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Showing posts from February, 2022

Gandhinagar Sachivalaya: Modi's powerdom during 2002 Godhra, post-Godhra riots

Modi coming out of the Godhra train: Feb 27, 2002 By Rajiv Shah  Twenty years on, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right-hand Amit Shah, appear to “firmly” in the saddle, ruling the country, mystery still surrounds as to what might have happened on February 27-28, 2002, the day Godhra train burned leading to death of 58 kar sevaks, followed with one of worst anti-minority riots in Gujarat, spread over around three months, in which at least a thousand people are confirmed dead and as many are said to be “missing.” While Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, and the circles around him called the Godhra train burning an act of Pak-sponsored terrorism on February 27 itself, there is still no official confirmation as to what might have caused it, though several theories still prevail what may have happened -- ranging from an act of arson committed by a Muslim mob of 1,000 to 2,000 people (Commission of Inquiry), violent reaction by the local Muslim Ghanchi community provoked by the

Azad would utter 'Mahatma Gandhi ki jai', 'Bharat Mata ki jai' on each cane beating

By Bharat Dogra*  While travelling in Uttar Pradesh I have often been struck by the extent to which people still become inspired and excited by the sheer mention of the name of a freedom fighter, legends of whose courage are spread far and wide here. Why only Uttar Pradesh Chandrashekhar Azad has become a symbol of courage and resistance in the face of greatest odds all over the country? Try to remember the month of February 1931. Bhagat Singh and his closest comrades were all in jail. Death sentence for Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev had already been announced. The main organization of the revolutionary freedom fighters had suffered one setback after another. The police force had traced most of the centers of revolutionaries and these had been raided. When there appeared to be loss of hope all around, the top leader of the revolutionary organization Azad had still managed to evade arrest and was still planning for a great comeback. One of the co

No silicosis-TB anymore? Doubting Gujarat govt claim, NGO seeks scientific study

Counterview Desk  In a representation, Jagdish Patel, director, Peoples Training and Research Centre ( PTRC ), a Gujarat-based health rights group, has made a plea to the director-general, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on the need for systematic surveillance study on the prevalence of tuberculosis and silicosis among agate polishers in Khambhat, Gujarat. Doubting the Government of Gujarat claims that since wet method is adopted for agate polishing by Khambhat units, the problems related with the prevalence of TB and silicosis have been resolved, he says, lately,no scientific study has been carried out to know the status of the problem and results of the efforts to reduce silica dust at work and its impact. Stating that it is now 18 long years that a systematic study was done on the issue, he insists, the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) be directed to take up a study again that can guide one to plan out strategies not only to end TB and silicosis but also to

Ukraine: Putin 'fails to realise', world sympathy for Russia will decrease further

By Bharat Dogra*  The most obvious aspect of the Ukraine war just now is that it should end immediately, or as early as possible. If this lingers on, possibilities of new ways of spreading conflict can emerge. This has to be checked. This war and its violence should not spread. If all sides see reason, clearly it is possible for the conflict to cease very quickly. But there is this big ‘If’, which applies to all sides. Putin and his colleagues should realize, even if belatedly, that invasion was not the best course of action for them even in limited terms of protecting their narrow security concerns. Russia’s concerns for protecting its essential security interests had more world-level sympathy and support, stated and unstated, than these have now after the invasion. With more violence and deaths, which is bound to be reported in highly exaggerated ways in most influential sections of world media, world sympathy and support for Russia’s invasion will decrease further. Hence taking a wi

It's not Moscow-Kyiv war, but between Russia and NATO; tremors felt globally

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Russia has invaded Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin recognised two eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk as ‘independent’ nations and then on their ‘request’ it sent a ‘Peace Keeping Force’ to maintain order. So we have two new ‘nations’ in the world map: the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) as independent. Both these two states have a majority of Russian speaking people and have been in conflict with the Western region which dominates the East. Vladimir Putin’s speech was decisive when he blamed human rights violations in the Eastern Ukraine. Most of the Russian origin people in these Eastern provinces were getting Russian passports since 2014 and more than 800,000 passports were issued by Russia to its ‘citizens’ in these two eastern provinces. Ukraine was part of Soviet Union and got its independence in 1991 after many ‘republics’ broke away from it. The Western world celebrated the collapse of the S

Islamophobia behind Haryana having new jail, 'welcomed' by locals with sweets

By Adv Ashutosh Kumar Mishra* Recently, Nuh district in the Mewat region of Haryana has been in the news for a peculiar reason. It has been reported that villagers from Nuh district are celebrating the inauguration of a new jail. The celebrations broke out after the demand of the residents was "fulfilled." The demand was about having a new jail facility constructed near the area. Police officials claim that this new facility will reduce the pressure on Gurugram’s Bhondsi jail and the Faridabad jail. Incidentally, around 40 per cent of the inmates in two jails hail from the Nuh district. People are saying that earlier, they had to spend money to travel to meet their families since the prison was far away. Now that the jail will be nearer, they will be able to easily meet their children. The jail was inaugurated by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Nuh town on February 15, 2022. The jail complex is said to have the capacity of 1,000 prisoners. Nearly 30,000 residents of Har

Muslims brutalized? Death penalty in serial blasts case; 2002 pogrom accused 'roam freely'

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ* On February 18, 2022, a Special Court, designated for speedy trial of the accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts, handed the death to 38 of 49 convicts. The remaining eleven were awarded life terms in jail. A few days earlier, these 49 were convicted by the Special Judge who also acquitted 38 other accused in the case. The convicted were apparently responsible for exploding as many as 22 bombs in an hour in Ahmedabad, on July 26, 2008, killing 56 people and leaving over 200 injured, in different parts of the city. There was plenty of ‘celebration’ in Ahmedabad city, after the stringent punishment was announced. The twitter handle of the Ahmedabad BJP tweeted a highly irresponsible and insensitive caricature of some Muslim-looking men being hanged with the national motto ‘Satyameva Jayate' emblazoned alongside. Twitter finally pulled out this tweet after they received an avalanche of protests from everywhere! The defence lawyers said the death penalty f

Himachal migrant women's death: 'Highly hazardous' units operate sans clearances

By Bharat Dogra*  On the morning of February 22 in a very tragic accident in an illegal firecrackers factory at Baathu (Una district of Himachal Pradesh), six women migrant workers were burnt to death. These included mother and daughter from a single family. Fourteen other workers, most of them also women migrant workers, were injured. In most cases injuries are serious. In fact, most of the injured had to be rushed to Chandigarh. The sight of badly burnt bodies was an extremely painful one. Almost 60 per cent of the workers employed in this factory have been injured or have perished. The worst affected are stated are stated to be those filling explosives into crackers. All the victims come from very poor households. Clearly there was a glaring violation of safety norms. A highly hazardous unit was functioning without the necessary clearances and without there being much awareness of preventing measures needed in the context of its high hazard potential. As the workers were very poor,

Pandemic impact: 66% Indians report drop in income, 80% suffer from food insecurity

By Rajiv Shah  Two years into the pandemic, 66% of the respondents to a representative survey have said that their income decreased as compared to pre-pandemic period, and just about 34% reported that their households' cereal consumption in the month preceding the survey was sufficient. In all the survey covered 6,697 respondents from 14 states, 4,881 rural and 1,816 urban. The survey, referred to as Hunger Watch-II, carried out by the advocacy group Right to Food Campaign in association with the Centre for Equity Studies, was conducted in December 2021-January 2022. The Hunger Watch-I survey was done following the national lockdown in 2020. About 31% of the Hunger Watch-II surveyed households were STs, 25% were SCs, 19% belonged to the general category, 15% OBCs and 6% were Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). About 64% identified themselves as Hindus, 18% as Muslims. Further, 71% of the respondents were women, 41% were non-agricultural casual labourers, 19% were agricu