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Failing to give Indian face in 100 yrs, Indian communists even now differ on when party was formed

I have come across a Communist Party of India poster seeking to begin the party's centenary year celebrations on January 2, with D Raja, the party general secretary, as the chief guest. In Hindi, the poster has been released by the party's Bihar unit, which used to be one of the strongest in India, but like rest of the country, it too appears to have gone phut.

Riddled with occupational hazard, iPhone units may shift from China to Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu

Top multinational corporations appear to be apprehensive: US president-elect Donald Trump may put additional tariffs on goods manufactured in China mainland, even if their headquarters are based in Taiwan, Japan or the US. Hence, they are considering relocating their units from China to several countries, including Thailand and India.

Dolariya Mata temple in a village, became famous in 2022 when 4 of family died crossing to US

A little less than two months back, I was reading a story in The Hindustan Times by my journalist friend Maulik Pathak with the headline "How Gujarat villages take the dangerous flight of illegal migration", and I was instantly reminded of the village about which Pathak was referring to -- Dingucha. I visited Dingucha , which is in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat, a few years back, where I was taken by one of our family members whose ancestors belonged to this village. They still have a house in the village, with quite a big open space, where we relaxed. 

We have guts, will fight against 'insult to Dr Ambedkar': Gujarat Dalits' unique 'sava ser sunth' programme

In an unusual move, Gujarat Dalits from as many as 182 talukas will be handing over as many boxes containing “sava ser sunth” – one and a quarter ‘seer’ (traditional unit of weight) of dry ginger – to district collectors or taluka chiefs (mamlatdars) with a suggestive message to Union home minister Amit Shah: "We won't tolerate your recent insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar in Parliament because our mothers had fed with sunth during and after the childbirth to make us strong-willed", to quote a Dalit activist.

Breakthrough? Causing asbestosis, lung cancer, India to get tremolite asbestos from China

Senior Vadodara-based health rights activist Jagdish Patel has forwarded to me an important news item. Emanating from Gansu Province, located in the northwestern region of China, and disseminated by Gansu News, which covers a range of topics, including regional development and economic activities, in the province, the news item, in "simple" Chinese with translation in English, says that there is "breakthrough" in exporting asbestos from China to India.  Hailing the breakthrough in foreign trade for the province's Akesai county for the first time, "showcasing" it as regional economic progress, the news of export to India comes six months after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a ban on the only type of asbestos, chrysotile, used in the United States. Banned in 65 countries around the world, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an estimated 100,000 people die each year from “work-related asbestos exposure” beca...

Growing culture of tipping in India... It's a norm in the United States, where tips are thought to 'help earn respect'

An interesting feature I noticed during my recent visit to restaurants in the United States was the prevalent culture of tipping. While tipping is common in India too, especially in restaurants, hotels, and other service sectors, one rarely finds an open display explicitly welcoming tips. This is quite unlike the United States, where boards or signs encouraging tipping are often prominently displayed.

Bhokta kataar hai? When Charlie Chaplin of Indian cinema developed dislike for exploited

On December 14 falls the birth centenary of Raj Kapoor, referred to as a legend who acquired international fame – especially in the former Soviet Union – at a time when few others in Bollywood could dream of reaching that level. Undoubtedly one of the best actors who during the early black and white days showed his empathy towards the underdog -- Awara (1951), Shree 420 (1955), and Jagte Raho (1956), to name just a few -- he is also called the Charlie Chaplin of Indian cinema because he often portrayed a tramp-like figure.

Social media boon or bane? Gone are days when it wasn't possible to verify fake information

The other day, a group of friends, all neighbours, got together to spend some quality time on tea post dinner. As were sipping the hot tea, a middle aged lady, who had joined us, asked all those present not to sit "very hot" tea, as it causes cancer. I found this very strange and asked her what her source was, and she replied, a YouTube video.

Policy Bazaar seems to think, not Right to Education but insurance ensures a kid's school admission

While frequent advertisements on TV are extremely jarring, I was a little amused while watching a Policy Bazaar-sponsored advertisement. The advisement by one of India's most well-known online insurance brokers sees a woman asking a kid entering the house why he hasn't been to school. The kid enters in with a bag full of vegetables in his hand which he presumably bought in the market at a time he should have been in the school.

Has Gujarat missed the Artificial Intelligence bus like it missed the IT bus in 1990s?

Has Gujarat missed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) bus as it did the Information Technology (IT) bus in the 1990s despite claiming to be an industrial powerhouse sought to be promoted by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi? It would seem so if the latest study by the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) "Labour-force Perception about AI: A Study on Indian White-collar Workers" is any indication.

Majority white collar workers fear job loss as AI grows at CAGR of 25-35% in India

An Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) study, "Labour-force Perception about AI: A Study on Indian White-collar Workers", has revealed that as many as 60% of white collar workers fear job loss as a result of artificial intelligence (IA) being introduced in Indian industry, while only 53% "hope" that new jobs will be created.

ICT services exports: Despite India's 8% growth rate, China with 19% giving 'stiff competition'

A World Bank report, while praising India, a “middle-income” country driving the surge in internet users across the globe, states that if in 2018, only one in five Indians used the internet, by 2022 there was already “a staggering 170 percent growth in internet users”. But a deeper look in the report suggests two things: One, Indian IT business is facing stiff competition from China, and two, insofar as speed is internet speed is concerned, India has far to go.

Addressing caste discrimination in US higher education: Rutgers report sparks controversy

In a surprise move, an American university has published a "controversial" report titled "Caste-Based Discrimination in US Higher Education and at Rutgers". The report has sparked debate, as no sooner was it released than an Indian diaspora advocacy group, CasteFiles, filed a complaint against Rutgers University and Prof. Audrey Truschke, co-chair of the task force that prepared the report. The complaint, filed under Title VI of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleges violations of the right to education free from harassment and discrimination.

Is hiding promise of bribe in India a crime in US? That's what CNN reports on Adanis

A top ex-bureaucrat -- whom I know as one of the most reasonable analysts -- has forwarded me a CNN story   titled "Billionaire Gautam Adani indicted in New York on bribery charges". The ex-official has wondered why is Indian media quiet about the news. I can't say why India media is quiet, but, written by  Ramishah Maruf, and datelined New York, the story quotes a US Department of Justice statement as saying that Adani and other executives were "indicted" in New York for "roles" in a multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme.

November 14 luncheon for journalists and leaders wasn't meant to remember Nehru: Congress leader Gohil reacts

It was with a welcome surprise that I received a reaction from Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil objecting to my blog titled “When Congress leaders in Gujarat forgot to remember Jawaharlal Nehru on November 14”. I hadn’t sent a link of the blog to anyone, not to talk of Gohil or any other Congress person. I was glad: this suggests that he or some of his colleagues have been following my blogs and articles in Counterview.

To allow or not to speak on role of women in protecting Indian culture: that's the question

On 16th November morning, on opening Facebook, I came across a post in Gujarati which said, "The controversial speaker Kajal Hindustani, infamous for her provocative speeches, is scheduled to deliver a lecture on 'The Role of Women in Protecting Indian Culture and Shaping the Future' at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. Concerned citizens have expressed apprehensions about whether Kajalben will spread hate or incite discord, as per her previous record."  The lecture was to take place on November 16th at 12 noon.

That's true of Gujarat too: Patna HC says, Bihar's liquor ban led to illegal liquor trade; cops, officials love it

A recent Patna High Court judgment on alcohol ban in Bihar can as well be applied to Gujarat. As reported by a legal news portal, under the title "State's Alcohol Ban Led To Illegal Liquor Trade; Police, Excise, Tax, Transport Dept Officials Love The Ban As It Means Big Money: Patna HC",  the story by Malavika Prasad says that while quashing the penalty of demotion imposed on an inspector on the ground that he had been negligent in implementing the excise prohibition law, the Patna High Court observed that though  the law was passed with the objective of improving public health, "for several reasons, it finds itself on the wrong side of the history".

When Congress leaders in Gujarat forgot to remember Jawaharlal Nehru on November 14

It was November 14, Jawaharlal Nehru’s 135th birth anniversary. While the national leaders everywhere – ranging from Congress’ bigwigs to Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh – paid their tributes to the India’s first Prime Minister who also happened to be one of the most important freedom fighters, I was a little surprised: The Congress leaders in my state, Gujarat, seemed to ignore him at the place where mediapersons were called to interact with them.

Ayushman for 70+: Good scheme despite glitches; but will private hospitals fleece government coffers?

I was quite excited when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched what was called "the expanded Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) scheme" for those  aged 70 and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status, with a benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh per year in empanelled hospitals across India. 

Will Supreme Court also come forward to end legally-sanctioned segregation on religious lines in Gujarat?

My Vadodara-based activist-friend, Jagdish Patel, who has long championed the cause of the victims of silicosis, a deadly occupational disease, has forwarded to me an interesting blog by the executive editor of Pulitzer Center, Marina Walker Guevara, written in the context of the U.S. election results, in which Donald Trump has won.

When 'upper' caste boys in Ahmedabad violently reacted to the offer to do sanitation job

The Print has carried an interesting story , headlined “The Great Indian Sanitation Scam. General castes bag govt jobs, Valmikis do the work”, with the sub-head, “Across India, proxy, ‘badli’, or ‘ewaj’ work is rampant in sanitation jobs.” Authored by Shubhangi Misra, and though rather too long, I got interested in it as I was personally witness to an outrageous event, on how ‘upper’ castes react to sanitation work, which took place in June 2016 in Ahmedabad.

Strange rituals observed around Diwali and Gujarati new year amidst celebrations

While the fever around that the Gujarati new year, Bestu Varas, which fell on the next day of Diwali, November 1, has still not fully subsided, with noise of crackers still heard in the urban area where I live, what appears strange to me how on the eve of every Diwali is how superstitions take round among believers. One of these I noticed is, people cook some bit of food on a day before Diwali, which is called Kali Chaudas, and place it on the crossroads.

Rs 2 treatment for cancer? Treat with utter caution, especially many times forwards on WhatsApp on this

The other day when I received a WhatsApp forward (it said "forwarded many times"), I got terribly worked up, even though I shouldn't have done it. I generally don't like such forwards as these seek to spread rumours. In fact, shouting out, I said, "Another nonsense from WhatsApp University... Why forward such unverified things?"

NHRC failing to 'effectively address' human rights violations: NGO groups tell UN-linked body

In a joint submission to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions' (GANHRI's) Sub Committee on Accreditation (SCA), two civil society groups -- All India Network of NGOs and Individuals working with National and State Human Rights Institutions (AiNNI) and Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) --  have said that the  National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC's) accreditation, deferred in  2016, 2023, and 2024, fails to find space on its website. In their submission to the top global body which coordinates the relationship between NHRIs and the United Nations human rights system, AiNNI and ANNI said, the accreditation status of NHRC "has not been updated" since 2017, and as of September 21, 2024, the "website falsely states that the NHRC has retained its 'A' accreditation status from SCA for four consecutive five-year terms." They added, such omission diminishes "civil society's trust" in N...

US govt funding 'dubious PR firm' to discredit anti-GM, anti-pesticide activists

  The advocacy group Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) has condemned the financial support provided by the US Government to what it calls questionable public relations firms aimed at undermining the efforts of activists opposed to pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in India. 

Modi govt distancing from Adanis? MoEFCC 'defers' 1500 MW project in Western Ghats

Is the Narendra Modi government, in its third but  what would appear to be a weaker avatar, seeking to show that it would keep a distance, albeit temporarily, from its most favorite business house, the Adanis? It would seem so if the latest move of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) latest to "defer" the Adani Energy’s application for 1500 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pump Storage Project is any indication. Quoting the September 27 MoEFCC's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) meeting,  released on October 2, a senior scholar-activist of the top environmental advocacy group South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has  reported  that in a "respite" to forest dwelling communities, fragile biodiversity and community conservation areas, the EAC has "rejected" the Adani application for project. However, the window for continuing with the controversial project hasn't been entirely closed. To quote Parineeta Dandekar, the ...

Drastic increase of homeless in Delhi 'driven by' sharp rise in state agencies' demolition drive

  A headcount enumeration of homeless persons in Delhi conducted between 27 August 2024 to 31 August 2024, to understand the extent and magnitude of homelessness in the city, has revealed that around 300,000 people, including, families, women, children, and older persons are forced to live in the open without shelter even during the rainy season.

80% of Indian-American Muslims experience Islamophobic discrimination: Report

 A new survey,  The Detrimental Effects of Hindu Nationalism on Indian American Muslims , conducted by the Washington DC-based diaspora group Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and Chicago-based ReThink Media, which offers in-depth media, messaging and opinion research, has claimed existence of alarming trends regarding the rise of Hindu nationalism within the Indian diaspora in the United States and its profound impact on Indian American Muslims.

Narmada valley again facing flood disaster, exacerbated by Sardar Sarovar dam 'mismanagement'

  The environmental advocacy group South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has issued a  warning , supported by detailed diagrams, that the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) is at risk of causing flash floods in the Narmada Valley this year, similar to incidents that occurred last year. 

When I met young Sitaram Yechury with 80-year-old EMS Namdooripad in Moscow

The year was, if I remember correctly, 1990. At that time I was special correspondent of semi-left Patriot daily and Link newsweekly in Moscow. Mikhail Gorbachev's parestroika and glasnost were on an upswing, though keen observers seemed to notice cracks beginning to appear in the powerdom under him. Apparently to assess what was happening, the then Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary EMS Nambudaripad had come down to Moscow along with young Sitaram Yechury -- the party general secretary who passed away on September 12, 2024 at the age of 72. Young Yechury looked like the photo above.  I had never met either of them when in Delhi, but had heard about Yechury, who was a Jawaharlal Nehru student activist-leader associated with the CPI(M) student wing, Students' Federation of India (SFI). I was a year junior to him then, and was in Delhi University in first half of 1970s. Most of us in the Left would talk about him as an open minded, soft spoken student leader,...

Early indicators suggest a slowdown in economy, warns IIM-A survey of 1300 businesses

  The latest Business Inflation Expectations Survey (BIES) of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has suggested that while business inflation expectations have decreased significantly by 29 basis points, falling to 4.21% in July 2024 from 4.50% in June 2024, and the average inflation expectation among firms over the past 12 months stands at 4.44%, overall, "early indicators suggest a slowdown in the economy."

Two persons with old typewriters off SLC's fashionable street, writing poems on postcards!

A few days back, after taking a round of beautiful hills surrounding Salt Lake City (SLC), we drove down to a popular, somewhat fashionable spot -- Harvey Milk Blvd -- not very far from the Down Town. We visited a few shops, where mainly souvenirs were being sold, and also a few sex toys! Finally, we visited an ice cream parlour, where we tasted Italian ice cream. It is a well decorated parlour, with different coloured lovely goodies  hanging across the restaurant. I took a lemon flavoured ice cream -- really liked it. The parlour is called Dolcetti Gelato. Thereafter, while returning to take the car, we found two persons sitting on outdoor chairs, with old manual typewriters on makeshift tables. They were typing out exactly the same way I used to in 1980s to do my stories before faxing them from Moscow to Patriot office in Delhi.

In USA individuals not only own guns, they even propagate the need to have it as a right!

One of the most interesting things I noticed in Salt Lake City where I right now, is the prevalence of gun culture. Anecdotes take a round on how someone fired at an xyz person, and yet got way with it. Nothing new, as we in India also keep reading about how guns are commonly used in the US leading to fatalities even in schools. As we were moving towards the nearby mountains, I noticed a young man on a motorbike. His t-shirt proudly advertised the necessity of keeping a gun. Printed on the backside of the t-shirt was "You can't buy happiness, but you can buy guns", offering the name of the place where you can have it. Searching on the internet, I found that, as per a 2023 survey, 32% of Americans own at least one firearm. From 1994 to 2023, 28% gun ownership increased in America, in which women ownership increased by 13.6%! The recent use of an assault rifle by asuspected gunman who shot Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 may be a stark reminder about the ...

Stop funding Abellon's 'polluting' waste-to-energy plants proposed in Gujarat: NGOs to World Bank

  Over 170 civil society organisations, regional and global networks and activists have asked the World Bank board of directors to reject the financing of the four Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incineration projects proposed to be built in Gujarat by Abellon Clean Energy Limited (ACEL). 

Whopping 169 gallons per day water usage in water scarce Utah where I live now!

Even as rains lashed Salt Lake City, the capital of the US state Utah, where I live now, I was a little surprised to read a story  in a local website. The story says, "When it comes to per capita water use in the US, Utah ranks second at 169 gallons per day. That's only slightly behind Idaho's 184 gallons per person each day." I was interested in the story as it would help those seeking to compare water usage and management in India -- many of whose states are water scarce -- with that in US. In India water usage is 443 gallons per day (both domestic and agricultural).  Utah  gets very little of precipitation compared to other US states. It's capital, where I stay, Salt Lake City, gets about 16 inches of rainfall in a year. Another town, Delta, gets 8 inches of precipitation each year. By way of comparison, India's average annual rainfall is around 115 inches, and of Gujarat, a water scarce state, it's around one third of it. At the same time, the story cl...

An outright misinformation in DNA: Non-veg food is banned in Ahmedabad

I was a little surprised to read a picture story in DNA news website, which includes Ahmedabad as the first city among seven where non-vegetarian consumption is banned.  I don't know about the other cities in the list -- Pushkar, Palitana, Tirupati, Veshno Devi, Shirdi, Haridwar -- in the story, which claims that the information is not an opinion but has been obtained from media reports.  However, as for Ahmedabad, non-veg food is not only easily available but is fast becoming increasingly common for those seeking to eat outside home. Not only this, you can easily order it online -- I have myself done it several times.  Of course, there are Jain-dominated housing societies where non-veg food is "not allowed". But I am told even some Jains go out and reach up to non-veg eateries in western Ahmedabad to have "tasty food."  The DNA story is as false as the common saying that Gujarat is a vegetarian state. Officially, 42% people are non-veg in Gujarat, but a caste ...

A Zion ideal? Utahans allegedly abandon vision of equitable society of their forefathers

After watching the Pioneer Day parade, a week later, I walked into a top University of Utah institute in the Salt Lake City, and on the very entrance I found copies of the Salt Lake City Weekly freely available. I picked up one of them. Containing mostly ads, scanning through, I found an article titled Pioneer Day, which interested me. It is authored by Wes Long, who happens to be from the Mormon community, a Christian sect which owes its allegiance to what they call "Latter Day Saints". A close knit community, Mormons dominate Utah's population, and are said to love to have up to 4-5 children in their family. The article (available online here ) surprisingly says, the Mormon Church originally was a "laboratory to create a Zion society, wherein there was to be neither rich nor poor but rather the pure in heart", underlining, "Such was the vision for which the Mormon pioneers lived, however haltingly, within the larger 19th century American context of racis...

Informal atmosphere at the Pioneer Day parade in Salt Lake City

Currently in Salt Lake City, which hosted Winter Olympics 2002, and will again host them in 2934, it quite a spectacle to watch the Pioneer Day parade just about half a mile from where we currently live.  The parade marks the foundation day of Utah State of the US, and the city happens to be its capital.  It was very informal, with people sitting on folding chairs, squatting on ground, many of them underneath the small makeshift canopies they had installed -- all on two sides of the road along a small park and the huge library on the side. There was virtually no security, I could see no cops pushing people to one or the other side, though there was traffic police at a crossroad nearby to ensure people crossed the road without any difficulty, even as allowing smooth movement of the very has running trams (they call them metro).  Some people -- mostly families with children -- who perhaps had come from other areas of the State had put up their rents in the garden, and were ...