Whither Truth? Demand Narmada Evacuees, Challenging the CM, Gujarat & PM Modi

September 16, 2017

Badwani, Madhya Pradesh | September 15, 2017: The statement by the chief minister of Gujarat, Mr. Vijay Rupani on Narmada Dam inauguration, on the eve of the Grand Ceremony planned to celebrate PM’s birthday begins and ends with falsehoods, alleges a strong statement by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) issued today.”It doesn’t behove the chief minister of a state that is to control, operate and monitor the monstrous project” to do so with such misinformation, says the statement.

“We have witnessed about this giant, controversial dam during last 32 years and once again will experience on this special occasion which needs to be dissected and exposed; since the plan of ‘Dedicating the Dam to the Nation’, all the people across the country must know the truth through the response from the people of Narmada Valley that follows-

Serious Questions about Official ‘Misinfromation’
First and the foremost, how has Rupani calculated a period of 56 years since the laying of the foundation stone for today’s Sardar Sarovar Dam? The foundation stone laid by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was not for the Dam of today, it was for a much smaller dam of 162 feet height.

The present dam, a result of the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal Award (NWDTA) is 455 feet i.e. 138.68 meters high, declared by the Tribunal after 10 years long enquiry into the serious conflict among 3 riparian states, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It was all party (then Jan Sangh and Congress) opposition in Madhya Pradesh that had questioned and challenged through even violent resistance, that got settled as NWDTA is considered to be a decree, i.e. law.

However, the Dam is still not the country’s highest dam or a world’s second biggest dam, claims made only on the basis of the volume of concrete going into the Dam. It is one of the biggest, no doubt and the decision on the same came in December 1979, the date of the Declaration of the Award (NWDTA), not in 1961.

Even after the Award the work on the same was soon stopped and the clearance to it, following River valley guidelines of 1993 and Environmental Protection Act, 1986, came only in June 1987. The said clearance too was conditional since studies and plans on not less than 8 critical aspects of the project were not conducted nor completed till then. Those included rehabilitation, Flora and Fauna, seismic risks, catchment area treatment, command area development, downstream impacts.

Mr. Rupani obviously hasn’t looked into either data or documents related to each of these, concerning all 3 states with the non-riparian state of Rajasthan and the union of India as monitoring government with certain powers when he refers to the benefits of the Dam, he makes a serious mistake in saying that Maharashtra is to get 56% and Madhya Pradesh, 27% of the electricity to be generated, which is exactly the opposite, indicating the CM’s ignorance.

There is no mention of the firm confirmed power to be generated and only mentioning the capacity, obviously since the benefit shares are only out of whatever is actually generated and not the planned capacity.
There is no share in water benefit to either Maharashtra or Madhya Pradesh, who are to pay the biggest cost in losing best of land, fresh and most tragically, affecting lakhs of people in 244 villages and 1 township. This is what is not noted in the CM’s statement, as is always forgotten by Gujarat and forgiven by his counter parts in other 2 states.

The scale of irrigation and drinking water supply in Gujarat and Rajasthan is certainly exaggerated, as can be proved, says the statement.

Official statistics on irrigation reveal and show a big failure till date, not because of the stoppage of the Dam work for genuine social, environmental reasons, but mismanagement and manipulations to favour industries at the cost of farmers and drought affected in Gujarat. Even when waters were impounded up to 121.92 meters, Gujarat didn’t take it into the canal network which was left incomplete and has more than 50% balance even today. Whatever it did, was lost to sea via Sabarmati giving light and sound show due to no way to take to fields without canals, nor to be stored!

This irrigation scandal is fully exposed through a detailed statement by none else but the former chief minister of Gujarat Suresh Mehta. It is less than 3 lakh hectares when at least 8 to 10 lakh was expected at 121.92 meters dam height just because it has no priority for the commercial state!

How many villages in Gujarat is the dam going to supply drinking water? The number changes from para to para in this single statement, from 9000-9663! Remembering the past, let people of Gujarat and Bharat know that the figure has changed from 4200+ to 8000+ and now to 9000+, always including more than 240 barren villages with no habitation to drink the water, even if supplied!

Which are the 131 urban centres to get this benefit, we must know along with how much of their thirst saturated till date? If it was only 0.86 million cubic feet for drinking water, it means out of 1.6 MAF, the share for municipal and industrial water, let there be the latest allocation details coming in from the official sources! People of Gujarat are in the dark about the agreements made with Coca Cola, car industries (to include new Suzuki plant, thanks to the visit by Japanese Premier), Adani’s and Ambani’s projects and all the industrial estates to come up in Gujarat as a part of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor full of investment regions covering 60% of Gujarat with Huge costs to farmers! Who will exhibit the real costs and real benefits & when?

Moreover, it’s an absolutely false contention that Maharashtra is also to be get 37500 hectares of irrigation from Sardar Sarovar Dam. This is the benefit Maharashtra may get out of its own rainfall & water flows in its Narmada catchment, not from the Sardar Sarovar Reservoir. Maharashtra has no benefit of water from the dam after losing 33 adivasi communities.

The biggest lie and unscientific claims is to say that 18 lakh hectares of land in Gujarat will be irrigated, with the inauguration of the project, as Narmada water will flow to over 9000 villages of Gujarat through a canal network. Does the network to that extent, exist today when at least 41000 kms long network to take water to village and fields doesn’t exist. Thanks to Modi Government in Gujarat that totally ignored this aspect, while merely blaming the opposition, inside and outside the electoral politics for stalling the Dam project.

It’s revealing that even on the eve of the irrigation, neither the CM nor the PM have shown any sensitivity to the huge number of the adivasis, farmers fishworkers and labour who are compelled to sacrifice for the project. They may not have nor the realistic information to be shared with the Nation.

There are about 40000 families still in the submergence area, beyond the game of numbers played by the governments of Madhya Pradesh at times to extent, Maharashtra and the union authorities.

Not just the serious lapses but large-scale corruption and violation of the laws, policies and court judgments up to the apex court, especially in Madhya Pradesh have been totally ignored by even Modi Ji since it’s not congress but his own party – BJP – government in power in Madhya Pradesh. If it was the other, he would not have left any stone unturned, in exposing them. Will he take pains to read Justice Jha Commission report and not bluff but act against the corrupt officials and agents in action even today?

And what about the ex-prime minister’s taking a position against pushing the construction of the Dam without rehabilitation of thousands of families, mandatory under law. Mr. Manmohan Singh had given a written commitment to the Supreme Court on this, on April 17, 2006. Mr. Rupani was not in the picture then, rather if I remember correctly, he was claiming that Gujarat can use its total water share through a pipeline project, without destruction of land, if NRIs support it financially.

Was the stand taken by UPA government, which too had faced our 21 days of fast and 51 hours five star fast by the Prime Minister, anyway illegal or unjust. Mr. Rupani, it’s shameful and not a matter of pride that Mr. Modi took a decision to push the Dam height to 138.68 meters beyond 121.92 meters where it was stayed, within 17 days after coming into Government?

He didn’t just ignore his ministers like as Uma Bharti and Mr. Gehlot, both from Madhya Pradesh but also the shockingly dense populations with thousands of houses, prime agriculture and horticulture, a few thousand temples and tens of mosques, a million (at least) trees and the total infrastructure, ages and generations old that is to be submerged or affected at the full height that he is to boast of!

The absolute callousness shown to even the tribal oustees of Gujarat on the path of agitation even today is equally exhibitory of the experience of ours over 32 years. The violation of the supreme court judgement’s on Rehabilitation as well as environmental measures, destruction of ecosystem and natural resources, the loss of human history with pre-history archeological remnants not removed and stored, total neglect of compensatory and preventive environmental works all is to be the result of Modi’s inauguration and celebration which will not be before the Nation, until it all occurs.

The huge cost of Rs 99000 crores for the single project which was never honestly estimated will be a huge burden on the state of Gujarat and the countries exchequer, to be borne mainly for the industries, the capitalists pursuing it at all cost.

The Programme on the September 17, the birthday of PM is seen as the deadline or deathline for thousands and thousands fighting for justice with those sensitive and cautious of false propaganda and farce, beware of flawed developmental claims and model, demand an open public debate.

Or as Amit Shah (rather crudely )said “Gujarat ka Sher kisi sawal ka jawab nahi dega!”.

Disclaimer: This is a statement issued by the National Alliance of People’s Movements and do not necessarily express the views of Sabrangindia

Related Articles:

URGENT APPEAL: Is the GOI Drowning the Narmada Valley to celebrate Modi’s Birthday?
Modi Birthday Celebrations at the Cost of Oustees of Narmada Dam?

Time for Akhara ‘certified’ Babas?

September 16, 2017

For a law against Superstition at the National Level

These are really ‘bure din‘ for the spiritual gurus of India.

While the likes of Ram Rahim, Asaram Bapus and Rampal are cooling their heels behind bars for their not so spiritual acts, Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale who is also known as “Ichadaari Baba” among his followers has also joined them for running a high profile sex racket.

It was unprecedented moment in recent history that Odisha had witnessed mass movements targeting many such Babas/spiritual gurus which had compelled the state government to arrest few of them. In fact the judiciary had also expressed grave concern over such Babas masquerading as spiritual leaders, robbing innocent followers of money and leading a “licentious life”.

With increasing instances of the blurring of boundaries between spiritual and criminal where the legitimacy of the whole fraternity is under scanner, the list of 14 fake babas brought out by Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad – apex organisation of Sants and Sadhus – comprising of 14 Akharas, seems to be an afterthought. The Akhara also plans to put in place a mechanism to award the title of Sant because it has suddenly realised that it is being “increasingly misused”.

A cursory glance at the list makes for interesting reading. At least half among the list are either behind bars or have come out on bail only recently and rest of them are facing a litany of court cases, for their various acts of omission and commission.

A layperson could also say that the list is merely a rehash of a few of the old cases which have been under public glare recently and this sudden declaration should also put a spotlight on the functioning of the apex body itself. In fact, the Akhara Parishad has invited lot of ridicule for the inclusion of one Sacchdanand Giri – who was earlier a beer bar owner and real estate baron- and who is prominently on the list, as he was anointed as a “Mahamandaleshwar” in July 2015 in Allahabad by the same body. People are curious to know what actually transpired between the Akhara and the ‘Guru’ over these two years to compel the apex body to today declare him fake.

And it is not for the first time that such a controversy has arisen. Few years back Radhe Maa, was herself declared Mahamandaleshwar by Juna Akhara, a major Shaiva militant ascetic order, which led a situation of implosion in the group itself and there were , “[s]trong allegations that huge amounts of cash had changed hands.”.

The adhocism in preparing the list is evident. What is more that the Akhara Parishad should itself invite scrutiny; the body needs to explain the basis for inclusion of the names contained in the list. For example the ápex body’ will have to explain whether delivering hate/inciteful speeches which create a serious disaffection between communities ( an offence which is prosecutable under law) has at all, or also been considered a criterion for declaring someone fake. This query is particularly important, as of late because we have been witness to a rise in such speeches by Sadhus who enjoy a more than amiable relationship with the current ruling establishment.

The Akhara has announced that it would bring out another list in ‘next few months’, but absence of many other ‘notables’ in this first list do raise question marks about any such future exercise.

Take the case of Shankaracharya Dayanand – a godman who had established his peetham in Jammu – who has been behind bars for his alleged role in the Malegaon bomb blast where recordings on his own laptop had provided important clues to the designs of the Hindutva terror module. If Swami Assemanand, an accused in many such blasts – who is on bail these days – has been included, what stopped the Akhara from including this self-proclaimed Shankaracharya in the list, as well ? Or what stopped the Akhara from including a so-called ‘spiritual group’ – especially its founder – from Western India which formally talks of ‘spiritual salvation’ and ‘awareness of righteousness’, but where ‘destruction of evildoers’ is an integral part of ‘spiritual practice’ and to facilitate this ‘Dharm Kranti’ (religious revolution) the seekers are also provided with training in arms – rifles, trishuls, lathis and other weapons? Remember its activists have also been found to be involved in various types of terror acts including killing of rationalists.

Believe me, these are but a sample of such examples.

It also appears that the Akhara has based its efforts on media reports or public perception than doing any groundwork and then fixing any criterion.

For example it has not taken care to refer to already widely available material in the public domain where other exploits of these Godmen/Conmen are visible and where they were found to be sheltering fugitives from the law, laundering money, ‘arranging’ for government contracts, solving your financial woes or even bumbing off a pesky blackmailer.

‘Tehelka’ had done a story few years back titled ‘The Guns and Godmen of Ayodhya’ narrating how ‘”[m]ost of the 7,000 mutts temples and maths in Ayodhya have become centres of crime'” and now over the last few years more than 250 Sadhus have been booked for crimes including murders and some have been even killed in encounters.

Over the last few years, leading TV channels of the country have also provided an inside view of this fraternity – thanks to the sting operations done by their confidants, – which have further exposed not so bright side of these spiritual gurus. The programme aired on TV under the title ‘Hey Ram’ had brought forth interesting commonality between the likes of Asaram Bapu and four others from the fraternity. (‘Godmen’s unholy link with criminals, Mailtoday, 11 Sep 2010). This particular sting operation was preceded by an expose done by CNN-IBN and Cobrapost jointly which had showed godmen laundering money, in the name of God, all for a commission ( (CNN-IBN Posted Sunday , May 06, 2007 at 20:30 Updated Monday , May 07, 2007 at 02 ; CNN-IBN Posted Monday , May 07, 2007 at 08:11). A leading light among these godmen/women , who was proactive in the early nineties movement of majoritarian consolidation had even shared a secret with the interviewer that he has formed a separate trust to facilitate his work of converting black money to white money for a commission.

There are other problems as well in the modus operandi adopted by the ápex body’.

The crucial question of the locus standi of this self-appointed apex body, whose proximity to Vishwa Hindu Parishad is an open secret, has also raised eyebrows and serious questions. Voices are also being raised about the conspicuous silence and deep slumber in which the body found itself when the news of depradations of these Sadhus and Sants was openly discussed in the media. Remember the exploits of Ram Rahim have been discussed in the media since 2002; the killing of brave journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati allegedly at the hands of followers of the sect took place way back in 2003; the unnatural deaths of children in the Ashram run by Asaram Bapu or his other not so spiritual deeds were freely reported in the media for years together. And it is not for the first time that Ïcchadhari Baba has been apprehended for some illegal misdemeanour but the apex body of sants and sadhus preferred to remain silent, rather busy in settling internecine battles or gaining (and displaying) its proximity to the ruling establishment of the day.

Perhaps the best way to move forward is not to leave the task of identifying the ‘fakes’ to the fraternity itself and think of something like anti superstition law at the national level, a law for which Dr Narendra Dabholkar led a struggle for more than eighteen years. He was assassinated by right-wing fundamentalists for his tireless efforts in this direction in 2013. The bill was hastily passed merely four days after he was shot dead in August 2013 by two bike-borne assailants near his home in Pune.

A report which appeared in the ‘Mint’ reveals how “..In the three and a half years since Maharashtra passed this law against such practices, there have been hundreds of cases against fraudulent godmen who thrived on the superstition and fears of many”. An advocate told the reporter of the Mint that of the 400 cases registered under the anti-superstition act in the state so far, seven cases have been brought to trial and six witnessed convictions.

It was only last month that the capital witnessed a programme organised under the auspices of Maharashtra Andhashradha Nirmulan Samity (MANS, http://antisuperstition.org/) wherein Avinash Patil, executive president of MANS, stated that in his 30-odd years of working on the issue, the organisation has busted over 5,000 dishonest gurus across the state.

Not a small figure definitely. Enough to worry anyone concerned of the modernisation and secularisation of Indian society.

The Bullet Train as Moksha, the latest Modi Gimmick

September 16, 2017

A foreign country, Japan, is helping India’s haves by providing loans worth almost Rs 1 lakh crore rupees (how many zeroes does that mean ?) to build and run the bullet train by charging an interest rate of 0.1 annually and that too, to be paid in the next fifty years.

Would the RSS/BJP-run government headed by PM Modi help the distressed farmers of this very country, vast majority of them being Hindus, the real have nots, who are committing suicides every 45 minutes by advancing loans with the same rate of interest and for the same duration?

Sadanand Patwardhan, a renowned political commentator while clearing haze on this BULLET TRAIN hype wrote:
“Some MISCONCEPTIONS need to be cleared. Japan is helping its own DOMESTIC INDUSTRY & BANKING INSTITUTIONS through Modi’s BULLET TRAIN program. 0.1% interest rate looks like free lunch that it is not. JAPAN is having NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES regime in force for long. Therefore by lending to this project it is making far better use of funds than the alternative.
For the project, there are no competitors, no competitive bidding. MARGINS to be made can be FAT. By taxing the profits that Japanese companies make that Government will collect more taxes. We also do not know if interest rate is floating or not. YEN INR Exchange Rate risk can skew call financials. If India gets really lucky and Japan becomes insolvent or a failed state, one never can tell these things, and India doesn’t; then Indians will escape the bankruptcy
guillotine like they did with ENRON despite Congress, Shiv Sena+BJP’s best efforts to the contrary.”

Professor Badri Raina,has penned the following poem on how RSS/BJP rulers of India are bent upon presenting BULLET TRAIN as final moksha for the people of India.
I Give You the Bullet Train
Are you hungry, are you in pain?
Come, I’ll feed you the bullet train.
Have you no roof ov’r your head?
Are you directly under the rain?
Come, jump into the bullet train.
Are you on foot, pursued apace
By rapist, moralist, policeman’s cane?
Just one way to cheat them all—
Ride away in the bullet train.
The bullet train is quick and fast,
It leaves behind the ugly things
In such rapid tryst with development,
You’d think they never did exist.
Are you a farmer with noose in hand,
About to end your endless pain,
Consider a patriotic move—
Go under the bullet train
[Poem by Professor Badri Raina]

Another Nail in the Coffin of ‘Make in India’

The BULLET TRAIN, is, in fact, is another nail in the coffin of Make in India. Earlier a Chinese company was awarded execution of the complete project of casting and installing Sardar Patel’s statue in Gujarat, another pet-project of PM Modi. Incidentally, the same Sardar Patel had ordered the banning of the RSS in 1948 for its role in the murder of MK Gandhi.
The Sardar Patel statue project is believed to be worth three thousand crores of Indian rupees. PM Modi’s another pet project YOGA required thousands of Yoga mats for holding Yoga programmes. The Modi government did not buy these from Indian manufacturers but imported around one lakh mats from China.
Whither Make in India, Mr Prime Minister?

Background:

Meanwhile, the former Delhi Metro Chief Dr E Sreedharan today said that he was not in favour of bullet train at present, instead emphasised on the need for the Indian Railways to improve the existing facilities.
“This is not the right time for bullet train in the country but there was a need for improving existing facilities, speed, infrastructure and comforts of passengers,” Sreedharan, also known as the ‘Metro Man’ for developing the vibrant Delhi Metro, said in an informal interaction with in an informal interaction with reporters on sidelines of a function here. He said the Railways should concentrate on betterment of the existing facilities at the outset and think of bullet train later. “May be after eight to 10 years, we may require bullet train,” Sreedharan said.

2. Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project to Cost More Than GDP of These Countries
The high-speed bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is expected to cost Rs 1, 10,000 crore (about $17 billion), which is higher than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about 83 countries across the world. Japan will fund Rs 88,000 crore for the high-speed bullet train project, which is 81 per cent of the total budgeted amount with will have 0.1 per cent interest and will be required to be repaid over 50 years with a moratorium of 15 years. With this, India will get its first bullet train by 15 August 2022- when India completes 75 years of Independence.
As per GDP data of FY2016, eighty-three countries have GDPs less than the total cost of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project. The GDP of Papua New Guinea was $16,929 million while the GDP of famous holiday destination- Mauritius was $12,164 million. The GDP of Seychelles, which is another popular holiday getaway, was $1,427 million as compared to the cost of the bullet train project. Moreover, the cost of making the bullet train in India i.e. (Rs 1, 10,000 crore) is also three times the size of India’s health budget.

Stop Hatred in Jharkand: CBCI to Narendra Modi

September 16, 2017

The Catholics Bishop Conference of India (CBCI) has in a recent letter to prime minister Narendra Modi fervently urged to intervene and stop the “spiralling hatred being created by the Chief Minister (Raghubar Das) belonging to your Party (Jharkand), which if not controlled immediately, could take the State and its people down the streets of violence and hate.”

The letter written by Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, SFX, Secretary General,CBCI speaks passionately of the venom and hate politics being directed at the Church in the state. An effigy of the Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi was recently burned in Ranchi prompting the CBCI to send the letter. The letter also refers to an advertisement in Dainik Bhaskar, a prominent Daily, where a “spurious quote of Mahatma Gandhi without naming the source, to vilify the Christian Community. The advertisement accuses the Christian Missionaries of converting poor Dalits and Tribals (Vanvasis), a term, we think Mahatma Gandhi never used for Tribals), whom the quote describes as innocent and ignorant. The Tribals and Dalits are described as “simple and mute as cows”.

The text of the letter is below and the entire letter may be seen here:

An Open Appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to intervene to stop hatred in Jharkhand

Honourable Prime Minister,

I am making this appeal to you with much sorrow and anguish but also with hope. You must be aware of the recent happenings in Jharkhand, a State ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. You might be aware that there is spiralling hatred being created by the Chief Minister belonging to your Party, which if not controlled immediately, could take the State and its people down the streets of violence and hate.

Till now I had refrained from making a comment on the tragic happenings in the State. But last night as I was about to go to bed, I received this frightening, disquieting and scary photo. A Christian youth from Jharkhand had sent it to me with this quotation from Jesus in Hindi, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing”.

Burning of effigy of Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi

As I went to bed, I could not sleep. Yes, perhaps those leading this ideological hatred, targeting the Christian Community do not know what they are doing, where they are leading the people to: on the road of hatred and division. As I tossed in bed, I thought there is one person to whom I could appeal – You, Honourable Prime Minister. Because time and again you have told us “sabh ka sath, sabh ka vikas”. If I am not mistaken, it was on this slogan that you personally
campaigned in Jharkhand for the State elections, which made Mr. Raghubar Das, the Chief Minister of the State.

Jharkhand is a State where despite abject poverty and miserable living conditions, people of all faiths and confessions, Tribals and non-Tribals, Dalits and others have been living in peace with each other. This was till the Chief Minister embarked on a different agenda. He began some months ago with vitriolic attacks against the Christian Community. Then in a first for any Chief Minister he came out with this particular full front page advertisement in the prominent dailies of the State.

Advertisement in Dainik Bhaskar, a prominent Daily

I do not know if you are aware of this advertisement. It contains a spurious quote of Mahatma Gandhi without naming the source, to vilify the Christian Community. The advertisement accuses the Christian Missionaries of converting poor Dalits and Tribals (Vanvasis, a term, we think Mahatma Gandhi never used for Tribals), whom the quote describes as innocent and ignorant. The Tribals and Dalits are described as “simple and mute as cows”.

All sane minds in Jharkhand and the Tribals at large are aghast at such a description. People are asking whether the State deserves a Chief Minister, who allows an advertisement with his photo and that of “Bappu” reducing the Tribals and Dalits to the level of cows. Many are wondering whether, Mr. Raghubar Das became Chief Minister by getting votes from Tribals and Dalits, because in the words of the advertisement they are “as mute and simple as cows”. Less than two weeks after the advertisement, while the Jharkhandis were still shocked over the hate filled advertisement, the ruling party brought into the State Assembly and passed two important Bills: The Freedom of Religion Bill and the Amendments to Land Acquisition Act 2013, in record time practically without discussion. One wonders whether the hatred filled advertisement and the “Freedom of Religion Bill” were smoke screens for the real act of the amendment to Land Acquisition Act. Is there something more than meets the eye specially since the Governor had earlier refused to sign Amendments to the CNTPT Act. Was the Chief Minister creating a diversionary tactic of mounting hatred.

Dear Prime Minister, the Catholic Church has time and again reiterated that it strongly opposes forced conversions. But, at the same time, it stands by its rights to ‘preach, practice and propagate’ its faith as per Articles 25-28 of the Constitution. Coming back to that advertisement against the Christian community to hastily pass Amendments to the Land Acquisition Bill, which we feel will threaten the livelihood and the very existence of the Tribals, specially when there is still so much unused Government land.

Dear Prime Minister, coming back to that picture which is haunting me. Here is the burning of effigy of probably the most prominent and respected religious leader in Jharkhand. Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, as you would be aware, is a non-controversial leader, respected not only in Christian circles but also in civil society and by Tribals and non-Tribals. He is also the ambassador of the Swatch Bharat Abhiyan. History shows us that hatred which begins as a tiny spark can engulf into an unstoppable fire. As you know the burning of effigies can very well turn into physical violence.

We are a peace loving community as the whole country knows. Our Missionaries have sacrificed and many have died of Malaria and Tuberculosis at a young age striving to serve the deprived sections of society in remote areas. We have not done it for political or selfish motives. We will continue to work for the neglected sections of society through education, health care and other uplifting activities. We are not doing this to “milk the poverty” to make them Christians – we are doing it because our religion teaches us to serve the poorest of the poor.

Dear Prime Minister, the Church has as usual not responded to the provocations of the Chief Minister. It is not because we are afraid, it is not because we are weak. That the Christians have not responded should not be taken as a sign of weakness. We are not speaking about ourselves, we are speaking about the people of Jharkhand. It is not possible that so much money is spent by the Constitutional authority of the State on front page advertisements sowing hate, when health facilities are so poor that stories of parents carrying children on foot for 10-12 kms. to arrive at the nearest hospital makes news.

It is not possible that the constitutional authority of a State, actively involves itself in promoting hate as the advertisement does.

Dear Prime Minister, we were touched when on 29 May, 2017, you told the nation, “we Indians are lucky that our ancestors have created such a tradition today. India and its 1.25 billion people can take pride in the fact that people from all communities and faiths are available here.”

We were moved when you told the nation on October 31, 2015, “we have to move forward with the mantra of unity, peace and harmony”.

The whole nation applauded you when on Independence Day this year you gave a clarion call from the ramparts of Red Fort, “in the name of faith, violence cannot be allowed”.

Mr. Raghubar Das and his advisors at least in the past few months have not shown affiliation to the ideology you are proclaiming.

I appeal to you, honourable Prime Minister, with trust and hope to intervene and curb the spread of hate created by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Jharkhandis and Jharkhand deserves better. If the Chief Minister is unable to control his ideological hatred, then it is time for him to go. Your party has many leaders who can do a better job on all fronts.

Thank you and God bless you.

Yours Sincerely,

Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, SFX
Secretary General,
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India

Its Official, UP Police Conducts 420 Encounters in Six Months, Killing 15

September 16, 2017

As many as ten of the alleged criminals were killed in the 48 days before September 14.

In June 2017, in an interview on India TV, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath said in response to criticism that the BJP government had failed to check crime in the state since coming to power, “Agar apradh karenge toh thok diye jayenge (if they commit crimes, they will be knocked down).” Three months later, data shows that this was not an empty threat. Clear indications of the shoot at sight policy of the Adityanath regime. Now, says Indian Express, the UP police have conducted 420 encounters with alleged criminals – and killed 15 – in the less than six months the Adityanath government has been in power, according to official data released on Friday. In the encounters between March 20 and September 14, 88 police personnel have suffered injuries. Ten of the alleged criminals were killed in the 48 days before September 14.

The statistics released by the director general of police headquarters showed that Jai Prakash Singh, a sub-inspector, died in an encounters with a gang of dacoits in Chitrakoot, reported the Indian Express.

The Inspector general (law and order) Hari Ram Sharma said that the encounters were part of the police’s efforts to “control crime,” according to the Indian Express report said. He also said that the police had arrested 1,106 people as part of the encounters, in which 84 of the accused were injured. Sharma justified police firing saying that criminals do not surrender without resistance so the police fire in retaliation. According to Sharma, the National Security Act is being used to charge 54 accused, while the properties of 69 others have been attached under the UP Gangster and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act.

“Police is accountable to the executive, judiciary, media and people. Every encounter is probed through a magisterial inquiry. The National Human Rights Commission has been informed about the deaths,” he told the Indian Express.

Questions are being raised over a series of tweets by Rahul Srivastav, who is the public relations officer at the director general of police headquarters. On September 1, Sunil Sharma, allegedly a wanted criminal, succumbed to his injuries from an encounter in the outskirts of Lucknow. The same day, Srivastava tweeted saying: “#uppolice enounter express halts in the capital… miles to go…” along with a news clipping of the encounter.

He tweeted again on September 12: “No count is final. It’s 5 now. A 12,000 rewardee criminal Raju succumbed to bullet injuries in Shamli, another got injured in Muzaffarnagar.”

Additional director general of police (law and order) Anand Kumar told the Indian Express that an aggressive approach towards criminals had been adopted. “We are identifying these wanted criminals to arrest them.”

A Self-Proclaimed Cow Vigilante from Pune has a Cop Who Keeps Him Company: Pune Mirror

September 16, 2017

A man who takes law into his own hands, Shivshankar Swami has conducted more than 200 ‘raids’ in the past five years and has serious offences like extortion, dacoity and rioting filed against him; but, says Pune Mirror, he gets police cover claiming a threat to his life

Shivshankar Swami (second from above left and inset) with his armed cop and his mentor Milind Ekbote (right) PIC: NIKHIL GHORPADE Courtesy: Pune Mirror

“I get so angry at those who are into the Gau-Rakshak business…. I have seen that some people are into crimes all night and wear the garb of Gau Rakshaks in the day.”
— Prime Minister Narendra Modi, August 2016

“Mahatma Gandhi would have shown us what a true gau rakshak is and he would have never approved of cow vigilantism.”

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi, June 2017

While the Supreme Court has directed states to appoint senior nodal officers to tackle cow vigilantism, and why violence in the name of the cow is not being controlled, many of these self-styled law breakers enjoy police protection!

Shivshankar Swami, says Pune Mirror, has been enjoying police protection for the past two years. Meet Pune’s very own self-proclaimed Gau Rakshak, who has carried out more than 200 raids on people transporting cattle in the last five years. Scores of cases have been registered against him for a myriad of offences ranging from dacoity and rioting to even extortion and attempt to murder. Some he has been acquitted of, while others are still pending trial.

“I felt that the cow is our mother and it is our duty to save her. I was a regular visitor at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakha and that’s where I heard of Milind Ekbote. I was fascinated by his work, so I joined Ekbote’s Gau Raksha Abhiyan at the age of 17 and started helping him. I have been conducting raids for the last five years. Till date, I’ve reached a record number of 200 cases. I don’t think any Gau Rakshak across the country would have managed to do this,” Swami proclaimed proudly.

When Mirror queried about his modus operandi, Swami readily explained, “It’s simple. Whenever there is a tip-off, we reach the spot and stop the vehicles carrying the animals. The respective police station is informed and then the raid is conducted.

By the time the cops arrive, we have already done our job, taking the meat or the animals travelling in the vehicle into custody. When the police reach the spot, all of this is taken to the police station and an offence is registered.” But who gives them the authority to raid the vehicles? “We have to do that. What if these people run away by the time the police arrive?” he reasoned. Swami dismissed all the serious offences registered against him, alleging that these were the handiwork of a corrupt police.

“All of these cases are false. I never break any law. In fact, I feel that we should go the legal way while filing the cases,” he insisted. And he does practice what he preaches. Apart from the hundreds of raids, he has also filed cases against several butchers with multiple courts on behalf of animal shelters. With this move, he ensures that the animals he has confiscated from their custody do not easily go back to the owners. So how does he fund the legal battles? “There are a few lawyers who feel for our cause. So, they help us fight the cases. For the rest, we spend money from our own pockets,” he offered. + A sneak peek at the details of a few of his raids is enough to show the extent of his influence. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

On August 26, 2011, Aftab Wepari was taking his buffaloes to Pune market from Satara. When he reached Khed Shivapur toll plaza he, was stopped by Swami and his men. “There were seven to eight of them,” recalled Wepari, going on to say, “They asked me why I was transporting the animals. They stopped our vehicles and beat us up badly.” A case was registered against Swami and his aides at Rajgad police station, the hearing for which is currently on at the sessions court.

Rest of the story may be read here

In another instance, tempo driver Balasaheb Londhe was transporting eight bullocks on August 29, 2014 in his vehicle when he was accosted by Swami. “I had the RTO licence for the vehicle and I was transporting the animals legally. But Swami stopped me and began beating me up even while he was asking why I was transporting the animals. He took me to the police station and registered a complaint against me. Since I was injured badly, I filed a case against him as well. But while I had to attend court hearings for the case he has registered, no one has told me the status of the case I had filed,” rued Londhe.

On July 11, 2015, Noor Mohammad Shaikh was travelling to his home in Nasrapur after visiting the animal market with his four friends, when he was suddenly surrounded by eight to nine people on the highway. “They stopped us by bringing their vehicle in front of our bikes and started beating me up. They even broke my bike. I could identify Shivshankar Swami, one of the Gau Rakshaks. But I did not know why he decided to attack us. We were not even transporting any animals. We were just travelling home on our two-wheelers,” said Shaikh. A case of breach of peace, wrongful restraint, damaging property and unlawful assembly was filed against Swami and the people accompanying him under sections 341, 143, 504 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code, which is pending in court.

But Ekbote would not hear anything adverse about his protégé, saying that they had to ask for police protection for Swami two years ago. “We were told that people from Phaltan had conspired to kill Swami. So, we requested the police for protection. The commissioner agreed and, since the last two years, Swami has a policeman accompanying him throughout the day. He has faced such threats thrice. So we are submitting one more letter to the police officials to inform them,” Ekbote clarified.

This police official accompanies him across the city, even at times when he is conducting these raids. Though Swami claims that cop who accompanys him has no role to play during the raids, the Qureshis, whose main livelihood centres around buffalo meat and milk, begged to differ. Saadiq Qureshi, a member of the state Beef Dealers’ Association, alleged, “There are instances when the police official accompanying him has asked the driver for the documents, permits and receipts validating the buying and transporting of the animals. They promptly tear the documents so that when the driver and tempo finally reach the police station, they have nothing to show, leading to the cases filed against them. We met director general of police (DGP) Satish Mathur, asking him how Swami has managed to get police protection despite cases of serious offences filed against him. We are waiting for the cops to initiate action and are even planning to take legal recourse against him.”

When Mirror spoke to inspector Hemant Bhat from the Special Branch about the modalities of police protection, he said, “When we receive an application demanding protection for someone, we send it to the respective police station for its opinion. The cops there verify the claims and send us a report, based on which the application is put up before a committee to take the final call. Swami was given police protection after due completion of this process. At present, he has one constable accompanying him for 12 hours. This is unpaid protection. Though there are offences registered against him, the threat that this person has and also the circumstances in which the offences were registered are also taken into consideration. He was given police protection owing to a threat to his life.”

Curiously, Swami’s family is blissfully unaware of his ‘acts of bravado’. “I have a younger brother. My family is not happy as they feel I ignore them. They know that I work for the protection of the cows. But they are unaware of the risks and the nature of my work,” said Swami.

Rahul Gandhi & Congress Need to Come Even More Clean on 1984

September 16, 2017

Though Gandhi is absolutely right about the alarming situation in India and did a great job by exposing the BJP government (in the USA recently), he and his party have to come clean on 1984 to establish their secular credentials. He should have sat down with the protesters and listened to them. Even now he can ensure that his party makes a genuine official apology to the victims’ families and provide all the evidence against several top notch Congress leaders to the investigating agencies so that justice could be served. If not then Congress has no moral right to condemn the BJP on the issue of religious intolerance.

The Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Berkeley University has once again polarised the Hindu Right and so called secularists within Indian politics. Gandhi was in US to address the university students where he attacked the current right wing Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He pointed out how sectarian violence and religious intolerance have grown under Modi administration. He also criticized other right wing policies of the government which have created economic inequality in the country.

The leaders of the BJP government wasted no time and started counter attack against Gandhi for saying negative things about his own country during a foreign tour.
Well, Gandhi did not do anything wrong. After all Modi himself has been saying certain negative things about India during his foreign tours in the past and whatever Gandhi said is already known to the world.

The BJP will have to face the music for growing bigotry in India where minorities are under constant attacks from Hindu extremists who have become emboldened ever since Modi government came to power in 2014.

However, little discussion is centred on the protest organised by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) against Gandhi. The SFJ is a US-based advocacy group which has been campaigning for justice to the Sikhs who were targeted in a well orchestrated mob violence across India in 1984. The massacre followed the assassination of the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards who were enraged by the infamous military attack on the Golden Temple Complex- the holiest Sikh shrine in June that year. The army was ordered to invade the place of worship where the Sikh militants had stockpiled weapons. Shortly after her murder, the activists of Gandhi’s secularist Congress party began mobilising mobs against Sikhs to avenge the death of the slain leader.

Gandhi was the grandmother of Rahul whose father the late Rajiv Gandhi succeeded her as the next Prime Minister. He not only publicly justified the anti Sikh massacre, but also awarded those involved in the violence with ministerial positions in his government. Taking advantage of the anti Sikh wave he got elected with a brute majority and to appease Hindu majority brought a draconian anti terror law to deal with Sikh extremists. The law was widely misused against Sikhs in Punjab and other parts of India and the Sikh political activists were frequently abducted and killed by the police and security forces in staged shootouts in the name of war on terror.

For these reasons the Sikh activists have always viewed the Gandhi family as their enemy. Notably, there has been no dignified closure or honest acknowledgement of the excesses committed against the Sikhs, leave alone the question of punishing the guilty of Sikh genocide.

It is a separate matter that Rahul’s mother Sonia Gandhi who happens to be the President of the Congress Party had given an opportunity to Dr. Manmohan Singh, a well known Sikh economist to lead the country as the Prime Minister when the Congress led coalition was running the previous government. Singh was the first turbaned Sikh to lead India. Yet, no justice was done to the families of the victims of 1984. (Note:In 1998 Sonia Gandhi had apologised to the Sikh community for June 6—Operation Blue Star and the massacre of Sikhs in 1984. In 2014, before the election results, Rahul Gandhi had also re-iterated his mother and former prime minster, Manmohan Singh’s apology to the Sikh community)

At Berkeley Rahul Gandhi pulled no punches while criticising sectarian politics of the BJP government and even claimed to be sympathetic to the Sikh protesters but remained silent on the question of shielding the politicians involved in the massacre. So much so, he refused to answer a direct question on this that came from the floor after his speech.

Though Gandhi is absolutely right about the alarming situation in India and did a great job by exposing the BJP government, he and his party have to come clean on 1984 to establish their secular credentials. He should have sat down with the protesters and listened to them. Even now he can ensure that his party makes a genuine official apology to the victims’ families and provide all the evidence against several top notch Congress leaders to the investigating agencies so that justice could be served. If not then Congress has no moral right to condemn the BJP on the issue of religious intolerance.

To prove itself to be a real secular alternative to the BJP, the Congress will have to walk extra miles to wipe away this blot. The secularist media and the parliamentary left who are also enamored by the Congress and continue to see it as a challenge to the BJP also have to be honest on the issue of 1984 if they really want to defeat the designs of the political forces that indulge in majoritarianism which is the root of sectarian violence in India.

It is pertinent to mention that Modi government in Gujarat followed the same technique against the Muslims that was applied to target Sikhs in 2002. This was followed by the burning of a train carrying Hindu pilgrims. More than 50 people had died in the incident that was blamed on Muslim fundamentalists by the Modi government. As a result anti Muslim violence broke out in Gujarat. Human Rights activists believe that had justice been done to the victims of 1984, 2002 wouldn’t have happened. Much like Rajiv Gandhi- Modi also used an anti minority wave to win another election in Gujarat with a thumping majority.

These simple but inconvenient facts are enough to prove that Congress owes a much bigger moral responsibility to correct the historical wrongs to move ahead and lead a struggle for pluralist India.

Prohibit Pellets in Shot Guns Immediately: Amnesty International, India

September 15, 2017

New Amnesty International Report Calls for a “Complete Ban” on the Use of Pellet Guns in Kashmir

Danish Rajab Jhat (24), marketing executive from Srinagar, had to get his left eye removed due to pellets related injuries on 17 July 2016.

“I had 92 pellets Hit my Face,
Who Says Pellets are Not Lethal?
Ask Us
Pellets Killed Our Dreams and Hopes
They Bruised our Souls
They Made our Lives Hell”
Danish Rajab, 24

Amnesty International India has called for a ‘complete ban’ on the use of pellet guns in Kashmir in their latest report titled “Losing Sight in Kashmir: The Impact of Pellet-Firing Shotguns” which was released on Wednesday. The report depicts the plight of 88 victims of pellet guns in Kashmir whose eyesight was damaged in one or both eyes by metal pellets fired from pump-action shotguns used by the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) between the year 2014 and 2017.

The report says pellet-firing shotguns, which have been responsible for blinding, killing and traumatizing hundreds of people in Kashmir, “must be immediately banned.” The pump-action shotguns, as per the report, have been used by forces in Jammu and Kashmir since at least 2010. The report says the use of shotguns in Kashmir has “blinded hundreds and killed at least 14 people since July 2016.”

“School going boys and girls have lost vision in one or both eyes, and have difficulty reading, playing with their friends, or watching cartoons,” the report says, adding that college students have had to give up their dreams of pursuing higher education. “Young men and primary breadwinners of families say that they cannot earn a living anymore, that they are now a liability for their families.”

This report comes just as India’s lacklastre, if not hostile response to the international community on various human rights recommendations has just become public. The ambivalence of the Indian government on the use of pellet guns by security forces and the paramilitary–that have taken away the eyesight of young children in Kashmir is shocking. Similarly the government of India remains non-committal on the crucial issue of surveillance even when the Indian Supreme Court (on August 24, 2017) gave a resounding 9 member verdict on the Right to Privacy reasserting that this right, is a primordial right that is above all, pervasive in all aspects of human life.

Asif Ahmad Sheikh (9 years old) class 5 student from Anantag, lost the vision in right eye on 21st July 2016.

The report reveals that several people have not regained their eyesight despite going through repeated surgeries, and that they’re “spending considerable amounts of time on medical treatment. Some still have pellets inside their eyes, because it is medically risky to remove them.”

The report features large sized, black and white photos of pellet victims, including those of teenagers and young men in their early 20s, along with their details and brief thoughts, in quotes, which depict their pain.

The report also recommends initiation of an “independent and impartial civilian criminal investigation into all incidents where the use of pellet firing shotguns led to deaths or serious injuries to establish whether arbitrary or excessive force was used, and where sufficient evidence is found, prosecute those suspected of responsibility in civilian courts.”

Insha Mushtaq (15), class 9 student from Shopian, lost vision in both eyes on 11 July 2016.

The report further recommends full compensation, to be provided by government of India and the state government, for the victims of pellets guns in Kashmir. “Provide full reparation in line with the international standards to those who have been injured by pellet-firing shotguns, and to the families of those killed,” the report recommends at the end, adding that this must be “adequate compensation and rehabilitation, including any medical and psychological care that may be needed.”
The report also recommends the central and state government to provide “relevant training on crowd control measures and the use of force and firearms to security force personnel of the central and state governments, as laid out in the UN Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by the Law Enforcement officials and UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.”
“Authorities claim the pellet shotgun is not lethal, but the injuries and deaths caused by this cruel weapon bear testimony to how dangerous, inaccurate and indiscriminate it is,” Aakar Patel, Executive Director at Amnesty International India said while releasing the report. “There is no proper way to use pellet-firing shotguns. It is irresponsible of authorities to continue the use of these shotguns despite being aware of the damage they do.”

The report also reveals some information obtained through an RTI filed by AI which shows that out of 648 people treated for injuries in government hospitals of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district in 2016, “16 people were from Jammu and Kashmir police who suffered various forms of injuries caused by pellets.” When AI wrote to the J&K police and CRPF seeking details on whether any of their personnel had been injured by pellet shotguns, no responses were received.

Traumatized and living in the dark
Zahoor Wani, Senior Campaigner at Amnesty International India and lead researcher of the report, said pellet gun victims in Kashmir are facing serious physical and mental health issues, which includes physical pain, memory loss, and hypertension. “Many of the pellet victims we met while researching for the report are young students who had to give up their studies as they couldn’t focus on their studies due to their eye injuries,” said Wani, adding that only in one case they found the victim family having filed an FIR, while the rest of the victims were unable to pursue their cases, many of them unaware of who hit them with pellet shotguns which resulted in their fatal eye injuries. Wani said during their research they also found many cases where pellet gun victims were as old as 9 and 10 year olds, including 14 cases which involved young girls who were hit by pellet guns inside or close to their homes.

Shabroza Mir (19), class 10 student from Pulwama, lost vision in her left eye on 31 October 2016.

Shabroza Mir, a 19-year-old student and one of the pellet gun victims who featured in the report, talked about her condition while briefly addressing the audience at the event. She said she was preparing for her class 10th exams when she was hit by pellets in her left eye outside her home in Pulwama district on October 31 last year. She said the pellet injury has psychologically affected her. She is unable to read and focus on her studies. “When I look down to read something even now,” she said. “It pains me and I’ve to stop reading.”

Manzoor Ahmad Dar, a 22-year-old baker from Pulwama. who also addressed the audience after the release of the report, said he’d to close his shop and stop working following his doctor’s advice as his right eye suffered partial loss of sight after pellets were fired at him in October last year. “My father died long ago after which I was supporting my family,” he said. “But after I was hit by pellets, I had to close my shop and I’m unable to earn and support my family now,” he said. “I’m doomed.”

Farooq Ahmad Malla, a 27-year-old box maker from north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, lost vision in both his eyes after he was hit by pellets in March last year. “The pellets have turned everything black – my ambitions, my dreams, my whole life,” his quote beneath his black and white photo reads in one of the pages of the report. “It is painful to hear that more and more people are being pushed into this dark world by these pellets.”

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A foreign country, Japan, is helping India’s haves by providing loans worth almost Rs 1 lakh crore rupees (how many zeroes does that mean ?) to build and run the bullet train by charging an interest rate of 0.1 annually and that too, to be paid in the next fifty years.

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Its Official, UP Police Conducts 420 Encounters in Six Months, Killing 15

As many as ten of the alleged criminals were killed in the 48 days before September 14.

A Self-Proclaimed Cow Vigilante from Pune has a Cop Who Keeps Him Company: Pune Mirror

Rahul Gandhi & Congress Need to Come Even More Clean on 1984

Prohibit Pellets in Shot Guns Immediately: Amnesty International, India

“I had 92 pellets Hit my Face,
Who Says Pellets are Not Lethal?
Ask Us
Pellets Killed Our Dreams and Hopes
They Bruised our Souls
They Made our Lives Hell”
Danish Rajab, 24

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For a law against Superstition at the National Level

A foreign country, Japan, is helping India’s haves by providing loans worth almost Rs 1 lakh crore rupees (how many zeroes does that mean ?) to build and run the bullet train by charging an interest rate of 0.1 annually and that too, to be paid in the next fifty years.

As many as ten of the alleged criminals were killed in the 48 days before September 14.

“I had 92 pellets Hit my Face, Who Says Pellets are Not Lethal? Ask Us Pellets Killed Our Dreams and Hopes They Bruised our Souls They Made our Lives Hell” Danish Rajab, 24

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

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Important Links

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CONNECT

“I had 92 pellets Hit my Face,
Who Says Pellets are Not Lethal?
Ask Us
Pellets Killed Our Dreams and Hopes
They Bruised our Souls
They Made our Lives Hell”
Danish Rajab, 24