#Me too: What about the Dalit-Bahujan Woman?

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March 12, 2019

All Women Are White, All Blacks Are Men: But some of us are Brave was a famous feminist anthology in Black Women’s Studies published in the 80s. Back home, Sharmila Rege in “A Dalit Feminist Standpoint”, published in Seminar magazine talks about “the masculinisation of Dalithood and Savarnisation of womanhood.” She brings forth the savarnised feminist movement, while also pointing out the male centricity of the Dalit Movement. In her view, these two important discourses have excluded the Dalit woman and have led to her “invisibilisation”.

The Dalit-Bahujan woman was the first woman to have ever entered the workplace either as a land labourer, a toilet cleaner, an artist, a dancer, a hand weaver or a house servant. Why is she missing from the #metoo movement despite her having endured sexual harassment at the workplace for a time longer and an extent graver than Savarna woman.

Progressive Savarna women and Ambedkarite Dalit men have both been silent on the #metoo (sexual harassment at workplace) of Dalit-Bahujan woman for long. At best, she has found marginal inclusion or rather some form of token representation in the discourses of the feminists as well as the Ambedkarites. She finds mention when a few amongst her manage to reach the top, the likes of Mayawati, Tina Dabi and Devyani Khobragade, or by way of tokenism in the occasional atrocities (mostly rapes and murders) on Dalit women.

Lone Warrior

What is evident is how the Dalit-Bahujan woman is missing from the #metoo movement despite her having endured sexual harassment at the workplace for a time longer and an extent graver than the Savarna woman.The Dalit-Bahujan woman was the first woman to have ever entered the workplace either as a land labourer, a toilet cleaner, an artist, a dancer, a hand weaver or a house servant. Caste, class and gender have worked organically to subject her to this triple burden/discrimination. In the spectrum of power, she is at the rearest end. Her stories at the workplace are known, but not spoken about. Her abuse is at the hands of the ‘upper caste him’ and the ‘caste him,’ not to forget the silence of the ‘upper caste her’. She finds herself a lone warrior in this struggle.

Savitribai Phule has been one such warrior. She was the first non-savarna woman to have entered the modern workplace and quite literally so. It makes me wonder why we are always fed a desexualised image of all our women icons. Wouldn’t she have survived this kind of sexual abuse? She was after all crushing caste and gender stereotypes at the dawn of the 19th century. The stone pelting, curses, allegations thrown her way, symbolise the casteist and sexist abuses every Dalit-Bahujan woman survives and endures. Unfortunately for my Dalit-Bahujan sister, the majority is not a passive bystander but an active perpetrator in her victimisation.

Most vulnerable

It is not surprising therefore, that the Dalit-Bahujan woman at the workplace today is the most vulnerable of the lot. She works in the unorganised sector, her labour is contractualised, her jobs are either dirty or looked down upon and her sweat disgusts one and all. She is harvesting, winnowing, threshing in the fields, toiling under the bare sun on construction sites, shining our used utensils and dirty linen, picking rags from foul smelling dumps and cleaning dry toilets with a broom and tinsheets.

The Dalit-Bahujan woman at the workplace is the most vulnerable of the lot. She works in the unorganised sector, her labour is contractualised, her jobs are either dirty or looked down upon and her sweat disgusts one and all.

As she works, she is being ogled at, caste and sex coloured remarks are thrown her way, she is touched, grabbed, her clothes ripped off, her inhuman rapes and murders all reek of a concoction of the caste system and patriarchy together. She is invariably rendered most insecure and vulnerable at her workplace.

Statutory lip service

Despite this, the 2013 Act on sexual harassment at the workplace that claims to include women of the unorganised, informal sector, provides mere lip service. The provision of the Local Complaints Committee at the district level is the only recourse for women in the unorganised sector whether it is rag pickers, safai karmacharis, land labourers or domestic workers. These local committees are either not set up at the district level or where they exist, they are made inoperable due to lack of resources.

Local Complaints Committee at the district level, the only recourse for women in the unorganised sector, are either not set up at the district level or where they exist, they are made inoperable due to lack of resources.

The inaccessibility of such district level local committees to these women at the taluka, ward, and village level is another major concern. In addition, the lack of resources – education and capital – makes justice inaccessible to her. The government has set no preconditions of setting up an Internal Complaints Committee (Vishakha Committee) before handing out contracts to contract companies or contractors in the unorganised sector. The Act remains silent on all such issues. Even the efforts of civil society (feminists and Ambedkarites alike) have been inadequate in educating and empowering working class Dalit women about existing provisions of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act.

High Time

Movements like “metoo” are crucial in creating a healthier and more egalitarian society. Their feminist objectives cannot be denied.

Civil society (feminists and Ambedkarites alike) has been inadequate in educating and empowering working class Dalit women about existing provisions of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act.

However, they will not be complete if they fail to penetrate across caste and class. It is high time that the working class Dalit, Adivasi , Bahujan woman shouts out a “metoo”. She may not find a voice on Twitter, Facebook or Whatsapp, but her struggle on the streets will compel people to hear her out. Her chorus should serve as a stimulus to all feminists as well as Ambedkarites. It is now time her issues don’t remain invisible or mere tokens in these movements.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

Women human rights defenders face worsening violence: UN expert

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March 12, 2019

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Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur, in his annual report, talks about Soni Sori and the violence meted out to her by the State. Further, it also talks about the vicious smear campaign and subsequent arrest under UAPA of Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj. He has included online harassment and threats faced by Journalist Rana Ayub.

Geneva: On February 28, Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders while presenting his annual report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva stated, “In the current political climate, in which there is a backlash against human rights, women who defend and promote rights are often the first to come under attack.”

The report, based on discussions with women human rights defenders around the world as well as on consultations, communications, responses etc, also mentions incidents of attack on human rights defenders in India. In his report, he has included online harassment and threats faced by Journalist Rana Ayub. It also talks about the State’s inaction towards her complaints.

In a separate section titled “Indigenous women human rights defenders and women human rights defenders from minority groups”, the report further expresses concern over the isolation of indigenous women defenders and speaks about the attack on Indigenous women defenders who are defending their rights to their lands, territory and natural resources. It talks about Soni Sori and the violence meted out to her by the State. Further, it also talks about the vicious smear campaign and subsequent arrest under UAPA of Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj.

In his press release, he concludes “States and international organisations must recognise the specific challenges and risks women defenders face. They must ensure that such defenders are recognised, supported and enabled to participate equally, meaningfully and powerfully in the promotion and protection of human rights.”

Women, girls and gender non-conforming people standing up for human rights have been facing increased repression and violence across the globe. States must respect, protect and fulfil the right of defenders to promote human rights without discrimination, Michel Forst, presenting his annual report, said.

The report shows how the rise in misogynistic, sexist and homophobic speech by political leaders in recent years has normalised violence against women human rights defenders. In some cases, those acting on behalf of States have engaged in direct attacks against women defenders and their families.

“In many countries, women who dare to speak out for human rights are stigmatised and called bad mothers, terrorists or witches, silenced and marginalised from decision-making and can even be killed. It is particularly worrying that the hostility they face comes not only from State authorities but also the media, social movements, their own communities and even their family,” said the Special Rapporteur.

“Public shaming, attacks on women’s honour and their reputation, doxing or publishing their personal details on the internet, sexual violence and attacks against their children and loved ones, are used to silence women human rights defenders,” he added.

The report notes that women face the same risks as men defending rights, but it makes clear that women defenders face additional and different threats that are shaped by entrenched gender stereotypes and ingrained social perceptions of women.

“We have documented how the obstacles and risks faced by women human rights defenders are shaped by their gender. Women are attacked for promoting and protecting human rights simply because of their identity as women and because of what they do,” said Forst.

The report also raises alarm about the increasing number of States which have been restricting civil society space, imposing legal and administrative requirements that curtail the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, association and peaceful assembly. In some countries, women rights defenders have been targeted for promoting women’s human rights, including the right to equality and to sexual and reproductive health.

The expert also expressed serious concern at the increasing use of the concept of “gender ideology” which, in various parts of the world, especially in Latin America and Eastern Europe, is presented as an attempt by feminists and LGBTQ+ rights defenders, to destabilise the social and political order.

“There are no short cuts to reversing this deplorable situation. We must dismantle harmful gender stereotypes and radically reimagine social constructs of gender to prevent the domination and marginalisation of women,” Forst stressed.

The report contains recommendations and examples of good practice to support the building of diverse, inclusive and strong movements of women human rights defenders.

“States and international organisations must recognise the specific challenges and risks women defenders face. They must ensure that such defenders are recognised, supported and enabled to participate equally, meaningfully and powerfully in the promotion and protection of human rights,” Forst concluded.

Note: The report is based on numerous discussions that the Special Rapporteur has had with women human rights defenders around the world since the beginning of his mandate, as well as on consultations held in New York, Beirut, Geneva and Bali. It also draws on 181 letters concerning women human rights defenders’ cases sent to 60 States by the Special Rapporteur between 2 July 2014 and 2 October 2018, and over 200 responses to the Special Rapporteur’s survey, which were collected with the support of the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York.

Mr. Michel Forst (France) was appointed by the Human Rights Council as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in 2014. Mr. Forst has extensive experience of human rights issues and specifically of the situation of human rights defenders. He was the Director General of Amnesty International (France) and Secretary General of the first World Summit on Human Rights Defenders in 1998. He is a former UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Haiti.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

The rich history of Vantangiya’s are threatened when villages like Mahbubnagar are not given their rightful status

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March 12, 2019

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Social workers demand that every eligible family of Mahbubnagar in Uttar Pradesh should get proprietary rights under FRA. The village was the centre of forest management during the British and is still facing colonial era repression in the present.

Lucknow: The District Level Forest Rights Committee meeting was held on March 2, Saturday under the chairmanship of District Magistrate Shambhu Kumar to convert the Vantangia Village of Mahbubnagar, Uttar Pradesh to a village gram category. During this meeting, it was stated that out of 247 claims, 144 claims were found eligible for proprietary rights under the Forest Rights Act. The villages have had to work hard to get these rights. Who are these Vantangiyas and what is their story?

Vantangiya’s have existed in India since the British
The British had their eyes for all the forests of India but had a peculiar interest in the forest of Deori, Nainital, Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheeri, Bahraich, Balrampur Maharajganj, Gorakhpur and more in Uttar Pradesh. After passing the Awadh Forest Rules, the British cunningly captured the forests of Bahraich in 1961, and in 1885, they brought in the forest department to control the forest produce. For this, four ranges of Motipur, Chakia, Charda and Bhinga were made. Bahraich’s forests were very famous for the strong Sakhu wood.

Many Sakhu trees were chopped down to lay railway lines
The British were expanding rail lines at breakneck speed in the whole country. To lay a kilometre of a rail line, 60 Sakhu trees had to be sacrificed for their strength. The wood was used to lay sleepers below the railway line and the demand for the wood increased. The Forest officers in the newly minted forest department chopped down many Sakhu forests in the region.

The uniqueness of a Sakhu tree is that if its seed falls on the ground at midnight and is not sown deep in the land until morning, it can’t grow. In regions like Motipur, Kakaraha, Murthyaha, Nishan Ghat, Katarniya Ghat, the trees of Sakhu had disappeared. Due to a drought in the region, the tree couldn’t grow. The natural growth of a tree is known as natural rehydration in the forest language. The artificial growing of trees with the help of a nursery is known as mesmeric reproduction. The forest department did not possess the knowledge to grow Sakhu trees.

Many officers in the Bahraich region and other parts of the country went to the jungles in Myanmar to learn how to plant these trees from local Adivasis. The tribal community there trained them in the methods involved in growing Sakhu trees. This was called the ‘Tangiya’ method.

The word ‘Tangiya’ comes from Myanmar
The word means forest farming. The word ‘Tang’ means farming and ‘Ya’ means forest. If you find any place with a name ending with ‘ya’ it can be deduced that there used to be a forest there. The places like Bichia, Dhakia, Tadia, Chafaria, Badkhadia, Kataria etc bear this name. This form of farming is also called “zoom farming” or “shifting cultivation”.
Forest Farming was hard work

People are given empty land for the Tangiya method. They have to clean the ground and plough it with the help of bullocks to make it sustainable for farming. The plants are sown in a line and there is a distance of 15 feet from one tree to the other. They have to grow their crop in this distance. The forest department used to take half of the total yield and they had to survive on the other half. In the second year, when the trees started to grow, the cultivation between the trees had to be cleared with a shovel and in the fifth year, they had to clear their cultivated fields and had to repeat this process on another empty land. For this, many people resided in their fields itself and at some places, a community living place for Tangiya labourers was created. Mahbubnagar was the capital for Tangiya forest workers. Taranagar and Najir Ganj were also the workers’ centres. Getting pure drinking water at all these places was a big challenge. An old well was renewed in Mahbubnagar in 1935. It was constructed to provide water to hundreds of forest workers.

Forced labour under the Forest department
Labourers fled Taranagar and Najir Ganj in the absence of water. Tangiya labourers had to work hard in the forest department. They had to be given milk curd, ghee, grains and buffaloes for hunting. The forest officers had complete control even over the vegetables they had grown on their roof. Children of the labourers were forbidden from getting an education because if they became literate, where would the British find people to employ?

Britishers who trained in Myanmar had begun Tangiya cultivation
With training in Forest management from Myanmar, the British officers first began their plantation in 1925-26 with the Tangiya system in Motipur range. This work was experimental, for which three centres were established- Ghumna, Mahbubnagar and Motipur. In the initial work cycle, Sakhu seeds were sown in the Motipur range where the terrible outbreak of drought in 1915-16 had happened. There was no natural reproduction of trees in these areas.

Reading of the history of reserved forests shows that in 1925-26, the three centres of the Motipur range of Bahraich forest division were successful in this experiment.

Ghumna and Motipur Tangiya centres were closed down around 1954 but after the country’s independence, the Tangiya labourers of Mahbubnagar completed the plantation work in hundreds of hectares. These people resurrected the jungle by planting several mixed species including Sakhu in 140 sq km.

Received Boring water after Independence
It was after independence that the Tangiya labourers received Boring for cultivation. In some places, schools were also started by the Forest Department to teach the children of Tangiya labourers. The forest department employees were stationed to teach them. In the early days, there was also a provision to give alcohol to these forest workers. In the Gram Establishment law of 1904, this subject has been mentioned in the last paragraph.

Threats of eviction when refused to do gainless jobs
After managing the forests till 1984, the work was complete and the Tangiya labourers needed employment. Frustrated with bad employment opportunities in the forest department, when the Mahbubnagar labourers expressed their frustration, they were threatened with eviction and land grab. The process of withdrawing their land had begun and they were warned with dire consequences. The planner of the work schedules wrote that since the Tangiya workers are disinterested in the work, it would be better to uproot them.

Forest Rights Act
After this, the forest department was hatching a secret plan to remove the villagers. During those days, the forest rights movement under the leadership of Jang Hindustani was in full swing. After reading the forest management work plans for Mahbubnagar, he went to Mahabubnagar along with the young people of Bichia and informed the people. He started organizing them. In the year 2006, the Forest Rights Act came into existence and he helped the Tangiya labourers. After facing the dangers on Mahbubnagar, a meeting was held there along with the people of Bhawanipur, Bichia, Tadia, Dhakia, Gokulpur, villages by creating a Van Gram Adhikar Manch, a village rights forum.

Development in these villages
The people of Mahbubnagar were dependent on political representatives and they felt that forest rights would be easily granted to them but this was their illusion. In their village, many political powers emerged and collapsed, but their situations didn’t change. After the foundation of the Vanvasi Janata Union, Mahbubnagar’s movement became stronger. Sewarth Foundation surveyed all the households, analyzed the data collected and made the government aware. The problems of Mahbubnagar were shared at various platforms of the country by All India Janjivi Union. There are currently 256 families in Mahbubnagar. The total population of the village is 1374, of which 599 are women and 775 are male. There are elementary schools and pucca roads in the village. Lodh, Kurmi, Dalit, Yadav, Boat, Gosain and Muslim communities live here now.

Yogi Adityanath gave revenue village status
Most families have old lease receipts from the forest department. Only five families had ration cards at the beginning and is now reaching more families. 53 families are landless. 90 per cent of the families do not have a permanent house. They were named in the voter list of the nearest village panchayat Hansuliya. Often their names were expelled from the voter’s list during elections and they continue to agitate against this. After the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave the revenue village status to five Vantangiya villages of Gorakhpur, 18 in Maharajganj, five in Gonda, five in Balrampur and one village in Bahraich. Mahbubnagar has also begun the process to get the status. The administration did not spread any awareness or did any publicity for this and made people file incomplete claim forms and rejected them as well. When Jang Hindustani was made aware of this information, a thorough investigation was launched.

In this investigation, it was found that the Sub-Divisional Forest Rights Committee said that their village did not meet the 75 years of settlement criteria. Since Jang Hindustani had worked in these villages and had a lot of documents related to Mahbubnagar from Right to Information Act and the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, therefore, he had evidence of the village was a settlement for hundreds of years. With the proof, he reached the District Officer, Chief Development Officer and Additional District Magistrate/Finance Office, Bahraich, and gave them photocopied documents and showed them the original which got accepted. All the officers of the district went to Mahbubnagar and after going to Chowpal, they had to conduct public hearings and the then Deputy District Magistrate, Kirti Prasad Bharti, went to the village and examined it and it was decided that 144 people in the village will get proprietary right. But social workers had demanded that every eligible family of Mahbubnagar should get proprietary rights under FRA.

District Magistrate Shambhu Kumar said that proposals to grant the Vantangiya Gram Mahbubnagar the revenue village status will be promptly sent to the Government.

The meeting was attended by ADM Ram Suresh Verma, District Social Welfare Officer RP Singh, DFC JP Singh, District Panchayat member Satish Porwal, Usha Devi, Nafisa Khatun and the social worker Jang Hindustani.

(The above article was published in Hindi on Sabrang.)

Need to effectively defend Centre’s teachers’ reservation ordinance against PIL in Supreme Court

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March 12, 2019

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In a letter to Prakash Javadekar, Union human resource development minister, PS Krishnan, former secretary, ministry of welfare, Government of India, has insisted on the need to effectively defend the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019 against the Public Interest Litigation filed on March 8, 2018 in the Supreme Court, even as offering points to be incorporated in the government’s counter-affidavit and arguments. Text of the letter:

It is welcome that, on the proposal of your esteemed Ministry and the Cabinet’s approval, the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019 dated the 7th March 2019 has been issued, and your Ministry has issued on the same day the reservation notification for the SCs, STs and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEdBCs) in terms of the Ordinance, treating the Central Educational Institution as the unit for the purpose of reservation.

This has corrected the drastic reduction in the number of reserved posts, which arose from the Allahabad High Court’s judgment in 2017 in the Vivekanand Tiwari case.

While this is welcome and you and the Government deserve appreciation for this, it would have been better if

(a) your esteemed Ministry and the UGC had fully and properly placed the rationale behind the policy then existing, its basis in the Constitutional mandate for Equality, which includes Equality for SCs, STs and SEdBCs in faculty positions at every level compared to the Socially Advanced Castes (SACs), the present abysmal level of representation of SCs, STs and SEdBCs in the faculties and the severely damaging consequences of treating each Department as the unit, contrary to the Constitutional mandate;
(b) you had heeded my advice at repeated occasions from 24. 10. 2017
(c) the Ordinance had been issued immediately after the Supreme Court’s dismissal of your esteemed Ministry’s SLP/Appeal, without losing time on the Review Petition
(d) you had heeded my advice that the Review Petition is futile and will not yield any result, and will only cost time.
If action had been taken effectively in respect of the issues at (a) and (d) above and in accordance with my advice, your esteemed Ministry and the Government would have got full credit.

I am now writing this to request you to kindly take prompt action to effectively defend the Ordinance against the PIL filed in the Supreme Court by two persons named Prathvi Raj Chavan and Ms Priya Sharma on 8.3.2019, supported by full justification of the Ordinance and the correctness of the procedure restored by it, and their base in the values and mandates of the Constitution and the basic feature and the basic structure of the Constitution, which mandates and provides for real Equality. It is also necessary to preclude any stay order by taking anticipatory measures like filing a caveat.

I enclose herewith some of the points (click HERE) which need to be covered in the Government’s counter-affidavit and in arguments on behalf of the Government in the Supreme Court.

It has to be ensured that the AG and other Counsels appearing on behalf of the Government are fully briefed and instructed to raise these points in their arguments, and in addition to oral arguments, to submit to the court written arguments fully covering these points.

It would also be advisable and it would also help to correct the partly negative impression created by the avoidable points (a) to (d), if a draft of the Government’s counter-affidavit is placed in the public domain. This will help everybody to see how seriously and sincerely the Government takes the first step in effectively defending the Ordinance against the PIL. It will also help in enabling any Constitution-spirited person to suggest any additional points for inclusion in the counter-affidavit, which the Government may consider.

I shall be happy to provide any assistance in strengthening the Government’s defence of the Ordinance. In 2006, when on the initiative of one of your esteemed predecessors, late Arjun Singh, the Constitution (Ninety-third Amendment) Act was enacted to correct the consequence of the Inamdar judgment of 2005, and on the basis of the new clause (5) inserted in Article 15, the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act 2006 was enacted, he and the Secretary, late Sudip Banerjee, who was devoted to Social Justice, sought my help, as Advisor, in preparing the Government’s counter-affidavit and looking after the defence of the Act and new Clause (5) of Article 15, which help I readily provided on the condition that no remuneration shall be paid to me.

My role as above and in providing the full socio-historical background of the matter to ex-Solicitor General late Vahanvati, Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium and Special Counsel K Parasaran and also to the counsels of State Governments and NGOs, who also appeared as co-respondents, and thus orchestratring and symphonizing the defence powerfully, helped in getting a unanimous judgment upholding the validity of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act 2006 and the Constitution (Ninety-third Amendment) Act 2005.
I trust you will kindly consider the above and ensure that there is no laxity in defending the Ordinance and that the sincere efforts of the Government in this regard are publicly visible so as to remove scope for any misgivings and criticism.

It is good that the 200-point roster has been restored. But the existing 200-point roster itself is a dilution of the roster that was introduced in 1993. The 200-roster of 1997 reduced the position of SCs and STs by a misinterpretation of the Supreme Court’s Sabharwal judgment in 2005. I shall write to you separately about this and further improvement in the sequencing of points in the 200-point roster, so as to facilitate filling up the backlog as quickly as possible and faster fulfillment of the reservation goal in respect of SCs, STs and SEdBCs.

Courtesy: Counter View

Appeal to non-BJP opposition Parties Regarding 2019 Elections

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March 12, 2019

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The coming 2019 may prove to be a watershed in India’s political history, as were the 1977 elections forty-two years ago. In 1977, elections were held after a declared Emergency, during which the Constitution was suspended, political activity disallowed and opposition leaders and activists imprisoned. The success of non-Congress parties in those elections strengthened the electoral system in Indian democracy. Since then all ruling parties losing elections have demitted office gracefully, rather than attempting to subvert the popular mandate.

However, since 2014, the Modi government has attacked democracy in more insidious, thorough-going and indirect ways. This attack is aimed at weakening the institutional and popular foundations of democracy in India. It should be stressed that the regime has functioned in close proximity with its parent body, the RSS. Its policies are designed in pursuance of the RSS goal of militarising the political culture and creating an atmosphere of perpetual communal conflict. These are some of the elements of this strategy.

The Modi regime has devalued constitutional institutions, subverted the separation of powers, and used executive power for sectarian and corrupt purposes. It has diminished the legislative authority of the parliament, hidden information from parliamentary committees, and used it as a platform for political abuse. The use of CBI against political opponents, meddling in its functioning – including subverting its internal structure with the help of hand-picked officials is one of its infamous deeds. It has lied to the judiciary, and interfered in judicial appointments with mala-fide intentions. Governors appointed by it in states ruled by opposition parties have acted shamelessly as its agents.
The Cabinet system is in shambles, the principle of collective responsibility thrown to the winds. The PMO and a clutch of favoured officials and non-constitutional authorities such as the NSA have usurped the power tomake major decisions. This has been exposed most clearly in the Rafale deal.
The Modi regime has tried to subvert the federal structure of the Union to concentrate central power. Agencies such as the CBI, NIA, ED have been used opportunistically for this purpose.
The Modi regime has shamelessly subverted India’s criminal justice system. The use of sedition law and the NSA against students, journalists and activists who question it has become pervasive. Prosecution trials of Hindutva activists accused of terrorist acts have been wrecked from within. Upright officials have been victimised, and even judges threatened discreetly. The file containing evidence on Aseemanand’s involvement in the (Malegaon blast case) disappeared. Crucial evidence on the death of Judge Loya and two of his friends was apparently ignored and the case was subject to an indecent burial – the manner in which this was done has brought disrepute to our judiciary.
In states like UP, police have unleashed a reign of fake encounters to eliminate and threaten opposition party workers. In scores of incidents involving public lynching of poor people transporting cows, the so-called cow-vigilantes filmed themselves carrying out these brutal acts, indicating their confidence that they would be protected. In sum, the BJP/RSS regime has openly enabled hooliganism and violence. With what face can it confront Maoist and jehadi violence?
The Modi regime has tried to destroy the autonomy of important institutions of governance, which are necessary to maintain impartiality, professionalism and transparency. This became obvious in the case of the RBI, NSSO and CBI. The autonomy of institutions such as the Election Commission, Central Information Commission, etc has been sought to be compromised. Even more sinister is the attempt to drag the military and security organs into their political campaign.
The Modi regime has used state power to advance the totalitarian programme of the RSS and its affiliates. Marginalised communities have suffered the most from this policy. Religious minorities have been threatened and attempts made to erode their political representation and constitutionally protected rights. There have been a series of attacks on Dalits who question the caste system; and Adivasis trying to assert their autonomy. It tried to pass a communalised Citizenship Amendment bill which makes a mockery of the secular Constitution, and would have destroyed the delicate fabric of community relationships in North-East India.
The Modi regime has tried to criminalise India’s political culture and reduce it to gutter politics. The Prime Minister and BJP President have lied in public rallies and used offensive language against their political opponents. Its armies on social media have systematically circulated rumours and fake claims, and trolled critics of the government with hate messages in foul language including threats of rape and molestation. Organised groups have attacked and threatened ordinary citizens in the name of patriotism.
In the aftermath of the Pulwama suicide bombing, RSS fronts (ABVP, VHP, Bajrang Dal) have attacked innocent Kashmiri students and traders in places like Dehra Dun, thus further undermining social integrity, which depends on the impartial rule of law. This propaganda campaign was so poisonous that the CRP command had to run a programme to counter the communal poison being spread on social media by the so-called patriots. Senior retired Armed Forces officers have denounced these attempts at politicising the Services. It is now clear that anyone who differs from the RSS/BJP runs the risk of being attacked as ‘anti-national’

All these are taking India towards a totalitarian and violent mass culture, which will be a threat to everyone who do not come out to support the regime. Any successes of BJP in the coming elections will deepen the hollowing out of Indian democracy. All non-BJP political parties, irrespective of their programmes, and regardless of the social groups they represent, will be victims of the implosion of democracy under BJP/RSS rule.

We appeal to all opposition political parties to realise and confront the gravity of the threat to democracy. It is a time to rise above political competition. Political parties can function only in a democratic institutional structure and popular culture. If Modi, the BJP and the RSS succeed in their plans, our democratic institutions will be destroyed, and political parties will become irrelevant.

Besides an operational and effective electoral understanding, it is essential that parties project a minimum programme to undo the most insidious actions of the Modi regime. This should include the following.

The law for electoral bonds passed by the Modi government, allowing anonymous corporate contributions should be scrapped. All contributions to political parties should be transparent.
The colonial law on sedition should be scrapped.
We need a public commitment to strengthen citizens’ rights by not allowing misuse of draconian laws like the NSA, and further strengthen the right to information (RTI). A charter of citizen’s rights should be brought out.
Strengthen rights-based social welfare programmes like the MNREGA.
Laws are needed against social media abuse, particularly ones directed at women, in the light of threats of sexual violence received by many women activists, writers and journalists.

Battini Rao, Convener, PADS
Dilip Simeon, Author and Historian, Former Professor of DU
Dipak Dhoulakia, TU & Social activist, Delhi
Harsh Kapoor, Editor, SACW
Jamal Kidwai, Aman. Delhi
Kiran Shaheen, Social Activist, Delhi
Sanjay Kumar, DU, Delhi

Courtesy: Counter Current

No Tigers In Bangladesh Sundarbans By 2070, As Region Faces 100% Habitat Loss Over Next 50 Years

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March 12, 2019

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Mumbai: Bengal tigers could vanish from the Bangladesh Sundarbans in the next 50 years–by 2070–as a combination of climate change and rising sea levels threatens their last remaining habitats, says a new study by a team of researchers from Bangladesh and Australia, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Bengal tigers are in danger of losing 100% of their habitat in the Bangladesh Sundarbans by 2070, due to the effects of climate change.

The Sundarbans in south-coastal Bangladesh is the world’s largest surviving mangrove ecosystem, spanning over 6,000 sq km, and “the last stronghold” of the Bengal tiger, a species that is particularly adapted to living in this environment. Situated on the lower Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, up to 70% of the Sundarbans area is less than one metre above sea level, meaning rising water levels pose a significant threat to the low-lying tiger habitats. Meanwhile, climate change effects such as changing weather patterns, heatwaves and extreme weather events are likely to have an even greater impact, the study says.

Using computer simulation models based on two climatic scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), coupled with projected sea level rise in the area, the researchers have assessed the future suitability of the Sundarbans region for tigers.
“While this is preliminary analysis, we can conclude that the largest population of Bengal tigers is in an area where a combination of actors including climate change and human encroachment could both contribute to the decimation of habitats,” William Laurence, distinguished research professor at James Cook University and co-author of the study, told IndiaSpend.

The global tiger population is currently estimated at just under 4,000, with an illegal trade in tiger parts, hunting and habitat loss having culled the population by 96% from 100,000 in 1990, the study says. Three of the eight sub-species of tiger have already become extinct, with the remaining five species currently either ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’.

As global temperatures rise and melting polar ice raises sea levels, the influx of salinated sea water can make it harder for certain plants to grow, subsequently decreasing the availability of certain food types. The Sundarbans’ spotted-deer population, a key food source for the Bengal tiger, is likely to be affected as the tree leaves on which it feeds begin to disappear. As resources become scarce, tigers are more likely to stray into human settlements in search of food, increasing the chance of tiger-human conflict.

Spotted deer, a key food source for the Bengal tiger, are facing food shortages as the vegetation they feed on struggles to grow in salinated land–an example of how climate change and rising sea levels is impacting the Sundarbans ecosystem.

The loss of the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem also raises concerns for human populations and other animal species. Mangroves are an effective water regulation system, preventing shoreline erosion that also act as a shelter belt against cyclones and tsunamis. Villages surrounded by mangroves experienced less loss of life and capital during the 2004 tsunami, than those that were not, according to this 2005 Annamalai University study.

“From an environmental perspective, mangroves are recognised as environmentally critical ecosystems,” said Laurence, “they store a lot of carbon and are very important for trapping sediment along coast lines.” Their role as nurseries for fish is often not appreciated, he said, adding, “They are critical environments for crustaceans and fish, as well as acting as buffers for extreme weather events.”

Shrinking habitat, declining population

Each climate projection, based on two different levels of global greenhouse gas emissions used by the IPCC, estimates “a dramatic decline” in suitable habitats for the Bengal tiger. Up to 49.7% of habitat loss is projected under the first scenario by 2050, and up to 96.2% under the second scenario.

Although sea-level rise will further threaten the Bengal tiger’s habitats, the effect will “not be as pronounced as climate change”, the study says. Under both IPCC scenarios, sea level rise will contribute 5.42% and 11.3% habitat loss in the area, respectively.

Bengal Tiger Habitat Loss In Bangladesh Sundarbans
Scenario		2050		2070
Scenario		Percentage Area Loss (%)	Area Loss (Sq Km)	Percentage Area Loss (%)	Area Loss (Sq Km)
1 (RCP 6.0)	Only climate change	49.7	2,401.50	99.4	4,803.10
	Only Sea Level Rise	5.42	261.9	28.5	1,377.10
	Climate change and Sea Level Rise	54.2	2,618.90	100	4,832
2(RCP 8.5)	Only climate change	96.2	4,648.40	100	4,832
	Only Sea Level Rise	11	546	48.9	2,362.80
	Climate change and Sea Level Rise	97	4682	100	4,832

Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014
Note: Scenario 1 refers to Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 6.0 and scenario 2 refers to RCP 8.5, both of which are future scenarios projected on the basis of greenhouse gas emissions and their atmospheric concentrations, air pollutant emissions and land use.

However, with the effects of climate change and sea level-rise combined, “there will be no remaining Bengal tiger habitat in the Sundarbans by the year 2070”, as the habitat loss will be complete, the study says.

Projected Tiger Habitat Loss In Bangladesh Sundarbans Under Two Climate Scenarios

Likely distribution of Bengal tiger in the Bangladesh Sundarbans – (top left) distribution in 2050 with IPCC’s RCP6.0 scenario; (bottom left) distribution in 2050 with RCP8.5 scenario; (top right) distribution in 2070 with RCP6.0 scenario; and (bottom right) distribution in 2070 with RCP8.5 scenario. The black borders show the current location of three wildlife sanctuaries.
Source: Combined effects of climate change and sea level rise project dramatic habitat loss of the globally endangered Bengal tiger in the Bangladesh Sundarbans, Science of Total Environment

“Sea level rise of course relates to climate change, but in this particular study they were analysed separately,” said Laurence. “Our models analysed how weather trends and extreme events should affect habitat suitability for the Bengal tiger and these climate change effects came out as having a stronger impact than sea level rise.”

The effects of rising sea levels and climate change in the Sundarbans delta area have been widely reported in recent years. An increase in Bengali-speaking students in Kannada-medium schools in east Bengaluru, for example, may be the result of forced migration, IndiaSpend reported in December 2018. Rising tides in low-lying areas of West Bengal are threatening traditional coastline communities, encroaching on buildings and negatively impacting agriculture.

For the Bengal tiger at least, researchers believe the population could continue to live in the region if tiger conservation is prioritised. The study calls on the Bangladesh government to designate more areas for tiger conservation, create corridors to help tigers move around the region more safely and continue monitoring illegal human activity in the area to avoid further losses.

However, while this study estimates total decimation of suitable tiger habitats in the next 50 years, not all experts believe the outlook is so bleak.

“I don’t subscribe to such a doomsday view,” said Sugata Hazra, professor of oceanography, school of oceanographic studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. “When we conducted our 2016 study, we accounted for a ‘sediment attrition rate’, since mangroves are also building land in the area as they attract sediment.”

“This has to be compensated for as well as sea level rise,” Hazra said, “Our study estimated maximum 17% area loss.”

What does this mean for India’s Bengal Tigers?

Up to 40% of the Sundarbans region, a 4,000 sq km area slightly larger than Goa, is situated in West Bengal in eastern India. An estimated 103 tigers currently inhabit the area, which houses the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve.

The effects of climate change and sea level-rise are expected to affect the Indian Sundarbans in a similar way as the Bangladesh Sundarbans, suggesting the fate of Indian tigers is deeply intertwined with that of their neighbours.

However, some believe classifying part of the region and parts of the tiger population as Indian, and some as Bangladeshi, may be hindering conservation efforts.

“We need to think beyond boundaries in order to form joint ecosystem best management practices,” said Hazra. “Tigers can cross easily between India and Bangladesh so the tiger population is not a separate one; they live in a transnational ecosystem.”

A basin-level approach with closer cooperation on forest sharing, tiger habitat sharing and management of the freshwater supply is what is needed, Hazra said, adding, “We need to form this joint force now, perhaps led by an international organisation. If we start now, we’ll see the benefit in 20 years–but if we don’t, then we won’t see anything.”

(Sanghera is a writer and researcher 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

Minority and Indigenous Women Human Rights Activists More Prone to Harassment: UN Report

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March 12, 2019

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The report said that women activists working for tribal rights who have waged struggles against big corporations and well-resourced government authorities are often implicated and harassed by police.

United Nations
Image Coutesy: edition.cnn.com

A United Nations Human Rights Council report released on Sunday, March 10, noted that women human rights activists from minority and indigenous background in the country are more prone to physical attacks, death threats and smear campaign on social media.

Citing the examples of Indian women human rights activists like Soni Sori and Rana Ayyub, the report maintained that women human rights defenders are often subjected to online harassment, violence and attacks, which include threats of sexual violence, verbal abuse, sexuality baiting, doxing (a practice in which private information about a person is shared online by others) and public shaming.

The UN report authored by Special Rapporteur Michel Forst, stated that former Tehelka journalist Rana Ayyub was particularly targeted on social media for her religious background. It said, “In April 2018, Indian investigative journalist Rana Ayyub was subjected to an online hate campaign and death threats when she was misquoted on Twitter. She was threatened with sexual violence on social media and subjected to misogynistic vitriol and hate speech for being a Muslim woman. A deepfake pornographic video manipulated to include her face was circulated. She was doxed and bombarded with sexual messages. Her reports to the police were not taken seriously, and the perpetrators are yet to be brought to justice.”

The report added that women activists working for tribal rights who have waged struggles against big corporations and well-resourced government authorities are often implicated and harassed by police. The case of Soni Sori, a Chhattisgarh-based women right activist who was subjected to brutal physical and sexual violence for raising her voice against the atrocities committed on tribal communities also found mention in the report.

It said, “In Chhattisgarh, India, for example, adivasi schoolteacher Soni Sori continues to be slandered, harassed and intimidated by the police for her activism. In February 2016, she was the victim of an acid attack by unidentified assailants who warned her not to complain about the Inspector General of Bastar District and threatened her daughter. In 2011, she was arrested on eight charges. She was acquitted in seven of them and granted bail in connection with the eighth. While in custody, she reported being tortured and sexually harassed.”

The report added that Sudha Bhardwaj who has been fighting court cases related to tribals in Chhattisgarh too became a victim of smear campaign which ultimately resulted in her arrest. The report noted, “Sudha Bhardwaj, a lawyer who assists adivasis, dalits, workers and farmers, endured a vicious smear campaign and was arrested on August 28, 2018, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Her house was raided, her personal items seized, and she has been placed under house arrest.”

Globally, the report claimed that apart from militarisation and fundamentalist groups, globalisation and neoliberal policies have led to economic disempowerment and power inequalities that affect the rights of women. Similarly, the powerful states like USA are adopting polices which are detrimental for women activists working for reproductive rights. It argued, “Restrictive donor policies have also had a distinct impact on women defenders. For example, the policy of the United States of America entitled “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance” (known as the global gag rule), which was introduced in 2017, requires NGOs receiving funding from the United States to certify that they do not engage in certain abortion-related activities, including counselling, referrals and advocacy on access to safe services. The policy has had an adverse impact on women defenders working on sexual and reproductive rights, HIV, sexual orientation and gender identity rights and sex workers’ rights.”

Courtesy: News Click

RBI directors raised objections but “rubber-stamped” demonetisation anyway

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March 12, 2019

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Minutes of the hurried meeting of the RBI Central Board Directors show that it was called barely three hours before the announcement. The RBI Act technically provides for up to ten directors from various fields to be selected by the Centre. At the time of the note-ban decision, only three out of ten of such directors had been appointed and one couldn’t attend the meeting.

Image Credit: REUTERS/Altaf Hussain

New Delhi: Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel-led Central Board, which was asked to consider Centre’s demonetisation proposal, had met less than two-and-a-half hours before the announcement of note ban on November 8, 2016. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went ahead with the decision even before the central bank’s board approved of it, according to a report by Deccan Herald.

The minutes of the RBI meeting that were held right before the announcement was obtained under the Right to Information Act by activist Venkatesh Nayak and hosted on the website of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.

The board of the Reserve Bank of India was assured of adequate preparedness before it signed off on the Government’s demonetisation decision, show minutes of an RBI board meeting held on November 8, 2016, just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes. The minutes were released following a series of appeals by Nayak after the central bank first denied information under the Right To Information Act.

“The board was assured that the matter had been under discussion between the central government and the RBI over the last six months, during which most of these issues have been considered. Apart from the stated objectives, the proposed step also presents a big opportunity to take the process of financial inclusion and incentivising use of electronic modes of payment forward as people see the benefit of bank accounts and electronic means of payment over the use of cash. RBI Board Meet Minutes.” (Obtained By RTI Activist Venkatesh Nayak.)

Some of the issues raised by directors on the board included:

Demonetisation would have a short-term negative effect on the GDP for the current year (2016-17).
Exemption provided to medical stores could be extended to private medical stores as well.
Demonetisation would have an adverse impact on tourists; long-distance travellers arriving with the high denomination notes would be taken by surprise and “put to hardship”.
The Rs. 400 crore of counterfeit notes in circulation is not significant as a percentage of the total money in circulation. However, it mentioned that any incidence of counterfeit is a concern.
Demonetisation would have an impact on real-sector assets such as gold or real estate since most of the black money was held in those forms instead of cash.

As much as 99.3 per cent of the junked Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes were returned to the banking system, the RBI had stated in August last year, indicating that a very small percentage of currency was left out of the system after the government’s unprecedented note ban aimed at curbing black money and corruption.

Obtaining the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board of directors minutes “approving” the demonetization decision of the Government of India (GoI) 28 months after he made a Right to Information (RTI) plea, senior RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak said that these do not have any mention of “the black money reports submitted by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP, an autonomous research institute under India’s Ministry of Finance) and two other research institutions.”

RBI directors were of the view that most of the black money was held in the form of real-sector assets such as gold or real estate and not in cash and that demonetisation would not have any material impact on those assets. It had said that demonetisation would have a negative impact on the economy in the short term.

This was in reply to the GoI argument that the shadow economy for India (where black money transactions do not leave an audit trail) was estimated at 20.7% of GDP in 1999 and had risen to 23.2% in 2007 (based on World Bank estimates).

The minutes vaguely mentioned that the Board found the measure commendable, but did not elaborate. It also mentioned that demonetisation will help achieve financial inclusion.

Criticizing the Union Finance Minister making a “curious statement” in Parliament that the black money study reports may be made available to MPs, but will not be placed in the public domain, Nayak said that it was a violation of the RTI Act.

According to him, “The government seems to have ignored the proviso underlying Section 8(1) of the RTI Act which contains the noble democratic principle that information which cannot be denied to Parliament or State Legislature cannot be denied to a citizen. To hold that information may be provided to certain MPs but not to the people who sent them to Parliament is perplexing, to say the least.”

The Indian Express reported on November 8, 2018, quoting the minutes, that the RBI board rejected the GoI argument in favour of demonetization, that it was meant to fight black money, but the minutes were never made public. Received last week, these were sent to Nayak following RTI watchdog Central Information Commission (CIC) issuing a penalty show cause notice to a GoI official for “inordinate delay” in the matter.

The minutes showed that the RBI board’s 561st meeting was held less than five hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the controversial decision on television, though the RBI sent its resolution approving to GoI on December 16, a full 38 days after the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes were banned on November 8, 2016.

Suggesting that “RBI’s Board had only rubber-stamped the Government’s initiative”, Nayak said that the minutes show the board also rejected the GoI argument in favour of note ban which stated that growth of the banknotes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination was 76.38% and 108.98% during the period 2011-16 whereas the economy had grown only by 30%.

“RBI’s directors disagreed with this reasoning and responded that the growth rate of the economy was the real rate whereas growth in currency circulation was nominal and when adjusted for inflation did not constitute any stark difference”, Nayak said, citing the minutes.

According to Nayak, the RBI minutes are “strangely silent” on “what were the compelling factors that justified demonetization which took the lives of more than a hundred citizens who stood outside banks to exchange their currency notes and scores of bankers who collapsed counting them and have had well documented negative impact on various sectors of the economy.”

He added, “At para #4.3(i), it is mentioned that the Board found the measure commendable, but there is no reasoning provided for this commendation anywhere in the minutes. At para #4.4 there is a vague mention that demonetization will help achieve financial inclusion. How will criminalising possession of the DeMon currency beyond the grace period, lead to financial inclusion is not explained anywhere.”

“What is interesting is that the minutes do not contain any sensitive information such as factors, data or exchange of opinion about financial and economic security. Nothing in the documents that I have received indicates that any portion of it has been severed under Section 10 of the RTI Act to remove sensitive information,” Nayak said.

Commenting on the board argument that would help incentivise the use of electronic modes for making payments instead of cash, he said, “Opinion on whether increased use of electronic modes of payment was due to DeMon is divided. RBI’s own recent reports present a contradictory picture. While e-transactions have grown manifold there is more cash circulating in the economy than there was on the date of demonetisation.”

“Interestingly”, says Nayak, while the minutes claim, “a deputy governor of RBI was “working with the Central Government on the initiative to withdraw legal tender of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes, for six months, his name is not mentioned anywhere in the minutes.”

The minutes also do not specify which director or directors raised these concerns.

Poor handling of “Independent Directors”
Even though it seems that RBI’s board had legitimate concerns over demonetisation, they approved it.

The board was “assured” that the concerns that they raised had been “under discussion between the Central Government and the RBI over the last six months”.

This would imply that the central bank and the Modi government had been discussing and debating demonetisation from June 2016.

At the time of demonetisation, it had only ten directors, out of which three are what critics would call truly independent directors, The Wire reported.

“The board included four representatives from the RBI (governor Urjit Patel and his three deputies), one director from the central bank’s local boards (Nachiket Mor), two government representatives (Shaktikanta Das and Anjuly Chib Duggal) and three independent directors (Tata’s N Chandrasekaran, Mahindra’s Bharat Doshi and former civil servant Sudhir Mankad),” the report said.

The RBI’s minutes show that Chandrasekaran was absent the day that the board decided on demonetisation, leaving only two wholly independent directors (Doshi, former CFO at Mahindra and Mankad, former chief secretary of Gujarat), the report said.

If there had been six months of debate between the government and the RBI, it is possible that the objections put forth in the meeting came from those who had no chance of being privy to any earlier discussion: Mor, Doshi and Mankad.

“The problem is that the minutes of the meeting don’t say. It is also equally possible that some of the RBI’s representatives on the board also either raised or approved of the objections that were put forth – even after six months of back-and-forth between the Centre and the central bank. And if this were the case, it would show that the concerns weren’t adequately addressed and that the board approval was consequently a mere formality,” the report added.

“The central bank’s board meeting on demonetisation is therefore also an indictment of how poorly the Centre has handled the issue of independent directors. The RBI Act technically provides for up to ten directors from various fields to be selected by the Centre. This is how industry professionals like Doshi or Chandrasekaran and former civil servants like Mankad are usually chosen,” the report said.

At the time of the note-ban decision, however, there were only three out of ten of such possible directors had been appointed. And to make matters worse, one of the three didn’t attend the board meeting on demonetisation, the report said.

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The report said that women activists working for tribal rights who have waged struggles against big corporations and well-resourced government authorities are often implicated and harassed by police.

RBI directors raised objections but “rubber-stamped” demonetisation anyway

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