Skip to main content

Known for shaping various social movements, Dr Navsaharan being mercilessly targeted

By Harsh Thakor 

Dr. Navsharan, writer, democratic rights activist, a resilient supporter of people's struggles and the daughter of renowned playwright Late Gursharan Singh, is being mercilessly targeted by the Modi government for revealing the truth. It is a manifestation of the trend engulfing nation of attack on intellectuals and democratic rights activists across the country, Dr. Navsharan was interrogated under the PMLA Act and an attempt was made to crush and bully her in the name of an inquiry. Modi Govt driven Enforcement Directorate (ED) has harassed the well known Cultural and Social activist Dr. Navsharan, by grilling more than 8 hours Like the UAPA, PMLA also gives the government unlimited powers to crush the democratic rights of any person.
Dr. Navsharan is the member of AIUFWP Advisory committee on Women and Cultural issues. Dr. Navsharan has been renowned for her contribution in shaping various social movements and cultural movements across the Country. She is daughter of the iconic cultural activist and we'll renowned dramatist Gursharan Singh alias Bhai Manna Singh, who had, made a phenomenal contribution in raising the cultural and political awareness of the masses all through his life. Dr. Navsharan has been engaged in social and political movements since her childhood along with her parents. She has been a staunch fighter for the farmer and peasant rights and also has lent her support to the Forest Right Movement and Women Movement.
Dr. Navsharan has been an active revolutionary intellectual in the field of democratic rights for almost two-and-a-half decades. and one of the leading supporters of the historic peasant struggle on the borders of Delhi. Not only did she relentlessly participate in the Delhi sit-in, but she invested every ounce of her energy to share the experience of the farmers' struggle with the struggling people of different countries of the world Dr. Navsharan is one of the most vocal intellectuals or boldest voices of the country speaking out against the brutal fascist tirade of the Modi government on the ordinary people.
In recent times Navsaharan has been championing the cause of trust Aman Biradari, founded by Harsh Mander.
Leaders like Amolak Singh and Kanwaljeet Khanna of Punjab Loksabhyacharak Manch ,Joginder Singh Ugrahan of BKU(Ugrahan) and Balbir Longowal of Democratic Teachers Front in no uncertain times condemned the subjecting of Dr Navsharan to such harassment or victimisation.
All democrats should condemn the Modi government to wash their hands off Dr. Navsharan and immediately cease her harassment in the name of inquiry. The nefarious attempts to suppress the democratic voices backing the working people must cease,abruptly.. All the people movements of Punjab are standing alongside Navsharan.
The grilling undertaken by the ED department for more than 8 hours is a gross violation of the fundamental rights of Dr. Navsharan as the citizen of this Country. By interrogating her for such long hours in their office it is a violation of Art. 21 and Art. 19 of the Constitution that guarantees “Right to personal Liberty “and “Right to freedom of expression". Dr. Navsharan has devoted her entire life for the upliftment of the poor and socially deprived sections and been a committed writer.
This act of ED is a barbaric act to target the intellectuals and activists to pave way for the fascist regime to eradicate all the dissenting voices that questions the present fascist Government. Dr. Navsharan was summoned under the PMLA Act (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), which itself is a mockery. The present regime is the one that is endorsing rapists like Brijbhusan, rapist of Bilkis banu, and deep corruption of party leaders of BJP were responsible. No action is being undertaken by this govt. for, demolition of houses of Muslim communities, annihilating its own citizens by introducing g CAA- NRC legislation, corrupt officials involved in bribery, atrocities against dalit communities illegal arrest of famous academicians, authors, officers, journalists and activists in Bhima Goregaon case.
There are hundreds and thousands of incidents of violence perpetrated by this present regime but there is no justice granted to any one and it is quite evident that those who are raising their voice against such atrocities and injustices are squashed as happened in the case of Dr. Navsharan. Today hundreds and thousands of civil society activists, lawyers, journalists, political activists and other activists fighting for the democratic rights are being mercilessly targeted to crush their voice.
Dr Navsharan’s voice represents the aspirations of the oppressed masses while her being targeted manifests the wave of neo-fascism of the saffron brigade, at it’s crescendo.
---
Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who has been in touch with human rights movement in India for long

Comments

TRENDING

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

What's behind Donald Trump's 'narco-state' accusation against Venezuela

By Manolo De Los Santos  The US government has revived its campaign to label Venezuela a "narco-state", accusing its top leadership of drug trafficking and slapping hefty bounties on their heads for capture. This campaign, which only momentarily took a backseat, is a strategic fabrication, not a factual assessment. This accusation, particularly amplified under the Trump Administration, is a calculated smokescreen to justify a long-standing agenda: the overthrow of the Venezuelan government and the seizure of its vast oil and mineral resources. A closer examination of the facts reveals a country that has actively fought drug trafficking on its own terms and a US government with a clear and consistent history of destabilizing independent countries in Latin America.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857  By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman*  Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”