Naomi Klein and Jeremy Corbyn discuss Trump, climate change, and the future of progressive politics.
This Interview was first published on TheIntercept.com.
Email: sabrangind@gmail.com
Decorating the Branches of Trees While Felling Their Roots
Jharkand Govt’s Welfare Schems are the Branches, Adivasi Land the Roots –
Stan Swamy
- Decorating the branches . . .
Perusing the long list of developmental and welfare schemes meant for SCs and STs in Jhqrkand is like stepping into a dream-world. There are 49 schemes jointly undertaken by the central & state governments. This is apart from about 40 other schemes meant for the generalpopulation under the banner of rural development.
But the sad fact is most Dalit and Adivasi people do not have any knowledge about most of these schemes. Even the few schemes they have heard of and desire to avail their, benefits, they find it impossible to access.When they go to government offices they are treated with contempt and disrespect by the non-Adivasi officers. They come home disenchanted and try to carry on with the very limited resources they have. This type offunctioning of the bureaucracy at district and block levels is itself a violation of PESA Act which says “Gram Sabha shall be responsible for the identification and selection of persons as beneficiaries under the poverty alleviation and other programmes” [PESA 4.e.(ii)]. So the whole selection process of those chosen asbeneficiaries is both illegal and ultra vires.
The much The much spoken about SC Sub Plan [SCSP]and Tribal Sub Plan [TSP] are implemented half heartedly, the irony being big sums from these schemes are diverted for general schemes such as road construction, panchayat building, stadiums etc with the justification that SCs and STs also use these facilities!
Put briefly, the government's developmental & welfare schemes have not made any difference in terms of betterment to most of SC / ST people. What is the use of decorating the tree’s branches with schemes that are either not responding to their real needs or they are not accessible to them?
- Cutting off the roots . . .
That means wholesale loot of adivasi land, and it has taken place in the following manner: (i) land alienation and consequent displacement. From the time of independenceup to now a staggering 24 lakh acres of land has been forcibly acquired all in the name of development. Consequently, 17 lakh adivasis have been displaced. The sad fact is not a single adivasi person or community has ever been rehabilitated because it involves not only resettlement in another place of their choice but also social and cultural bonds preserved intact. Only a minimal cash compensation was thrust upon themand after that they were neatly forgotten.
(ii) CNT/SPT Acts amendments being forcibly enforced in Jharkhand is yet another blow to the Adivasi people insofar as it aims to transfer agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. This implicitly means non-adivasis from within or without the country can acquire adivasi land for setting up commercial and business enterprises and govt can take agricultural land for infrastructural purposes. This is as good as finishing off this protective legislation. Happily there is wholesale resistance to this deceptive action of the govt and even the Governor has returned the bill asking the govt to re-consider this proposed legislation.
(iii) Land Bank is the most recent innovation to rob adivasi land from the back door. The govt proudly announced during the investors meeting in February this year that it has put together 21 lakh acres of land in Land Bank and therefore the investors will not have to face the problem of how to acquire land in Scheduled Areas. It has now come to light the govt stealthily ear-marked the ‘Commons’, namely the common facilities of the village community such as ponds, cattle-grazing grounds, roads, places of religious worship, burial grounds, rivulets and even rivers as part of land bank! There is also private family land that is not cultivated but used for other needs that has also been included in land bank. And all this has been done without even informing and getting the consent of concerned families and communities. This action of the govt goes against constitutional and legal provisions.
(iv) Fake land-deeds alienating thousands of acres of adivasi land are being reported in the print media recently. More than 1000 such fake deeds during the past 16 years have been unearthed.[Prabhat Khabar, 19 June 2017]. Those who are guilty of doing this are mostly non-adivasi-outsiders who are very adept in bribing govt functionaries and make out the needed fake documents. So there is a collusion of govt officials, politicians, contractors, land brokers, middle men most of whom are non-adivasi-outsiders have been working overtime to cheat the simple adivasi and deprive him of his cherished natural resources. Can there be a greater injustice than this cruel game?
How long will the tree’s branches thrive when the roots have been severed? What betterment will the adivasi people find through govt’s welfare schemes when land which is the source of their life is snatched away from them ? The answer is obvious. No surprise, therefore, adivasi people are rising up in revolt against the forcible acquisition of their land by the govt.
The ground on which we stand is sacred ground.
It is the dust and blood of our ancestors.
– Chief Plenty Coups, Crow (1848 – 1932)
Culture According to the Sangh: Eat Veg, Wear a Saree, Don’t Talk Cricket: Kutumb Prabodhan Programme
The Hindustan Times reports that the RSS, which is the ideological parent of the ruling BJP, has started a family counselling programme issuing guidelines on public and private conduct.
Image: Hindustan Times
Though deceptively calling itself a 'cultural' outfit to escape legal scrutiny, thee RSS has been tHe organisational bedrock on which the BJP has risen to power. No wonder then that Amit Shah, BJP president makes frequent stop overs at Nagpur.
Hence, in a newly conceived family outreach programme, HT reports that cultural values as okayed by the Sangh, clearly upper Caste and exusivist are being carefully propagated. The Kutumb Prabodhan Programme.
What to eat, what to wear, how to celebrate birthdays and advice on public conduct — all this is part of the RSS’ family counselling programme launched in April.
The pan-India campaign involves visiting people’s homes to “instill values and ethics” apart from advocating vegetarianism and promoting Indian attire. Named Kutumb Prabodhan (family counselling), the campaign will continue till the 2019 general elections.
The move comes amid widespread outrage and anger over mob violence in the name of the cow, considered holy by many Hindus.
This is how it will work says HT: RSS insiders said senior swayamsevaks, along with one or two swayamsevaks and a Rashtra Sevika Sangh (RSS’ women’s wing) worker, visit families and ‘educate’ them on the benefits of vegetarianism and how to avoid being influenced by foreign culture, especially as shown by various television channels and social media portals.
One such group led by RSS leader Ashok Bhatt, the Vidarbha convener of Kutumb Prabodhan, visited the family of Suresh Deshpande in Nagpur’s Sadar locality last week.
The team advised them to wear sarees and kurta-pyjamas during festivals and told them celebrating birthdays by blowing candles and cutting cakes was not a part of the Indian culture.
The Deshpandes, a family of four, were told about traditional Hindu practices such as chanting mantras before meals. They said all the family members must eat together at least once a week and should not watch television at the time, instead bond with each other.
During their family time, they should avoid discussing politics and cricket. Besides, every person must respect women, fight casteism, and inculcate the habit of reading good books that feed one’s intellect. The Deshpandes were told to take up social work.
“The RSS team enquired about our food habits, favourite TV channels and shows, how we celebrate birthday and our preference of attire,” said Suresh.
He said the talk was a good concept aimed at strengthening the bond between family members.
“Besides, through the interaction we could understand the problems faced by our children and other members of the family,” said Sunita, Suresh’s wife.
Bhatt said they have been getting a good response.
“We are also asking the families to sit together at least once a week to help to create bonhomie and strengthen ties among the members,” he said.
Atul Pingle, a senior RSS leader and Vidarbha Prant Pracharak Pramukh, said such an initiative was the need of the hour when people were becoming more materialistic and self-centred.
“We will also visit the families of minorities like Muslims and Christians,” said Pingle, adding the campaign would help restore harmony, friendship and community bond among people.
The Kutumb Prabodhan campaign is a major initiative of the RSS, the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, after its pet project of “one temple, one crematorium and one well for all in each village” that was launched last year across the country on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary in an effort to propagate social equality and harmony.
The project was appreciated by noted industrialist Ratan Tata when he met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur last year. Other dignitories who gave visited the RSS headquarters to understand their values are reportedly WIPRO business mangate Azim Premji and film icon Amir Khan.
Will such ventures would give the swayamsevaks a direct access to families and reap dividends for the BJP in the ensuing elections. ?
4 dead, one injured after falling in harvesting tank in Ghitorni: Delhi
News agency ANI just reported that
four sanitation workers on Saturday fell into a septic tank in Ghitorni and that rescue operations are currently underway.
The Hindu had recently reported that, around 250 sanitation workers in the capital get inside storm water drains and sewer lines to clean them. The report further added that the men mostly worked without any safety gear. This is in the era of the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan for which all Indians are compolsarily paying a tax.
More details awaited.
Baba Ramdev Launches ‘Security’ Business: Should We Be Worried?
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has launched a private security firm “Parakram Suraksha Private Ltd’. The aim of the company ensuring security and developing military instinct. According to Acharya Balakrishna, CEO of Ramdev’s Patanjali, “Security is a very important issue either for a man or a woman. Our aim is to prepare individuals for self and country’s security and for this we have formed Parakram. This will help develop military instinct in each and every citizen of the country so as to awaken the spirit and determination for individual and national security. Ramdev has hired retired Army and police personnel to train young interested recruits and plan to make a mark in security”.
In a democratic country there is nothing wrong with starting a legitimate business. A security firm is a perfectly legitimate business. Baba Ramdev is not just a Yoga guru with millions of followers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the president of the ruling party, BJP’s Amit Shah but also a shrewd businessman. He has been seen performing his yoga tricks on several government functions including the Yoga Day.
Baba Ramdev’s “Patanjali Ayurved Ltd” which started its operations in 2008-09 was a marginal player until Narendra Modi came to power. Since then his business has boomed. In 2016-17 it doubled its revenue from Rs 5000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore and has become the fastest growing FMCG company in India. There are many who see the political patronage of the current political dispensation as the reason behind the phenomenal rise of the Patanjali empire.
So why should one be cynical about a well established businessman starting another lucrative business?
In April 2016, during a conference for harmony of the Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Rohtak (Haryana). The media quoted Baba Ramdev as saying that he would have “beheaded” those who refuse to chant “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” were it not for the law of the land. Baba Ramdev said, “We respect this country’s law and Constitution, otherwise if anybody disrespects Bharat Mata, we have the capability of beheading not one but thousands and lakhs.”. This statement was directed at the Muslim community. This should send a chill down the spine of every peace loving citizen of the world.
When a person who has publicly stated that he is ready to behead hundreds of thousands of Muslims just for not ‘chanting’ patriotic slogans starts a private security company with an aim to “develop military instinct in each and every citizen of the country so as to awaken the spirit and determination for individual and national security” we should be worried.
Private security is a fast growing business in India. It’s the sought after business for the unskilled laborers and the former farmers who migrate to the cities and towns. They are in their millions in India. They can be spotted every nook and corner of India. If Baba Ramdev is going to instill ‘military instinct’ in them we should be worried. At a time when every ‘other’ in India is termed an ‘anti-national’ by the Sangh Parivar, Baba Ramdev instilling the spirit of ‘national security’ in his ‘private army’ is worrying. What is the purpose of hiring “retired Army and police personnel to train young interested recruits’’ if not for raising a para-military private army?
Given the business acumen of Baba Ramdev and the patronage he gets from the ruling dispensation and the Sangh Parivar, it would not be surprising, if he puts most of the currently operating security agencies out of business. Would you like to see nationalistic, ‘patriotic’, militarily trained Parakram Surakshak’s guarding your businesses and housing complexes? I would be worried.
To conclude, let me put a speculative question. How would these trained Parakram Surakshak’s behave in a communal riot, which is not infrequent in India?
Binu Mathew is the Editor of www.countercurrents.org. He can be reached at editor@countercurrents.org
Courtesy: countercurrents.org
The Mediocrity of the ICSSR Under Modi
The only qualification Braj Bihari Kumar has for this post is his loyalty to the ruling government and its ideology.
André Devambez, 1867–1944, aquatint on vellum / Image Courtesy: The Met Museum.
In May 2017, Braj Bihari Kumar was appointed the Chairperson of the ICSSR, the premier government institution for social sciences research. Does Kumar have the academic and research credentials for this job? Or has the government, predictably, bypassed democratic procedures by appointing Kumar? The ICSSR collegium, which is in charge of appointing a new Chairperson, was allegedly kept in the dark over Kumar’s appointment.
It is disappointing that the only person the government could choose for this significant position is a teacher of organic chemistry. Besides the fact that his discipline does not fall under social sciences, Braj Bihari Kumar de-legitimises the research work carried out by social scientists. He commented on Nobel Laureate Aamrtya Sen’s book The Argumentative Indian, stating that it is “politics, rather than economics”. Kumar is also of the opinion that “A large number of our intellectuals – the scholars in the field of social sciences and humanities – themselves are deficient in the knowledge about their country and society; they have developed vested interests in being collaborators and agents.”
Braj Bihari Kumar has written controversial books on various topics that have to do with the social sciences. He has said that Naga tribal identity was built up by colonial administrators and Christian missionaries. On the demarcation of states, he is of the opinion that small, economically unviable states are a bad idea. In one of his books, he even blames Muslim rulers for the caste system in India.
The new Chairperson of ICSSR, who makes all these absurd comments, is actually quite unknown to the social sciences fraternity. It is also not clear what contribution Dialogue and Chintan Srijan – journals edited by Braj Bihari Kumar – have made to social sciences. Former professor of JNU Ghanshyam Shah says “I don’t know about Kumar or his views on the status of social sciences. Nor have I come across his journal. There are hundreds of journals in the social sciences. I would also not say that because I am not familiar with him, he is not qualified for the position.”
The 2015 October-December edition of Dialogue reads, “Narendra Modi has proved himself to be the best Prime Minister. The economy of the country was in bad shape, when he came to power; in the brief period, we have overtaken China in GDP growth…” Last month’s report on GDP shows that India has officially lost the tag of the fastest growing economy to China as the March quarter registered a growth rate of 6.1 per cent much below than expected 7.1 per cent. The GDP growth was 8 per cent in 2015-16 and 7.5 per cent in the previous year.
It is evident that the only qualification Kumar has for this post is his loyalty to the ruling government and its ideology. Hardly a fortnight after he took office, he made a controversial statement: that teaching school children about Hindu-Muslim riots will make them social activists. The implication is that “social activists” are undesirable. Even worse is the implication for education, that students need not – or should not – learn about the reality of India.
More recently, JNU professor Amita Singh, who had kicked up a storm last year with her remarks that all Dalits and Muslims are "anti-nationals", is among the thirteen people chosen by the HRD Ministry as member of the ICSSR. The cases of Kumar and Singh indicate what has happened to autonomy, democracy and diversity of opinion in ICSSR, a premier body no longer allowed to be premier.
Sruti M D is member of the editorial collective of Indian Writers' Forum
Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
Desecrations of the Cross in Goa
Hindu Godess Santeri and her sister Saibin Mai, the Virgin Mary of Christians, will ensure the defeat of political forces trying to sow discord in Goa.
Image courtesy: Facebook page, oHeraldoGoa.
Since early July, Goans have woken to the shock of daily headlines reporting desecrations, mainly of Catholic religious sites, apart from two idols inside a Krishna temple including that of a nandi. Many wayside crosses in villages have been knocked down. The latest was a vicious attack on the cemetery of the Guardian Angel Church in Curchorem — where 28 niches, five wooden crosses, nine granite crosses, 16 tombs and a big cross on the arch opening into the cemetery were vandalised. All this was clearly the work of a group using heavy instruments.
Every one of these sites is situated in South Goa. South Goa is credited with winning many battles to preserve Goa’s identity: the Opinion Poll which saved Goa from being merged with Maharashtra; the declaration of Konkani as the official language (though there is still a struggle over scripts); and voting in each election to preserve the secular fabric of the state. The BJP has won seats here by supporting Catholic candidates, a precarious balance for the government at the moment, as it is a coalition government which has had to hold in abeyance measures such as the beef ban, for instance. This spate of malevolence is perhaps an attempt to discredit the government and create discord.
The RSS-backed Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) has been demanding that regional languages (Konkani and Marathi) be made the medium of instruction in Goa’s elementary schools, and that the government should stop the grants of English medium schools. The party lost all seats contested in the elections, and currently has no MLA that supports its cause. Their main target is the Diocesan Society of Education, whose primary schools are English medium; its tirades are aimed almost solely against the Catholic community. Their current strategy is to embarrass the BJP government in power.
The Sanathan Sanstha, a Goa-based rightwing Hindu outfit some of whose sadhaks (seekers) are under the scanner of investigating agencies looking into the killing of some rationalists, has had a presence here for some years, held meetings, and made controversial statements. Pramod Muthalik, chief of the Mangalore-based Sri Ram Sene, responsible for moral policing and attack on a pub in Mangalore, has tried, at various times to muddy our waters. But his entry has been banned for several months at a time, starting with the Congress government and continued by the BJP. Sadhvi Saraswati addressed the Sixth All India Hindu Convention held at the Ramnathi temple in Ponda: “People who take it as status symbol to eat beef… I request the Centre to hang them in public.” The lawyer Albertina Almeida writes: “There have been various Hindu Rashtra meetings brazenly hosted on Goan territory, with no reprimand by the State through its criminal justice system for the threatening statements made during and post these meetings.”
Our state is often praised for its communal harmony, and the BJP flaunts this quality when it is in power. Despite transformations effected by social engineering in the early years of Portuguese colonialism, which changed social relations, there has been peace. It has been argued that life was stable and without strife, because the two communities lived separate lives. Yet in our community life, political, religious and cultural dimensions merge and flow, as do our streams and rivers, into the great sea of Goan experience. It is an environment, and a way of life, that has charmed the well-to-do in Delhi, Mumbai and elsewhere into crowding our spaces with second homes.
But Goa has been no different when it comes to exploitation of all communities by the brahmins in the past. Goan society leaves more room for individual freedom than anywhere else in India. There could be several reasons for this, reasons that are to do with temporal rather than religious considerations. However, the influence of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, the Bhakti movement and Christianity, must have led to a process of leavening and softening of the hierarchical rigidity seen elsewhere in India. Poet Bakibab (B.B.) Borkar described this component of the Goan personality as veglenchmunxaponn, a unique humanism.
Although there is a growing disquiet over the cultural transformations in other parts of the country, the Goan, who has gone about his business peacefully so far, has not felt threatened. Agitations have focused on the government’s support of excessive mining, casinos, environmental degradation. The desecrations this month, and the inadequacy of police action, have aroused anger and anxiety. Wayside crosses abound in our villages – honoured and venerated by everyone. Flowers and garlands adorn them, candles are lit around them. Cars and trucks slow down. The driver alights, bows and prays, then proceeds on his way. The Vashem cross broken in Loutulim – my ancestral village – was, in fact, renovated by the Shetyes, a Hindu community of jewellers. Religion in Goa is not divisive. There are many examples of cultural assimilation, not least the prominent transformation of the goddess Santeri.
Barring only two shrines outside Goa to goddess Santeri (and these are in the neighbouring state of Karnataka), it is only in Goa that Santeri is worshipped in various transformations, including as her sister Saibin Mai, the Virgin Mary of the Christians. Her special attributes are peace, fertility and protection — which Goa is proud to give as its special contribution to the Indian tradition. And this will ensure the defeat of political forces trying to sow discord. The singer Hema Sardesai is to lead a peace rally and concert Sunday July 16th.
Eminent writer and teacher Maria Couto’s books include Goa: A Daughter's Story and Filomena's Journeys: Portrait of a Marriage, a Family and a Culture.
Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
Complaint to Press Council on Provocative Dainik Bhaskar Headline on Amarnath Yatri Attack
The Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) has sent a strong complaint to the Press Council of India on the provocative news headline in the Surat edition of the Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar published on July12. Sabrangindia had carried the story on how –what appeared to be a distorted headline two days after the Amarnath yatri attack sought to divide readers on communal lines
The July 13 complaint by the NWMI to the Press Council may be read below:
NWMI letter to PCI on Dainik Bhaskar's provocative news report
July 13, 2017
To,
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad,
Chairman, Press Council of India
New Delhi
Sub: Inflammatory Headline and News Story
Hon’ble Mr Justice Chandramauli Prasad,
This is to bring to your attention the provocative headline and news report in Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar’s Surat edition, dated July 12, 2017 (Annexure 1: screenshots).
The Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) strongly condemns such reports and deplores the callous reporting and editing that produces them.
The news story relates to the recent attack on Amarnath pilgrims. The headline on the web version translates as “Terrorists were firing at us while bystanders laughed”. The headline of the print version, which has been widely circulated on social media, translates as “In agony over shots fired by terrorists, far from helping us, people were laughing loudly”. (Annexure 1: Screenshots)
The headline is based on a statement in the report from one Rajesh Naval, a resident of Valsad in Gujarat, who was reportedly on the bus that came under attack on July 10, 2017 near Khanabal in Jammu and Kashmir. The headline is not only misleading, it is mischievous and divisive.
Naval’s quote is neither prefaced nor followed by any explanation of how or where he spotted shopkeepers laughing at the passengers’ plight while the moving bus was under attack (and most people in it were, presumably, ducking for cover). The report also contradicts several press accounts of Kashmiris condemning the attacks, helping survivors and vowing not to let terror affect their hospitality or assistance to visitors. Even Home Minister Rajnath Singh has applauded the response of Kashmiris and the spirit of Kashmiriyat.
In a report in The Hindu on July 11, the driver of the bus, Salim Sheikh, stated that he drove the bus through the firing, without stopping. He also said, “We could not see anything as it was pitch black.”
A report by News18 detailed the various ways in which Kashmiris have always provided basic needs to pilgrims, while stating that many rushed to the aid of the injured pilgrims.
Reports in Greater Kashmir alluded to the tourist town of Pahalgam shutting down for a day in protest against the attack and to express solidarity with the victims. A report in Rising Kashmir quoted several survivors who thanked local Kashmiris for rushing them to the hospital.
A headline like the one in Dainik Bhaskar is particularly reprehensible in view of the current atmosphere in the country. The newspaper has failed to perform the journalistic duty of being accurate and fair and providing readers with correct information. The paper evidently preferred to distort and sensationalise a violent and tragic incident that has been widely condemned in Kashmir and in the rest of the country.
In the guise of giving readers a detailed, first-person account from people who survived the attack, the Hindi daily chose one inflammatory sentence as the provocative headline of the report. This goes against the Press Council of India’s directive stressing the need for caution while reporting on sensitive matters, including communal disputes or clashes.
The PCI specifically says that provocative and sensational headlines are to be avoided; that headings must reflect and justify the matter printed under them; and that headings containing allegations made in statements should either identify the body or the source making them or at least carry quotation marks. None of these guidelines were observed by Dainik Bhaskar in this particular headline.
According to the PCI, "News, views or comments relating to communal or religious disputes/clashes shall be published after proper verification of facts and presented with due caution and restraint in a manner which is conducive to the creation of an atmosphere congenial to communal harmony, amity and peace. Sensational, provocative and alarming headlines are to be avoided… The role of media in such situations is to be peacemakers and not abettors, to be troubleshooters and not troublemakers."
While recommending "due restraint and caution in hazarding their own opinion or conclusion in branding persons" the PCI observes, "In the zest to expose, the press should not exceed the limits of ethical caution and fair comments.” The PCI also says, “The press shall eschew publication of inaccurate, baseless, graceless, misleading or distorted material. All sides of the core issue or subject should be reported. Unjustified rumours and surmises should not be set forth as facts.”
As an association of journalists committed to and concerned about ethical journalism, NWMI demands that Dainik Bhaskar publish a corrigendum clarifying the facts and apologising for their misleading headline, which directly contradicts multiple survivor testimonies, and desist from stoking communal fires through misleading reports and headlines.
We hope the Press Council of India will take appropriate action.
Thanking you,
Sincerely yours,
Priyanka Borpujari, Nishita Jha, Ammu Joseph and Laxmi Murthy
[On behalf of the Network of Women in Media, India]
Annexure 1: screenshots of Dainik Bhaskar, July 12, 2017