Counterview

By Samina Akhter*  With the aim of increasing bilateral trade and mutual economic cooperation, special attention must be paid to the 'Middle East'. Bangladesh seeks cooperation in at least 12 sectors from the top ten countries of the Arab world or the Middle East to overcome the ongoing power and energy crisis, the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and the financial loss of the epidemic corona. One of these is the power and energy sector. Maximum emphasis has been placed on easy terms of investment and energy imports from the Middle East in this sector. In addition to this, the government is interested in new manpower exports and product exports to collect remittances, one of the sources of foreign exchange. A meeting of Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia Joint Commission (JC) has been called in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by the end of this month. Looking ahead to that meeting, Saudi Arabia wanted to know what kind of cooperation Bangladesh wants to increase bilateral trade. The Economic Relati...

By A Representative  GM mustard approved by India’s top regulators “will be resisted strongly”, the Coalition for a GM-Free India has warned the Government of India (GoI). Calling the clearance given by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) “unscientific and irresponsible”, the top organic farming advocacy network said, the clearance, was given for the “second time, that too without a single additional basis for decision making.” The Coalition, in a statement, said, the approval “will be met with serious resistance by citizens all over India”, adding, it is confident and hopeful that “right-thinking state governments will stand on the side of public interest in this matter.” “What has happened is shocking in its lack of scientificity or responsible regulation. Nothing has changed from 2017 when GEAC gave its approval to GM mustard commercial cultivation, when the regulator gave a green signal but the decision was not cleared by the ‘competent authority’ i.e., Ministe...

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  With Rishi Sunak having become the Prime Minister of UK, India's 'bhaktmandali' is in a celebration mood. Even the 'liberals' are celebrating it. For the record, people of Indian origin have become leaders in various countries, including Mauritius, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad etc., yet we never felt proud of them. Most of these Indians were basically related to the families of 'indentured labourers', or what was termed slave trade, but that was never celebrated, despite the fact that these leaders have been proud of their Indian origin, and rightly so, because colonisation uprooted them from their roots and identities. Their love for India needs to be understood in their attempt to trace their roots which the brutalities of colonisation inflicted upon them. Kamala Harris became vice president of gthe USA, though that position is not so powerful. Yet, Indians 'celebrated' her being installed as vice-president. Now it is Sunak, wh...

By NS Venkataraman*  When the announcement was made that Indian origin Rishi Sunak has been elected as the next Prime Minister of Britain, an euphoria was seen in India with Indian media and several Indians hailing the event, as if an Indian citizen has achieved this feat. Ridiculous comments have been heard such as “India was ruled by the British earlier and Britain will now be ruled by Indian." Similarly, when Indian origin Kamala Harris was elected as Vice President of USA, many celebrations happened in India and residents of the village in Tamil Nadu, which was supposed to be native village of the family of Kamala Harris, even organised thanks giving offerings in the local temple. One is not sure whether Kamala Harris has visited this village at all at any time in her life. There are so many other Indian families and individual Indians who have migrated to USA, Canada and European and other countries in the last several decades and have surrendered their Indi...

By Hannah Greep  Over the past few years we have seen a wave of “net-zero” commitments being made by banks as they attempt to bring their business in line with the global goal of heading off runaway heating. At last year’s climate COP (COP26) some financial institutions recognised that tackling agricultural commodity-driven deforestation needs to be part of the solution. Most recently, the UN’s Race to Zero Criteria highlighted that reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 requires halting deforestation at the same time as phasing out all unabated fossil fuel use. Those same criteria also encourage institutions to set targets to reduce methane emissions by at least 34% by 2030, in line with the IPCC’s 6th Assessment report. While it is encouraging to see that halting deforestation and reducing methane emissions are being recognised by some as integral parts of any solution to halt climate breakdown and protect biodiversity, financial institutions are still failing to act on ...

Counterview Desk  In an email representation to the secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India, senior power and climate change policy expert Shankar Sharma has said that recent approvals for/ condonation of forest destruction Hubli-Ankola Railway line proposal, Kaiga Nuclear Project capacity expansion, hydel power projects in three Wildlife Sanctuaries, and more than 20 other linear projects in the Western Ghats of Karnataka should be withdrawn immediately. Offering a list of projects where the forests would be cleared in Karnataka, Sharma in his representation – copies of which have also been sent to the the MoEF&CC minister and the Prime Minister – said, he expects a “clarification” from the authorities in this regards. Text: The news report, The Modi government is letting companies get away with illegally clearing forests , should be a major embarrassment to the Union govt, and a serious concern for the people of the...

By Bharat Dogra*  Victims of occupational diseases suffer all too frequently from neglect, resulting in extremely distressing conditions for them. Hence a recent campaign involving activists, judiciary and some state governments, particularly Rajasthan government, has appeared like a rare ray of hope. This campaign shows how significant benefits can reach workers suffering from silicosis, one of the most serious and common occupational diseases, once sincere efforts are made. Directions by the Supreme Court supported by earlier efforts of the National Human Rights Commission have given new hope to tens of thousands of silicosis patients and other workers threatened by this occupational disease, and a lot of credit also goes to the activists as well as some sympathetic officials who worked with great commitment to take these benefits to workers toiling and living in remote places. The Rajasthan government in particular should get the due credit for very helpful and well formulated ...

By A Representative  Bringing to light the custodial death of a young girl belonging to the Other Backward Class community in the Hemtabad Police Station, a senior human rights activist has complained to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson that the incident "proves" that the police personnel "are enjoying full impunity after causing the death of the victim." Basing on a preliminary fact-finding report over this custodial death, Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), said, the girl, Sima Nasrin, daughter of Shah Alam, residing at village Bagidanga, PO Madhabpur, PS. Kaliaganj, was a student of class XI of the Bangalbari High School. She was arrested by a team of police personnel of Hemtabad Police Station. Even after arresting the victim, no family members were informed. She was kept in police lock up. She later died in custody, said Roy, adding, the root of the incident was, she was in love with Safran Ali, 17, son ...

By A Representative  In a gruesome incident, a youth from 108 Chhoto Kuchlibari village of Mekhliganj block and Kuchlibari police station area of Cooch Behar district in West Bengal, Mohammad Bachha is alleged to have been "brutally tortured." Worse, he was later implicated along with his family members on "false charges." In a complaint, Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has told the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, has insisted that the perpetrators were the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel attached with the BRK Bari BSF Border Outpost, ‘B’ Company, Battalion No 40. The incident, said Roy, took place on July 20, 2022 at around 10:30 pm, when Bachha was returning from the Telir Dola pond after fishing. "He was carrying a light and fishing net with him for fishing. As he was about to reach his house at around midnight, six BSF personnel stopped him and started beating him up without even questioning", ...

Kamal Uddin Mazumder*  In the recent past, Human rights are perhaps one of the most talked about issues in Bangladesh, nationally and internationally. Bangladesh on October 11 achieved its membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term 2023–2025 with the highest vote from the Asia-Pacific region. In the election, 160 countries among 189 supported Bangladesh’s membership in the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which is an outstanding achievement for the government. It is mentionable, this would be the fifth term of Bangladesh as a member of the 47-member UNHRC. In the previous UNHRC elections, Bangladesh won in 2006, 2009, 2014, and 2018; effectively for all possible terms as per the rules of business of the Council. This achievement is a great honor for Bangladesh as a country, and also a warning of responsibility in the midst of criticism from the United Nations, the United States, and other countries regarding the allegations of disappearances an...