'Ciminal incidents linked to farmers having idle time': Samyukt Kisan Morcha protests Bihar ADG's colonial mindset

By A Representative

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has issued a strong condemnation of remarks made by Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar and Additional Director General (ADG) (Headquarters) Kundan Krishnan, who suggested that an increase in criminal incidents during the agricultural lean period from April to June is linked to farmers having "more idle time." The SKM labeled these comments as "discriminatory labelling of farmers" and a reflection of a "colonial mind-set."

In a press release issued from New Delhi, the SKM announced that its Bihar state committee has called for the burning of effigies of ADG (HQ) Kundan Krishnan and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on July 22, 2025, at district, sub-divisional, and block centers across Bihar. This action is demanded as a punitive measure for the removal of the said officer from his current post.

The SKM criticized the police officials' statements as an attempt to "hide their incompetence and abject failure in fighting crime." The organization highlighted recent crime statistics in Bihar, stating that in the past 25 days, 51 people have been killed in the state, with 14 murders occurring in the capital city of Patna alone. This, the SKM asserts, points to a severe breakdown of law and order under the Nitish Kumar-led NDA Government, which they describe as a "disaster" in maintaining public safety.

"The gross allegation against the farmer community as a whole as criminals has attracted widespread condemnation and protest in Bihar and also across India," the press release stated. The SKM also noted the political significance of the issue, pointing out that neither Chief Minister Nitish Kumar nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Bihar yesterday, condemned the "insult" to farmers by the top police officer.

Drawing a parallel to historical injustices, the SKM remarked that such an "unjustifiable attack on farmers exposes the colonial mind-set." They invoked the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, a British colonial legislation that "designated certain ethnic and social groups as 'criminal tribes'." The SKM recalled that this "notorious law was imposed in the context of the Santhal Pargana Revolt of 1855-56 under the heroic leadership of Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu brothers against colonial suppression." Under this Act, tribal communities were "presumed to be inherently prone to crime and were subjected to restrictions on their movement, social interactions, and economic activities," creating a "presumption of guilt based on tribal or caste affiliation." The Act was eventually repealed in 1949.

The SKM emphasized the historical role of the united kisan movement in resisting policies that "devastate agriculture, industry, and services." They reminded the public that the united kisan movement "forced the Modi Government to drop the Land Acquisition Ordinance of 2014" and that the "historical farmers' struggle at Delhi borders under the banner of SKM actively supported by the working class had forced the Prime Minister Modi to publicly apologise and repeal the infamous 3 Farm Acts."

The organization apprehends that the recent remarks are part of "nefarious designs to chastise the farmers’ movement as criminals and enact law to unleash attack on the Kisan Movement." The SKM concluded by demanding that BJP President J.P. Nadda "explain to the public the party's stand on the wild allegations made on farmers by the Bihar Police administration."

Comments

US-China truce temporary, larger trade war between two economies to continue

By Prabir Purkayastha The Trump-Xi meeting in Busan, South Korea on 30 October 2025 may have brought about a temporary relief in the US-China trade war. But unless we see the fine print of the agreement, it is difficult to assess whether this is a temporary truce or the beginning of a real rapprochement between the two nations. The jury is still out on that one and we will wait for a better understanding of what has really been achieved in Busan.

When growth shrinks people: Capitalism and the biological decline of the U.S. population

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Critically acclaimed Hungarian-American economic historian and distinguished scholar of economic anthropometric history, Prof. John Komlos (Professor Emeritus, University of Munich), who pioneered the study of the history of human height and weight, has published an article titled “The Decline in the Physical Stature of the U.S. Population Parallels the Diminution in the Rate of Increase in Life Expectancy” on October 31, 2025, in the forthcoming issue of Social Science & Medicine (SSM) – Population Health, Volume 32, December 2025. The findings of the article present a damning critique of the barbaric nature of capitalism and its detrimental impact on human health, highlighting that the average height of Americans began to decline during the era of free-market capitalism. The study draws on an analysis of 17 surveys from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (...

Mergers and privatisation: The Finance Minister’s misguided banking agenda

By Thomas Franco The Finance Minister has once again revived talk of merging two or three large public sector banks to make them globally competitive. Reports also suggest that the government is considering appointing Managing Directors in public sector banks from the private sector. Both moves would strike at the heart of India’s public banking system . Privatisation undermines the constitutional vision of social and economic justice, and such steps could lead to irreversible damage.

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...

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".

Gujarat civil society to move Supreme Court against controversial electoral roll revision

By Rajiv Shah A recent, well-attended meeting of Gujarat civil society activists in Ahmedabad , held to discuss the impact of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, has decided to file a petition in the Supreme Court against the controversial exercise initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) across the country. Announcing this, senior High Court advocate Anand Yagnik , who heads the Gujarat chapter of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said that a committee has already been formed to examine the pros and cons of SIR. “While the SIR exercise began in Gujarat on November 4 and is scheduled to continue for a month, we will file a supporting petition in the case against SIR in the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court after observing how it proceeds in the state,” he said. Yagnik’s announcement followed senior advocate Shahrukh Alam —who is arguing the SIR case in the Supreme Court—urging Gujarat’s civil society to also file ...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Sardar Patel was on Nathuram Godse's hit list: Noted Marathi writer Sadanand More

Sadanand More (right) By A Representative In a surprise revelation, well-known Gujarati journalist Hari Desai has claimed that Nathuram Godse did not just kill Mahatma Gandhi, but also intended to kill Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Citing a voluminous book authored by Sadanand More, “Lokmanya to Mahatma”, Volume II, translated from Marathi into English last year, Desai says, nowadays, there is a lot of talk about conspiracy to kill Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but little is known about how the Sardar was also targeted.

Shrinking settlements, fading schools: The Tibetan exile crisis in India

By Tseten Lhundup* Since the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala has established the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) as the guardian of Tibetan culture and identity. Once admired for its democratic governance , educational system , and religious vitality , the exile community now faces an alarming demographic and institutional decline.

Search This Blog