironic that the current climate of prevalent hate in India is fostered not by a disruptive fringe of society, but by those in power—individuals entrusted by the citizens to promote their welfare and foster peace and harmony. It is their responsibility to guide and nurture the populace as if they were their flock.

Muslims 'reject' religious polarisation of Jamaat-e-Islami: Marxist victory in Kulgam, Kashmir

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* In the international sphere, an orgy of imperialist violence and wars on multiple fronts is unleashed on the world's population to divide people on religious and nationalist lines, destabilise peace, deepen crises, and control resources in the name of nationalism and religion. Under the guise of fighting Islamic terrorism and exporting the so-called market-led Western democracy, imperialist powers are ghettoising Muslims to control natural resources in various parts of Asia, as well as in Arab and Middle Eastern countries.

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.

NITI Aayog’s pandemic preparedness report learns 'all the wrong lessons' from Covid-19 response

Counterview Desk The Universal Health Organisation (UHO), a forum seeking to offer "impartial, truthful, unbiased and relevant information on health" so as to ensure that every citizen makes informed choices pertaining to health, has said that the NITI Aayog’s Report on Future Pandemic Preparedness , though labelled as prepared by an “expert” group, "falls flat" for "even a layperson".

Can voting truly resolve the Kashmir issue? Past experience suggests optimism may be misplaced

By Raqif Makhdoomi* In the politically charged atmosphere of Jammu and Kashmir, election slogans resonated deeply: "Jail Ka Badla, Vote Sa" (Jail’s Revenge, Vote) and "Article 370 Ka Badla, Vote Sa" (Article 370’s Revenge, Vote). These catchphrases dominated the assembly election campaigns, particularly across Kashmir.

Bayer's business model: 'Monopoly control over chemicals, seeds'

By Bharat Dogra* The Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has rendered a great public service by very recently publishing a report titled ‘Bayer’s Toxic Trails’ which reveals how the German agrochemical giant Bayer has been lobbying hard to promote glyphosate and GMOs, or trying to “capture public policy to pursue its private interests.” This report, written by Joao Camargo and Hans Van Scharen, follows Bayer’s toxic trail as “it maintains monopolistic control of the seed and pesticides markets, fights off regulatory challenges to its toxic products, tries to limit legal liability, and exercises political influence.”

NGO coalition criticises Odisha govt for 'abrupt closure' of PVTG nutrition programme

By Our Representative A coalition of non-governmental organizations has condemned the Odisha government's decision to abruptly end a vital nutrition program for children of Primitive Tribal Groups (PVTG) communities. The program, which provided community-based creches and feeding centers, has been a lifeline for thousands of young children in the state.

Search This Blog