Madhya Pradesh Adivasi activist asked to leave district: Govt move ahead of elections?

By A Representative
The Burhanpur district administration, Madhya Pradesh, has handed over externment notice Antram Awase, a 32-year-old Adivasi activist, who has been on the forefront of the campaign for implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) as well as the movement against mass illegal forest felling in Burhanpur. Earlier in April, he was arrested in an allegedly false case.
Reporting on this, the civil rights group Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS), to which Antram belongs, said, ever since April a wave of repression began with the arrest of many activists, demolition of people's homes, and notice of externment to others from the district. Yet, Antaram and the Sangathan continued their movement unfazed.
"Now, the MP Government is attempting to extern Antram on false, baseless charges. We believe that the government may carry out more attacks against forest rights claimants and the Sangathan ahead of elections in November-December", JADS underlined.
The family of Antram, 32, has been cultivating in the forest of Dhababwadi (Siwal) village of Burhanpur district since before 1980. Like other Adivasi families in Dhababawadi, his family has also faced terrible violence, torture and repression for decades now, noted JADS.
When Antaram was in 5th std, the forest department destroyed farms being cultivated by Adivasis of his village, their cattle were looted by the forest department and landed farmers together and their locality was burnt to the ground, JADS recalled.
After his home was burnt down, Antram was forced to leave his studies, started working to support his family. However, the thirst for education remained -- through self-study, he appeared for 10th class examination from an open school.
But despite taking the examination, he was marked absent in one paper and did not pass. He was not able to correct this mistake or study any further. Meanwhile, the Adivasi families of his village continued trying to cultivate their land despite facing the "violence and oppression" of the forest department. Even after passage of the FRA these families continue to be called "encroachers" in their own fields, said JADS.
When the Sangathan began its work in Burhanpur in 2018, Antram joined it and quickly became active in the campaign to implement FRA in letter and spirit. Through Antaram and his sathis, a strong movement against the atrocities and oppression of the Forest Department that had been continuing unchallenged and unabated for generations took shape, stated JADS.

In 2019, in yet another attempt to "illegally evict" Adivasis from their lands, the forest department fired upon protesting Adivasis who were asserting the legal safeguards under the FRA, injuring 4 Adivasis. A massive jail-bharo Andolan led by the Sangathan forced the Madhya Pradesh government to take partial action against the DFO and other forest personnel. Since then, the forest department has been holding its grudge against activists like Antram and the Sangathan, claimed JADS.
"Over the past 5 years, violence, oppression and corruption of the forest department have been curbed to a great extent in the district thanks to the relentless work by Antaram and his sathis. The organization publicly challenged and protested against the government's blatant complicity in illegal deforestation of roughly 15,000 acres", said JADS.
"This agitated not only the forest department, but also the Madhya Pradesh government and district administration, and resulted in a series of attacks on the organization. Antram, Dilip Sisodia and Nitin were arrested in fabricated cases, Madhuri Ben was externed from the district, many other activists were implicated in old cases and the Superintendent of Police started publishing many absurd, fabricated and baseless allegations in the newspapers to defame and discredit the organization in his defense", it added.
"Now, just before the assembly elections, Antaram is being threatened with externment from Burhanpur district. This is a possible precursor to more violence, evictions, and repression against forest rights claimants and the Sangathan, once the elections are done in December", asserted JADS.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog