Counterview

Counterview Desk  Calling it an example of “increase in blatant misuse of the state power by BJP”, Anhad, a human rights group based in Delhi, has said the arrest of top Dalit rights leader Jignesh Mevani is not only unlawful and undemocratic but suggests how India’s “quasi-fascist regime wants to suppress all those who want to raise their voices against their ill-policies, actions and governance.” Signed by Anhad trustees Bhavna Sharma, Dev Desai, Leena Dabiru and Tarun Sagar, the statement, Anhad, “Today, all Indian citizens are living in an undeclared emergency. If an elected political representative can be harassed by police of another state like this, just imagine what this authoritarian regime is capable of doing to ordinary citizens and organizations who dare to speak against them.” Text: Late-night on 20 April 2022, Jignesh Mevani, MLA from Vadgam Assembly Constituency, was arrested from the government circuit house in Palanpur, Banaskantha district, Gujarat, by Assam Polic...

Counterview Desk  The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat, condemning the arrest of prominent Dalit rights leader and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani by Assam police in a late night operation at a Circuit House in a North Gujarat town has said that it raises the suspicion that the arrest took place on instructions from above. In a statement, PUCL activists including veteran litterateur Prakash N Shah, top environmentalist Rohit Prajapati (9408986452) and Dalit rights leader Govind Parmar, have said, “The manner in which MLA Jignesh Mevani was illegally arrested on the basis of an FIR which could at best be called frivolous and silly, actually reveals a coordinated effort by both the Assam and Gujarat governments to ensure that Jignesh Mevani is silenced.” Text: Jignesh Mevani, the MLA of Vadgam Constituency was arrested late night on the 20th of April, 2022 from the government circuit house in Palanpur, the district headquarters of Banaskantha district. The arrest has bee...

Counterview Desk  Calling for intensified efforts to combat hate and majoritarianism and restore communal harmony, India’s top civil rights network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has said that the BJP governments from Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were using bulldozers in a “very deliberate and planned attempt to use the excuse of illegal encroachment to target and destroy Muslim owned properties.” In a statement, it demanded, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and local authorities in other states “must stop terrorizing Muslims on the ruling party’s orders”, insisting, the Supreme Court “must ensure immediate compensation and rehabilitation for all demolished homes and structures.” Text: 22 April 2022: Over the past few days we have once again witnessed people’s lives and livelihoods razed to the ground in Jahangirpuri. In spite of the Supreme Court’s Stay Order, North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) bulldozers continued to demolish homes...

By Bharat Dogra In the middle of unprecedented world problems and many-sided internal distress, India must find a firm path based on equality, justice, meeting basic needs of all, strengthening creative livelihoods, social harmony and peace. As its present path is far from being such a path, there should be very sincere efforts to evolve such a path. This note is written as such an effort. This is a modest effort from a writer-activist who has been involved with such endeavors, with the hope that more learned friends will improve this. It is hoped that the government can benefit from this, and/or the opposition forces and people’s movements can make creative use of this. The unity of democratic opposition forces needs a common program, and this note can also contribute to this. It is hoped that this will also contribute also to the wider world movement for alternatives. India in the 75th year of its independence today stands at a very important juncture of history, faced with very seri...

By A Representative   As many as six Indian citizens, all of them Muslims and aged around 20, have been languishing in Bangladesh prisons, even though five of them have completed their jail term, a senior human rights defender based in West Bengal has said, alleging, the Indian authorities have shown no sympathy towards towards their timely repatriation, resulting in "irreparable loss and injury" to the victims' life and liberty. Bringing this to light, Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and national convenor, Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), has asked the chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to take "immediate action" for taking back five of those who have completed their conviction period. Giving details of each of them, Roy, in a letter to the NHRC chairman, said, Mohammad Jalil Miya, 20, resident of Puran Kanai, Hat Singimari, Mainkarchar, Dhubri, Assam, was arrested on October 18, 2...

Counterview Desk  The civil rights group, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), even as condemning "rise in communal majoritarianism and atrocities on the Muslim community" in the wake of Ramnavami and Hanuman Jayanti at several places in India, has said these are not stray incidents, but "part of the larger game plan of RSS and other Hindutva outfits to transform secular character of our republic to a Hindu Rashtra." Stating that this is being done by "launching various social-economic-religious-political onslaughts in a well organised fashion", in a media communique, JJM said, "Under this plan, poison of hate and violence against Muslim community is being spread by raking misinformation pertaining to food, attire, outlook, cow-protection, language etc." Text : Violence against members of Muslim community was reported from a large number of places during Ramnavami and Hanuman Jayanti celebrations this year. High degree of communal frenzy, hatr...

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The bulldozer politics has now reached Delhi. It is shameful that the Delhi chief minister 'condemned' the violence during shobhayatra at Jahagirpuri, but could not find out the truth behind it. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is an 'expert' organisation, and elections show, they have their volunteers who have plenty of 'information' and 'sources' everywhere. In propaganda they are second to none; perhaps they compete with the Sangh Parivar. What stopped the Delhi chief minister from speaking against the illegal drive? Why is it happening that governments are now taking law in their hand, destroying livelihood of the poor just because they happen to be Muslims, without following the due process of law? The collapse of our institutions is complete. The only answer to this is the political unity among all those who believe in an inclusive, socialist India. Land sharks are eyeing all the urban land and some sections have become the bigges...

By Shankar Sharma*  The heading and the conclusion for the article , “How Karnataka insulated itself from power crisis that hit many states”, seem to have been arrived only on the basis of what few in-service officials might have stated. One may expect nothing less self-aggrandizement from the serving officials. A diligent, independent and holistic analysis of the electric power demand-supply scenario in the state may reveal many disturbing trends, which all need to be addressed holistically. Whereas the state may have done better than other coal-dependent states so far in this summer, can we be assured that the things will be satisfactory for the remaining days of this summer? Are there any initiatives in place to contain the ever growing demand for electricity in the state? What is the guarantee that coal supply will be adequate for all the coal power plants in a state which has no coal reserves of its own? We have been reading media reports about shortage of coal supply to su...