Counterview

By  A  Representative Does the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) appear not too keen to ensure postponement of the proposed environmental public hearings (EPH) of Gujarat’s top petroleum refinery, owned by Nayara Energy (formerly Essar-owned), seeking its unit’s expansion in two of Gujarat districts, Jamnagar and Devbhumi Dwarka? 

By  A  Representative The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) has announced holding of the Fair Share for Children Summit on September 9-10 with the participation of several top world leaders, including the Dalai Lama, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, the World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, musician and philanthropist Ricky Martin, International Labour Organization director-general Guy Ryder, India’s Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, Nobel laureates and youth leaders.

By NS Venkataraman* When the history of India’s industrial developments and growth would be recorded, Sterlite Copper project in Tamil Nadu would certainly get a prominent mention, as case study of a profitable and technologically advanced project being brought down due to sustained campaign against the project by environmental activists ( obviously, sustaining the campaign for long period require fund support), half informed media campaign and vote bank politics of the politicians.

Reproduced below is the chapter “Enterprise runs Aground” in the 125-page report “Kashmir’s Internet Siege”, published by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) , calling the communications blockade as an act of “digital apartheid”, a form of a form of “systemic and pervasive” discriminatory treatment and “collective punishment”: ***  In Jammu & Kashmir the months between August and December are critical for tourism, horticulture, and handicrafts, which together constitute a major segment of its economy. The shutdown of August 2019 had severe economic consequences and the losses suffered by various businesses in the five months after were estimated by the Kashmir Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) at Rs 178.78 billion. The KCCI report also estimated that more than 500,000 people lost their jobs in the valley in the same period.  The communications blockade that accompanied the lockdown also made apparent how reliant business, trade and manufacture i...

Counterview Desk Top hostorian Mridula Mukherjee, known for her work on the role of peasants in the Indian independence movement, has said that one of the characteristics of India’s freedom fighters has been their insistence on the need to listen to and respect the dissenting view. In a speech delivered on the occasion of the 73rd Indian Independence Day, she regretted this great legacy is now sought to be undermined.

By A Representative Prominent Right to Information (RTI)  activists , including two former chief information commissioners Wajahat Habibulla and Shailesh Gandhi, and Magsaysay awardee and author Aruna Roy, even as seeking “immediate revocation” of an FIR filed against Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) RTI activist Sajad Hussain Mir, have regretted that the harassment has taken place at a time when the year-old Union territory is directly under the control of the Government of India.

By Anjan Pradhan* With Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating, and the glaring digital divide posing a massive challenge in Odisha for the children seeking to attend the government’s online classes, a group of civil society organizations (CSOs) have taken the initiative of starting remedial classes for the state’srural children with their members engaging local youth volunteers for this.

Freelancer and social worker based at Hyderabad,  Madhu Chandra,* writes: *** “Commission for Minority Religion and Linguistic Minority” known as “Misra Commission” was setup by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in 2005 to study and report on socio-economic condition of Christians and Muslims converted from Scheduled Caste origins. The Justice Misra Commission report was submitted on May 22, 2007. Since then UPA Government has delayed to give its consent that Supreme Court of India could give its verdict to 60 years denial of constitutional Rights to 20 million Indian Christians from Scheduled Caste origins. The commission report has suggested to De-link Religion from Scheduled Caste and Dalits who, irrespective of their religion, suffer caste stigma and Scheduled Caste status to should be given all Dalits irrespective of their religions. UPA Government did not give its consent as per the recommendation of Misra Commission, then why was the Commission asked to study t...

By  A  Representative Well-known social activist Sandeep Pandey has taken strong exception to alleged targeting of one Nasir Pathan, 42, resident of Chandana village in Kheda district, Gujarat, by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists by taking up an “emotional” issue like cow slaughter. Pandey in a statement has demanded from the authorities to take action against people who abuse religious agenda to serve their political and personal interests.

By Aviral Anand* “I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.” -- Voltaire quoted by Noam Chomsky in his essay, His Right to Say It . A few days ago, a virtual launch of a book titled “Delhi Riots 2020” was vehemently protested by India’s left liberals, including by several prominent academics and writers. The book was authored by people sympathetic to right-wing views, especially with regard to the riots having been planned by the left.