'Direct support to genocide': IISc's India-Israel business meet to track defence, cybersecurity cooperation

By A Representative

An online petition endorsed by hundreds of scholars, activists and professionals across the world has asked Prof Govindan Rangarajan, director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, to stop the India Israel Business Summit proposed to be held on 23rd September, "and not allow the use of the IISc as a platform to legitimise genocide and colonialism."

Expressing deep concern that the IISc, one of the topmost Indian institutes, is sponsoring and hosting the summit despite the fact that Israel is currently engaged in "a brutal war" in which more than 41,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children", the petition quotes a Lancet report as suggesting that "the true casualties might be four times higher, which would amount to about 10% of Gaza's total population."

It asserts, "Israel has destroyed every University in Gaza. It has also destroyed healthcare facilities, leading to the resurgence of diseases such as polio. The World Food Agency estimates that 96% of Gazans are facing food insecurity."

"Alongside", it adds, "Israel has also launched brutal raids on the West Bank and just this last week, Israel engaged in terrorist attacks in Lebanon by remotely detonating electronic devices, many of which were in civilian areas."

The petition notes, "The International Court of Justice recently ruled that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories violated international law, and the UN General Assembly has recently passed a resolution with an overwhelming majority urging an end to this occupation".

It points out, "We also witness the world academic community and various universities divesting from Israel due to students and faculty members coming out in solidarity with Palestine."

"In this situation", the petition emphasises, "it is unconscionable for IISc to encourage collaborations between India and Israel", underlining, "We are especially concerned that one of the planned tracks of discussion is in defence and cybersecurity (photo). Such cooperation would amount to direct support for Israel's genocide in Palestine and its aggressive actions against its neighbours."

Ahmedabad world’s least climate resilient major city: AlphaGeo study

By Rajiv Shah A new study has ranked Ahmedabad as the least climate-resilient major city in the world , highlighting a dangerous gap between the city’s extreme physical vulnerability to climate hazards and its capacity to adapt. Cited by The New York Times , the analysis, conducted by geospatial artificial intelligence firm AlphaGeo , places the Indian city at the top of a list of global urban centres most exposed to climate risk.

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram* About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Counterview

Search This Blog