Counterview

By Dr S Faizi*  Europe, once a theatre of internecine wars, now has a robust European Union shaping the common destiny of its people. Although Europe is only a subcontinent of Asia as Arnold Toynbee had observed and as is visible to anyone looking at a map, we still not have a common Asian platform for economic and political cooperation.  It is high time Asia had its well mandated regional organisation to secure a common Asian future, ending the costly hostilities and political egos. We can have the Asian Union even when the bilateral hostilities, unique to Asia, refuse to go away completely.

By Harsh Thakor  Eighty years ago the world witnessed one of the most heroic uprisings in the history of the world. Manifesting the spirit of liberation from tyranny, courage scaled heights almost unparalleled in rebellion of a persecuted community. One was reminded of Mao’s saying “Nothing is hard if you dare to scale the heights.” On the eve of Passover 1943 — the nineteenth of April — a group of several hundred poorly armed young Jews lit the spark of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, rising like a phoenix from the Ashes to mark the first insurrections against Nazism. The Jewish uprising in Warsaw testified how people’s organised revolt with Marxist spirit could challenge the most brutal or mightiest of oppressors. It integrated the proletarian Marxist spirit at a helm in regard to liberation of the Jewish community. It expressed the action of a proletarian core, and overall had an electrifying effect on the Polish Resistance. Quoting Ernest Erber “Only those with a sense of histor...

By Shankar Sharma*  The news article "Fund crunch hits Karnataka's tiger reserves" says: "The fanfare surrounding 50 years of tiger conservation seems to have tapered. Karnataka’s tiger reserves are in a crisis as the Centre has released only half the funds allocated in last year’s budget, thereby blocking the matching grant from the state government."

By Harshavardhan Purandare, Sandeep Pandey*  One of the topmost priority ideological projects during the Modi regime has been rewriting Indian history and to paint it in saffron color. The famous Maharashtra ideologue of Hindu Rashtra, Bhide Guruji, once said, “Muslim invasions, British capture and Gandhiji’s rise to become father of Modern India are three big historic assaults on our great Hindu culture.”

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  When we look to politicians for solutions and politics as the 'final solution' for every evil then we are disappointed most of the time. In politics, we knowingly or unknowingly become part of the propaganda tool of the ruling elite which exists everywhere across different castes. We often provide issues and talk about them in binaries which suit our elites. The minorities among the marginalised who have no political space and representation rarely get heard by these majoritarian parties whose agenda remain power communities. Every political party in today's time is following the 'successful' formula of 'democracy' which is keeping the 'powerful' 'jaatis' with them leaving aside the marginalised one. The BJP started this but yes they cobbled together all other communities too through a diverse narrative. The release of Anand Mohan Singh, the convict of the murder of the IAS officer from Telangana Mr G Krishnaiah, by t...

Counterview Desk  Bahutva Karnataka, a forum for justice, harmony and solidarity, has released a report on the state of education on the incumbent State government’s policies over the past 4 years. Introducing the report, the forum says, it will enable the public to not just hold the government to account, but also to make an informed choice as they choose the next government.

By Bharat Dogra  Several leading women wrestlers of India have been in the thick of a struggle against sexual harassment since the beginning of this year. They have been helped by some male wrestler colleagues as well. Although these wrestlers of both genders include those who have won several honors and medals at the international level, their struggle against powerful, politically very well-connected officials of wrestling organizations, accused of sexual harassment or colluding in it, is proving to be a very difficult struggle and much wider and sustained support will be needed for its success. Women’s wrestling in several villages of Haryana and some other regions has gone much beyond medal-winning in terms of its social implications. This has become a symbol of a wider social role of girls and women and their participation in several non-traditional activities as well as society’s acceptance of this. The international success achieved by several female wrestlers from tradition...

By Pushkar Raj*  Australia along with the countries of the region commemorated ANZAC day on April 25. For the novice, it stands for Australian And New Zealand Army Corps that fought in Gallipoli campaign in the First world war with a loss of 8,709 uniformed men from Australia, 2,721 from New Zealand and perishing 56000 allied forces. Both the countries- Australia and New Zealand lost about 78000 combatants in the first world war. After the II world war the day was turned into a Memorial Day for all those who had risked or laid down life in the interest of the country. Discovery of the Ship However, ANZAC day 2023, becomes special for the thousands of families because of discovery of an unfortunate ship whose inmates dodged the enemy but fell to prey of torpedo of the friend perishing at the bed of sea while coming back home during II World war in July 1942. The case demonstrates futility of war in which there are no winners. The Japanese ship, Montevideo Maru was transpo...

By Henrieke Butijn*  Some banks are comfortable financing atrocities, as is clear with the financiers that are bankrolling the fossil fuel giants that run the Myanmar-China pipelines . The Myanmar junta, who began an illegal attempted coup in February 2021, receives revenue from oil and gas projects and profits from the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) shares in projects.

By Bharat Dogra*  The recent tragic and painful death of nearly 100 persons in air attacks carried out by the military junta in Sagaing region of Myanmar is a grim and cruel reminder that violence and distress of people have become the most defining features of this deeply troubled country.

As the Delhi Police Commissioner refused to meet a delegation of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) they staged a protest at the Delhi Police Head Quarters (PHQ) at Jai Singh Road, Central Delhi. NFIW members went to the PHQ to submit a memorandum to the Police Commissioner demanding immediate filing of an FIR based on the complaint given by young women wrestlers. The protesters led by Annie Raja, General Secretary NFIW were detained by the police and taken to the Parliament Street police station and the DCP received the memorandum, addressed to Sanjay Arora, Commissioner of Police. Later they joined the wrestlers who were sitting on a day and night dharna at Jantar Mantar. Text of the memorandum: *** The National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) hereby registers its strong protest at the failure of Delhi Police to register an FIR on the complaints filed by the women wrestlers against Mr. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, WFI President and MP. Filing of FIR is the primary le...

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ* Dear Stan, It was your birthday on April 26 here on earth! You would have completed eighty-six years, if you were around. Well, that was not to be; on 5 July 2021 you were murdered by a brutal and fascist regime, which did not want a human rights defender like you to continue living! This is your second earthly birthday up above. Not sure how you will be celebrating it!

By Venkatesh Nayak*  Two weeks ago, the first set of our findings from a preliminary analysis of the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) 2021-22 Annual Report (AR) was circulated. Readers will recall, the AR contains a wealth of data regarding the use and the implementation of The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second set of findings from our preliminary analysis of the 2021-22 AR is given below under the following segments:

By Harsh Thakor  The seventh all-India Conference of the Indian Federation of Trade Union (IFTU) from 16-18th April took place in the backdrop of politics of hatred and divisiveness. Open calls are being given for the eradication of minority communities by saffron seers with no action taken but anyone questioning the Modi government is foisted in cases and jailed. Draconian laws like the UAPA are freely operating to crush dissenting voices. Democratic spaces are being ripped apart with neo-fascism at a helm. Leaders at IFTU 7th All India Conference in Tirupati on Sunday on Apil 16th, pledged to build a united resistance by the trade unions to restore the workers' rights and to launch an effective counter attack to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's pro-corporate policies and aggressive privatisation drive. Exactly 399 delegates participated in the actual conference. Founded in 1978 as an alternative trade union centre with a resolve to organize the exploited workers ...

   By Rajiv Shah  Even as the Supreme Court begins hearings in front of a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on “marriage equality”, and the Bar Council of India (BCI) requesting the Apex Court to  leave the issue  for “legislative consideration” i.e., to Parliament, as the hearing would be treated as being against the culture and social religious ethos, a civil society report has insisted that “queer and transgender persons ought to be given the right to have a chosen family not defined by marriage, birth or adoption alone.” Based on a closed door testimony of 31 persons – 23 of them Hindus – the  report , "Apnon ka Bahut Lagta Hai (Our Own Hurt Us the Most)”, published by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties PUCL and the National Network of LBI (Lesbian, Bisexual, Intersex) Women and Transpersons, explores the lives of queer and trans persons amidst continued invocation of ‘sanskar’ (morality) by the state in d...

By NS Venkataraman*  It is reported that four students of IIT Madras have committed suicide in the year 2023, within just four months. This is a matter of very high concern and need to be investigated by experts taking a holistic view. So far, all these suicides have been simply termed as “suicides” and matter appears to have been closed. Obviously, there should be deep underlying cause for such sad events, particularly since the students are in their teen age or early twenties and that too they study in an elite institution. At the same time, it has to be noted that such students suicides have also taken place in other IITs in India. IIT Madras management do not seem to have come out with any credible explanation so far, for such increasing number of suicides.. The strategy so far adopted by IIT Madras to prevent such suicides appear to be only by way of providing counselling advice , which may go only half way. It is known that studying engineering subjects in depth and understan...

By Bharat Dogra*  There are not many schemes for welfare of transgender people in India and so special care has to be given for the proper implementation of the few that exist. At the level of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment there is a scheme, or rather a sub-scheme or part of a wider scheme which is devoted exclusively to the welfare of transgender people.

By Vijay Prashad  In mid-April, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its Diplomatic Bluebook 2023 , its most important guidebook on international affairs. Japan’s foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, wrote the foreword, which begins: “The world is now at a turning point in history.” This phrase is key to understanding the Japanese approach to the war in Ukraine. Hours after Russian forces entered Ukraine, the Japanese government signed the G7 statement that condemned the “large-scale military aggression” and called for “severe and coordinated economic and financial sanctions.”  The next day, Hayashi announced that Japan would sanction “designated individuals related to Russia,” freeze assets of three Russian banks, and sanction exports to Russia’s military. In its Diplomatic Bluebook 2022, Japan condemned Russia and urged the Russian government to “withdraw its troops immediately, and comply with international law.” Russia’s war, the Japanese argued, “shake...

By Ishwar Awasthi*  Unplanned and uncontrolled developmental work in Joshimath led to land subsidence and as a result several houses and roads developed cracks and triggered fear among the residents. Joshimath took place because the grim warnings of the massive flood due to cloudburst in 2013, resulted in fury of devastation and destruction in the state, had gone unheeded.Other towns may gradually see this kind of rage in fragile mountain region unless the development approach is focused on mountain perspective and sustainability.

By Mansee Bal Bhargava*, Proshakha Maitra**  India is blessed with a network of rivers that can accommodate the country's heavy water needs, making it wealthy in water resources. In addition, the literature on water wisdom is blissful from the writings in the Vedas to all the religious-spiritual writings on water and conversation and management of water resources. However, India is still among the worst water crisis hit countries in the world. A country rich with water wisdom if suffers from water woes must really call for a paradigm shift in the way water discourses and decisions are initiated and implemented.

By Yanis Iqbal*  On January 2, 1989, a 34-year old Safdar Hashmi, while performing the street play “Halla Bol” in a labour colony at Jhandapur, was beaten to death allegedly by Congress goons. Thrashed at least twenty times on his head with iron rods, he was brought to the hospital with brain fluid leaking out of his nose.

By A Representative  Participating in a US Congressional briefing, Indian activists have warned that hate crimes "are being carried out against Indian Muslims on a massive scale during Hindu festivals, indicating a genocidal climate against Muslims in India." Weaponization of Hindu festivals to attack Muslims another sign of India on “road to genocide”, they insisted.

By A Representative  In a surprise revelation, India’s top Right to Information (RTI) body, Central Information Commission (CIC), has stated it does not have data on the number of RTI applications and first appeals filed in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in the past four years. The revelation comes following Irfan Banka, founder, J&K RTI Foundation, an advocacy group, sought details through an RTI plea.

By Harsh Thakor  On April 24th the sporting world celebrates the 50th birthday of Sachin Tendulkar, who arrived on this earth in 1973. Sachin Tendulkar is probably the most iconic sportsman in Indian history, let alone cricketer. No adjective can do justice to his sheer impact or influence n the game or the weight of his very presence. Tendulkar virtually defined a new generation, epoch or era in the game. Hard to visualise a more charismatic cricketer who pulled crowds in the manner of a magnet. Sachin was like a voice of millions of people of India. Rarely has any sportsman been a great cynosure in the eyes of the public or borne the entire pulse of the nation. Standing at a diminutive height at around 5feet 4 inches, Sachin joined the club of batsmen with minimal height like Bradman, Kanhai, Gavaskar and Harvey. Never in cricket history did anyone perform so outstandingly from such a young age. From his very baptism at the tender age of fifteen, Sachin revealed his pow...