Rahul Gandhi takes a stand against 13-point roster, writes to HRD Minister

February 14, 2019

In a letter to Javadekar dated Wednesday, he said that the adoption of the “13-point roster system” in place of the earlier system, has “severely eroded” the spirit of reservation guaranteed under the constitution of India and called for bringing an ordinance to suspend all recruitment till the matter was resolved.

New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi urged Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar to restore the “200-point roster system” of reservation mechanism for faculties in universities.

In a letter to Javadekar dated Wednesday, he said that the adoption of the “13-point roster system” in place of the earlier system, has “severely eroded” the spirit of reservation guaranteed under the constitution of India and called for bringing an ordinance to suspend all recruitment till the matter was resolved.

This is arguably the first time INC has taken a stand against the 13-point roster system and has not held a press conference or a protest demonstration against it.

Under the new system, each department is taken as a unit for implementing recruitment and reservation policy for teachers. Under the earlier system of a 200-point roster, the entire university was taken as a unit for reservation and recruitment.

“Thousands of SC, ST, OBC candidates aspiring to teach in colleges/universities will be denied the opportunity. The departure from the ‘200-point roster system’ has led to widespread protests and deserves your urgent intervention,” said Gandhi.

Gandhi also pointed out to Javadekar recently informing Parliament that of the 158 faculty posts advertised by the Central Universities of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Punjab since March 5, 2018, not even a single post was reserved for SCs/STs under the ’13-point’ roster system.

“You had recently stated in the Parliament that out of the 158 faculty posts advertised by the Central Universities of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Punjab since March 5, 2018, not even a single post was reserved for SCs/STs under the 13-point roster system. By your own ministry’s admission, 43 posts would have been reserved for SC/STs under the 200 point roster system,” he wrote.

On January 31, thousands of protestors had gathered in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to demand the restoration of the 200-point roster. The Allahabad high court in 2016 had ruled that the 13-point roster system should replace the previous system.

The announcement of a 13-point roster by Allahabad High Court in 2016, had caused widespread protests in the country and majority in New Delhi recently in January 2019.

Following that, the University Grants Commission froze hiring of faculty members last year until the Supreme Court heard the matter. On January 22, the Supreme Court upheld the HC’s order, following which new rounds of protests occurred.

Besides the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and other opposition parties have demanded the restoration of the earlier system, contending the new system deprives SCs, STs and OBCs of reservation benefits in higher education institutions.

Opposing teachers explained that as opposed to the earlier system, where 99 posts were reserved for SCs, STs and OBCs and 101 for the unreserved, under the new system only the first, second, third, fifth, and sixth posts will be unreserved in a department.

Also, the fourth will be reserved for OBCs, the seventh for SCs, the 14th for STs and the eighth and 12th for OBCs, while the ninth, 10th and 11th will be unreserved.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) in March 2018 announced that a department should be considered the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts for the reserved categories following an order by the Allahabad High Court in April 2017.

The matter is before the apex court with the Centre filing a petition seeking review of the top court’s verdict, dismissing a petition pleading restoration of the earlier system.

Inputs from IANS

SC sacks two court masters for tampering with Anil Ambani contempt case order

February 14, 2019

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi issued the order to dismiss two officials on Wednesday who were responsible for taking down the judge’s orders and getting them uploaded on the website.

Image Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court sacked two of its assistant registrars after an inquiry found that they were tampering with a court order which appeared favourable to Reliance Communication chairperson Anil Ambani in a contempt case.

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi issued the order to dismiss the two officials who were responsible for taking down the judge’s orders and getting them uploaded on the website.

The CJI acted on a complaint by Justice Rohinton F Nariman, who has been hearing the contempt case. He used his powers under Article 311 of the Constitution and Section 11(13) of the Supreme Court which empowers the CJI to dismiss any employee under “extraordinary” circumstances without resorting to normal disciplinary proceedings, News18 reported.

Besides the sacking, SC reserved judgement on the contempt petition against Reliance Communications and its chairman Anil Ambani, over the telecom operator’s failure to comply with its assurance in court to clear Rs. 550 crore of arrears to Ericsson, a Swedish equipment supplier.

“What prompted the extraordinary step from the CJI was an instance of tampering with Justice Nariman’s order in January when a show-cause notice of contempt was issued to Anil Ambani over alleged failure to clear outstanding dues to Ericsson India despite categorical undertakings to the top court. The order that was uploaded on the Supreme Court website on January 7 said the “personal appearance of the alleged contemnor(s) is dispensed with,” the report said.

“This connoted that Ambani’s presence was not required on the next date of hearing although the rule is that anybody who is issued a contempt notice must show up once and request for exemption of his personal appearance on future dates. The order propitious to Ambani was uploaded on the website even though Justice Nariman had hours before made it clear that Ambani’s personal appearance was not dispensed with,” the report added.

It added that the discrepancy led senior advocate Dushyant Dave and other Ericsson representatives move Justice Nariman’s court again, pointing this out. Justice Nariman, expressing shock, got the correct order uploaded on the website on January 10. “Personal appearance of the alleged contemnor(s) is not dispensed with,” the revised order said.

“Justice Nariman also preferred an inquiry against the court officials, which suggested deliberate tampering after scrutiny by the CJI. Subsequently, court masters, Manav Sharma and Tapan Kumar Chakraborty, who held the rank of assistant registrars, were sacked on Wednesday evening. Ambani, in terms of the revised order, remained present in the court on February 12 and on February 13 in connection with the contempt proceedings. He spent over two hours in the court on Tuesday and almost the whole day on Wednesday when the judgment was reserved by Justice Nariman’s bench,” the report added.

Towards the end of the proceeding, Justice Nariman told senior lawyers Mukul Rohatgi and Kapil Sibal, appearing for Ambani that consequences for what they did will follow.

UP police trying to trap Azamgarh political activist Kalim Jamei under NSA: Rihai Manch

February 14, 2019

Rajeev Yadav, Rihai Manch’s General Secretary, wrote to Director General of Police in Uttar Pradesh demanding his release and to stop the misuse of NSA

Lucknow: Human and civil rights organisation Rihai Manch has accused UP police of conspiring against political activist Kalim Jamei by slapping the draconian NSA Act on him. Rajeev Yadav, Rihai Manch’s General Secretary, wrote to Director General of Police in Uttar Pradesh demanding his release and to stop the misuse of NSA.

In their letter to the DGP, they wrote that Jamei was illegally arrested by Saraimir police from a roadside hotel in Azamgarh on October 1, 2018. They also alleged that a fake case was made against him and the NSA was enacted against him. “We had demanded an inquiry into the hateful and communal messages being circulated by Amit Sahu on April 26, 2018, but no action has been taken. In a bid to stop the police torture by lathi-charge and trying to stop the violence created, Jamei was shown as an accused. Allahabad High Court had revoked his arrest orders,” they wrote in the letter.

They wrote that Jamei was released by the Allahabad HC on February 6, 2019, but soon after his acquittal, the police conspired with the NSA act. “The same tactic was used against Mohammad Asif accused in the April incident. He too was released as there was no evidence against and yet the police wrongfully implemented NSA against him too. The destruction of property by the police during Jamei’s arrest from a dhaba been recorded on video. He was released by the court and the NSA was against him. This is a grave injustice,” they said.

Hunger in India is reflection of rural distress arising out of the agrarian crisis, poor livelihood options

February 14, 2019

Kavita Srivastava and Dipa Sinha, conveners, Right to Food Campaign (RFT), on behalf of the Steering Committee of the RFT, have released a list of demands which political parties must address in their election manifestos:

The Right to Food Campaign requests all political parties to consider the following suggestions towards ensuring right to food for all while working on their manifestos for the General Elections 2019. We need to remember that these elections are coming at the backdrop of regular reports of starvation deaths from different parts of the country on the one hand and rural distress and farmers’ protests on the other.

While the country now has a National Food Security Act (NFSA), the recent spate of deaths shows that the Act is limited in its vision and implementation. It is currently not even able to ensure the minimum; which is that a person does not go hungry due to lack of food. The Act needs to be amended to expand its scope and also ensure that it prevents hunger (by including a section on starvation protocol) and also contributes to better nutrition status of the people (by including pulses, oil in PDS, eggs in schools and anganwadis etc.).

Along with the NFSA, it needs to be recognised the current situation of hunger is a reflection of rural distress arising out of the agrarian crisis, poor employment and livelihood opportunities, failure of various social security mechanisms and the overall macroeconomic situation. In this regard, we also make some recommendations for the manifesto beyond the changes required in the NFSA framework.

Public Distribution System
Universalisation: Currently, the NFSA is supposed to provide 67% of the population in the country with subsidised foodgrains (cereals). However, it is seen that a number of deserving households (or some members of household) are excluded in many states due to identification issues as well as the caps placed on the number of ration cards (based on 2011 Census data). In order to avoid these exclusion errors, the PDS benefits must be made universal for all residents.

Increase Foodgrains: Increase the foodgrains provided, especially millets, in the NFSA, from 5 kgs at the current prices under the Act.
Double the Antyodaya Coverage: Double the coverage of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, with priority to vulnerable groups such as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and single women, as per Supreme Court orders.

Pulses and Oil: Include dal (pulses), edible cooking oil and other nutritious foods at subsidised rates in the PDS.

Local Procurement: Procurement must be done in an increasingly local manner, promoting local varieties.

Children’s Right to Quality Nutrition
Eggs: Provide eggs 6 days a week in all schools and anganwadis and ensure midday meals are also served during school vacations.
Child Development Centres: To treat severely malnourished children, substantially increase the quantum of and support for community-based village child development centres (VDCs).

Crèches: To reduce the care work burden on women as well as to provide better nutrition, all children under six years of age must have access to a crèche/day care centre which provides trained adult supervision, child development activities, adequate nutrition and link to health services. The crèche access will need to be provided through multiple models including workplace crèches, anganwadi-cum-crèches and so on. Twenty-five percent of anganwadi centres should be converted to anganwadi-cum-crèches and should be operational for 8 hours.

ICDS and Mid-day Meals: The diet under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and mid-day meals should be enhanced through the use of millets, animal products like eggs, milk, yogurt, and meat (for those who eat it), and other locally available foods. Menus must be decided primarily in consultation with the community.

Universalisation with quality and equity of ICDS is required to protect the rights of all young children, pregnant and lactating women and adolescent girls. All children in India must have access to the full range of anganwadi services. In addition to improving coverage, several steps should be taken to improve ICDS quality and infrastructure.

Coverage of ICDS: Along with dalits, tribals, minorities, disabled children; special efforts must be made to also cover children of PVTGs and migrants through different models. There must be greater decentralisation and flexibility in ICDS with local consultation to decide timings of Anganwadi Centres, menus etc.

Care Work as Decent Work: All workers providing care work, such as Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, ASHAs, should be provided with at least the minimum wage and a decent working conditions.

Mid-Day Meal should be extended to all children up to class XII. Local farmers and self-help groups should be given an opportunity to sell food items directly to schools for Mid-Day Meals where possible, as a means to stimulate the local economy.

Stop the systematic budget cuts and privatisation of services food and nutrition programmes of the government like ICDS, Mid-Day Meal etc.
Ban private contractors in all public feeding/food distribution programmes such as the ICDS, Mid-Day Meals and PDS.

Kitchen Gardens: Organic kitchen gardens must be promoted in schools and anganwadis to improve the nutrient content of the meals served in these institutions.

For Pregnant and Lactating Women
Community Meals: Provide free, hot and cooked nutritious midday meals for pregnant women, lactating mothers, homeless persons and the elderly in anganwadi centres (similar to programs introduced in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana).

Maternity Entitlements under NFSA: The NFSA provides an entitlement of at least ₹6,000 for all pregnant and lactating mothers. The scheme to implement this currently is applicable only to the first birth, and entitles only ₹5,000. The scheme must be amended to ensure that there are no such conditionalities and all women are included. The amount of benefit must be increased (for example, it is ₹16,000 in Madhya Pradesh and ₹18,000 in Tamil Nadu). It must also be ensured that the instalments are paid without any delays.

Universal Maternity Entitlements: The Maternity Benefit Act currently covers only women in the organised sector. Women do paid and unpaid work at multiple sites simultaneously such as farms, forests, worksites, factories, markets, and home. Legal, programmatic and institutional provisions must be made to ensure maternity entitlements that is equivalent to at least minimum wages at prevalent rates for nine months for all women.

Special Packages
Community Kitchens in urban areas: Start subsidized community kitchens in all cities, towns and block headquarters (like Tamil Nadu’s Amma Canteens) and also in hamlets with high tribal populations.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups: Acknowledging the crisis of hunger and malnutrition amongst PVTGs, provide all the 75 identified PVTGs nationwide with doorstep delivery of a special free nutritional package (similar to the one provided to Rajasthan’s Sahariyas of 35 kg foodgrain, 2 kg of dal, 2 kg cooking oil and 1 kg of ghee every month along with monthly social pensions as introduced in Jharkhand).

Social Security Pensions
Universal Pensions: Provide unconditional universal social security pensions to all elderly above 60 years, differently-abled persons, single women and other vulnerable communities such as transgender persons (as initiated in Tamil Nadu) and PVTGs (as initiated in Jharkhand).
Increase Pensions: Increase the amount for social security pensions from monthly ₹200 to at least ₹3,000 or half the minimum wages (whichever is higher) and ensure that they are inflation-indexed.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
Double NREGA: Double the annual guarantee from 100 to 200 workdays per household.

Living wages: Index NREGA wage rates to Consumer Price Index Rural Labourers and ensure that they are not less than the minimum agricultural wage rates in all states.

Timely Payment: Ensure strict timely payment of wages within a fortnight, unemployment allowance to those who are not allotted work and compensation for delayed payment in accordance with the Act.

Urban Employment Guarantee Act: Enshrine and implement a National Urban Employment Guarantee Act (as implemented as a programme in Tripura) with a guarantee of at least 100 days per household for both unskilled and skilled jobs, suitable for urban contexts.

Right to Food Choice
Beef Ban: Remove bans on slaughter of cows on religious and other grounds.

Social Accountability
Grievance Redressal: Appoint State Food Commissions, District Grievance Redressal Officers and Vigilance Committees in all states, districts, blocks and fair-price shops and also ensure a mechanism so that social audits are regularly conducted for all food schemes.

Right to Information: Do not amend the Right to Information Act, but instead strength the state information commissions, appoint Information Commissioners, Lokpals and Lokayuktas and implement the penalty provisions of these laws.

Whistleblower protection law: Implement whistleblowers protection Act and create a conductive environment wherein people have easy access to information.

Agriculture
Minimum Support Price: Enact the Bill for Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Price pending in both houses of Parliament.

Land Reforms: Implement redistributive land reforms and stop forcible land acquisition.

Minimum Wages: Secure minimum wage of not less than Rs 18000 per month for all workers.

Encourage food production: Encourage food production through sustainable and equitable means, and ensure adequate food availability in all locations at all time.

World Trade Organization: Make sure that India does not agree to any restrictions imposed by the World Trade Organization on public stockholdings and press for re-negotiating the agreements in relation to agricultural subsidies in favour of developing countries.

Sustainable Farming: India should discontinue pesticides banned by other countries and over the next five years should completely phase out all synthetic pesticides. Fertilizer subsidies should be reduced and investment should instead be made in organic agriculture. There should be a total ban on genetically modified crops and other foods.

Right to livelihoods resources of the marginalised people
Safeguard land rights of adivasis by strong implementation the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006; appoint people’s representative at the district and block level with immediate effect.

Protect dalits from forceful evictions, allocate specially reserved land to the landless dalits, and create fast track courts for speedy resolution of land disputes.

Implement with letter and spirit The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Technology and Welfare
Prevent Aadhaar Exclusions: Ensure that no one is excluded because of Aadhaar to avail of their social security entitlements especially rations, pensions and NREGA – delink Aadhaar from all social welfare schemes.

Aadhaar: Delink Aadhaar from and amend Section 7 of the Act to ensure that Aadhaar is not made mandatory to avail of any social security entitlements including rations, pensions, schools and others

Technology should ensure welfares of people and not exclusion, marginalisation and pain.

Management Information System data should be accessible to people and should be in public domain.

Courtesy: Counterview.org

TRAI’s Cable TV Regulation: Coming of Ambani Raj

February 14, 2019

Remember what happened to the Indian telecom sector after Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Mobile was launched? Jio offered dirt cheap call and data tariff. It destroyed many telecom companies. Some disappeared for ever, some merged to stay afloat. Government has advised the state run BSNL to think about the possibility of closing down! Same thing is going to happen in Cable TV and Broad Band industry in India. The facilitator is Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) with its new tariff regime.

TRAI’s new tariff regime is purported to help the customers. Customers can choose which channels they want to watch and pay for only for them. But, there’s a catch. TRAI gave the cable companies just one month to implement the new tariff regime. Many small Cable TV operators didn’t have the time or infrastructure to implement the new system. They went to the court to stay the order. They didn’t get any relief. What they are doing now would be at their own peril.

I used to pay Rs 200 for a month for about 300 TV channels. After the TRAI regime was implemented I had to choose the channels. My local cable TV operator didn’t give me the option to choose individual channels I want to watch. Perhaps they didn’t have the time to implement the infrastructure. What they are offering online now is a bouquet of channels. If I want to watch a few of my favorite channels I have to pay double the amount now. It’s emptying my pocket as well a as a strict violation of TRAI regulations. Even after paying about Rs 400 I can’t now watch NDTV News, one of the most balanced news that I can get on TV!

There are four important points to remember.

The Cable TV operator is violating TRAI order and may get a stricture from TRAI
It’s emptying my pocket
It’s controlling information flow just before the national elections
It may affect the circulation of News Papers, as consumers may not be able to afford to pay both Cable TV and News Papers, thereby controlling the flow of information.

This is the situation of most of the small Cable TV operators around the country. They may get a stricture from TRAI and their license may be cancelled as well as the possibility of losing consumers.

However, all is not lost! Mukesh Ambani’s there to save us, like he saved India’s telecom industry. Jio GigaFiber a Cable TV/Broad Band fiber network is slated to be launched as early as next month. Registration for which started on August 15, 2018. As build up to its launch Reliance industries acquired India’s two of the largest cable TV/Broad Band operators Hathway and Den! Even before its launch Ambani controls most of Cable TV in India. Now, when the small operators go bankrupt, GigaFiber will either acquire or allow them die and fill its space by offering the consumers a dirt cheap package. Soon, the Cable TV and Broad Band industry in India will be under the control of Ambani!

Remember the 8 November 2016 Demonetisation announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi just before Jio Money was launched? P.M Modi will go all the way to ensure that his boss Mukesh Ambani gets full benefit of his investment before his term comes to an end. Don’t be surprised if you see more abrupt announcements on Cable/Broadband industry in the coming months!

Modis may come and go. Ambani Raj is here to stay. Big Brother Ambani will decide what you watch, read and hear and monitor you too!

Binu Mathew is the Editor of Countercurrents.org

Courtesy: Counter Currents.org

Single Time Zone Costs India Rs 29,000 Crore, Impairs Education, Wages: New Study

February 14, 2019

Chennai: Each evening, the sun sets more than 90 minutes later in western India than in the east of the country, yet the entire country follows the same time zone. Later sunset means people stay awake longer, which induces sleep deprivation among children and negatively affects their study efforts, a new study by a research scholar at Cornell University has found.

As a result of sleeping late, children are less likely to complete primary and middle school, and this eﬀect is most pronounced among poor households, says the study, ‘Poor Sleep: Sunset Time and Human Capital Production’, which analysed the consequences India faces by operating under a single time zone.

“Back-of-the-envelope estimates suggest that India incurs annual human capital costs of roughly $4.1 billion (nearly Rs 29,000 crore) or 0.2% of nominal GDP [gross domestic product] due to the existing policy regulating time zone boundaries,” Maulik Jagnani, the author of the study, told IndiaSpend in an email interview.

How time zones work

As per convention, each time zone is spaced by 15 degrees’ longitude, which divides countries around the globe into 24 time zones to enable coordination–for railway and flight services, for example.

Many countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, New Zealand, Mexico and Brazil use multiple time zones across their territories. As many as 70 countries in Africa and North and South America use daylight saving time (DST)–by setting their clocks forward, usually by an hour, from the standard in summer and back in winter–to make better use of daylight.

Some countries such as the US and France have multiple time zones and DST.

Some 70 countries use neither DST nor multiple time zones, and India is among them.

Early sunrise, late sunset

Geographically, there is a 30-degree longitudinal difference between Arunachal Pradesh in the east and Gujarat in the west of India. This qualifies for a twin time-zones setup.

Before Independence, India had two time zones–Bombay Time and Calcutta Time–in large part to help traders make use of daylight.
However, when policies were made for independent India, the government decided to go with a single time zone, at longitude 82.5º east and 5.5 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

All institutions across the country follow a single Indian Standard Time (IST), even though sunrise and sunset times vary widely. For instance, the sun rises as late as 8 a.m. in Gujarat, where schools start functioning as early as 8.30 a.m., when children’s body clocks are not aligned to the daily solar cycle. At the same time, the sun is out until 8 p.m. (depending on the time of year), yet schools and offices close by 5.00-6.00 p.m.

Much natural light and people’s ability to stay awake are wasted and compromised to follow the country-wide standard time.

When the clock says it is time to sleep while there is still daylight, the body’s natural signals based on its circadian clock–which coordinates the body’s rhythms with the sun–are contradicted. This can lead to sleep deprivation in children and adults, Jagnani quoted previous research to explain.

Using 24-hour time-use data for 1998-99 from the India Time Use Survey, Jagnani found that sleep deprivation due to later sunset could amount to 30 minutes. This implies that when sunsets are late and daylight is more, people will experience sleep deprivation.

Costs of daylight lost
The effects are clearly visible in educational outcomes at school, Jagnani said.

“When the sun sets later, children go to bed later; by contrast, wake-up times are not regulated by solar cues. Sleep-deprived students decrease study effort, consistent with a model where sleep is productivity-enhancing and increases the marginal returns of effort,” he said. Sleep makes study effort more productive, but as later sunset reduces sleep duration, it makes studying less effective, decreasing children’s study time.

Other findings of the study state that an hour’s delay in sunset time reduces children’s sleep by roughly 30 minutes, and by reducing the likelihood of children completing primary and middle school education, reduces their time in school by 0.8 years on average. It reduces school enrolment by 11%, and significantly decreases students’ math test scores, he found.

Further, among adults, later sunsets are also associated with fewer hours of sleep and lower wages, an effect more visible among the poor, Jagnani said. “[T]he non-poor adjust their sleep schedules when the sun sets later; the negative effects of later sunset on sleep are most pronounced among the poor, especially in periods when households face severe financial constraints.”

Setting school start times later could enable children to compensate for later bedtimes, and reduce the sleep deprivation-cognition relationship, the study suggests. Starting schools after 8.30 a.m., as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, may reduce the effects of later sunset on test scores by roughly 50%, Jagnani said.

Advancing IST by just half-an-hour would result in annual savings of 2.7 billion units of electricity in all Indian states together, an earlier research by professors D.P. Sengupta and Dilip Ahuja of the National Institute of Advanced Studies had established, Jagnani said, adding that his own study does not recommend an optimal time zone or DST.

(GV Neelambari is a Master’s student of Journalism and Communication at the University of Madras, and is an intern with IndiaSpend.)

We welcome feedback. Please write to respond@indiaspend.org. We reserve the right to edit responses for language and grammar.

Courtesy: India Spend

The Politics of Viewership Regulation: How YouTube is Censoring Anand Patwardhan

February 14, 2019

YouTube has imposed an age restriction on Anand Patwardhan’s documentary Ram Ke Naam. According to YouTube’s community guidelines, content that is age restricted is not visible to users under the age of eighteen and if a user is not logged in. The highly acclaimed documentary, made in 1991-92, is relevant in the current political climate as it lays bare the political agenda of the RSS and the BJP and leaves a lasting impression on the viewers mind. Patwardhan reacted to the age restriction in a Facebook status on 11 February 2018. He wrote, “Disgusting!!! Now if you are a child over 14 and under 18 you are allowed to do hazardous labour but you are not allowed to see Ram Ke Naam! The temporary good news is that if you are over 18 you can watch Ram Ke Naam on my anandverite YouTube channel. That is, till they think up a new ruse to restrict it further.” Anand Patwardhan is known for his hard-hitting political documentaries like Jai Bhim Comrade, Father, Son and the Holy War, and Reason.

Patwardhan appealed to YouTube against the decision. They reviewed the appeal and informed him through an email that though the film did not violate their community guidelines, it still may not be “appropriate” for a general audience.

Ram Ke Naam, first aired in 1992 — a few months before the Babri Masjid demolition, follows the campaign started by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to build a Ram Temple where the Babri Masjid stood. The VHP claimed that the Masjid was built on the birth place of Ram. The film also documents the rath yatra launched by LK Advani to rally support for the Ram Temple. The documentary won the National Film Award for Best Investigative Documentary and the Filmfare Award for Best Documentary. The movement culminated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December, 1992.

To decide whether content should be age restricted, YouTube claims to use the following considerations – “Vulgar language, Violence and disturbing imagery, Nudity and sexually suggestive content, and Portrayal of harmful or dangerous activities”. However, from their communication to Patwardhan, it would seem that over and above the stated criteria “suitability” is also a factor. Talking to the Indian Cultural Forum about the arbitrariness of such decision-making, Patwardhan says, “Some may argue that since YouTube owns the space, who are we to complain? But I think all this hits against net neutrality. Just as we fight for democracy in real life, we must fight for it on the internet. If money controls opinion and visibility, it is a dark and dangerous path to tread.”

It is quite evident that the money the advertisers bring in, along with their unspoken prejudices, is very often the key to age-restriction decisions. In January this year, YouTube released an original series Wayne, which was full of violence and profane language and violated most, if not all, of the stated community standards. YouTubers such as PewDiePie and RackaRacka, who have suffered on account of YouTube’s policies, were quick to point out the double standards, and after such protests, YouTube imposed viewership restrictions on Wayne.

It is worth noting that Patwardhan’s documentary received a U certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) when it was released in 1992. It was even broadcast by Doordarshan-1 during prime time after a High Court directive. It is ironic that YouTube, which claims to have a relaxed attitude towards censoring content, and not the Indian Censor Board with its famously fragile sensibilities, was the one that chose to restrict viewership of the film. Patwardhan highlights the fatuousness of the claim that Ram ke Naam is “inappropriate” when he says, “These are films that build communal harmony by showing the ugly side of hate mongers and the positive secular mindset of ordinary Indians. If they promoted violence they could not have a “U” certificate.”

This is not the first time Anand Patwardhan’s films have been targeted by YouTube. His channel “anandverite” had been demonetised earlier. YouTube monetises a video or a channel depending on the number of views the video receives. If it crosses the 10,000 views mark, YouTube monetises the video by showing advertisements before and during its streaming. Advertisers have the final say on what content they want their advertisements shown on. In March 2016, YouTube came under fire after a report in the London Times on how advertisements were shown during videos containing extremist views. Advertisers such as the American multinational AT&T, among others, withdrew their ads from YouTube after they had been shown alongside objectionable content. YouTube since has changed its policies about what content gets monetised.

Many YouTubers, such as brothers Daniel and Michael Phillippou who run the channel RackaRacka, claim that if a video is both age restricted and demonetised, it becomes virtually impossible to find it even using the YouTube search engine. It also stops being featured on the trending list and the recommended tab.

The political implications of such intervention are obviously not lost on Patwardhan, The film maker says, “Both demonetising and age restricting serve to pull down the rating of the channel so as to restrict viewership. This is nothing less than an arbitrary act of censorship undertaken just before elections…The likely truth is that Hindutva elements within YouTube/Google are looking to curb secular, democratic content.”

YouTube, of course, did not provide any concrete reason for demonetising Patwardhan’s videos apart from calling the content “not appropriate.”
Other progressive Indian film makers too have suffered censorship at the hands of Youtube. Most such instances, however, went unreported. Patwardhan points out, “My friend Satyen Bordolai who films protest rallies and progressive talks and panels on his YouTube site, found that his channel was also demonetised and age restricted. It is as if they are saying that in order to not invite trouble on YouTube, your content has to be right of centre.”

It is undeniable that YouTube, like Facebook and WhatsApp, can and has served as a vital tool in the propaganda machinery of the RSS-BJP. Restricting access to hard-hitting and critical political content such as Anand Patwardhan’s documentary serves one vital purpose: to reduce viewership by hook or by crook, a strategy pursued by the Right-wing since time immemorial.

The Right-wing government at the Centre, along with the machinery of the Sangh, will stop at nothing to further their agenda. It is widely known that they have been trying to control public and private institutions across the country. It would not be a far-fetched fantasy to believe that they would try to infiltrate, influence and utilise to their benefit portals like YouTube.

Attempts were made to contact YouTube/Google for a comment. Till the time of filing of this story, no response had been received. As soon as a response is received, the story will be updated.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

AMU to lodge FIR against Republic TV for calling it a ‘University of terrorists’

February 14, 2019

A team of the Republic Bharat news channel comprising two female reporters and 2 camera-persons entered the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus on February 12, 2018 without permission from the authorities while the AMU Students Union were organising a programme.

TCN News

Soon, a scuffle followed and things blew out of proportion. Instead of leaving when asked to leave for having come uninvited, the reporters and camera persons roughed up the students and even went to the extent of calling them terrorists and allegedly using the same words while reporting live calling the AMU as University of terrorists. Though the reporter denied having used the derogatory term in her Twitter account, Sharjeel Usmani, a student leader, wrote an open letter to the media on his Facebook wall in which he has mentioned the details of the incidents sequence wise. The AMU administration has taken cognizance of all these events and have sent applications to file two separate FIRs regarding the incident. In their press release the administration has also assured to take a disciplinary action against the students who damaged property.
The police have registered a case against 14 students of the university based on a complaint filed by Mukesh Lodhi, BJP youth wing leader. All the 14 students have charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for rioting, causing hurt including sedition, which is the gravest of all charges. The FIR also mentions that the students shouted anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans.

However the police have not taken any action on the complaint filed by the students. But the students are undeterred and are demanding that action be taken based on the complaint letter filed by them

The following is Sharjeel’s account:

I reached the campus at 9.30 am for attending my classes. All was well back then. Few students were organizing a picture exhibition of the all victims of hate crimes in front of History department. First Asifa memorial lecture was scheduled at 11 am in Cultural hall of Maulana Azad Library; Films on Palestinian struggle were to be screened in Kennedy auditorium at 4:30 pm.

I got a call from a friend that Republic TV reporters are creating a problem in front of the Social Science department. I reached there as soon as I could. There were about 20 to 25 students were standing there confused. There were two male cameramen from Republic, and two female reporters. I went and respectfully asked the first cameramen to stop the recording and move out. I said, ‘I know it is your job to do this but we don’t want you here, please leave’. The cameraman was a gentleman, and immediately detached his camera from the monopod. Things were peaceful until this reporter came to me and shouted, ‘who the fuck are you to tell me what to do, we are not leaving. We have been invited by the union President’.

‘With due respect, Ma’am, I am afraid you are mistaken, I have confirmed it with the union president and the university Public Relations Officer, you are not invited here. Please leave’, I replied. The cameraman interrupted saying, ‘Dekho kaise fadta hu tum logon ki’ and he signalled the reporter to start reporting and she went, ‘We are reporting live from the university of terrorists. It seems the students are trying to attack us. AMU is showing its colour (pointing to the students who were standing there to see the scene)’.

I along with another seniors immediately went to the cameraman and tried to stop him from recording. He literally pushed me back and stabbed me with his pen, shouting and abusing. The other two female reporters went strangely very loud and started telling us that we are manhandling her. One of them came really close to us, and then got into an argument with Anas bhai ( another member of student union). ‘We are not going to get intimidated by you terrorists’, she said.

The university’s security officers had reached there by then and intervened. The security officer was an old man, and other reporter was shouting at him disrespectfully which agitated me and others. I went straight to her pointed her to leave immediately. I won’t lie, I said ‘Bahut hua apka, get the fuck out of here now!’

Photo from Sharjeel’s FB wall

All this was happening in front of the social science department. As they were moving towards the gate they stopped near the department of Mass communication and started reporting with the camera pointed towards the students. Since this was happening on the road, the people passing by stopped to see what was happening. Student Union Cabinet member Gowtham K bhai went up to and asked them to stop recording and leave. But Gowtham bhai was abused and manhandled.

One boy pushed the reporter and kicked him. Few more students followed but they were stopped by Anas bhai and Gowtham bhai. The students were shouting, ‘Go Back’, ‘Maaro’ and ‘Tod do’. However nothing of that sort happened. From what I can recall, the cameraman and his camera were completely fine when they moved out of the varsity gate.

What happened outside the varsity gate was a completely different issue. I had no clue of what was going to happen next, so I went to Kennedy auditorium to prepare for the screening we had planned. After an hour or so, we got to know that Ajay Singh Thakur (Aligarh MLA’s grandson) along with members of BJP were marching towards varsity gate to stop a meeting in which they believed Asaduddin Owaisi was present. False rumours doing the round on the local TV that MP Assaddudin Owaisi is coming to this particular program at AMU following which Ajay Singh gave a statement to a Hindi newspaper ‘Owaisi jaiso ko Aligarh me nahi ghusne denge’ ( We will not allow the likes of Owaisi to enter Aligarh) which was followed by similar remarks from Hindu Mahasabha, Bhartiya Janta Kisan Mahasabhia and local BJP leaders. The truth was that Owaisi was not even invited.

When the BJP members reached the campus gate, Union members and students were already present there to stop them. One of the BJP goon fired bullet at union secretary Huzaifa Amir. The students went violent and burnt his bike. The BJP guys left for nearby market (Dodhpur) which a Muslim majority area and forced people to close down their shops. Later they went to the nearest police station demanding arrest of the students. The students on the other hand sat at the varsity gate to protest against the BJP guys demanding their arrest. The Republic team was there all the time reporting the series of events that unfolded. The police was there and did nothing. I still have no idea what was Republic doing there, unless they knew that BJP guys will come to create violence. That is all I know.

Picture: You can see the BJP goon carrying gun, and guy beside him is Ajay Singh Thakur.

Courtesy:Two Circle.net

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AMU to lodge FIR against Republic TV for calling it a ‘University of terrorists’

A team of the Republic Bharat news channel comprising two female reporters and 2 camera-persons entered the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus on February 12, 2018 without permission from the authorities while the AMU Students Union were organising a programme.

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