Rights | SabrangIndia https://sabrangindia.in/category/rights/ News Related to Human Rights Sat, 31 Oct 2026 11:18:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Rights | SabrangIndia https://sabrangindia.in/category/rights/ 32 32 After 22 years under suspicion, Assam’s Kashem Ali declared Indian by Foreigners Tribunal https://sabrangindia.in/after-22-years-under-suspicion-assams-kashem-ali-declared-indian-by-foreigners-tribunal/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 11:18:17 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49907 With 18 years passing between the registration of the case and service of notice, and nearly a year spent fighting to prove his citizenship, Kashem Ali finally wins legal relief with CJP’s assistance

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]]> For years, Kashem Ali lived under the shadow of a question that should never have haunted a man born in Assam: did he belong to the country he had always called home?

A thelawala by occupation, Kashem Ali earns his living by pulling a handcart through the heat and rain, working day after day to support his wife, Suraton Khatun, and their two sons, Sahjahan Ali and Sahajamal Ali. He is neither a politician nor a person of influence. He is a working man whose life has been consumed by a legal battle over his citizenship, despite documentary records linking his family to Assam decades before the March 25, 1971, cut-off date.

On October 25, 2026, Kashem finally received a measure of relief. The Foreigners Tribunal No. 1, Bongaigaon, held that he had successfully discharged the statutory burden of proving that he was not a foreigner and was a citizen of India. The decision came after a prolonged legal fight, with assistance from Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP).

But the end of Kashem’s ordeal does not mean the end of the family’s suffering. His wife, Suraton, was declared a D-voter in 2019 and remains unable to exercise her voting rights for ten years, until 2029. The husband has now been recognised as an Indian citizen, while his wife continues to live with the consequences of a citizenship-related determination that has deprived her of a fundamental democratic entitlement.


Kashem Ali, outside his home in Assam, looking through all his case related documents

A case registered in 2004, notice served only in 2022

The case, State of Assam vs Md. Kashem Ali, was heard by Foreigners Tribunal No. 1, Bongaigaon, under BNGN/FT Case No. 1205/2010, arising from BNGN/IM(D)T Case No. 1944/2003. According to the case records, proceedings were registered in 2004 based on an order issued by the Superintendent of Police (Border). Yet Kashem did not receive notice until March 2022. Eighteen years had passed between the registration of the case and the service of notice upon him.

For a man dependent on daily earnings to sustain his family, such prolonged uncertainty carries consequences far beyond a courtroom. The years between registration and notice, followed by the legal proceedings themselves, meant that Kashem had to confront an allegation of foreign origin while continuing to make a living through manual labour. When his wife’s case had previously come up, Kashem was unaware of CJP and had incurred considerable expenses. This time, knowing that legal assistance was available, he approached the organisation for help.

CJP’s legal team, led by legal member Dewan Abdur Rahim and his two junior colleagues, took up his case before the Tribunal. The defence challenged both the basis of the allegation and the way the investigation had purportedly been conducted. In his written statement filed on December 10, 2025, Kashem put his position in straightforward terms: the case was not maintainable in law or on facts, he was not a foreigner, and he had been born in Assam.

Born in Assam, with family records predating 1971

Kashem Ali was born in 1968 in Village No. 1 Dhupuri, under Manikpur Police Station in Bongaigaon district, Assam. He was the son of Nojumuddin Sheikh, also recorded under variations of the name Naju Sheikh, and Panful Nessa, also known as Panful. His father died in 1974, while his mother died in 2018. His paternal grandfather, Najirulla, also recorded as Nojib, was the father of four children: Naju Sheikh, Yunus Ali, Khalek Miya and Khatim Bibi. Kashem has one sister, Toshiran Bibi, against whom, according to the information placed before the Tribunal, no foreigners case is pending.

Kashem married Suraton Khatun, daughter of the late Toyab Ali of Village No. 2 Dhupuri, in 1988. Together, they raised two sons. These were not merely family details. They formed part of the chain of relationships and documentary evidence through which Kashem sought to establish his identity and his connection to Assam.

The defence placed particular emphasis on records showing that Kashem’s parents were enrolled as voters in Assam in 1966, five years before the March 25, 1971, cut-off date relevant to the determination of citizenship in Assam. Subsequent electoral records also documented Kashem and his wife as voters over several decades. Despite this documentary trail, Kashem was compelled to establish before a Tribunal that he was not a foreigner.

Eighteen documents to establish what should never have been in doubt

To discharge the burden imposed under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, Kashem produced 18 documents before the Tribunal, recorded as Exhibits A to Q, with Exhibit A-1 as an additional document. He also obtained a Panchayat certificate. The evidence included land and revenue records, historical electoral rolls, school records, identity documents and a death certificate. Together, these materials were relied upon to establish his family links, place of birth and long-standing presence in Assam.

Among the most significant records was the certified copy of the 1966 electoral roll for Dhupuri Part I under the Bijni Legislative Assembly Constituency. It recorded Nojumuddin, son of Nojir Ullah, and Panful, wife of Nojumuddin, as voters. The 1971 electoral roll for Dhupuri Part I also recorded Nojmoddin Sheikh, son of Nojib, and Panful Nessa, wife of Nojmoddin, alongside other members of the extended family.

The records connecting Kashem himself to the electoral rolls began with the 1997 list for Dhupuri Part II, which recorded Kasem Ali, son of the late Nasimuddin Sheikh, and Suraton Khaton, wife of Kasem. The 2008 list also included both husband and wife. Kashem appeared in the electoral rolls for 2010, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, with variations in the spelling of his name and his father’s name across different records.

The documentary evidence also included a land record showing Kashem’s father as the recorded owner and possessor of 4 bighas, 1 katha and 17 lessas of land under Annual Patta No. 27, with Dag Nos. 155, 156 and 200 in Village No. 1 Dhupuri. A revenue payment receipt in Kashem’s name accompanied the record.

A school certificate issued by the head teacher of 480 No. Dabaguri Lower Primary School recorded Kashem Ali, son of Noju Sheikh, as having studied in Class I in 1975. His Election Commission of India-issued Elector Photo Identity Card, dated March 6, 2024, was also produced.

Other documents included a ration card issued by the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department in the name of Suraton Khatun, identifying her as Kashem’s wife; Kashem’s PAN card and Aadhaar card; and the death certificate of Panful Bewa, issued by the relevant health authorities in Manikpur.

The documents did not all serve the same evidentiary purpose. Rather, the defence relied on them collectively to establish the links between Kashem, his parents, his wife, his residence and the historical records of his family. The sheer volume of documentation required to defend his citizenship underscores the burden imposed on ordinary people facing allegations of foreign origin. For Kashem, years of family history had to be assembled, authenticated, translated and placed before a Tribunal before he could obtain legal recognition of what he had maintained from the outset: he was not a foreigner.

Defence challenges the investigation


CJP Team Assam with Kashem Ali outside his home in Assam

A central part of the defence was its challenge to the investigation that had led to the reference against Kashem. The CJP legal team argued that the investigating officer had submitted a report without conducting a genuine inquiry. According to the defence, the officer had neither visited Kashem’s home nor recorded his statement, seized any documents or examined any witnesses. The defence further questioned the credibility of the witnesses named in connection with the case.

The allegation, the advocate argued, rested on the assertion that Kashem had entered Assam from a specified territory after March 25, 1971. Kashem denied this outright, maintaining that he had never come to Assam from East Pakistan or Bangladesh and had been born in the state in 1968.

The defence also addressed discrepancies in the spelling of names across official records. Kashem appeared as Kasem Ali or Kashem Ali, while his father’s name was variously recorded as Nojumuddin, Nasimuddin, Najim Uddin Sheikh and Nojim Uddin Sheikh. The legal team argued that these variations were clerical inconsistencies and did not establish that the records referred to different individuals.

Such discrepancies can create serious difficulties for people whose names are recorded across different government departments, particularly when records are handwritten, translated or entered by officials over several decades. For poor families with limited means to scrutinise or correct official documentation, a spelling variation can become a formidable obstacle in proving identity and family links. The defence maintained that the differences in Kashem’s records had to be assessed in their proper context, alongside the broader documentary evidence, rather than treated as grounds to doubt his citizenship.

Revenue official corroborates land records

Kashem and two other defence witnesses gave evidence before the Tribunal. One of them, Defence Witness No. 2, Subash Medhi, a S.K. of the Manikpur Revenue Circle, proved the Jamabandi produced as Exhibit A after furnishing official documents underlying its issuance. The revenue official’s evidence provided an official basis for the land record relied upon by the defence. It formed part of the wider evidentiary case through which Kashem sought to establish his family’s links to the land and locality.

After considering the evidence and arguments, the Tribunal concluded that Kashem had successfully discharged the statutory burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946. It held that the opposite party was not a foreigner but a citizen of India. The decision brought relief after years of uncertainty and a prolonged legal battle. It also meant that the allegation of foreign origin could not stand in the face of the evidence accepted by the Tribunal.

A husband declared Indian, a wife still denied her vote

Yet Kashem’s relief is incomplete in the most painful sense: his wife continues to bear the consequences of a separate citizenship-related proceeding. Suraton Khatun’s case had come before a Foreigners Tribunal in 2019, when she was kept in the D-voter category. As a result, she remains unable to vote for ten years, from 2019 to 2029.

Her name appeared alongside Kashem’s in the 1997 electoral roll, and she was again recorded as a voter in the 2008 roll. The family ration card also identifies her as Kashem’s wife. She is the mother of their two sons and has shared the same home and family life through the years in which her husband was forced to defend his citizenship.

Nevertheless, the consequences of the proceedings against her remain in place. Kashem’s successful defence does not, by itself, restore Suraton’s voting rights or resolve her separate case. The contrast is stark. In 2026, a Tribunal recognised Kashem as an Indian citizen after examining the documentary evidence. His wife, whose name appeared in electoral records decades earlier, remains unable to participate in elections until 2029 because of her D-voter status.

For this family, the cost of citizenship proceedings is not measured only in legal expenses or years spent answering an allegation. It is also measured in the democratic rights lost while the proceedings cast a shadow over their lives.

CJP’s intervention brings relief, but the larger questions remain

On October 25, Advocate Dewan Abdur Rahim and CJP State In-charge Nanda Ghosh, representing Team CJP, visited Kashem’s home and handed him a copy of the Tribunal’s judgment. After years of uncertainty, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He welcomed the team with tea and expressed his gratitude to CJP for helping him navigate the legal battle.

For Kashem, the judgment is a hard-won victory. For CJP, it is another reminder of the importance of accessible legal assistance for people facing citizenship proceedings, particularly those without the financial means to sustain a prolonged fight on their own.

But his case also raises questions that extend far beyond one family. Why did a case registered in 2004 result in notice being served only in March 2022? What safeguards exist to prevent allegations resting on inadequate investigations from subjecting people to years of uncertainty? How should authorities assess discrepancies in names across decades of public records, particularly when historical documentation is inconsistent? And what happens to those who cannot assemble 18 documents, secure witnesses, pay legal expenses or find an organisation willing to help?


Kashem Ali with his wife outside their home in Assam

Kashem Ali is not a case number. He is a man who pulls a handcart to feed his family, a husband to Suraton, a father to two sons, a brother to Toshiran and the son of parents whose names appear in Assam’s historical records. His case demonstrates how the burden of proving citizenship can fall on ordinary people even when documentary records trace their families to Assam before the 1971 cut-off date. It also shows why legal aid can make the difference between confronting a case alone and having the opportunity to place one’s evidence before a Tribunal.

CJP’s intervention helped Kashem secure relief. But how many others face similar allegations without access to legal assistance, the resources to gather documents or the means to sustain years of proceedings?

And while Kashem can finally put this chapter behind him, Suraton must still wait for the restoration of her democratic rights. Their story is not simply one of a man declared Indian after a long legal battle. It is a reminder of the human cost of citizenship proceedings in Assam, where the right to belong can become a prolonged struggle for people whose lives, families and records are already rooted in the state.

The order may be read below:

 

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Floods | Documents | Courts: CJP’s Fight for Citizenship in Assam

Nationality Before Deportation: The Rajubala Das case

Aadhaar, Voter ID and PAN Cannot Prove Citizenship: Calcutta High Court’s Foreigners Order and the burden of belonging

Another CJP Victory: Barpeta Tribunal declares Alam Khan ‘not a foreigner’

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]]> From treating Adivasi communities to being branded an instigator: Odisha jails doctor Randall Sequeira https://sabrangindia.in/from-treating-adivasi-communities-to-being-branded-an-instigator-odisha-jails-doctor-randall-sequeira/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 11:09:44 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49903 Arrested in a case in which his name did not figure in the original FIR, Dr Randall Sequeira faces serious criminal charges amid an intensifying crackdown on Adivasi communities resisting bauxite mining in Odisha

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]]> For nearly ten years, Dr Randall Sequeira’s workplace was not a well-equipped hospital or a private clinic. It was the forested hills, remote settlements and scattered Adivasi villages of Odisha’s Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. Riding his motorcycle through difficult terrain, the 39-year-old physician travelled from one village to another, treating people suffering from malaria, diarrhoea, skin ailments and other illnesses, often providing consultations and medicines free of cost. In places where the nearest primary healthcare centre could be more than 60 kilometres away, he became, as residents described him, a mobile hospital.

Today, that same doctor is lodged in Rayagada sub-jail. On the night of October 16, 2026, Odisha Police arrested Sequeira from his rented residence in Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi, along with Dalit activist Laxman Naik. The arrests came nearly six months after a violent confrontation between villagers and police in Kantamal village on April 7, during protests against a proposed road project connected to the Sijimali bauxite mining project. Neither Sequeira nor Naik figured among the 26 people initially named in the first information report (FIR). Their names were subsequently added from a category of approximately 100 unnamed persons described as ‘others’.

 

According to The Hindu, Sequeira was arrested in connection with the April violence despite having already secured anticipatory bail from the Orissa High Court in another FIR relating to the same incident. He was subsequently booked under serious provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those relating to attempt to murder and rioting.

The circumstances of his arrest are particularly disturbing. Speaking to The Hindu from Rayagada jail, Sequeira said that he and Naik were made to sleep on the floor of a police station through the night, were subsequently transferred to another police station and were not initially informed of the grounds for their arrest. He also alleged that he was not allowed to speak to his family.

This is not the first time Sequeira has found himself at the receiving end of administrative action for his association with the anti-mining movement. In June 2025, the Rayagada district administration issued an ex parte order prohibiting him and 24 others from entering the district for two months. The administration accused him of attempting to mobilise tribal communities against the proposed Sijimali mining project and raised apprehensions about public order.

The Orissa High Court subsequently quashed the prohibitory order. In its ruling, the court found no material demonstrating that the proposed peaceful gathering posed an immediate and grave threat of violence or public disorder. Justice S.K. Panigrahi observed that constitutional jurisprudence demanded a high threshold of actual risk before fundamental rights could be curtailed. The High Court’s intervention, however, did not end the administration’s pursuit of Sequeira.

 

A doctor who chose the hills over urban medicine

Originally from Mangaluru, Karnataka, and raised in Mumbai, Sequeira completed his MBBS at St John’s Medical College in Bengaluru before pursuing postgraduate studies in internal medicine at Sawai Man Singh Medical College and Hospital in Jaipur. He arrived in Kalahandi in July 2017 and began working with Swasthya Swaraj, a non-profit organisation providing community healthcare in the tribal-dominated Thuamul Rampur block.

He could have pursued a conventional medical career in an urban hospital. Instead, he remained in the region, continuing his work with organisations including Living Farms and the Development Agency for Poor and Tribal Awakening (DAPTA), which work on healthcare, nutrition, education and the rights of marginalised communities.

 

As reported by Article 14, Sequeira travelled to settlements where residents had little access to medical facilities, visiting households and providing treatment. His work extended beyond treating individual patients. He focused on preventive healthcare, community health training and understanding the relationship between environmental degradation and public health.

His experiences in mining-affected areas also led him to examine the health consequences of industrial extraction. He observed that communities living near operational bauxite mines reported more skin ailments than those in non-mining areas. Since March 2022, he has also travelled to Sukinda in Odisha’s Jajpur district to treat patients suffering from tuberculosis in an area affected by extensive chromite mining.

A close friend of his told Article 14 that Sequeira understood the limitations of treating individual patients when the structural conditions producing ill health remained unaddressed. Healthcare, in his understanding, could not be separated from access to clean water, forests, nutrition and a healthy environment.

This understanding increasingly brought him into solidarity with Adivasi communities opposing mining projects that threaten their land and natural resources. Since 2023, he has worked alongside grassroots organisations, including Maa Mati Mali Surakhya Manch and Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti, which have opposed the proposed mining projects in the region. It is this association that has now become central to the allegations against him.

When solidarity becomes an alleged criminal offence

The Odisha Police has rejected allegations that Sequeira’s arrest is intended to suppress anti-mining resistance. Speaking to the Press Trust of India (PTI), Deputy Inspector General of Police Akhileshwar Singh alleged that Sequeira was not merely providing medical services but was instigating Adivasi communities against the state government.

The police have also cited multiple criminal cases against him. However, the central question remains: what evidence supports the serious allegations, and why was he implicated in an FIR in which his name did not originally appear, particularly when he had already secured anticipatory bail in another case arising from the same incident?

In its report, The Quint highlighted the concerns raised by activists over the police’s use of the ‘others’ category in FIRs. Narendra Mohanty, convenor of the Campaign Against Fabricated Cases, alleged that the open-ended category allows the police to subsequently implicate activists who were not named when the complaint was first registered. According to him, this practice has become particularly useful in keeping movement leaders in custody by filing successive cases whenever they secure bail in an earlier one.

The figures are alarming. According to data compiled by the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), 43 cases connected to resistance against bauxite mining were registered in Kalahandi and Rayagada over the past three years, resulting in more than 100 Adivasis and Dalits being jailed. Between March 8 and April 8, 2026, as many as 24 people were arrested, 217 were named as accused and another 1,140 were listed under the category of ‘others’. Sequeira’s arrest is therefore unfolding against a much larger pattern of criminal cases against those resisting mining projects.

The battle over land, forests and the right to resist

The region’s resistance is not new. For decades, Adivasi communities have opposed attempts to convert their forests and hills into mining sites. The Dongria Kondh, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, regard the Niyamgiri hills as sacred and worship Niyam Raja, whom they believe resides in the hills. In its landmark 2013 judgment, the Supreme Court placed the decision on the proposed diversion of forest land for bauxite mining in Niyamgiri before the Gram Sabhas. Subsequently, all 12 Gram Sabhas rejected the proposal, and the Odisha government scrapped the project in 2014.

The renewed push for bauxite extraction in Sijimali has brought the region back into confrontation with mining interests. Vedanta has secured environmental clearance for the Sijimali deposit, while the nearby Kutrumali deposit has been allotted to the Adani Group.

For communities whose livelihoods, water sources, forests and cultural identities are inseparable from these hills, mining is not simply an industrial development project. It is a question of survival, autonomy and their constitutional and statutory rights over their land and resources.

The arrest of Sequeira has also attracted condemnation from sections of the medical and civil society communities. Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as LiverDoc, appealed to the medical fraternity to stand up for his former St John’s Medical College junior. Recalling Sequeira’s work in Kutrumali, Philips described a physician who had travelled to remote settlements to treat malnourished children and women with limited access to healthcare. He argued that Sequeira understood that prescriptions could not compensate for the destruction of forests, the loss of water resources and the denial of dignity to indigenous communities.

 

The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan has also condemned the arrests, describing them as an attack on people working to address the social and health consequences of mining. The organisation has demanded the immediate release of Sequeira and Naik, withdrawal of the cases and an independent inquiry into allegations of intimidation.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai-based Watchdog Foundation has approached the National Commission for Minorities, seeking scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding Sequeira’s arrest and whether the necessary legal safeguards were followed. Its representation, as reported by the Free Press Journal, specifically flagged the fact that Sequeira was arrested months after the April incident despite not being named in the original FIR.

The Foundation has clarified that the absence of a person’s name in an original FIR does not automatically establish innocence or render a subsequent arrest unlawful. However, it has called for scrutiny of whether the investigation is supported by credible evidence and whether constitutional and procedural safeguards have been respected.

Sequeira’s parents, Alex and Nancy Sequeira, have expressed distress over their son’s incarceration, while maintaining faith in the judicial process. In a statement to Article 14, they said that, to their knowledge, he had dedicated his professional life to serving poor and marginalised communities and hoped that he would receive a fair hearing and be reunited with his family.

Criminalising those who refuse to look away

The question raised by Sequeira’s arrest extends beyond the fate of one doctor. What does it mean when a physician working in areas with little access to healthcare is accused of instigating the very communities he has spent years treating? What does it say about the priorities of a government when those who draw attention to the health and environmental consequences of mining are treated as threats to public order?

For the Adivasi communities of Kalahandi and Rayagada, Sequeira was a doctor who came when hospitals were too far away, who treated their children and who understood that their health was inseparable from the land they inhabited. His arrest has now placed that relationship under the shadow of criminal prosecution. A physician who spent years travelling through forests to reach patients is now confined to a jail cell. And while the state questions whether he was really practising medicine or instigating dissent, the communities he served are left confronting the same questions of healthcare, land and survival, alongside the fear that those who stand with them could be next.

 

Related:

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Why Adivasis seek to re-assert their traditional identity

I raise my voice for Adivasis, am I a Traitor?

Telangana: Stop forcible ‘re-location of Chenchu Adivasis from Amrabad Tiger Reserve

 

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]]> Nearly two decades without elections, Jamia students’ agitation forces administration to set deadline for union revival https://sabrangindia.in/nearly-two-decades-without-elections-jamia-students-agitation-forces-administration-to-set-deadline-for-union-revival/ Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:35:16 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49898 The university has agreed to implement the students’ union constitution by May 15, 2027, and conduct elections under Lyngdoh Committee guidelines

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]]> After 18 days of sustained protests and an indefinite hunger strike, students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) have called off their agitation after the university administration agreed to a time-bound process for restoring the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU). The breakthrough came on October 29, when the university issued a formal order committing to approve and implement the students’ union constitution by May 15, 2027, and conduct elections within six weeks of the commencement of the next academic session.

 

 

 

The agreement marks a significant development in a struggle for democratic representation that has continued for years at the university, where the students’ union has remained dissolved since March 2006. The administration has also agreed to withdraw all disciplinary action initiated against students in connection with the agitation, including show-cause notices, disciplinary proceedings, rustication and suspension orders, as well as campus bans.

According to the university’s October 29 order, once the constitution is approved, the election notification will be issued in accordance with the recommendations and guidelines of the Lyngdoh Committee. The elections are expected to take place within six weeks of the next academic session, scheduled to commence around July 16, 2027.

The administration’s commitment to a specific deadline addresses one of the central objections raised by the protesting students. Earlier, students had rejected a communication from the university that promised elections after the constitution was approved but failed to establish a concrete timeline for completing the approval process. Without a deadline, students argued, the promise of restoring the union risked becoming another indefinite assurance.

The latest agreement emerged following negotiations between a four-member student delegation and university authorities. Registrar Professor Md Mahtab Alam Rizvi confirmed to ANI that the administration had accepted all three major demands raised by the students.

According to Deccan Herald, the administration has also outlined the proposed process for drafting and approving the constitution. Student representatives, alongside professors and legal experts, will participate in the exercise, with representation from different faculties. The draft constitution will be circulated among stakeholders for suggestions before undergoing legal scrutiny. It will subsequently be placed before the Academic Council and Executive Council before being forwarded to the Visitor’s nominee for final approval. This process will be crucial in determining whether the promised restoration translates into a genuinely representative and democratically functioning students’ union.

The Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and the road to elections

The university’s decision to conduct elections under the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations is particularly significant given the prolonged absence of elected student representation at Jamia. The Lyngdoh Committee was constituted following a Supreme Court directive on December 12, 2005, to examine concerns surrounding campus elections, including the growing influence of money and muscle power, political interference and violence in student politics. As reported by The Hindu, the committee was tasked with recommending a framework to ensure free, fair and transparent student elections.

Among its principal recommendations was that universities and colleges should ordinarily have elected student representatives, with nominations permitted only as a temporary arrangement where circumstances made elections impracticable. Institutions relying on nominated representatives were expected to establish an election-based system within five years. The committee also recommended that student elections be held annually, preferably within six to eight weeks of the commencement of the academic session. The entire electoral process, including nominations, campaigning and the declaration of results, was to be completed within 10 days.

The recommendations permit direct, indirect and hybrid election systems, depending on the size and structure of the institution. Direct elections were favoured for smaller, single-campus universities, while indirect elections were suggested for larger universities with multiple campuses.

For Jamia, the commitment to follow these recommendations is an important step towards restoring an institutional mechanism through which students can participate in university affairs and hold the administration accountable.

Nearly two decades without student representation

The JMISU was dissolved in March 2006, following repeated incidents of violence, clashes between student groups, attacks on teachers and disruptions to academic activities. The university administration had also raised concerns about student representatives allegedly interfering in administrative matters.

However, the dissolution of the union effectively left generations of students without an elected representative body. The absence of an institutional platform for collective student representation became the backdrop to the current agitation, with students demanding not merely an assurance of elections but a definite commitment to restoring democratic participation on campus.

The latest protest began on October 12 and gradually escalated into an indefinite hunger strike. Despite the university announcing that elections would be held within 15 days of the constitution’s approval, students continued their agitation, pointing out that the administration had not specified when the constitution itself would be approved.

The standoff also unfolded amid increasingly restrictive measures on campus. The university shifted academic activities to the online mode, citing security concerns and disruptions arising from the protests. The decision to move classes online, while subsequent announcements extended the online arrangement and shifted examinations away from the physical mode.

Detailed pieces may be read here, here and here.

Congress hails students’ victory

Congress general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal described the outcome as a victory for student power. In a post on X, he said, “The students of Jamia Millia Islamia Central University have won!” Venugopal alleged that the BJP-controlled administration had attempted to divide and discredit the protesting students, and claimed that NSUI leaders had been sent to Tihar Jail for participating in the agitation. “In the end, the fascists had to bend before student power. Democracy was hard-fought but was won eventually!” he wrote, saluting the students for their non-violent struggle.

The agreement came on the occasion of Jamia’s 106th Foundation Day, lending particular significance to a development centred on the restoration of democratic participation within the university. While the students have called off their agitation, the agreement is only the beginning of a longer process. 

 

 

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]]> Arunachal’s anti-dam protests intensify as arrests, militarisation and threats to press freedom fail to silence resistance https://sabrangindia.in/arunachals-anti-dam-protests-intensify-as-arrests-militarisation-and-threats-to-press-freedom-fail-to-silence-resistance/ Fri, 30 Oct 2026 11:30:48 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49893 Communities resisting the proposed 11,200 MW project fear the loss of ancestral land, livelihoods and cultural heritage, with activists detained under the APUAPA

The post Arunachal’s anti-dam protests intensify as arrests, militarisation and threats to press freedom fail to silence resistance appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]> The resistance against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh is no longer confined to villages along the Siang River. What began as a sustained movement by indigenous communities opposing a mega-dam has expanded into a wider mobilisation across the state, drawing students, youth organisations, farmers, civil society groups and journalists into a confrontation with the government. And as the protests gather momentum, the state’s response has become increasingly coercive: arrests of protesters, detention of activists under anti-terror legislation, the deployment of hundreds of paramilitary personnel, restrictions on movement and an alarming attempt to bring journalists within the ambit of criminal investigations.

Yet, despite the expanding security presence and the threat of criminal prosecution, the protests have not subsided. Instead, resistance has spread beyond the directly affected villages, with solidarity demonstrations in Itanagar and renewed opposition to other proposed hydropower projects. The message from the protesters is increasingly clear: the threat of arrest, intimidation and state action will not persuade communities to surrender their land, rivers and ancestral identities without being heard.

The crackdown has also extended to journalists, lawyers and those associated with the anti-dam movement. In a move that has raised serious concerns over press freedom and the right to legal representation, Arunachal Pradesh Police has sought search warrants against four people, including Tongam Rina, Deputy Editor of The Arunachal Times, advocate Sunny Tayeng, and activists Otul Jerang and Tajong Talom. In an application submitted before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of East Siang on October 27, the investigating officer sought permission to search their residences and seize mobile phones, digital devices, photographs, video recordings and clothing allegedly connected to the violence in Pasighat. The application was filed under Section 96 of the BNSS, 2023, and the court’s decision was not immediately available.

The inclusion of Rina’s name has triggered strong objections from the Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists, the Arunachal Press Club and the Arunachal Publishers and Broadcasters Guild. The press bodies have warned that investigative powers must not become instruments to intimidate journalists reporting on contentious public issues. Meanwhile, Tayeng has expressed concerns about alleged surveillance and the implications for the confidentiality of lawyer-client communications. As Scroll.in reported, Rina has said that the alleged intimidation would not stop her from writing or pursuing her activism.

The immediate flashpoint was the violence that erupted in Pasighat on October 23, following a 12-hour bandh called by organisations opposing the proposed project. An NHPC office and a police station were allegedly set on fire, while the residences of political leaders, including two MLAs and the state BJP president, were vandalised. However, the events in Pasighat cannot be understood in isolation from the prolonged conflict over the project, the government’s attempts to facilitate preliminary surveys despite local opposition, and the growing resentment over the militarisation of affected villages. More importantly, alleged violence cannot become a justification for indiscriminate arrests, the criminalisation of an entire movement or the suppression of legitimate political and journalistic expression.

What are the protests about?

At the centre of the agitation is the proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, a massive hydropower and water-storage project on the Siang River, which flows into Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet and eventually becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam. The project, proposed by the Union government’s policy think tank NITI Aayog in 2017, is being advanced by the Centre as a strategic necessity in response to China’s proposed 60,000-MW hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo, the river that enters India as the Siang. The government argues that the proposed dam would strengthen India’s water security, provide flood moderation and help counter the potential consequences of China’s upstream infrastructure.

However, for communities living along the Siang, the project represents a threat that cannot be reduced to questions of hydropower generation or national security. Residents of more than 27 villages have raised concerns about the possible submergence of ancestral settlements, agricultural land, forests and culturally significant sites. The Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) has warned that the project could affect approximately 1–1.5 lakh people. The potential consequences extend beyond displacement in its conventional understanding. For the Adi community, the river, known as Ane Siang or Mother Siang, is deeply connected to its cultural identity, spiritual beliefs, agricultural practices and collective memory.

The river is not merely a resource to be harnessed for electricity or strategic advantage. It is central to a way of life sustained across generations. The possibility of losing ancestral land, burial grounds, terraced paddy fields, forests and religious sites therefore raises questions about the survival of indigenous culture itself.

In an interview with Frontline, residents and activists described the project as a threat to their relationship with the land and river. One young protester emphasised that the community’s identity was inseparable from the Siang, while Tadak Nalo of the Arunachal Frontier Tribal Front questioned the government’s approach to obtaining consent from affected residents.

Environmental concerns compound these anxieties. The proposed project is located in a highly seismic region of the Himalayas, with the Siang Valley falling in Seismic Zone V. Environmentalists and dam experts have warned that large infrastructure projects in ecologically fragile and earthquake-prone regions require independent and comprehensive assessments of their environmental and social consequences.

Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, told Frontline that the adverse consequences of large dams have become increasingly evident and called for an impartial assessment of the proposed project. Supreme Court senior advocate and transboundary water law expert Mohan Katarki also cautioned against treating a counter-dam as an automatic solution to the risks posed by China’s upstream project, emphasising the need for bilateral engagement and a joint environmental impact assessment.

The government’s national security argument, therefore, does not resolve the questions being raised by affected communities. Nor does invoking China’s hydropower ambitions establish that the proposed project is environmentally sustainable, socially just or acceptable to the people whose lives would be directly affected.

The resistance has also been fuelled by the manner in which preliminary survey activities have been pursued. The government maintains that the pre-feasibility report (PFR) is only an initial exercise to assess the technical, geological and hydrological viability of the project and does not constitute final approval for construction. Residents, however, fear that allowing drilling and survey machinery onto their ancestral land would effectively pave the way for the project.

ThePrint reported from Komkar that villagers had erected barricades to prevent drilling equipment from reaching the proposed sites. For residents, the issue is not simply whether a dam has received final approval. It is whether the state can proceed with activities that could fundamentally alter their land before their objections have been meaningfully addressed.

The controversy has deepened further over allegations that villagers were misled into signing documents connected to the proposed project. Some residents have alleged that they were asked to provide Aadhaar cards and bank account details and sign documents under the impression that they were enrolling in a government livelihood scheme. They subsequently suspected that their signatures had been used in connection with memorandums of understanding relating to the PFR. These allegations have not been independently verified.

ThePrint also reported that Upper Siang Deputy Commissioner Ashok Tajo acknowledged that the administration had failed to adequately explain the livelihood scheme and the associated documents to residents. The Rs 350-crore Special Development and Livelihood Programme, announced by the Centre and the state government, had not resulted in any disbursement when he spoke to the publication. Tajo admitted that the administration’s approach to communicating the scheme had contributed to the present situation, telling ThePrint: “If the approach was right, then this situation would not have come.”

Such an admission raises serious questions about the government’s insistence that the opposition is primarily the result of misinformation. When residents do not understand what they are being asked to sign, when promised assistance remains undisbursed and when survey activities proceed amid sustained objections, the resulting mistrust cannot simply be dismissed as an information deficit.

The protesters have repeatedly maintained that they are not opposed to development. Their demands include better roads, schools, hospitals and access to essential services. What they reject is a model of development that requires them to sacrifice their land, livelihoods and cultural existence while having little control over decisions that directly affect them. As one young protester told Frontline, the government repeatedly invokes national interest, but the interests of the people living in the region must also count.

Arrests, hunger strikes and the use of anti-terror legislation

Rather than resolving the underlying conflict through sustained consultation, the government’s response has increasingly relied on policing and criminal proceedings. Following the allaged October 23 violence, the East Siang police initially reported the arrest of 26 people, including five juveniles, and the detention of six others for questioning. Eight cases had been registered in connection with the incidents, according to a statement issued by East Siang Superintendent of Police Pankaj Lamba on October 26.

The scale of the crackdown subsequently appeared to widen considerably. As Scroll.in reported, Inspector General of Police Hibu Tamang stated that 69 people had been arrested and four detained in connection with the violence. Police had registered 55 cases across Upper Siang, Siang and East Siang districts. The arrests and detentions were being pursued under the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2014 (APUAPA).

The distinction between those arrested in connection with specific incidents of violence and those detained for their participation in the wider anti-dam movement is crucial. The existence of criminal offences warrants investigation, but it cannot provide the state with an unrestricted mandate to treat opposition to a development project as a threat to national security.

The use of the APUAPA is particularly alarming. Four activists from Geku, Adum Tayom, Omak Paron, Okut Paloh and Oson Paron, were detained under the state law on October 9 for opposing the pre-feasibility studies. The detention of activists under anti-terror legislation in connection with opposition to preliminary survey activities raises fundamental questions about the threshold being applied by the authorities and the distinction between dissent and criminal conduct. ThePrint reported that the administration had confirmed the government’s approval of detention orders against four people under the APUAPA, with their cases scheduled for review by an advisory board headed by a retired judge.

Invoking a law carrying the language and implications of unlawful activities against people resisting a proposed dam is not an ordinary policing measure. It risks transforming a dispute over land, consent, displacement and environmental protection into a question of security and public order, where the people raising objections are increasingly treated as potential threats rather than citizens exercising their democratic rights.

The allegations emerging from Geku are especially disturbing. Young protesters have told ThePrint that they fear being picked up from their homes or detained while going about their everyday activities. Some have alleged that they face multiple FIRs, with certain individuals claiming to have as many as 25 cases registered against them. Others have reportedly started staying in surrounding forests to avoid arrest.

Residents have also described frequent security checks, restrictions on movement and the questioning of people travelling to their agricultural fields. One resident told ThePrint that villagers could not even carry their traditional dao, a farming tool routinely used to clear vegetation and harvest crops, without attracting suspicion.

The security presence has fundamentally altered everyday life in these villages. The deployment of forces is no longer experienced merely as an arrangement to prevent violence. For many residents, it has become an intrusive presence in spaces that have historically been their homes, fields and community lands. The scale of deployment is significant. According to police accounts reported by Scroll.in, 30 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, alongside three companies of the Assam Police and Arunachal Pradesh Police personnel, were deployed across the affected districts. ThePrint also reported the deployment of additional Rapid Action Force personnel following the violence.

The Centre further rushed two RAF companies to Arunachal Pradesh on October 24. As reported by PTI, approximately 250 personnel were flown out of Navi Mumbai in an Indian Air Force aircraft. For residents who have spent years opposing the project, the sight of such a substantial security deployment has reinforced the perception that the government is attempting to facilitate the survey through force rather than consent.

The situation has also taken a deeply troubling turn with the arrests of activist and lawyer Ebo Mili and youth leader Otul Jerang. Both surrendered at Pasighat police station on October 24, reportedly to condemn the violence and appeal for restraint among young protesters. They subsequently began hunger strikes while in police custody. According to Down To Earth, Mili continued his hunger strike in custody, while Jerang ended his fast after his health deteriorated. Jerang, who has pre-existing health conditions and requires prescribed medication, had reportedly been fasting since October 25.

Their detention and the hunger strikes underline the extent to which the confrontation has moved beyond the immediate question of the dam. The release of detainees, withdrawal of police cases and removal of additional security personnel have become central demands of the movement. The protesters are not simply demanding that the government abandon the project. They are also demanding that the state stop treating opposition to it as a law-and-order problem.

Journalist Tongam Rina brought into police investigation

The crackdown has also raised serious concerns about the independence of the press and the ability of journalists to report on a movement that has become politically sensitive. The inclusion of senior journalist Tongam Rina in a police application seeking search warrants is particularly disturbing. Rina, Deputy Editor of The Arunachal Times, was among four people named in an application submitted by the investigating officer of Pasighat Police Station before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of East Siang on October 27. The application, filed under Section 96 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, sought permission to search the residences of Rina, advocate Sunny Tayeng, activist Otul Jerang and Tajong Talom.

The police sought permission to seize clothing allegedly worn during the violence, mobile phones, digital devices containing photographs or videos and other materials considered relevant to the investigation. According to the application, these materials could help establish individual roles, reconstruct the sequence of events and corroborate witness statements. The court’s decision on the application was not immediately available. The question, however, is why a journalist known for reporting on governance, indigenous rights and environmental issues has been included in an investigation into the violence.

There has been no publicly established evidence in the material available linking Rina’s journalistic work to the alleged offences. The inclusion of her name in a search-warrant application therefore warrants immediate scrutiny, particularly when the investigation concerns protests on an issue of significant public interest.

The Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) and the Arunachal Press Club (APC) strongly condemned the move, warning that it could amount to an attempt to intimidate the press and misuse investigative powers. The organisations made it clear that reporting on protests cannot itself be treated as criminal conduct. While condemning the violence and destruction in Pasighat, they insisted that investigations must remain evidence-based and must not become instruments to suppress critical reporting.

The complete statement may be read here.

The Arunachal Publishers and Broadcasters Guild (APBG) also expressed serious concern, calling upon the police and state government to ensure that any investigation involving a journalist is conducted with transparency and appropriate safeguards. The Guild emphasised that a journalist’s professional responsibilities cannot, by themselves, become grounds for suspicion or punitive action. It also raised concerns about the protection of confidential sources, unpublished reporting and journalistic material during searches.

 The complete statement may be read here.

The implications extend beyond Rina. If journalists reporting on an agitation can be drawn into criminal investigations without clearly established grounds being made public, the message to the rest of the media is unmistakable: reporting on state action, questioning official narratives or documenting the experiences of protesters may expose journalists to investigative scrutiny.

Frontline also reported allegations by young protesters and local journalists that social media accounts had been restricted or suspended while they were sharing information about the agitation. Some young people claimed that their content remained visible outside India but was inaccessible within the country. These allegations require independent verification, but they add to the concerns about the shrinking space available for reporting and communication.

In a conflict where residents allege intimidation, arbitrary detention and restrictions on movement, independent journalism becomes especially important. It is journalists who document the ground situation, question official accounts and ensure that the experiences of affected communities do not disappear behind government statements and police briefings. Targeting or intimidating journalists at such a moment risk depriving the public of precisely the information it needs to assess the government’s actions.

From Siang to Itanagar, resistance refuses to retreat

The government’s increasingly coercive response has not contained the movement. Instead, the agitation has acquired a wider political and social character. On October 29, members of several youth and social organisations gathered at Indira Gandhi Park in Itanagar for a solidarity rally in support of the Adi community and those opposing the proposed SUMP.

As reported by The Hindu, the demonstrators demanded the release of detained protesters, withdrawal of security personnel from the affected region and scrapping of the proposed project. They raised concerns about the protection of ancestral land, rivers, indigenous identity and fundamental rights.

The mobilisation was significant because the opposition was no longer limited to villages directly affected by the proposed reservoir. The movement had travelled to the state capital, drawing support from organisations and citizens who view the government’s response as a broader question of democratic rights. Protesters insisted that they were not opposed to development but rejected the idea that the government could impose a project with potentially devastating consequences on indigenous communities without their meaningful participation.

One representative of the affected communities told The Hindu that they were fighting for their land, culture, fundamental rights and existence, but were being treated like second-class citizens. The solidarity rally also demanded the withdrawal of security personnel deployed to facilitate the PFR surveys. The protesters argued that the state was attempting to conduct preliminary studies by militarising the region.

The Arunachal Christian Forum has also appealed to Chief Minister Pema Khandu to initiate meaningful dialogue with the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum and other concerned stakeholders. Along with the Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum, it has offered to facilitate discussions between the government and the protesting organisations.

The spread of the movement is also evident in the opposition to the proposed 1,605-MW Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project, popularly known as the Menga Dam, in Upper Subansiri district. On October 26, a 12-hour shutdown called by student and community organisations led to the cancellation of a public hearing. Violence was also reported from Daporijo and other areas, according to The Hindu.

The widening protests suggest that the conflict is no longer being viewed solely as a dispute over one hydropower project. It is increasingly about how decisions concerning land, natural resources and indigenous communities are being made, and whether those communities can meaningfully challenge the state without facing the threat of criminalisation.

The politics of fear is meeting its limits

Perhaps the most significant development in the Siang movement is that the growing threat of state action has not produced the silence that the security-heavy response might have been expected to create. There is no denying that the crackdown has generated fear. Young protesters have reportedly changed their phone numbers, become reluctant to appear on camera, restricted their online activity and avoided returning home because they fear arrest. Some have allegedly faced repeated FIRs, while others have questioned whether they can continue their daily lives without being monitored.

Yet the protests continue.

From road blockades in Komkar and Geku to solidarity demonstrations in Itanagar, the movement has continued to find new forms of expression. The arrest of activists has not ended the mobilisation. The detention of young people has not extinguished opposition. The deployment of additional security forces has not convinced residents to abandon their demands.

This resistance is particularly significant in a region where the relationship between land, identity and community is inseparable. For the people opposing the dam, the threat is not limited to the loss of individual homes or agricultural holdings. It is the possible destruction of an entire cultural and ecological landscape.

The message emerging from the villages is that the fear of illegal or arbitrary state action cannot be allowed to become a substitute for consent. The possibility of arrest cannot determine whether people are entitled to question a government project. Nor can the invocation of national security automatically render every objection suspect.

A democratic government cannot demand that citizens demonstrate their patriotism by remaining silent about decisions that threaten their homes and livelihoods. Indigenous communities do not cease to be citizens when their concerns conflict with the state’s infrastructure or strategic priorities. Their rights cannot become conditional upon their willingness to accept a project.

The government has repeatedly invoked the importance of the SUMP in countering China’s upstream hydropower ambitions. But national security cannot be understood exclusively through infrastructure and strategic competition. It must also account for the security of people living in border regions, their livelihoods, their cultural continuity and their confidence that the state will protect rather than intimidate them. A government that seeks to strengthen India’s position along its international borders cannot afford to alienate the very communities whose lives and lands sustain those regions.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu has expressed concern over the violence and offered to hold discussions with protesting groups. He has also stated that the project would proceed only with public consent. Such assurances, however, must translate into a credible process in which affected communities can question the project, access independent information, examine its environmental and social consequences and participate in decisions without coercion.

Dialogue cannot be meaningful when one side is negotiating under the threat of detention, criminal cases and a heavy security presence. Nor can consent be considered genuine when villagers remain uncertain about the documents they have signed, the purpose of the surveys or the implications of the project.

Related:

Protest Denied, Dissent Policed: India’s crackdown on those challenging the Election Commission

Police detain Adivasi students for second day, force them out of Mumbai

From Nashik to Mumbai: Adivasi students’ protest meets police detentions

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]]> Food Security during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Need for a shift from food security to nutrition justice. https://sabrangindia.in/food-security-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-need-for-a-shift-from-food-security-to-nutrition-justice/ Fri, 30 Oct 2026 11:15:15 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49890 In Karnataka, during the pandemic and lockdown, mid-day meals in government schools and anganwadis under the National Food Security Act (2013) [1], shut down indefinitely [2,3] amidst growing concerns about how this would affect vulnerable communities. In spite of demands, the state government has not yet undertaken a detailed post pandemic and lockdown survey to identify the immediate and long-term interventions to address and prevent malnutrition.
Several visits have been made by civil society organisations, students, nutritionists and academics to different districts of Karnataka, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and this commentary gives a broad overview of the observations made. There is a need for an in-depth quantitative and qualitative study.

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]]> The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) was a landmark commitment by the government to food security as a Constitutional right. With the Covid-19 pandemic, gaps have been laid bare within the entitlements under the NFSA as also their implementation, specifically in the state of Karnataka. This commentary draws on field observations to critique the narrow focus on the law on a bare minimum cereal security rather than nutrition security that is diverse and sensitive to local cultures.

There were already several issues in implementation which were aggravated by the lockdown. This paper hopes to influence policy decision on the scope as well as the implementation of the Act to facilitate improvement of crucial nutritional indicators.

Constitutional and Jurisprudential Foundations

The National Food Security Act (NFSA -2013) [4] was the outcome of the landmark case of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs Union of India [5] and others, when the Supreme court recognised that Right to food is not a charity, but deeply linked with the Right to life.  In an interim order (2003), States were advised to regard the raising of level of nutrition, standard of living and improvement of public health as a primary duty, with commitments to the Public Distribution System (PDS), the Mid-day meal Scheme (MDMS) and the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) [6]. Food security largely meant food grains, a hot meal, or take-home rations (THR) as prescribed by the Central government.

The PUCL litigation represents one of the most significant examples of judicial activism in socio-economic rights jurisprudence. In the case the Court has expanded the interpretation of the right to life to include the right to live with human dignity created constitutional obligations enforceable against the state. The food security law was intended to codify these judicial directives and create statutory remedies beyond constitutional litigation.[7]

Food security is a necessary but not sufficient condition for nutrition security especially if adequate individual household nutrition needs are to be ensured. In making this distinction, the Food and Agriculture Organisation has referred to India’s focus on grains, compared to Northern Laos where education, social status of women and efforts to mitigate negative effects of food insecurity, poverty, remoteness of household, access to markets/social services, water and sanitation are all addressed as part of a multi-factorial approach to addressing malnutrition [8,9].

The Enforcement Gap: Law in Text vs Law in Practice

A central concern emerging from field observations is the persistent “enforcement gap.” While the NFSA provides for grievance redressal mechanisms, including District Grievance Redressal Officers and State Food Commissions, these institutions remain largely ineffective and literally shut down during the pandemic. The inaction of State Food Commissions, particularly their failure to exercise suo motu powers in the face of systemic violations, reflects deeper institutional weaknesses. The result is a legal framework that appears robust on paper but lacks meaningful accountability.

Beneficiaries rarely access formal complaint mechanisms, and compensatory provisions such as the food security allowance under Section 8 are virtually non-existent in practice. This failure undermines the justiciability of rights under the Act and renders statutory guarantees illusory.

Scheme-Level Failures and Legal Implications

Public Distribution System (PDS)

As prescribed by the Act, PDS shops are to remain open on all days of the week except one, which would be decided based on the area or district. In most of the areas visited in Vijayapura, the shops were open only for 2-3 days a month and even this was not a fixed day. Once the supplies arrive, the PDS owner opens the shop and people inform each other -“The day we are unable to get rations, we just survive with water and whatever rations are left.” said a woman, who had faced shortage of dry rations in her house. Another woman in Vijayapura said – “We prefer wheat because the rice is of poor quality and we also don’t want to change what we traditionally eat.”

The community in general believes that corruption amongst ration shop owners existed earlier but this has drastically reduced. In Rambapur village, women complained about spending a huge amount of their income in buying rations other than rice, wheat or maize and on fuel. They should be provided with spices, oil, mustard seeds, ghee, milk, vegetables, jaggery, salt, sugar and salt in the PDS or at subsidised costs – “if ghee, butter, eggs and milk or milk powder and dairy products like curd cost less, we will definitely buy them and this would help us improve the quality of food we eat’.

The irregular functioning of PDS outlets, limited availability of food grains, and exclusion of essential non-cereal items highlight a fundamental limitation of the NFSA framework. The Act’s focus on cereals neglects dietary diversity, thereby failing to meet nutritional needs. From a legal standpoint, this raises questions about whether the State is meeting its constitutional obligation to ensure not merely survival, but a dignified standard of living.

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

As per the Act, pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to meals, free of charge, which should meet the nutritional standards specified under Schedule II as well as maternity benefits of not less than Rs. 6000 in instalments as prescribed by the Central Government to compensate for wage loss. Children between 6 months and 6 years must be provided with an appropriate meal, free of charge, through the local anganwadis as per nutritional standards under Schedule II. Malnourished children are entitled to additional supplement and if this is not possible, food security allowance has to be paid. Safe drinking water, cooking facilities and sanitation in anganwadis should also be ensured.

It was observed that the food received by pregnant and lactating women was not nutritious or sufficient –

“Food should be provided for at least one year after delivery instead of six months so that we get back our strength, then we will be able to take better care of our children. This food does not fill our stomachs. The same amount given to children in anganwadis is given to us also. There is no variety in the food and the same food is given every day.” Pregnant woman, Bengaluru. Another pregnant woman said that no vegetables are added to the sambar and that even cows won’t eat the food given. During the lockdown, dry rations were supplied in many places to children as well as the enrolled women instead of cooked food. Pregnant and lactating women are supposed to receive eggs every day from the anganwadi. A few women have complained that they receive eggs only 2-3 times a week.

Anganwadi workers have complained that they neither receive funds nor salaries on time and that this is the reason they cannot have variety in the food – “We spend out of our own pockets and we don’t even know if we will get reimbursed. Why can’t this be done properly?”

The key points arising after speaking with mothers about the four anganwadis in the village Sanjay Gandhinagar were the lack of facilities – “We don’t have any extra expectations from the government. We just want them to give us what they are supposed to. If they have to give food, let them give proper food.”

The ICDS scheme illustrates a breakdown in statutory compliance. Nutritional standards prescribed under Schedule II are frequently unmet, and beneficiaries—particularly pregnant and lactating women—receive inadequate and monotonous food. Delays in honoraria for anganwadi workers further impair service delivery, suggesting a systemic failure to operationalise statutory entitlements. The absence of accountability mechanisms exacerbates these deficiencies.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS)

As per the Act, all schools should have facilities for cooking meals with some exceptions for urban schools. 40% of the schools visited received food from a centralised kitchen, while the rest cooked at the school premises. In all the schools visited, only the bare minimum was being provided and there was hardly any attention on giving the children diverse or nutrient dense foods. What was surprising was that there was no expectation other than the bare minimum by the parents and children alike. –“My son is provided with rice and sambar every day, this is more than enough. He will adjust with whatever is given. I do not have anything more to demand as long as my child is fed” At the time of visits, eggs were to be provided on two days of the week, but this was not being implemented in schools at Bangalore and Anekal which received MDM from Akshaya Patra foundation. The foundation does not provide eggs nor does it include onions and garlic in its meal [11,12,13,14]

When prompted, there were suggestions to add foods, more for variety than nutrition – fruits, vegetables, idli, chapathis, dosa, poori, chicken, ragi mudde, meat etc. A majority felt that inclusion of eggs was a good idea, but did not feel that meat should be included, more out of concern for the sentiments of the vegetarians rather than their own preferences.

Students complained that the food was not prepared in a hygienic manner and this was also observed during the school visits, with stones, hair, dirt etc. being visible.

Two of the school principals felt that the food was not of good quality and that more effort should be put into improving the nutrition, while three others felt that food was nutritious because vegetables were being used. Some felt that the addition of eggs in the MDM would improve the nutrition content.

One of the schools visited in Bangalore was an Urdu school where most of the students were all from the Muslim community. The MDM was provided by a centralised kitchen, Akshaya patra about which several concerns had already been raised by activists, the Joint director, MDMS and the State Food Commission [15].

The principal of a government Urdu school in Bengaluru urban was unhappy with the food provided by Akshaya patra as she felt it was neither nutritious nor what children were culturally used to eating at home. She was constantly interrupted by a non-Muslim teacher – “The food is good. Eggs should not be provided in Mid-day meals. Children should eat whatever is provided and it is difficult for schools to prepare meals. We don’t want any change and we are happy with the food that is being provided by Akshaya patra”

In the absence of established standards of what a good MDM is, it was difficult to elicit responses from the school, parents and children about what they would want, and this is partly because the expectation itself is so low. Further, teachers see the MDM as an added burden – “Having school kitchens is difficult because we find it difficult to find cooks. If they take leave, we struggle to find replacements. Also, the budget is not released on time sometimes, then we have to pay from our own pocket, but overall children eat better when food is prepared in the school and not by a centralised kitchen. Even teachers eat the food if it is cooked in the school.”

Under the State sponsored Ksheera Bhagya scheme, powdered milk is supposed to be reconstituted at the school at 10 am and given to children immediately. This was being done in school-based kitchens, but not by centralised kitchens in spite of being instructed to do so [16]. Already reconstituted milk was delivered by Akshaya patra at 7 am, and children could consume this only at 10 am.

The NFSA also prescribes safe drinking water and sanitation. In the schools visited, most often the drinking water did not meet the standards. In rural schools, the primary water sources were mini tanks and these were not maintained properly. A few mini tanks had worms, leaves and mud.

In one school, the water was cloudy and had particles in it but was being used to wash plates and for cooking. In 20% of the schools visited, there was no provision at all for drinking water. Some children went home to drink water, some carried water and some didn’t drink water while they were in school.

Most often, the school management said that there were no issues with the toilets, but about 30 % had no toilets and those schools which had toilets did not have running water. Several schools had poorly maintained toilets – “We go back home whenever we want to use the toilets,” said Ramya, a student of class 5. Very often the toilets are not fully closed making privacy difficult. This is of concern for the girl students who struggle during periods.

The positive features of the MDM in Karnataka are the provision of milk as part of the Ksheera bhagya scheme, which increases food diversity although reconstitution of the powder should be done just before serving children. Karnataka has included children of Class IX and X in the MDM through state budget. MDM has also been provided since 2016 in drought prone areas even during the summer holidays. The government is also providing region specific grains to suit the palatability of the local area.

Issues faced by Intra-State migrant community Kacherganahalli

Around 300 families that migrated from Bellary to Bengaluru urban live in Kacharakanahalli which is an urban deprived area. Six mothers and two pregnant women were interviewed in depth. All the families had Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards, but could not avail benefits under the NFSA because their elderly families and children depended on the rations from the PDS. When they visited their villages, they sometimes brought back rations. Most of them were daily wage workers and had been really hit during the Covid pandemic.

One of the pregnant women said that she had not received any financial or health support, had not heard of the mathrupoorna scheme[1] and had not been asked to go and eat a meal at the anganwadi during her pregnancy. Another woman who had delivered 6 months said the same. During her pregnancy, she was unsure of where she was registered and what facilities she was eligible for. She had another three-year-old child and neither children had been enrolled in the anganwadi. She had received Take Home Rations (THR) on a few occasions and this was usually rice and some dal. Her children had not been weighed and eggs had not been given even to those eligible to receive – “I am not sure where my name is registered. One lady came and took down my details but when I asked for the money that was due for us, she said that I have to go to my village. In my village, they said that I am living in the city so I cannot expect all those things. I go to a small clinic nearby for my checkup. I pay for my medicines. I am not sure where to go for my delivery. They make us run around for each and everything and I don’t get proper information of where I should go.”

Nutrition Security as a Constitutional Imperative

The NFSA represents a significant legal milestone in recognising food as a right. However, its current implementation reflects a regression from a rights-based framework to a minimal survival model. A shift towards a legally enforceable right to nutrition is not merely desirable—it is constitutionally imperative.

Empirical indicators from Karnataka, including high levels of anaemia, child malnutrition, and dietary deficiencies, demonstrate that the NFSA has not achieved its intended outcomes. This failure necessitates a reorientation of the legal framework from calorie-based entitlements to nutrition-sensitive interventions.

To fulfil its constitutional promise, the Act must evolve to address nutritional adequacy, institutional accountability, and social inclusion. Without such reforms, the right to food risks being reduced to a hollow entitlement, disconnected from the lived realities of those it seeks to protect.

The distinction between food security and nutrition security is not merely semantic—it has constitutional significance. The right to life under Article 21 encompasses the right to health and dignity, which necessarily includes access to adequate nutrition.

Interventions required in Karnataka 

The architects of the NFSA included a layered grievance redressal mechanism District Grievance Redressal Officers [17], State Food Commissions empowered as civil courts [18], and a compensatory food security allowance [19] to ensure accountability. Formal complaint systems are mostly unavailable.  This chasm between the letter of the law and its realization on the ground constitutes a classic “enforcement gap.” The State Food Commission’s failure to exercise its suo moto jurisdiction to address the widespread irregularities suggests that the institutional safeguards enshrined in the Act are not merely underperforming but are structurally ineffective in their current form.

The NFSA in spite of being implemented over the last several years, has not been able to adequately improve nutritional indicators. Going by data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) [12] and Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS 2018-19) [20], the population of Karnataka below age 15 years is 23%.

The infant mortality rate (IMR) [2]  is 26% and Under-five mortality rate (U5MR) [3] is 30% in Karnataka. 40% each of boys and girls age 2-4 years attend preschool and this would have dropped even further, thus missing educational and nutritional support. [20, 21] The reason for poor attendance has to be explored and addressed as children start off life with a disadvantage.

Poorly nourished mothers are also likely to have poorly nourished babies.  The prevalence of anaemia is 66% in children age 6- 59 months, 48% in non-pregnant women and 46% in pregnant women, particularly high among rural women and scheduled caste women.

Only 4% of children in the age group 6-23 months in Karnataka have received a minimum acceptable diet, 18% children have minimum dietary diversity, 32% have minimum meal frequency and only 9% children consume iron rich foods. Among children aged 2-4 years in Karnataka, only 22% children aged 2-4 years had consumed flesh foods in the previous 24 hours compared to 69% in Kerala. 57% children had consumed dairy and 19% had consumed eggs.  Among children in the age group 5-9 years, 96% had consumed cereal and 84% had consumed milk or curd in Karnataka and that is probably because of the ksheera Bhagya scheme.  Among children aged 10 – 19 years, 46% have Vitamin B12 deficiency and 70% have folate deficiency, more in Schedule caste, Scheduled tribe and Other Backward Class (OBC). Children < 5 who are stunted is 35% underweight   is 33%…and all this even prior to the pandemic!!

The NFSA has served an important purpose of ensuring food security and was expected to mark a paradigm shift in the approach to food security from welfare to a rights-based approach. Given the current situation, the scope of the Act has to move beyond a sustenance mode to improving nutritional indicators. Unfortunately, the law has been reduced to right to survival (with the cheapest minimum) rather than to a life free of nutritional deficiencies and ill-health. The Right to good quality and quantity of nutrition should be the premise of interventions and policy decisions and not just the right to food. Providing primarily cereals and millets under the Act is inadequate and diversity is crucial.

There is a need for inclusion of nutrient dense foods of animal origin like dairy, meat, poultry and eggs in the regular diet through social security schemes and subsidised costs. The introduction of the ksheera bhagya scheme in the government anganwadis and mid-day meals is a huge step forward in the right direction. Many of the women also suggested that subsidised fresh or powdered milk and eggs should be part of the PDS.

It is important to track beneficiaries who have not been given monetary compensation under various schemes under the Act.  Women who deliver, need financial, nutritional and health support. The amount given may require revision and the system should be strengthened to ensure that all women receive the financial support needed during the period of pregnancy and post-delivery. The targeted approach by the NFSA can potentially leave the most vulnerable out of the social safety net. The introduction of the Aadhar and biometric systems further excluded vulnerable communities. The Act should be universally applicable rather than targeted.

The exceptional provision for centralized kitchens in urban areas has become a norm and is even being pushed in the rural areas. The law has to be implemented in spirit and mechanisms introduced to ensure that the law is not manipulated to suit corporate or commercial interests.        Children, parents and teachers have said that the food provided under the NFSA particularly the MDM by NGOs was often limited in variety and that this reduced the consumption of food. It is important that children enjoy their foods and get to taste different varieties rather than one homogenous menu. There is a need to actively engage parents and older students in planning the menu. This also needs to have a cultural context. – There should be diversity with food from different food groups – pulses/legumes, cereals/millets, fats and oils, vegetables, dairy and milk, meat/fish/eggs.

The School Development and Management Committee (SDMC) should be actively involved in managing the food supplies, monitoring the hygiene, provision of safe water, taste and quality of the food. They should also actively involve older children in ensuring quality of the MDM. Hygiene has to be maintained in preparation of food in the MDM and ICDS by allocating resources for someone to clean the rice, dal and vegetables; storage facilities have to be improved so that the ingredients are protected from moisture, rodents, flies, cockroaches etc.; preparation and serving the food should be done in hygienic manner; staff need regular training in how to hygienically handle food. This includes thorough washing of hands in soap and water before handling or serving food and after using the toilets; food testing should be done to check for biological and chemical contamination; toxic substances should not be stored near the food items; adequate supply of clean and safe drinking water is important to ensure that there is no compromise of hygiene while preparing the MDM.

UNICEF’s recommendations of diverse foods have to be implemented urgently and made available as part of the right to nutrition which is closely linked to the Right to Life as enshrined in the Constitution. Many of the nutritional indicators in Karnataka are of concern and most of these can be improved by strengthening the NFSA to move beyond cereals to subsidized foods from a variety of food groups.

From a legislative standpoint, targeted amendments to the National Food Security Act26, are imperative to address the structural deficiencies identified in this study. First, Section 4(2) of the Act should be amended to expand the scope of statutory entitlements beyond cereals to explicitly include diverse food groups such as pulses, edible oils, vegetables, and protein-rich sources like eggs and milk. Such an amendment would affect a crucial paradigm shift from a narrow “food security” model, focused primarily on caloric adequacy, to a more comprehensive “nutrition security” framework aligned with both contemporary nutritional science and the constitutional mandate of a dignified existence under Article 21. Second, the enforcement architecture of the Act requires substantial fortification. Section 16 should be strengthened to empower State Food Commissions with the explicit authority to impose administrative penalties for non-compliance. Additionally, to render the grievance redressal mechanism efficacious, the Act should mandate that complaints be resolved within a stipulated period of thirty days, with the failure to do so resulting in the automatic accrual of the right to a food security allowance under Section 830, thereby eliminating procedural delays that currently render the remedy illusory.

 

Further legal reforms must address the evolving landscape of service delivery and the rights of marginalized populations. Given the increasing delegation of statutory functions to private entities, particularly in the operation of centralized kitchens under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Act should be amended to introduce specific accountability mechanisms. These include mandatory public disclosure of nutritional audits, independent third-party evaluations, and codified standards ensuring that meals are culturally appropriate for the communities they serve. Equally critical is the need to amend the Act to provide for the legal portability of entitlements for inter-state migrant workers, a vulnerable demographic systematically excluded from the social safety net. Drawing upon the principles affirmed by the Supreme Court in National Campaign for Dignity and Rights of Sewerage and Allied Workers case held that such an amendment would mandate a centralized, interoperable system to ensure that migrant families can access their entitled rations at their place of work.

(The author, a lawyer is also Director, St Joseph’s College of Law (SJCL), Bengaluru;the article is based on a study conducted by students of St Joseph’s Law College)

Note:

Acknowledgements to Dr. Sylvia Karpagam for supporting the design and analysis of the study, the Principal of SJCL Pauline Priya, students of law college Vimala Mary, Reethu Anthony and Kritika Jain, staff of Centre for Non-Formal Education (CNFE), Vijayapura, Ananya Children’s Trust, Lingarajpuram, Bengaluru and Centre for Integral Rural Welfare (CIRF), Anekal.

References

[1] The National Food Security Act, 2013 No. 20 of 2013

[2] Thankachan P, Selvam S, Narendra AR, Mishra HN, Sachdev HS, Thomas T, et al. There should always be a free lunch: the impact of COVID-19 lockdown suspension of the mid-day meal on nutriture of primary school children in Karnataka, India. BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. 2022;:e000358. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000358

[3] Pinglay-Plumber P. Preschools, daycares disappear into COVID gap; Govt indifferent. Citizen matters. 2021 September 31. https://citizenmatters.in/bengalurus-preschools-daycares-disappear-covid-gap-government-uncaring/

[3] People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India & Ors, In the Supreme Court of India, Civil Original Jurisdiction, Writ Petition (Civil) No.196 of 2001 https://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/2006/peoples-union-civil-liberties-v-union-india-ors-supreme-court-india-civil-original/

[4] Supra note 1

[4] Food security and nutrition security – what is the problem and what is the difference, Summary of the FSN Forum discussion, No. 34, Food and Agriculture Organisation http://km.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/fsn/docs/PROCEEDINGS_FoodSecurity_NutritionSecurity.doc

[5] The nutrition situation in Northern Laos – determinants of malnutrition and changes after four years of intensive interventions (S. Kaufmann). http://geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2009/6904/pdf/KaufmannSilvia-2009-03-03.pdf).

[6] Midday meal: External agencies to supply eggs at schools in Karnataka. The Hindu. 2022 July 20. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/akshaya-patra-mid-day-meals-external-agencies-to-supply-eggs-at-schools-in-karnataka/article65658754.ece

[7] Supra note 5

[8] Food security and nutrition security – what is the problem and what is the difference, Summary of the FSN Forum discussion, No. 34, Food and Agriculture Organisation http://km.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/fsn/docs/PROCEEDINGS_FoodSecurity_NutritionSecurity.doc

[9] The nutrition situation in Northern Laos – determinants of malnutrition and changes after four years of intensive interventions (S. Kaufmann). http://geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2009/6904/pdf/KaufmannSilvia-2009-03-03.pdf).

[10] Supra note 1

[11] Midday meal: External agencies to supply eggs at schools in Karnataka. The Hindu. 2022 July 20. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/akshaya-patra-mid-day-meals-external-agencies-to-supply-eggs-at-schools-in-karnataka/article65658754.ece

[12]  Barman, S.R. (2022) Karnataka study shows eggs in mid-day meals help children’s growth, The Indian Express. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/karnataka-study-shows-eggs-in- mid-day-meals-help-childrens-growth-8078892/ (Accessed: November 28, 2022).

[13] Impact Assessment study on providing supplementary nutrition under mid-day meal scheme in Yadgir (Intervention) and Gadag (Control) district. Department of Public Instruction, Government of Karnataka, 2021-22, Karnataka State Rural development and Panchayat Raj University, Gadag.

[14] Azim Premji Foundation signs MoU with Karnataka government to provide eggs to students on all days of the week in mid-day meal. The Hindu. 2024 July 20. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/azim-premji-foundation-signs-mou-with-karnataka-government-to-provide-eggs-to-students-on-all-days-of-the-week-in-mid-day-meal/article68425633.ece

[15] Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed. Akshaya Patra Foundation under the scanner. Frontline. 2020 December 11. https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/independent-trustees-of-akshaya-patra-foundation-submit-resignations-amid-allegations/article33229907.ece

[16] Jayachandran N and Ram T. Akshaya Patra mid-day meal controversy: Will Food Commission meeting iron out issues? The Newsminute. 2019 December 18. https://www.thenewsminute.com/karnataka/akshaya-patra-mid-day-meal-controversy-will-food-commission-meeting-iron-out-issues-93616

[17] Section 14, The National Food Security Act, 2013 No. 20 of 2013

[18] Section 16, The National Food Security Act, 2013 No. 20 of 2013

[19] Section 8 , The National Food Security Act, 2013 No. 20 of 2013

[20] Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, UNICEF and the Population Council. 2019. Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) Karnataka Report. New Delhi.

[21] Chamois S, Singh A, Anand S, Shivika. Advocacy for Healthy Diets: Nutrition Brief Series Nutrition Brief 5 of 6 – Nutrition Matters: Diet Diversity. UNICEF India. 2025 September. https://www.unicef.org/india/media/17476/file/UNICEF%20(nutrition)-%20reports-2025%2009%20Brief%20Nutrition%20Diversity.pdf.pdf

 

[1] The mathrupoorna Scheme is a Karnataka government initiative launched on October 2, 2017, to improve the nutritional status of pregnant and lactating mothers by providing one full hot cooked meal daily for 25 days a month at Anganwadi centers

[2] Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the probability of a child born in a specific year dying before reaching the age of one and expressed as a rate per 1000 live births

[3] Under-five mortality rate is the probability of a child dying between birth and five years of age, expressed per 1000 live births.

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]]> Jamia’s Answer to Student Protest: Online exams, hostel closures and police detentions https://sabrangindia.in/jamias-answer-to-student-protest-online-exams-hostel-closures-and-police-detentions/ Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:06:02 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49857 As the hunger strike enters its third week, students allege that the administration is using disciplinary action and restrictions on campus life to weaken a movement demanding elected representation

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]]> Jamia Millia Islamia’s administration has responded to a student movement demanding democratic representation by extending the suspension of physical academic activities, shifting examinations online and preparing to close hostels, intensifying a confrontation that has continued since October 12. As students remain on hunger strike over the restoration of the university’s elected students’ union, the administration’s latest measures have placed the burden of the standoff on the very students whose demand for representation remains unresolved.

On Wednesday, October 28, the university announced that online teaching for the current semester would continue until November 24, with practical examinations, fieldwork and project vivas scheduled online from November 25 to 30, followed by online theory examinations from December 1 to 24. Winter vacation will run from December 25 to January 12, with physical classes for the even semester scheduled to resume on January 13, 2027.

 

The announcement came as girls residing in Jamia’s BHM hostel marched inside Gate No. 8 on the night of October 28. The hostel provost reportedly warned them of disciplinary action if they did not end the march. Hostel residents were also asked to vacate all hostels by November 1, with the administration citing the shift to online classes.

 

The order means students will remain away from physical classrooms for the rest of the current semester and throughout the examination period, with no scheduled return to campus before January. The university has justified the decision on security grounds, but the timing and scale of the restrictions raise serious questions about whether the administration is responding to the concerns of its students or attempting to contain a protest it has been unable to resolve through a credible, time-bound commitment to elections.

 

 

 

 

In its order, the university said a meeting of deans, heads of departments, directors and other officials had concluded that the campus situation was “not conducive for academic environment”. It said the decision had been taken to ensure the safety and security of students.

 

 

Yet the administration has offered no electoral timeline that resolves the principal objection raised by the protesters. Instead, physical academic life has been suspended, access to campus facilities has been restricted, hostel residents face eviction and police action against protesters has continued. Students have argued that these measures punish the wider university community for a dispute that the administration could address by committing to a transparent and enforceable election schedule.

Twenty years without a union, and still no firm election date

At the centre of the agitation is a demand that should not require weeks of hunger strikes and escalating confrontation to secure: the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMI-SU), which has remained defunct since 2006. The last elected union was dissolved amid allegations of campus violence and disruption. Two decades later, students continue to be denied a university-wide elected body through which they can represent their interests, raise grievances collectively and hold the administration accountable.

The current agitation began on October 12, when students launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding the revival of the union. The movement grew as students from different departments joined sit-in demonstrations around the Mirza Ghalib statue lawns. Five students were still on hunger strike on Wednesday, according to reports, despite the physical strain of prolonged fasting and the growing restrictions around the protest.

Students have repeatedly said that they exhausted conventional channels, including memorandums and representations to the university, before resorting to a hunger strike. Their grievances extend beyond the election schedule to include alleged administrative retaliation against students who protest, the withdrawal of disciplinary penalties and accountability for the conduct of campus security personnel.

In an account of the agitation, Indian Express reported, one hunger-striking student described the absence of an elected union as a structural problem that leaves students without an effective mechanism to challenge decisions affecting their education and campus life. The student cited previous protests over alleged irregularities in sports admissions and complaints about food quality at the Jammu and Kashmir hostel, claiming that students who raised concerns had faced campus bans or eviction.

 

The account points to a broader concern: when the administration controls the channels through which grievances are heard, while students lack an elected body to represent them, dissent can become an individual act of risk rather than an institutional process of accountability.

 

An election assurance tied to an approval process with no deadline

The administration announced on October 26 that student union elections would be held 15 days after the union constitution was approved. It also stated that suspension and show-cause notices issued during the agitation would be revoked and that a committee would investigate the conduct of security personnel during the protest. The announcement was presented as a step towards resolving the impasse. Students, however, rejected it as inadequate because the university did not specify when the constitution would be completed and approved.

An assurance that elections will take place 15 days after approval is not a definite election schedule when the date of approval itself remains uncertain. Without a binding deadline for the constitutional process, the administration retains control over when the condition for holding elections will be met.

Students have warned that this arrangement leaves room for further delay, allowing the university to claim that it has agreed to elections while postponing the process needed to make them possible. They have demanded that the constitution be drafted and approved within a short, fixed period and that the election dates be formally notified within 15 days of approval.

Students have also questioned why the administration needs an extended period to prepare a constitution when the university previously had an elected union. They have suggested that the existing constitutional framework could be reviewed and amended rather than used as a reason for prolonged uncertainty.

The administration’s announcement also failed to address the full range of disciplinary penalties imposed during the protest. While it referred to the withdrawal of suspension and show-cause notices, students pointed out that this did not explicitly cover rustication and campus bans. Ebin Basil was rusticated for one academic year, while Jasim Ali Khan was barred from entering the campus for six months, according to reports.

The detailed piece may be read here and here.

From campus restrictions to an extended academic shutdown

The latest order follows a series of measures that have progressively disrupted ordinary university life since the agitation began. On October 17, students alleged that university security personnel, accompanied by police, moved against protesters in the early morning, dragging and assaulting students and dismantling parts of the protest site. Videos circulated on social media showed confrontations and students being pulled away. Ebin Basil also alleged that he had been assaulted.

The administration has disputed aspects of the protesters’ account and accused students of obstructing university activities. On October 18, it condemned slogans painted on campus walls, including “Restore JMISU”, “Reclaim Jamia”, “Free Palestine”, “Free Sharjeel Imam” and “RSS Se Azaadi”, describing them as detrimental to national integrity, security and sovereignty. It also directed that the walls be repainted and called on protesters to vacate the demonstration site.

The university subsequently shifted classes online, citing disruption and security concerns. On October 24, it further restricted physical academic activity, closed gates and limited access to facilities, including the Central Library and canteen services. Students alleged that electricity and water supplies around the protest area were also cut off.

According to accounts published by Alt News and The Wire, protesters said their sit-in site had been dismantled, students had been manhandled and access to basic amenities had been restricted. Some students alleged that they were left with inadequate access to washrooms during the protest.

 

Students also reported that gates connecting parts of the campus and the boys’ hostels had been sealed. They said the restrictions affected not only those participating in the agitation but also students attempting to use university facilities and members of the public accessing services such as the health centre, dental hospital, bank, Aadhaar centre and post office.

 

Police deployment and detentions deepen the confrontation

The university’s restrictions have coincided with an intensified police presence around the campus. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) has been invoked to prohibit public gatherings in the area, and warning signs outside the campus have threatened the use of force and legal action to disperse unlawful assemblies.

On Wednesday, Delhi Police detained two members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Faizan and Zishan, outside Gate No. 4. According to The Hindu, the two were taken to Fatehpur Beri before being brought to Jamia Nagar police station. NSUI condemned the detentions, which came as the students’ hunger strike entered its 17th day.

 

Students have alleged that more than 70 protesters have been detained since October 12. Earlier, Niranjan KS, Arbaaj Khan and Munna Qureshi were arrested under provisions of the BNSS and sent to judicial custody, according to media reports.

 

The police restrictions have also made the campus an increasingly difficult place for students to access and organise within. Protesters have described barricades, heavy deployment outside the gates and difficulties entering or leaving the university. Some have alleged that deliveries of drinking water and other essentials were stopped at the gates.

 

The situation also carries painful memories of the December 2019 police crackdown on Jamia students protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The circumstances of the current agitation are different, but the renewed presence of police around a university campus, alongside allegations of force against students, has revived concerns about the treatment of dissent at an institution that has previously been at the centre of national debates over civil liberties.

Administration alleges vandalism; students accuse it of discrediting the protest

The latest escalation followed allegations of vandalism on the night of October 27. In a statement reported by the media, the university said groups of protesting students and local residents had damaged gates and boundary walls, brought down Gate No. 4C, pelted stones and damaged the CCTV control room, cameras and their connections. It also alleged that masked protesters had attempted to mobilise support from the boys’ hostels and that female wardens and faculty members had been threatened.

Students have denied the university’s account and accused the administration of attempting to frame the agitation. One protester, Neville Thomas, alleged that the administration had erected aluminium sheets around parts of the campus and subsequently blamed students when the structures were damaged. Students have also alleged harassment by proctorial staff in the hostels, including the confiscation of identity cards and orders to close mess facilities from November 1.

Hostels face closure as students continue their protest

The reported decision to ask hostel residents to vacate by November 1 marks another escalation. The university has argued that keeping hostels open serves little practical purpose when classes have moved online and teachers are not attending campus. An official also alleged that a large proportion of protesters supporting vandalism were hostel residents.

For students from outside Delhi, hostel accommodation is not simply an extension of classroom attendance. It is their place of residence, and abrupt closure can create serious logistical and financial difficulties. The reported march by women residents of the BHM hostel on October 28, followed by a warning of disciplinary action from the provost, underscores the growing strain between students and the administration.

Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi has said that negotiations are continuing and appealed to students not to create a law-and-order situation. He stated that the concerns raised by students were being examined by a body constituted for the purpose. But an appeal for order does not answer the question at the heart of the protest. Students are asking when their elected union will be restored, what timeline will govern the drafting and approval of its constitution, and whether the administration will withdraw the disciplinary measures imposed during the agitation.

 

Related:

Books Under Siege: Bengal’s Left bookstalls, the Calcutta High Court’s intervention and the warning from Hitler’s Germany

Seeking justice for Ankita Bhandari, parents detained in pre-dawn crackdown at India Gate

Mumbai Police detain Ambedkarite leaders demanding justice for Sahil Wakode; IIT Bombay refuses to hear delegation

Calcutta High Court says political dissent must not be stifled, directs police to protect CPI(M) bookstall near Durga Puja Pandal

 

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]]> EXCLUSIVE – SIR: The total disenfranchisement of the Indian Voter is 16 crores, not 13.60 Crores? https://sabrangindia.in/exclusive-sir-thetotal-disenfranchisement-of-the-indian-voter-is-16-crores-not-13-60-crores/ Tue, 27 Oct 2026 11:28:14 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49804 An analysis of the figures supplied alleges that SIR exclusions, combined with an estimated shortfall in the opening (base count) of the country’s electorate coupled with what seems like a deliberate failure to account adequately for new (first-time) voters, take the figure of nationwide exclusions to approximately 16 crore electors

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]]> A VFD Exclusive

How the ECI illegally disfranchised the voting rights of 16 crore Indians

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls raises a question that extends beyond the number of names deleted: how many electors should have been on the rolls when the exercise began? A comparison must account for those registered during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and those who became eligible (turned 18 years) in 2025 and 2026.

The calculation presented here places the number affected at approximately 16 crore, not 13.60 crores, as is widely estimated and understood. This calculation combines 11.80 crore in reductions and draft exclusions across three SIR phases with an estimated additional shortfall of above 4 crore voters. This is the basis of the allegation of large-scale disenfranchisement. However, (it must be noted) that the additional shortfall remains an estimate, and the figures combine different stages of revision.

The electorate covered by SIR

According to the supplied figures, the three phases of SIR began with a combined electorate of approximately 95.63 crore. Four jurisdictions—Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh—are identified as outside this SIR calculation.

Their respective electorates are listed as 2,45,72,114 in Assam, 57,11,969 in Himachal Pradesh, 88,02,348 in Jammu and Kashmir, and 1,90,576 in Ladakh. Together, they account for 3,92,77,007 electors, or approximately 3.93 crore.

Accordingly, the total electorate– as of 2024 Lok Sabha in the States and UTs taken under SIR in all the three phases– is 97, 79, 65, 560 – 3, 92, 77, 007 = 93, 86, 88, 553 Voters.

However, the ECI has taken (calculated) the base line figures differently. The ECI has done this by taking different dates and different years as its base calculation figure. This “strategy,” we argue, creates more room for confusion and also provides space for manipulations and arbitrary actions.

The figure(s) of the Indian Electorate taken by the ECI for the three phases of the self-designated SIR are as under:

93, 86, 88, 553 Lok Sabha Electors (2024)

The total deletions during the three phases of SIR amount to approximately 11.80 crore. These comprise 47 lakhs in Phase I, 5.18 crore in Phase II and 6.15 crore deletions in the Phase III draft electoral rolls.

However, according to a report by Deeksha Bhardwaj published by India News on September 25, 2026, Election Commission officials stated that 2.73 crore new voters in the 18–28 age group had been added to electoral rolls since the SIR exercise began in 2025. This is the reported figure for additions up to Phase II.

The combined existing electorate used for Phases I and II was 7,89,69,844 + 50,99,72,687 = 58,89,42,531. Against this baseline, the reported addition of 2.73 crore new electors forms the basis for estimating the number of new electors registered during Phase III.

Estimated new electors in Phase III

Applying the same proportion of new registrations to the Phase III electorate, the calculation is 273 × 3674 ÷ 5889 = approximately 1.70 crore. This is a projection based on the figures for the first two phases, not an officially reported figure for Phase III.

The analysis argues that these newly registered electors are not reflected in the baseline electorate used for SIR. It therefore combines the 2.73 crore reported additions in Phases I and II with the estimated 1.70 crore additions in Phase III, arriving at 4.43 crore new electors. When these additions are considered alongside the approximately 11.80 crore deletions, the combined figure is 16.23 crore (11.80 crores + 2.73 crores+ 1.70 crores).

In eight States and Union Territories (UTs), namely Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, NCT of Delhi, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab and Uttarakhand, the electorate taken for SIR is 13.72 lakh lower than that recorded for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Adding this difference to the earlier figure gives 16.23 + 0.1372 = 16.3972 crore, i.e., approximately 16.40 crore.

Punjab: over 21.52 lakh electors removed from the 2024 Lok Sabha electorate

Punjab’s figures further illustrate the difference between the electorate recorded for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the numbers carried forward during the SIR. There were 2,15,67,196 electors in Punjab during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the SIR, the electorate was taken as 2,14,56,297, meaning that 1,10,899 electors were missing at the very beginning. However, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Punjab, had published 2,14,61,043 electors before the SIR, showing a discrepancy of 4,746 electors.

The draft rolls published on August 13, 2026, listed 1,93,94,435 electors, with 20,60,568 names deleted. Thereafter, another 86,038 names were removed from the draft rolls following decisions on 35,49,036 notices issued. This raises questions about the basis of the notices and the harassment caused by arbitrary action, particularly when 97.58% of the notices were allegedly baseless.

As a result, only 1,93,08,397 electors remained from the 2024 Lok Sabha electorate. A further 7,97,263 new electors were added. While the CEO claimed that only 13 lakh electors had been removed, the figures indicate that 21,52,696 electors from the existing electorate had been removed.

In all, the analysis puts the combined figure at approximately 16.40 crore, including deletions during SIR, reported additions of new electors up to Phase II, estimated additions in Phase III and the difference in the electorate recorded for eight States and UTs. The estimate combines figures from different stages of SIR, and the Phase III additions are projected rather than officially reported.

(This is a numeric analysis by experts with Vote for Democracy (VFD) based on available and projected figures)

 

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]]> Jamia students reject conditional election assurance, two continue hunger strike https://sabrangindia.in/jamia-students-reject-conditional-election-assurance-two-continue-hunger-strike/ Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:34:56 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49792 After 14 days of agitation, the university has promised polls 15 days after the approval of a union constitution, but offers no deadline for that approval and demands a public apology from protesters

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]]> The struggle for the restoration of a democratically elected students’ union at Jamia Millia Islamia is far from over. On Monday, October 26, even as the university administration issued an order promising elections within 15 days of the approval of a new union constitution, two students, Ebin Basil and Rehan Khan, refused to call off their hunger strike, maintaining that the administration had failed to address their core demands.

The order, issued by the Office of the Registrar, came after nearly a fortnight of sustained protests, hunger strikes, police deployment, detentions and mounting pressure from students and supporters across university campuses. A day before, the students were also alleged assaulted by police officers. Yet, instead of bringing the agitation to a close, its conditional terms have deepened the impasse.

According to the notice, the university has agreed to hold elections 15 days after the constitution is approved, revoked suspension and show-cause notices issued during the protest, and promised an inquiry into the conduct of security personnel. However, the order also requires protesting students to publicly apologise for alleged defamatory remarks and actions against the administration and remove related social media posts. For the protesting students, the central problem remains unresolved: the administration has offered no definite deadline for drafting and approving the constitution, leaving the election schedule contingent on a process with no specified completion date.

In view of the same, Ebin Basil and Rehan Khan would continue their hunger strike after students rejected all three points in the October 26 order. The students alleged that they had been pressured into signing an agreement at around 3 am, with the university’s conditions failing to provide the assurances they had sought. The demand for the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif and Chief Proctor has also not been addressed. While two hunger strikers are continuing their fast, Jasim Khan and Faizan are expected to discontinue theirs because of their medical conditions, according to the account shared by Mufti.

The administration’s order thus offers a partial response to the agitation while leaving crucial questions about accountability, disciplinary action and the timeline for restoring elected student representation unanswered.

A campus increasingly marked by restrictions

The announcement followed two weeks of escalating tension on campus, with the administration and security personnel repeatedly attempting to contain the agitation. As reported by The Indian Express, Sunday, October 25, saw more than 500 students gather in support of the protest amid a heavy security deployment. Students alleged that access to the protest site, the library and the canteen had been restricted, while university gates were closed and students were prevented from entering the campus. Security personnel from the Delhi Police, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police were deployed in and around the university.

 

The administration had shifted classes online on October 24, citing the prevailing situation and the need to ensure students’ safety. The move came amid allegations that protesters were being prevented from accessing campus facilities and that security personnel had attempted to dismantle their protest arrangements.

On Saturday, students alleged that a university delegation had attempted to dismantle their tents and take hunger strikers to hospital against their wishes. The five students on hunger strike subsequently moved into the Department of Political Science and locked themselves inside to prevent their removal.

The tensions intensified further on October 25, when students attempting to reach the protest site reportedly climbed campus walls, some of which were topped with metal spikes and rods. Students continued to organise marches and raise slogans despite the restrictions. The agitation also drew attention to allegations that access to food and water had been obstructed. By the time the administration issued its order on Monday, concerns about the physical condition of the hunger strikers had become increasingly urgent. Jasim Khan’s health deteriorated during the protest, and he was taken to hospital on the 14th night before returning to campus in the early hours of Monday, according to accounts of the agitation.

Students also alleged that they were dragged by police.

 

 

A promise of elections without a deadline

Jamia students began their agitation on October 11, with the hunger strike commencing on October 12, demanding the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU), a definite election schedule and the withdrawal of disciplinary action against protesters. They also called for the removal of the university’s Chief Proctor and Security Advisor, citing the treatment of students during the agitation.

The union has remained defunct since 2006, with the last elections held in 2005. Nearly two decades without an elected students’ body have left successive batches of students without a formal representative platform to raise campus-wide grievances.

As The Indian Express reported on October 26, students had repeatedly rejected the administration’s position that a new constitution must first be drafted before elections can be scheduled. They argued that the constitution-drafting process should not become an indefinite obstacle to restoring the union and had sought elections by November 30.

The university, meanwhile, maintained that the process required the drafting of a constitution, preparation of electoral rolls and the subsequent announcement of an election date. An official told The Indian Express that the process could not be rushed after a gap of almost 20 years, particularly in view of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and changes in applicable University Grants Commission regulations.

The students, however, maintained that the administration had not offered a concrete, time-bound commitment. They cited the Supreme Court’s 2006 judgment in University of Kerala v. Council of Principals, Colleges, Kerala and the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations in support of their demand for a clear electoral roadmap.

The October 26 order has not resolved this dispute. By tying the election date to the approval of the constitution, without specifying when that approval must take place, the administration has left the most important deadline dependent on its own future decisions.

Detailed report may be read here.

Disciplinary action and apology demand fuel discontent

The order also addresses disciplinary action initiated during the agitation, but students have questioned the scope of the relief offered. While suspension and show-cause notices issued during the protest are to be revoked, protesters have pointed out that the order does not clearly guarantee the unconditional withdrawal of all disciplinary measures, including rustication and campus bans.

Ebin Basil, a third-year law student who has been among the hunger strikers, told The Indian Express that the order failed to address the position of students who had been rusticated or barred from campus. He also questioned the demand that protesters publicly apologise for their criticism of the administration. The apology clause has emerged as another major point of contention. The university has required students to issue a public apology at a press conference for alleged defamatory statements, actions or social media posts directed against the administration. The posts are to be removed immediately, with compliance monitored by the university.

Students have rejected this condition, arguing that their agitation was a peaceful campaign for democratic representation and accountability. Their refusal to apologise reflects a broader disagreement over the administration’s handling of dissent and its attempt to make the withdrawal of the protest conditional on public expressions of contrition.

The university has also directed that the agitation be called off immediately. But the continued hunger strike by Ebin and Rehan demonstrates that the written order has not secured the consent of all the protesters.

Protest draws political support, detentions and an FIR

The Jamia agitation has expanded beyond the immediate question of student elections, drawing support from political representatives, former students and university communities across the country.

Congress MP Imran Masood was detained by Delhi Police after visiting the protesting students, while Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah Nadvi alleged that police had pushed and manhandled him before detaining him as he travelled to meet the protesters. Nadvi was subsequently released.

The university also lodged a complaint against Congress MPs Imran Masood and Imran Pratapgarhi over their entry into the campus, leading to an FIR over allegations of trespass and related conduct, as reported by The Indian Express and other media outlets. The MPs had visited amid the ongoing agitation and demands for the restoration of the union and withdrawal of disciplinary action.

The struggle continues

The university’s October 26 order marks a significant development after 14 days of sustained agitation, but it does not signal the end of the confrontation. The absence of a fixed deadline for approving the union constitution, uncertainty over the full withdrawal of disciplinary action and the demand for a public apology remain central points of disagreement.

The administration has asked the students to end their protest and warned of legal action if they fail to vacate the protest site. According to Moneycontrol, the Registrar said the university would issue a formal notice giving protesters 30 minutes after 9 am to disperse, citing the undertaking signed by the students.

But Ebin Basil and Rehan Khan have continued their hunger strike, refusing to accept an order they believe falls short of their demands. Their position underscores the gap between the administration’s announcement and the protesters’ insistence on clear, enforceable commitments.

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]]> 7,000 farmers and workers rally in Maharashtra as drought deepens agrarian crisis https://sabrangindia.in/7000-farmers-and-workers-rally-in-maharashtra-as-drought-deepens-agrarian-crisis/ Sat, 24 Oct 2026 10:55:25 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49780 With 265 of Maharashtra’s 358 talukas declared drought-affected, protesters in Akole demand immediate crop-loss compensation, insurance payouts and loan waivers

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]]> Around 7,000 farmers, agricultural workers and women took to the streets of Akole in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district on October 22, demanding immediate relief as a severe drought pushes farming communities towards mounting losses and financial distress. Led by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the rally marched through the town to the Tehsil office, where protesters submitted a memorandum alongside thousands of individual applications from farmers and other residents.

Carrying red and white flags and raising militant slogans, the protesters demanded substantial drought relief, immediate disbursal of crop insurance compensation, a ₹2 lakh loan waiver for farmers who have regularly repaid their loans, land titles for people cultivating forest and other lands, and the resumption of financial assistance to beneficiaries of the Ladli Behna scheme.

The rally followed an ongoing round-the-clock sit-in Satyagraha in Akole, with organisers announcing that the agitation would continue until October 26. Addressing the gathering, senior leader Brinda Karat, AIKS National President Ashok Dhawale and AIKS National Joint Secretary Ajit Nawale criticised the Maharashtra government’s handling of the agrarian crisis. They condemned the ₹5,000 drought relief announced for farmers as grossly inadequate in the face of widespread crop damage and escalating debt, while also pointing to the withholding of ₹4,000 payable under the Namo Kisan Nidhi scheme.

The Kisan Sabha leadership warned that if the state government failed to take concrete decisions on the demands, hundreds of vehicles carrying farmers from across Maharashtra would set out from Akole for Mumbai to press the government for action.

The protest comes as the scale of Maharashtra’s drought becomes increasingly difficult to ignore. The state has declared 265 of its 358 talukas drought-affected, covering nearly three-quarters of its administrative subdivisions. Yet, despite announcing a series of concessions, the government has left direct crop-loss compensation dependent on field assessments, prolonging uncertainty for farmers who are already watching their harvests fail.

Drought declared, but direct compensation remains uncertain

A September 25, 2026, government resolution issued by Maharashtra’s Relief and Rehabilitation Department directed district administrations to assess crop damage in the drought-affected talukas. Collectors have been instructed to conduct field inspections, prepare panchnamas, document crop conditions through photographs and GPS-tagged records, and submit their findings to the state government. The declaration covers extensive parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha, alongside drought-hit areas in northern and western Maharashtra. Among the districts affected are Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Nanded, Parbhani and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Marathwada, and Yavatmal, Amravati, Akola, Wardha, Nagpur and Chandrapur in Vidarbha.

As reported by The Indian Express, Maharashtra’s overall monsoon rainfall deficit has obscured the severity of the crisis in its most vulnerable agricultural regions. While the state recorded a deficit of around 18% between June 1 and September 25, some districts experienced far more severe shortfalls. Solapur recorded a 57% deficit, followed by Beed at 49%, Hingoli at 48%, Jalna at 46%, Dharashiv at 45% and Akola at 41%.

The consequences have been particularly severe in Marathwada, where prolonged gaps between rainfall have deprived rain-fed crops of the soil moisture needed to survive. Agriculture department estimates reported in the media indicated that at least a quarter of standing crops in the region had been damaged following a dry spell lasting approximately 45 days.

The government has announced concessions in land revenue, restructuring of crop loans, suspension of the recovery of agriculture-related loans, electricity-bill relief for agricultural pumps, examination-fee waivers for students and expanded employment under the Employment Guarantee Scheme. It has also provided for tanker-based drinking-water supplies where necessary, fodder arrangements for livestock and water-conservation works.

However, these measures do not amount to direct compensation for the crops already destroyed. The government resolution states that financial assistance for drought-affected farmers will be announced separately after the prescribed assessments are completed. According to a PTI report, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has also said that the actual assistance would be determined after ground-level assessments. For farmers confronting immediate losses, the concern is critical. Loan restructuring does not replace a failed harvest, and electricity concessions cannot compensate for crops that have withered in the fields. The demand for immediate financial relief has therefore become central to the agitation in Akole.

From failing soybean crops to dying orchards

The drought is damaging both seasonal crops and plantations that take years to establish. Soybean, cotton and maize have suffered extensive losses, while fruit growers are struggling to secure enough water to keep trees and vines alive. In an October 5 report, Mid-Day report described the devastation in Yevta village in Beed district, where farmer Sheikh Rashid’s four-acre soybean crop was drying up after prolonged water shortages. Rashid told IANS that farmers had anticipated a good harvest but had suffered significant losses because of the lack of rainfall.

The damage extends well beyond a single season’s produce. In a report published on October 12, India Today documented the growing crisis among Maharashtra’s horticultural farmers, with grapevines, orange trees, pomegranate plantations, banana crops and mango orchards all facing water stress. The report highlighted the threat to vineyards in the Nashik region, where October is a crucial period for pruning and preparing vines for the next harvest. Kailas Bhosale, president of the Maharashtra Grape Growers’ Association, told Kisan Tak that farmers could not carry out normal vineyard operations without water. He called for emergency intervention, including tanker supplies, to prevent the vines from dying.

The difference between losing a harvest and losing a plantation is devastating. According to India Today, growers could face a wait of at least four years before newly planted grapevines begin yielding commercially. Farmers who have invested years of labour and substantial sums in their orchards risk losing not merely their current income but the foundation of their future livelihoods.

The crisis has also reached Maharashtra’s orange-growing belt. The Times of India reported on October 8 that orange orchards across an estimated 5,000 hectares in Amravati had suffered extensive damage, with trees being cut down and surviving orchards struggling with flowering, fruit development and fruit size.

The state’s fruit economy is particularly vulnerable because Maharashtra is a major producer of grapes, pomegranates and bananas, with horticultural output supporting agricultural households, traders, exporters and workers across supply chains. The destruction of perennial crops threatens to leave farmers without income for several seasons, even after rainfall returns.

Water scarcity is becoming a crisis of survival

As local wells and other water sources dry up, farmers are increasingly being forced to purchase water simply to keep their crops and livestock alive.

India Today report described the mounting costs faced by drought-hit growers. In Shahapur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, farmer Badrinath Bharat told The Indian Express that he was spending ₹3,000 a day on two water tankers after his well dried up. Having already lost his cotton and maize crops, he was buying water to protect his ginger crop and provide for his family and ten cattle.

The burden is particularly punishing for small and marginal farmers, who have limited financial reserves to absorb repeated crop failures or sustain expensive irrigation through prolonged dry spells. Purchasing water can become an additional debt even when there is little certainty that the surviving crop will generate enough income to recover the cost.

The shortage is also threatening the coming rabi season. As reported by The Indian Express, the depleted soil moisture and declining reserves in reservoirs and borewells could discourage farmers from sowing crops such as chickpea and jowar. A drought that has already devastated the kharif harvest could therefore compromise the next agricultural cycle as well.

Scientists have warned that the timing and distribution of rainfall matter as much as the overall deficit. Karthikeyan Lanka, associate professor at IIT Bombay’s Centre for Climate Studies, told Down To Earth that the monsoon had been characterised by repeated swings between wet and dry conditions. Sporadic heavy rainfall may briefly replenish soil moisture, but prolonged dry spells allow that moisture to dissipate through evaporation and plant transpiration.

The India Drought Monitor, maintained by IIT Gandhinagar, indicated that around 84% of Maharashtra’s area was under dry or drought conditions as of September 23. The figures underline how widely the crisis has spread, even though the extent of agricultural damage varies by region.

Government relief under pressure as farmers demand accountability

The Maharashtra government’s drought declaration has formally recognised the crisis, but farmers’ organisations argue that recognition without timely and adequate assistance will do little to prevent mounting indebtedness and the destruction of rural livelihoods. The state’s response has included loan restructuring, revenue concessions and other administrative relief, while direct compensation remains contingent on assessments. Meanwhile, farmers are facing immediate expenses for water, livestock fodder, agricultural inputs and household needs, often without the income expected from their crops.

The growing pressure has also reached the Union government. India Today reported that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek financial assistance through the National Disaster Response Fund. An inter-ministerial team subsequently visited Maharashtra between October 8 and 11 to assess crop losses and relief requirements, according to The New Indian Express.

But for the farmers gathered in Akole, the central question remains whether these assessments will translate into timely assistance on the ground. Their demands extend beyond the immediate drought declaration to include crop insurance payments, a loan waiver for farmers who have regularly repaid their loans, land rights for cultivators and the restoration of financial assistance to Ladli Behna beneficiaries. With the sit-in scheduled to continue until October 26, the Kisan Sabha leadership has made clear that it is prepared to escalate the agitation to Mumbai if the government fails to act.   

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]]> Assam must resist sir, defend voting rights, says Guwahati Citizens’ Forum https://sabrangindia.in/assam-must-resist-sir-defend-voting-rights-says-guwahati-citizens-forum/ Sat, 24 Oct 2026 10:36:40 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=49777 At a protest meeting organised by the Forum for Social Harmony, speakers criticise the Election Commission and demand a time-bound completion of the NRC; police prevent demonstrators from marching out of the Press Club

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]]> Citizens in Guwahati on October 23, 2026, joined the nationwide protests against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, demanding that the exercise be scrapped and Assam’s long-pending National Register of Citizens (NRC) process be completed within a stipulated timeframe. The protest, organised by the Forum for Social Harmony – Citizens’ Initiative at the Guwahati Press Club, also called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the restoration of voting rights to eligible people excluded from the NRC.

The protest meeting, held at 1 p.m. in response to the nationwide call issued by People Against SIR, brought together prominent intellectuals, citizens and representatives of political parties and organisations. Speakers, including Dr Hiren Gohain, Dr Ghanshyam Nath and Dr Rituraj Kalita, raised concerns over the implications of SIR for citizens’ constitutional rights, citing alleged violations and the growing threat to democratic participation.

The meeting demanded the immediate scrapping of SIR, the completion of Assam’s pending NRC process within a defined timeframe, and the adoption of 2014 as the base year for electoral rolls. It also called for eligible people left out of the NRC to have their names included within a specified period.

‘SIR is being used to deprive citizens of voting rights’

Addressing the gathering, Dr Hiren Gohain criticised what he described as the erosion of the Election Commission’s independence, alleging that the constitutional institution had increasingly become an instrument serving the political interests of the BJP.

“Under the pretext of SIR, the BJP is creating conditions to win elections by depriving Indian citizens, particularly Muslims and Dalits, of their voting rights. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is being used for this purpose. This is fascism in the name of democracy,” Gohain said.

He further warned that the attacks on democratic institutions extended to the Constitution itself, and demanded that Kumar either resign or be removed from office. Pointing to the growing resistance against SIR, Gohain said that young people across the country were taking to the streets despite police repression and intimidation. He described this mobilisation as a positive development and called for a similar political awakening in Assam.

“It is time for the people of Assam to wake up,” he said, urging citizens to join the wider struggle to defend democratic rights.

The meeting was attended by several other prominent individuals and representatives of political parties and organisations, including Harkumar Goswami, Debajit Choudhury, Khagen Kalita, Pankaj Kumar Das, Mukut Lochan Kalita, Jayanta Gogoi, Phanidhar Das, Munin Mahanta, Shankar Uccha Saikia, Kishor Kumar Kalita, Yechmin Ara Begum and Humayun Choudhury.

Assam cannot remain on the sidelines of the struggle over voting rights

In a statement issued after the meeting, the Forum for Social Harmony – Citizens’ Initiative said Indian democracy had reached a decisive juncture, with state power and repression confronting citizens determined to defend their constitutional and democratic rights.

The Forum noted that people across the country were mobilising to protect democracy, the Constitution and the right to vote. It argued that Assam, given its long and fraught history of disputes over citizenship and electoral rights, could not afford to remain detached from this national struggle.

“Assam, which has been turned into a testing ground for decades over questions of citizenship and voting rights, cannot remain aloof from this struggle. On the contrary, drawing upon its own historical experience, Assam must play a decisive role in this pan-Indian struggle to defend democratic rights,” the statement said.

The Forum extended its support to the nationwide protest call issued by People Against SIR and appealed for a united movement against attempts to curtail voting rights through the revision exercise. It also stressed the need for a just resolution of Assam’s unresolved citizenship and electoral issues, including the completion of the NRC process and the inclusion of eligible people who have been left out.

The demands reflect the longstanding concerns surrounding the intersection of citizenship documentation and electoral participation in Assam, where the NRC process has remained unresolved despite years of official scrutiny and public uncertainty. The Forum’s position is that electoral revision cannot become a substitute for resolving these pending questions or a means of excluding eligible citizens from democratic participation.

Police shut Guwahati Press Club gate, prevent protesters from marching out

The protest took a contentious turn after the meeting concluded. When participants attempted to leave the Guwahati Press Club premises while raising slogans, a large contingent of police personnel stationed at the entrance shut the gate, preventing them from marching out. The protesters raised slogans demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign, that SIR be scrapped, and that the pending NRC process in Assam be completed. They also challenged the police action that prevented them from leaving the Press Club premises.

Questioning the restriction on their movement, the protesters asked: “Has the Press Club premises now also been turned into a place of confinement to silence the voice of protest?”

The incident underscored the central contradiction at the heart of the gathering: citizens had assembled to defend their voting rights and democratic freedoms, only to find themselves prevented from marching out of the venue while expressing those demands.

A continuing campaign against SIR in Assam

The Forum for Social Harmony – Citizens’ Initiative has consistently opposed SIR in Assam and has raised concerns about its implications for citizenship, electoral participation and constitutional rights. Its latest mobilisation places Assam within the wider nationwide campaign challenging the revision exercise and demanding accountability from the Election Commission.

By linking the demand to scrap SIR with the completion of the NRC and the inclusion of eligible people excluded from the register, the Forum has foregrounded the specific anxieties surrounding citizenship and voting rights in Assam. Its appeal is for a collective democratic response that safeguards electoral participation rather than deepening existing uncertainty over who can exercise the right to vote.

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