42 Year Old Akbar Tamboli Beaten to Death, Two Arrested: Kopargaon, Maharashtra, Sabrangindia EXCLUSIVE

February 18, 2018

42 year old Akbar Tamboli, Victim of the Mob
In what could be clearly seen as yet another case of mob lynching, this time in Kopargaon, Maharashtra, 42 year old Akbar Rajjak Tamboli was beaten to his death yesterday later afternoon in Kopargaon, Maharashtra, Sabrangindia is in exclusive possession of the First Information Report (FIR) in CR Nos 1-32/2018 that clearly lays down the gory sequence of events. The incident happened at about 4.30 – 5 p.m. in the afternoon according to the FIR. Two accused, Sainath Machindra Tribhuvan and Praveen Vishnu Netare have been arrested and charges of Section302 (murder) and 32 already levelled on them. Two police teams are conducting widespread investigations to get two more from the mob who killed Akbar. Akbar Rajjak Tamboli, hails from the Subedar Basti, in Shrirampur dist. Ahmednager in Maharashtra. This is close to Shirdi. The complainant in the FIR is 44 year old brother of Akbar, Naeem Razzak Tamboli. The FIR which may be read here,

It was at the ‘Saibaba corner’ of corner, near the Sheetal Hotel that Akbar, travelling on a two wheeler was obstructed by two persons, in an obviously inebriated state. When he asked them whether they knew how to walk on the road, they dragged him off his two-wheeler, were reportedly joined by a larger group with lathis and beat him to his death. The close by Sheetal Hotel had CCTVs installed which provided clear-cut evidence of the assault. This evidence will in all likelihood also lead to the assault of others who were part of the mob that joined the violent assault at short notice.

DM Jadhav of the Kopargaon Police station is conducting the Investigations. Two teams are scouring the area for the remaining accused, who it is learned are on the run.

Justice for Gulbahar Bibi: SC Issues Notice in Afrazul Murder Case

February 17, 2018

Gulbahar Bibi, wife of Afrzaul, lynched to his death on December 6, 2017 has moved the Supreme Court for justice and transfer of investigation away from the Rajasthan police, whom she has accused of bias. SC has issued notice, directed respondents to answer all allegations of bias and will hear the matter in April

Image Courtesy: The Hindu

Gulbahar Bibi, the widow of Afrazul Khan, with their daughters at Kaliachawk in West Bengal

In response to a petition filed by Gulbahar Bibi – the widow of Mohammad Afrazul Khan, a migrant labourer who was hacked and then burnt to death at Rajsamand in Rajasthan on December 6 last year, the Supreme Court on Friday instructed the counsel for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to seek instructions on pleas of transfer of investigation gicven allegations of partisan behaviour of the police. The prayer regarding seeking a transfer of the case from Rajasthan to Malda in West Bengal will not be considered at present. The court has fixed April 2 as the next date of hearing. Chief Justice Deepak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar clarified that the prayer is being not considered for this point of time and can be considered if at a later stage the petitioner is not satisfied with the investigation.

The petitioner has alleged that the Rajasthan Police carried out the probe without investigating the hate crimes that led to the killings: namely, spreading enmity between different groups on the basis of religion and creating disharmony (Section 153A of the Indian Penal code), which is beyond the scope of the present investigating agency so the guilty will never be brought to book.

The petitioner through her counsel, has asked for an impartial probe from an independent national agency and a complete ban on spreading hate videos of communal nature targeting a religious community and discriminating against it with an aim to encourage violence and creating divide. Immediate removal of all such videos from internet and WhatsApp has also been sought. “The Respondent no. 1 (the Centre) is duty bound to ensure that the service providers do not upload the said videos which are a form of hate speech encouraging others to indulge in copycat crimes,” said the petition.

The petition, mentioned in the first week of February this year, has also sought an inquiry into the “factors that led the accused – Shambhu Lal Raigar – to commit such a heinous crime, the factors and people responsible for spreading such hatred in the name of a communal myth/fiction being propagated as “Love Jihad”, being hate speech, stigmatising an entire community, by creating a myth that Muslim men are marrying Hindu women and fighting a ‘jihad’”.

Raigar, who has confessed to his crime and showed no remorse during the police questioning, not only mercilessly killed Afrazul but also got the gruesome act recorded on cell phone by his minor nephew. The accused can be seen in the video hitting with an axe the deceased who is repeatedly shouting “Babu Jaan Bachao” (please save my life). While the victim’s body is lying in a pool of blood, the accused says before camera, as if addressing a group of people, “Jihadiyon, ye tumhari halat hogi, yeh love jihad phailaoge hamare desh men…hamare desh men aisa karo, yeh tumhare har jihadi khyalat, jihad khatam kar do…(Jihadis, this is what your condition is going to be, you spread love jihad in our country, if you do this in our country, this will be the fate of each of you jihadi…).”

Speaking to the media, Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, the junior counsel, said his client – through her petition – wants the “communal myth of Love Jihad” to be broken. “A stranger killed another stranger on the basis of a distorted perception. The case tries to go into the larger conspiracy of hate crimes,” he said.

Asked why the petitioner wants another inquiry when the Rajasthan Police has already probed into the incident and has submitted a charge sheet revealing that the accused created the plot of ‘Love Jihad’ to justify the killing and hide his illicit relations with a woman whom he used to call his sister and who had eloped with another man belonging to Afrazul’s village in West Bengal, Ayyubi said the investigation is “insufficient to unearth the larger conspiracy”.

“A national investigation agency will be competent to conduct a comprehensive probe,” he added. The reason for seeking transfer of the case is aimed at access to justice – according to the deceased wife – in a free and fair atmosphere and the appointment of a special public prosecutor who is not related to the ruling party of the state and functioning under the supervision of the Court.

“This is particularly important since the Petitioner resides in West Bengal and is unable to be physically present at the trial. There is an atmosphere of mass hysteria at the hearings as is evident from news reports that orange flags were hoisted on court house building by supporters of the accused on the date of hearing,” submits the petitioner who further argues that the “accused was arrested and produced before the magistrate on 14th December, on the same day a group of miscreants belonging to some groups protested, shockingly and bizarrely in support of the murderer, Shambhu Lal.

“The protests by these miscreants were not at all peaceful and were clearly aimed at destabilizing the law and order situation and to incite violence, this is evident by the act of some of these so called protestors who climbed atop the gate of the District and Sessions Court, Udaipur, Rajasthan and unfurled some saffron flag due to which police tried to control the protestors during which about 12 cops were injured and only after more than 175 people had been arrested or detained by the police and that only after the Section 144 Cr.P.C was imposed that the situation showed some signs of control.”

The petitioner has also sought increased compensation from the state government for their failure to prevent the spread of communal violence. The Rajasthan government has given her Rs 5 lakh as compensation. She has also received Rs 3 lakh from the West Bengal government. But she said that the amounts are not sufficient for maintenance of her one daughter.

Subjective thinking Hazardous for the CPI(M), India

February 17, 2018

The much-awaited Draft Political Resolution (PDR) of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is out. This is the one approved by the Central Committee in its Kolkota meeting by a majority vote. On first reading of this DPR, several questions arose in my mind. Let us discuss them one by one.

There are no differences in assessment of prevailing political situation in the country. What I could not understand is much more the larger question played out in public concerning the alleged differences about an alliance with the Congress. The question is to have or to have not such alliance.

Columnist Ajay Ashirwad Mahaprashasta in his article on The Wire,who gave a detailed presentation about the so called differences between the alleged two camps in CPI(M) felt that there is nothing much of differences except semantics.

What one can gather from the media is this. The two drafts that were presented at the Kolkata central committee meeting had two different tactical lines. One allegedly argued for alliance with the Congress (minority resolution) while the other argued against it (majority resolution). If we are to believe what was published on The Wire, we can conclude that there was a guided misinformation campaign against the Sitaram Yechury camp which supported the minority resolution. It now turns out that the minority resolution presented at the central committee does not argue for overt or covert alliance with the Congress, or for that matter with any ruling class parties at any level. It only wanted an understanding with the Congress so that anti-BJP votes don’t get divided.

On the other hand the CC-adopted majority resolution also suggests: “(ix) In states where the main force fighting the BJP alliance is a regional party, we may have an understanding with that party even if it enters into an alliance with the Congress. In such cases, we should not project any state-level front or alliance with the Congress.” But in the fine print that is out for debate across the party this aspect of the majority line is missing. In the CC-adopted resolution there was an explicit comment that the party would confine to the limited seats where the Congress and BJP are the key contestants. Put together, these two approaches are aimed at joining hands with the Congress either directly or indirectly. Thus it is the majority resolution that batted for allying with the Congress and not the minority resolution moved by the party general secretary.

As per the DPR the tactics to be adopted is this. “Appropriate electoral tactics to maximize the pooling of the anti-BJP votes should be adopted based on the above tactical line.” The relevant portion from the minority resolution states, “Suitable electoral tactics should be worked out to ensure that the primary objective of ousting this RSS-BJP government and its policies is achieved while not entering into any electoral front or alliance with bourgeois-landlord parties.”

That means the final DPR and the one moved as minority resolution argues for the same thing. When the final DPR and the minority resolution argues for the same approach of adopting appropriate electoral tactics to maximize the pooling of anti-BJP votes, what made a section of media to make allegations against the minority resolution?

Here subjective factors might have been at work and the consequential adverse campaign. The most striking of this is how the media projects a fiction aimed at vilifying a section of the party. Could this happen without a section of the party leadership cozying up with the media to plant stories of vested interest is to be judged by oneself? The general refrain is that if the party accepts the above mentioned tactical line it might end up in an electoral understanding with the Congress in 2019 elections.

Debates in communist parties centre around hard facts rather than on hypothetical projections. If we have to discuss about the possible consequences the same is applicable to resolution adopted by the majority vote as well. More importantly, the majority resolution vocally argued for an explicit alliance with Congress in some contexts. But the organized vilification campaign applied the possible consequence principle only to one resolution and accepted the other in its letter and spirit. This is nothing but double standards.

When we were in the Students Federation of India (students’ wing of the party), we were taught about the dialectical approach. The basic principle of dialectical approach is to study any issue on an objective rather than subjective basis. The subjective basis, we were taught, is to look at things the way we think them to be. The objective basis is the one that exists irrespective of our whims and fancies or thoughts.

If we apply the same basis to the tone and tenor of the DPR as well as the discussion centered around the majority and minority resolutions that were discussed at the central committee, one could feel that the differences that have cropped up in the CPI(M) are in principle subjective rather than objective ones. When there are subjective imperatives they would obviously lead to factionalism. And if there is factionalism within the CPI(M) definitely it is an unhealthy phenomenon.

There has been subjectivism at work within the party for quite some time which leads to ad-hocism which in turn deflects attention from the long-term structured gainful goals towards short-term unstructured ad-hoc goals. When subjectivism takes over, one would look for one upmanship rather than the factual issue at hand.

If because of this subjectivism a section of the party leadership conducts an orchestrated campaign against another section it is detrimental to its standing in Indian polity as well as its desired course of revolution. It appears that a section is desirous of advancing its limited interests at the cost of the party and its standing, as is evident for the last two years ever since the former general secretary mooted the idea that BJP is merely authoritarian. This needs separate treatment in the wake of final DPR that was released for debate.

With a considerable part of the central committee siding with such a conclusion riddled with subjectivism, the days ahead for Left movement in India are unlikely to bring good tidings. Such subjectivist assessment of an objective situation is going to give an unbridled opportunity for the Hindutva forces that are aiming to transform India into Hindu Rashtra to commemorate centenary celebrations of 1923’s master-piece of Savarkar, i.e. Hindu Rashtra.

Let us windup the discussion by looking at the last possible reason for such subjectivist approach on key issues in any party. If factional feud erupts or prevails in any party it takes place with some purpose, mainly for power: say, for the post of minister, chief minister or prime minister. But the situation of CPI(M) is not akin to that. Then what could be the reason for this subjectivist feud is the main question that hangs over the minds of those who are striving to preserve the secular democratic foundations of India.

Dalit Activist Succumbs to Burn Injuries, Widespread Protests: Gujarat

February 17, 2018

Dalit activist Bhanu Vankar, who attempted self-immolation in Gujarat on February 15, succumbed to severe burn injuries late on February 16. The day before yesterday, February 14, this act of desperation had led to a demand for the chief minister’s resignation.Mr. Vankar has sustained 80% burn injuries and was admitted in Ahmedabad’s Apollo Hospital, where he died.

Image Courtesy: AFP

It was to protest the Patan district administration’s failure to regularise a piece of land he was allotted a few years ago, that he set himself on fire in the Collector Office in North Gujarat.Despite repeated visits to the district administration officials, his case did not move, which apparently distressed him to take an extreme step of ending his life.

His suicide is likely to trigger Statewide protests by the Dalit community and organisations working for the rights of Dalits and other marginalised sections in the State.“We have lost him. We hold the district administration responsible for his death. He was forced,” a relative said.

Earlier in the day, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered inquiry into the incident. “I have asked Chief Secretary to get all details of the incident after an inquiry,” Mr. Rupani said, adding, “the State government will also bear all medical expenses of Mr. Vankar, who is presently under treatment in Apollo hospital in Ahmedabad.”

Moreover, nine other Dalit men were detained by the police after they also tried to storm into the premises of the collectorate with the intention to commit suicide, and were later released.

“As many as nine people were detained briefly after they tried to storm into the office of the collector with the intention to commit suicide. They had expressed their intention to the Collector on a previous date and police were deployed in large numbers to prevent any such attempt,” a police official from Patan said.

“However, Banubhai Vankar from Unjha village managed to enter the Collector Office premises by jumping over the barricade and set himself on fire. He has been shifted to a hospital in Ahmedabad,” the official had said.

The incident has led to serial protests among Dalits in the State.A leading organisation Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, fighting for the rights of Dalits, gave a call for Patan bandh on February 16 to protest against the “administrative negligence” in the transfer of land to Dalits, “which forced a group to attempt suicide”. The bandh evoked mixed response in the North Gujarat town.

A prominent activist and Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, who is also the convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, in a statement said it was a “matter of shame” for the BJP government that Dalits had to resort to extreme steps to fight for their rights in Gujarat.Mr. Mevani demanded suspension of the Collector and Superintendent of Police holding them responsible for driving the community members to take extreme steps to press for their rights.

‘Preparing the hearts’ – how the Temple Mount movement works towards their goal of building the Third Temple over the ruins of Al Aqsa

February 17, 2018

The Dome of the Rock. (Photo: Mersiha Gadzo)

After failing to blow up the Dome of the Rock in 1984, Yehuda Etzion of the “Jewish Underground” messianic terrorist group realized his mistake while in prison.

Their plan to destroy the “abomination,” was appropriate; the only problem was that they acted ahead of their time, Etzion argued.

“The generation was not ready,” Etzion wrote in a letter while incarcerated.

Once out of prison Etzion established the Chai Vekayam (Alive and Existing) movement, which believes in shaping public opinion as a prerequisite for building a Third Temple in the religious complex in Jerusalem’s Old City where Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located, otherwise known as the Noble Sanctuary. In addition to housing Islam’s third most holiest site in the world, the compound is also one of Judaism’s most sacred sites and the desired location for the Third Temple.

According to messianic belief, building the Third Temple at the Al Aqsa compound—where the First and Second temples stood some 2,000 years ago—would usher the coming of the Messiah.

In his prison letter he explained, destroying the Dome of the Rock could be part of the plan,

“We must build a new force that grows very slowly, moving its educational and social activity into a new leadership. Of course I cannot predict whether the Dome of the Rock will be removed from the Mount while the new body is developing or after it actually leads the people, but the clear fact is that the Mount will be purified [from Islamic shrines] with certainty…”

Three decades later, “the process of ‘preparing the hearts’ that precedes the practical stage of removing the Dome of the Rock is now underway in full force,” noted Israeli NGO Ir Amim in their 2013 report, “Dangerous Liaison.”

Since then dozens of organizations have formed with the goal of promoting “temple awareness”- raising awareness about the Third Temple’s importance and its construction. In 2013 Ir Amim noted 19 registered associations that call for changing the status quo at the Noble Sanctuary.

Since 1967, Israel has controlled the entrance to the Noble Sanctuary and the compound is administered by Islamic Waqf seated in Jordan. Non-Muslims can enter the site as tourists, but cannot pray there.

Today, discussion about changing the status quo on the Al Aqsa compound and building the Temple is part of Israeli mainstream discourse.

2017 was a record breaking year in many aspects including an increase of 75 per cent in Jewish visits to the compound. In 2017 around 25,600 Jews visited the compound compared to around 14,600 in 2016.

Last October, around 500 Jewish activists practiced their ritual next to the Southern Wall, closer to the compound than ever before.

The Temple Institute’s model of the Third Temple. (Photo: Mersiha Gadzo)

The Temple Institute’s recreated Golden Menorah displayed outside is ready to be used in the Third Temple once it’s built. Temple Institute leadership claims that by placing the menorah in full view of anyone heading to the Western Wall from the Jewish quarter, helps promote the idea of rebuilding the Third Temple. (Photo: Mersiha Gadzo)

“The struggle is about sovereignty”

Many Temple activists have openly admitted that praying at the compound is just the first step in achieving their greater goal of building the Third Temple inside the Noble Sanctuary. It’s why Palestinians remain concerned about increased Jewish visits to the compound.

Yehuda Etzion inside the Nobel Sanctuary in Jerusalem, 2015 (Photo: Honenu/YNET News)

Elishama Sandman, founder of Yeraeh, which publishes weekly statistics on the number of Jews visiting the Noble Sanctuary. Using the Jewish term for the compound, the Temple Mount, she stated:

“Our aspiration is to build a Temple on the Temple Mount. In order to get to a Temple, there is a path that must be followed, and along this path there are various milestones that are effectively our more immediate goals: Allowing open and free prayer on the Mount, extending entry hours for Jews as well as broad awareness among the people and so forth.”

Former Likud member Moshe Feiglin revealed the real intention behind the call to Jewish prayer at the compound:

“Let’s be truthful. The struggle here in not about prayer,” Feiglin admitted. “Arabs don’t mind that Jews pray to God. Why should they care? We all believe in God. The struggle is about sovereignty. That’s the true story here. The story is about one thing only: sovereignty.”

Last summer, right-wing rabbis called for increased visits “to strengthen our hold on this holy place.”

Motti Inbari, professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke agrees that the Jewish activists’ “act of going up the Temple Mount is an act of showing ownership” over the site.

“Building the Third Temple is viewed as something futuristic, not something that’s going to happen soon,” Inbari told Mondoweiss.

“But Jewish presence on the Temple Mount and Jews coming to pray is viewed as a more realistic goal that they can achieve to symbolize ownership,” he said.

Likud Knesset member Yehuda Glick has played a key role for more than a decade in promoting Jewish visits to the compound and calling for their right to prayer.

According to Glick, when he first ascended the compound in 1990, Jewish visitors were let in only one at a time and there were only three rabbis who supported their cause since leading rabbis have repeatedly ruled that it is forbidden for Jews to enter any part of the compound due to the site’s sacredness.

Now, groups of 50 and more typically visit (sometimes over 100) and according to Glick, there are around 300 rabbis who support their call.

“They have successfully changed the halachic [Jewish law] position concerning ascent to the Mount among the Council of Yesha Rabbis and even to expose rifts within the Haredi public, for which activity promoting the rebuilding of the Temple as a practical program was once entirely insupportable,” Ir Amim noted.

Palestinian Muslims arrive at Al Aqsa mosque for Friday prayer. January 2017. (Photo: Mersiha Gadzo)

A view of the Dome of the Rock taken from outside of the Temple Institute. (Photo: Merisha Gadzo)

“A particularly alarming trend”

One of the leading Temple movement organizations is the Temple Institute, which has had a blueprint ready for the temple’s construction since 2011. In 2014 they crowdfunded over $100,000 on Indiegogo to prepare architectural plans for their Third Temple.

“This is the generation. The children are ready,” reads the tagline in one of their videos which often show the youth leading their parents and the elderly away from distractions and towards the Third Temple.

Their ultimate goal is no conspiracy theory.

The dozens of ritual objects that are displayed in Plexiglass cases at the institute aren’t merely replicas. They have been specifically made to be used in the Third Temple once it’s rebuilt.

“The Temple Institute’s ultimate goal is to see Israel rebuild the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah [where the Al Aqsa compound is located] in Jerusalem, in accord with the Biblical commandments,” reads their statement on their website.

At the institute, paintings are displayed on walls depicting visitors arriving by light-rail train and cable car. They gaze at the gigantic Third Temple, clearly located in today’s Al Aqsa Compound. In all of their illustrations, there is no Dome of the Rock or Al Aqsa mosque in sight.

With the Midrasha, the Temple Institute’s educational arm, their “growing infiltration” of the Israeli education system is a “particularly alarming trend,” according to Ir Amim.

“By presenting itself primarily as an educational body, without emphasizing its ultimate goal of rebuilding the Temple, the Institute has been successful in garnering support,” Ir Amin wrote, “Because there is no other organization representing an alternative viewpoint, students receive a blatantly biased perspective. In this way, both secular and religious students under the Education Ministry are exposed to a one-dimensional approach to the subject.”

From 2008 to 2011 the Temple Institute and Midrasha received an average of $110,000 (412,000 NIS) in state funding. In 2012, the most recent year that statistics are available, Midrasha received $230,000 (819,000 NIS) from the Ministry of Education.

The Temple movements’ influence reached the Knesset as well. From May 2013 until October 2014, the Knesset Interior Committee held 14 discussions concerning the issue of Jewish entrance and prayer to the compound, compared to four discussions in the entire preceding decade.

Glick also formed a lobby that successfully convinced Israeli decision makers in 2015 to outlaw the Mourabitoun movements, guardians of Al Aqsa mosque.

“Religious groups that joined the Likud Party ranks have raised the curtain on the issue, making it mainstream,” Glick said in an interview. “[…] I was present at all these junctures and used all the tools to give the idea a serious push.”

According to a poll from 2013, about a third of Israelis support building the Third Temple in the Al Aqsa compound.

Omar Kiswani, director of the Al Aqsa mosque compound. (Photo: Mersiha Gadzo)

Recently, the battle over Al Aqsa’s sovereignty has shifted to legal grounds. Last October the Supreme Court ruled that soccer games are forbidden on the compound because it desecrates the site’s holiness. Palestinian youth often play soccer in Al Aqsa’s courtyard since there are few places where they can freely do so in their neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Waqf has refused to respond to summons sent by Israeli courts to hear claims filed against it, since they don’t recognize Israeli law over Al Aqsa. They maintain that Israel has no authority to interfere in Al Aqsa’s affairs.

According to Omar Kiswani, director of the Al Aqsa compound, since the prayer protests led by Palestinians last July, Israeli authorities have maintained their ban on tools, electric cables and renovation materials from entering the compound, consequently halting much-needed renovation for the mosque. Any minor maintenance now requires approval from the Israeli police. As of January 2017 renovation plans have still been frozen.

“Even cleaning. We need approval from Israeli police to clean,” Kiswani said. “It’s because they want to change the status of Al Aqsa. They want to have more control over the mosque.

“[The Israelis] will take quicker steps in the future [to assert sovereignty.] Now, the battle is with the Waqf inside the mosque. The Israeli government has been trying to find a way to impose their policies without provoking Palestinians.

“For the public outside it appears quiet, but this is an illusion. It’s not peace and quiet. We are afraid that if it continues like this the situation will explode.” Kiswani said.

Republished with permission from Mondoweiss.

Will Electoral Bonds Actually Ensure Transparency in Political Funding?

February 17, 2018

Although Finance Minister Arun Jaitley claims that the introduction of an Electoral Bond scheme will ensure a transparent political funding system, Senior Journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta talks to Newsclick about the real implications of such a scheme. Interviewed by Pranjal.

Tripura, India’s Last Red State, Is Low On Development, High On Social, Health Indices

February 17, 2018

Tripura, the north-eastern Indian state that goes to the polls on Sunday, February 18, 2018, is the last surviving bastion of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). But the small state–its population is 3.6 million, comparable to Jaipur–has become critical for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) plans to expand its base in India’s north-east.

Under the incumbent CPI (M)-led Left Front alliance for 25 years now–and earlier for 10 years between 1978 and 1988–this is the first time in Tripura’s history that the BJP has appeared as a major contender for state rule.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP has promised a job for every household in Tripura and special economic zones for food processing, bamboo, textiles and so on, the Mint reported on February 13, 2018. “Unemployed youths of Tripura are striving for being employed, suffering from job droughts,” he said at an election rally.

“Next government in Tripura will be of the BJP,” said BJP president Amit Shah at a poll rally. “There is anger against the CPM government throughout the state, because of their misrule Tripura stands last when it comes to development.”

The green hill state’s development parameters are mixed. It has a literacy rate of 87.8% and is the fifth-most literate state in the country as per the 2011 Census. The state’s sex ratio, at 960 females per 1,000 males, is above the national average of 942. On multiple social and health indicators, Tripura competes with Goa, Kerala, Karnataka and Gujarat–which rank first, eighth, 10th and 12th on per capita income (2014-15)–our analysis showed.

But, at 19.7%, Tripura also holds the highest unemployment percentage in India–four times the national average (4.9%), showed an IndiaSpend analysis of the ministry of labour’s annual Employment-Unemployment Survey, 2015-16 report. Agriculture is the main source of employment for 64% of the state’s population but 60% of the state is forestland, and barely 27% of Tripura’s undulating land is available for farming.

Tripura also features in the bottom pile for per capita income, ranking 24 of 36 states and union territories, showed India’s Economic Survey report for 2017-18. With an income of Rs 71,666 per person in 2014-15, Tripura stood below the national average (Rs 86,454), between backward states like Rajasthan (Rs 75,201) and Madhya Pradesh (Rs 56,182), as per an IndiaSpend analysis of government data.

What holds Tripura back? “High rate of poverty, low per-capita income, low capital formation, inadequate infrastructural facilities, geographical isolation, communication bottleneck, inadequate exploitation, inadequate use of forest and mineral resources, low progress in industrial field and high unemployment problem,” said the state’s Economic Survey 2015-16.

Unemployment And Per Capita, Income In 10 States
State	Per Capita Income (Rs)*	Unemployment rate (In %)**
Kerala	135537	12.5
Goa	289185	9.6
Meghalaya	64638	4.8
Tripura	71666	19.7
Gujarat	127017	0.9
Assam	52895	6.1
Karnataka	129823	1.5
All India average	86454	4.9
Uttar Pradesh	42267	7.4
Madhya Pradesh	56182	4.3
Rajasthan	75201	7.1

Source: Economic Survey 2017-18, Labour Bureau 2015-16; *Figures for 2014-15, **Figures for 2015-16

Other key findings:

Tripura showed the best improvement in infant mortality rate among the 10 states we analysed, dropping 24 points from 51 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2005-06 to 27 in 2015-16;
The state’s mortality rate for children under five years of age dropped 26 points to now rank fourth best (33 deaths per 1,000) among 10 states analysed;
Tripura boasts of one of the highest female literacy rates in India (89.5%) but holds the second lowest percentage of women educated for more than 10 years (23.4%), much worse than the national average (35.7%).

Methodology:

For our analysis, we compared Tripura’s performance with nine other states and the national average, on 18 development indicators in health, education, gender, employment and access to better infrastructure.

The period of comparison stretches over a decade from 2005-06 to 2015-16, using data from the National Family Health Survey for 2005-06 (NFHS 3) and 2015-16 (NFHS-4), the National Health Profile (NHP) 2017, the ministry of labour and employment, and the Economic Survey 2017-18.

The states chosen for our analysis include development leaders with high per-capita incomes such as Kerala, Goa, Gujarat and Karnataka, and laggards with poorer incomes such as Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh (UP), along with Assam and Meghalaya, Tripura’s neighbours in the north-east region.

Politically, four of the states–Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Goa and Gujarat–are under BJP-rule. While UP and Assam are also under the BJP today, they were ruled by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress respectively in 2016–the cut-off year for our analysis.

Kerala is another on-off bastion of the CPI(M), while Karnataka is a Congress-ruled state.

Public healthcare is effective but short of doctors

In terms of stunting (low height for age) and wasting (low weight for height) of children under five years of age, Tripura improved its healthcare efforts considerably over the decade to 2015-16. It now ranks third among the best states on both counts–ahead of Karnataka and Gujarat–in our analysis. The state’s stunting rate is 24.3%, and its wasting rate is 16.8%.

Health Indicators Of Tripura Vis-a-vis Other States
State	Stunting (In %)	Wasting (In %)	Infant Mortality Rate	Under-five Mortality Rate
Kerala	19.7	15.7	6	7
Goa	20.1	21.9	13	13
Meghalaya	43.8	15.3	30	40
Tripura	24.3	16.8	27	33
Gujarat	38.5	26.4	34	43
Assam	36.4	17	48	57
Karnataka	36.2	26.1	28	32
India Avg	38.4	21	41	50
Uttar Pradesh	46.3	17.9	64	78
Madhya Pradesh	42	25.8	51	65
Rajasthan	39.1	23	41	51

Source: National Family Health Survey 2015-16 data for Kerala, Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura, Gujarat, Assam, Karnataka, India, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan; Mortality rates in deaths per 1,000 live births.

Like other states in the north-east, connectivity remains a major challenge for Tripura. With Bangladesh surrounding its north, south and west, the state is further isolated from the mainland. A single highway, National Highway 44, runs through the state, connecting it to the rest of India. About 59 years after the former princely state merged with the Indian republic, it’s capital, Agartala, was finally connected to the country’s railway network in 2008.

Despite this, the state showed the best improvement in infant mortality rate (IMR) among the 10 states analysed, dropping 24 points from 51 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2005-06 to 27 in 2015-16. Behind Kerala (6) and Goa (13), Tripura’s IMR is now ahead of Karnataka (28) and Gujarat (34).

In terms of the mortality rate of children under five years of age, the state dropped 26 points to now rank fourth (33 deaths per 1,000) among the 10 states in our analysis.

These positive health outcomes may be attributed to Tripura’s improved antenatal care. In 2015-16, the percentage of women visited by a healthcare worker at least four times during pregnancy–the minimum requirement according to the World Health Organization’s guidelines–rose to 64.3% from 50.6% in 2005-06. Gujarat’s coverage of antenatal care, which stood at a similar level of 50.1% in 2005-06, leaped 20 percentage points ahead to 70.6% in 2015-16.

Tripura’s per capita health spending (Rs 2,266) is the third highest among the 10 states–after Goa (Rs 2,927) and Meghalaya (Rs 2,366)–and even higher than the much richer Kerala (Rs 1,437), Gujarat (Rs 1,156) and Karnataka (Rs 1,043), according to the NHP 2017.

Further, only 9% of people in Tripura use private healthcare for their needs compared to 55.1% nationally, while 69.1% of all deliveries take place in a public health facility compared to 52.1% nationally, show NFHS-4 data for 2015-16.

In institutional births, Tripura, while reporting an improvement of 33-percentage points to 79.9% in 2015-16, still falls behind at rank seven in our analysis. Though it is above the national average (78.9%), only Assam (70.6%), Uttar Pradesh (67.8%) and Meghalaya (51.4%) fare worse.

Progress on this indicator may be related to the lack of specialist doctors in Tripura’s community health centres (CHCs). Of the 80 specialist doctors needed in Tripura’s CHCs, only one was in position, according to latest rural health statistics from 2016.

Based on 2011 population numbers, while there are enough sub centres, there are considerable shortfalls in the number of PHCs and CHCs needed in the state—14% and 26% respectively, according to this analysis by Observer Research Foundation, a think tank.

Tripura still struggles with antenatal care: Only 7.6% women received all recommended types of antenatal care as compared to 21% nationally.

Further, immunisation coverage in the state grew a mere 4.8-percentage points from 49.7% to 54.5%–the lowest among the 10 states analysed–to rank sixth in our analysis. It ranked ahead of Assam (47.1%), Gujarat (50.4%), Uttar Pradesh (51.1%) and Madhya Pradesh (53.6%).

Nationwide, the percentage of children who received full immunisation–that includes polio, BCG, DPT, and measles vaccines–during this decade rose 18.5 percentage points from 43.5% in 2005-06 to 62% in 2015-16, as IndiaSpend reported on April 28, 2017.

Source: National Family Health Survey 2015-16 data for Kerala, Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura, Gujarat, Assam, Karnataka, India, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan; *for women aged 15-49 years, **for children aged 12-23 months

High literacy rates for women, but early marriages and motherhood too

Tripura has one of the highest female literacy rates in India (89.5%), earning it the State Decadal Award for literacy, 2001-2011. Majority of married women in the state participate in household decisions (91.7%)–better than the national average (84%), and third best among 10 states analysed. Yet, the number of women with more than 10 years of schooling, at 23.4%, is the second lowest in our analysis and much worse than the national average (35.7%).

Further, almost a third of women (33.1%) in Tripura are married before the age of 18–the second highest proportion after Rajasthan (35.4%) and higher than the national average (26.8%). However, while Rajasthan improved by nearly 30 percentage points over the decade to 2015-16, Tripura reduced early marriages by a mere 8.5% points since 2005-06.

These social conditions have their consequences: Nearly 19% of women aged 15-18 years in the state are pregnant, more than twice the national average of 7.9%.

In Tripura, more than half the women of reproductive age, or 54.5%, are anaemic. Despite a 10.6% improvement over 10 years, the prevalence of anaemia is the second highest after Gujarat (54.9%) and higher than the national average (54%).

Early marriage, and lower education could be underlying factors of Tripura’s continuing struggle with anaemia among women of reproductive age. Anaemia during pregnancy increases the chances of foetal deaths, abnormalities, preterm and underweight babies, and causes a fifth of maternal deaths, IndiaSpend reported in October 2016.

Source: National Family Health Survey 2015-16 data for Kerala, Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura, Gujarat, Assam, Karnataka, India, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan

Good access to drinking water, power but sanitation is a concern

At 92.7%, access to electricity for households in Tripura is better than the national average (88.2%) and comparable to wealthier states of Kerala, Goa, Gujarat and Karnataka.

Over 87% of households in Tripura have an “improved source for drinking water”–the officialese for piped or protected source of water–below the national average of 89.8% households. Still, the state fares better than nearby Meghalaya (67.9%) and Assam (83.8%).

While Tripura’s open defecation rate is 3.5%–among the lowest in the country, nearly 40% of its population still does not have access to “improved sanitation”, toilets where waste is disposed without human contact. Still, as the chart below shows, this is better than most states and much better than wealthy Karnataka.

Lack of access to improved sanitation facilities could impede progress on curbing stunting in children, and anaemia, according to these reports from IndiaSpend, published in April 2017 and September 2016.

Source: National Family Health Survey 2015-16 data for Kerala, Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura, Gujarat, Assam, Karnataka, India, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan

(Saldanha is an assistant editor and Yadavar is a principal correspondent with IndiaSpend.)

SC Cancels Bail of Accused in Mohsin Shaikh Lynching Case

February 16, 2018

The Supreme Court has chastised the Bombay high court for its observations in the June 2014 murder case of Pune techie Mohsin Shaikh. This was the first case of public killing after the Modi government was sworn in. The court’s observations indicated that the three accused had been provoked to commit the act of violence “in the name of religion”. It was the high court’s remark in the order that “the fault of the deceased was only that he belonged to another religion” was made while granting bail to the accused. Last week, Thursday, February 8, the apex court quashed the Bombay high court’s order pertaining to the three accused in the case – Vijay Gambhire, Ganesh Yadav and Ajay Lalge – who, according to a Hindustan Times report, are part of the right-wing group Hindu Rashtra Sena.

In June 2017, three years after the killing, and in a blow to an already faltering investigation special public prosecutor and advocate Ujjwal Nikam withdrew his position as public prosecutor in the murder case of Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh, a Pune-based techie who was killed in 2014 by members of radical outfit Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS). Mohsin was attacked and killed while he was returning to his home after prayers on June 2, 2014.

The three – among 21 from the Hindu Rashtra Sena who were booked in connection with the murder – reportedly attended an “inflammatory” meeting just before they accosted and killed Shaikh. The meeting was held in the background of communal clashes in Pune. The group’s leader Dhananjay Jayram Desai was allegedly addressing the meeting that instigated the audience to violence.Hearing an appeal by the deceased’s brother against the grant of bail, the apex court directed that the three to be taken into custody, and the Bombay high court to give fresh consideration to the bail plea and to take a decision within six weeks.

The apex court stated while arriving at its decision that the religious identity cannot be an excuse to assault or murder anyone. A bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nageswara Rao further cautioned courts against passing observations “which may appear to be coloured with a bias for or against a community”.The top court maintained that courts must be “fully conscious of the plural composition of the country” and hence abide by their duty to objectively decide rights of different groups, News18 reported.

The apex court stated: “While it may be possible to understand a reference to the community of the parties involved in an assault, it is difficult to understand why it was said that ‘the fault of the deceased was only that he belonged to another religion’…”

The Supreme Court observed that while the Bombay high court’s order may have intended to simply lay emphasis on the fact that communal hatred and not personal bias was behind the attack and may not have intended to hurt the feelings of any particular community or support the feelings of another community, “the words are clearly vulnerable to such criticism” and that “the direction cannot be sustained”.

Mohsin Shaikh was on his way to meet a friend when he was attacked by a mob of 23 on June 2, 2014, in Pune’s Hadapsar. The prosecution reasoned that the accused “targeted them because they belonged to a certain community”, and claimed that “the accused were said to have been highly motivated to do the act because they had attended a meeting of a body called Hindu Rashtra Sena about half an hour before the incident”.A fresh bail hearing in the Bombay high court is scheduled for today, February 16.

A report in Indian Express said that Justice Bhatkar on January 12, while granting bail to Vijay Rajendra Gambhire, Ganesh alias Ranjeet Shankar Yadav and Ajay Dilip Lalge, noted that the accused had attended a meeting “prior to the incident of assault. The applicants/accused otherwise had no other motive such as any personal enmity against the innocent deceased Mohsin.”

The bail order stated, “…Dhananjay Desai was the one who was the speaker in the meeting and he instigated the audience… the transcript of the speech given by Dhananjay Desai was sufficient to show that he had incited feelings of religious discrimination. The meet was held… prior to the incident of assault.”

In its chargesheet, however, the cops quoted at least two witnesses, who heard HRS members plan the attack.

The chargesheet said, “The activists were carrying hockey sticks, wooden batons etc. During the meeting, they started discussing that HRS president Dhananjay Bhai has said that Muslims should be thrashed for posting derogatory pictures of Shivaji Maharaj on Facebook. Their vehicles, shops should be damaged. They should not be allowed to do any business in the area. There should be terror of HRS in Hadapsar.”

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