Counterview

By Our Representative  Making two separate complaints to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman, a senior civil rights leader has said that the security forces stationed near the Bangladesh border in West Bengal have "harassed, insulted and tortured" Muslim women Serina Bibi and Rabiya Bibi. In the first case, Kirity Roy said, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel attached with the Bithari Border Out Post, 112 Battalion, the woman, Serina Bibi, was touched inappropriately, detained unnecessarily in the name of searching, forcibly removing all her clothes, and making her complete naked and assaulting her physically. Roy is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and national convenor, Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI). Serina Bibi is a house wife and belongs to a poor marginalized Muslim community, residing at the bordering village of Hakimpur (Uttarpara) under Swarupnagar Block and Police Station in the district of North

Counterview Desk In a complaint to the chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), West Bengal-based civil rights leader Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and national convenor, Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), has taken strong exception to the detention of Bangladeshi women in West Bengal and accusing and treating them as criminals under Foreigners Act, 1946. Giving specific examples, Roy regretted, the authorities least concerned to "enquire into whether the persons including women and children crossed the border from Bangladesh to India were the victims of human trafficking." He added, "Our fact finding reveals that the arrested Bangladeshi women entered India for the purpose of working in India as they are terribly poverty-stricken people with no jobs in Bangladesh." Text : I am writing this complaint regarding detention of Bangladeshi women in West Bengal and accusing and treating them as crim

By Sandeep Pandey*  The judgement of Supreme Court releasing AG Perarivalan, convicted in the case of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, has been widely hailed as upholding the human rights of prisoners. Yet, Yasin Malik, Kashmiri separatist leader, has been given two life terms and there is hardly any debate on him.  At the same time Government of India is engaged in a dialogue with leaders of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) trying to find a political solution to Naga problem. Nagaland had attracted Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act much before it was used in Jammu and Kashmir, both on account of being disturbed areas. Yasin Malik, the leader of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, was a militant till 1994, after which he decided to give up violence and espoused Gandhian philosophy. Along with Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Shabir Shah, Yasin Malik comprised the most credible Kashmiri separatist leadership, who certainly had

Ulfa-I leader Paresh Barua By Nava Thakuria*   Latest killing of armed members belonging to the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent) or Ulfa-I in their hideouts somewhere along the Myanmar-China border and the subsequent media coverage “glorifying” the brutal acts of separatist Ulfa-I leaders appear to have annoyed several sections in the northeast. There was live streaming of militant leaders by many satellite news channels, which many interpreted as justifying the murder of Assamese youths in camps. Based on this interpretation, there is now a strong demand to restrict the media outlets which allegedly propagate the culture of violence in the name of freedom movement. The Assam Public Works (APW), which calls itself anti-militancy organization, has criticised the news channels which interviewed top Ulfa-I leader Paresh Barua, giving him the opportunity to explain why they killed at least two cadres in recent days. Addressing media in Guwahati, APW president Aabhijeet

By Harsh Thakor*  Tarimela Nagi Reddy  (1917-1976)  is considered one of the most outstanding personalities in the history the communist movement in India. His teachings are important for those seeking to understand what are said to be deviations in Indian Communist camp: rightist and left-adventurist. Few communists have exhibited his mastery in analysing the semi-feudal and semi-colonial nature of the Indian state and it's neo-fascist variety. As leader of the Andhra Pradesh Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries Nagi combated the left adventurist trend of Charu Mazumdar in 1968. Critical of the “revisionist” line of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he simultaneously asserted the need for an agrarian revolution, formulating a critical document on the “left adventurist” trend. Among his contributions, the struggle for 1,000 acres of Banjara lands in Anathapur in 1970s in 28 villages, which were in the hands of landlords for 30 years, stands out. The result was,

By Katrina vanden Heuvel*  As Russia’s illegal and brutal assault enters its fourth month, the impact on Europe, the Global South and the world is already profound. We are witnessing the emergence of a new political/military world order.  Climate action is being sidelined as reliance on fossil fuels increases; food scarcity and other resource demands are pushing prices upward and causing widespread global hunger; and the worldwide refugee crisis — with more international refugees and internally displaced people than at any time since the end of World War II — poses a massive challenge. Furthermore, the more protracted the war in Ukraine, the greater the risk of a nuclear accident or incident. And with the Biden administration’s strategy to “weaken” Russia with the scale of weapons shipments, including anti-ship missiles, and revelations of U.S. intelligence assistance to Ukraine, it is clear that the United States and NATO are in a proxy war with Russia. Shouldn’t the ramifications,

By Katrina vanden Heuvel*  What are the United States’ goals in the Ukraine war? Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced that the United States wants “Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.” The U.S. commitment toward that end has been substantial. Congress passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act by near-unanimous vote, invoking the “arsenal of democracy” we provided to Britain during World War II. President Biden is seeking $33 billion in additional aid.  When the defense ministers of some 40 countries gathered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany last month, the focus was not a peace settlement but outright Ukrainian victory or at least the “permanent weakening” of Russia’s military power. But as the violence continues, the war fever rises, and we had better be clear about our objectives. A commitment to a long, grinding proxy war with Russia would have severe consequences not only for the Ukrainia

Leela Devi, Monica By Bharat Dogra*  At a time of increasing concern over climate change, contributions of several women, farmers and innovators have given reason for increasing hope in mitigation as well as adaptation work in villages of India. When Leela Devi was married in Tilonia village (Ajmer district of Rajasthan), she had not heard of solar energy. But making use of the existence of solar centre of the Barefoot College (BC) near her new home, she learnt adequate skills within a year to set up rural solar units and assemble solar lanterns. Later as India’s External Affairs Ministry teamed up with BC to start an international program for training women in rural solar energy systems, Leela teamed up with other friends from BC to form a team of trainers. A training programme has been designed for training women as barefoot solar engineers. When I visited the Tilonia campus (before the training program was temporarily discontinued due to COVID) , a group of women (several of them Gr

By Our Representative Various areas of Kandhamal district in Odisha are experiencing acute water shortage and infrastructure woes adding to the problems of the people, reveals a recent study on Water availability and sources” conducted by non-profit Atmashakti Trust and its allies Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha , Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, Odisha and Jeebika Suraksha Mancha, Kandhamal. Conducted online that covered 304 villages under 15 Gram Panchayats of Kotagada block of Kandhamal, the survey result found that erratic and inadequate water supply has made life difficult for the people living on hilly and remote areas of the district and recommends immediate repair of water structure/infrastructure to meet water needs of these communities. Odisha has set a target to cover all rural households to have access to safe and adequate drinking water at their doorsteps by 2024. A whopping Rs 50,000 crore is projected to be spent under different schemes and projects to ensure the same. However, th

By Rosamma Thomas*  On the morning of May 23, 2022, this writer slipped and fell on a slimy moss-covered private road in Pala town, Kottayam district, Kerala. One look at the ankle of the right leg was enough to show that it needed medical intervention – the ankle was out of shape, and the bones had got out of whack. I was bundled into an autorickshaw – there was already an elderly lady in the auto, but the driver understood the urgency of the situation and requested his passenger to accommodate a slight delay in reaching her destination. The kind old lady obliged us, and an aunt accompanied me to the General Hospital, Pala. There, the doctor at the orthopedic department refused to take questions on the names of affected bones, shut me up and told me I would have to bear some pain – he was manually going to adjust the joint. One painful pull, and then a push; and then a quick plaster of the leg, till below the knee. I was admitted to the hospital for tests that needed to be done ahead

By Souparno Banerjee* Biodiversity conservation is an absolute imperative today, but is India serious about it? Notwithstanding the alacrity that the country has shown in ratifying and supporting international biodiversity conventions or in enacting domestic laws and regulations, India’s record in conservation and use of its bioresources has been quite dismal – finds an investigative analysis done by "Down To Earth" (DTE) magazine. Thirty years ago, in 1992, the world had agreed on a landmark global treaty: the Convention on Biological Diversity. Says Sunita Narain, editor of DTE and director general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which helps publish the magazine: “What became clear very soon is that the conservation of bioresources, and particularly their utilisation, require active involvement of local communities. These communities need to be active partners and also share the profits of the use of their resources and knowledge.” In 2010, as a result, came th

By Bharat Dogra* The extremely tragic death of 10 workers at a tunnel construction site in Ramban on Jammu-Srinagar highway has again drawn attention to the serious hazards faced by workers employed in highways and dams in Himalayan region, several of them in very remote areas. These workers were trapped after a landslide hit the under-construction tunnel on May 19, followed later by one more landslide. Apart from these deaths, the remaining workers suffered injuries. While overall conditions at many such construction sites are known to be hazardous, according to preliminary reports the risks here increased due to sub-contracts which resulted in work being handled by those who did not have much experience or knowledge of such hazardous conditions. Sub-contracting is a common practice in such work and the principal employer gets away with less legal liability for hazardous conditions. Workers face more risks under this system and their rights are adversely affected. This

Counterview Desk Dr Narasimha Reddy Donthi, independent public policy expert, in a letter to Nareshpal Gangwar, additional secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), New Delhi, has expressed “seriously concern” that a recent office memorandum (OM) has sought to exempt certain types of gene-edited plants from the country's genetically modified organism  (GMO) regulations, without any reason or basis or representation. Dr Reddy regretted, “Such a serious decision, with an impact scale of unimaginable proportions, in terms of time and ecology, is being pushed through an ordinary office memorandum”, insisting, “This is circumvention of the processes enshrined in Indian Constitution, which has defined democratic participation in matters of critical importance.” Stating that the exemption from regulation is a policy decision and has legal implications, he demanded immediate withdrawal the OM, insisting, the government should take a "strong stand again