On January 3, 1831, 176 years ago Savitribai Phule, arguably India’s first woman teacher and forgotten liberator was born. With the first school for girls from different castes that she set up in Bhidewada, Pune (the seat of Brahmanism) Krantijyoti Savitribai as she is reverentially known, by the Indian Bahujan movement, blazed a revolutionary trial. There have been consistent demands to observe January 3 as Teachers Day. Without her, Indian women would not have had the benefits of education.

To mark the memory of this remarkable woman we bring to you her letters to life partner Jyotiba. Jyotiba and Savitribai were Comrades in Arms in their struggle against the emancipation of India’s disenfranchised people.

Translated from the Original Marathi with an introduction Sunil Sardar Reproduced here are the English translation of three important Letters – (originally in Marathi and published in MG Mali’s edition of her collected works, Savitribai Phule Samagra Wangmaya) – that Savitribai wrote to her husband Jyotiba in a span of 20 years.

The letters are significant as they write of the wider concerns that drove this couple, the emancipation of the most deprived segments of society and the struggle to attain for them, full human dignity and freedom.

This vision for a new and liberated society – free from ignorance, bigotry, deprivation, and hunger – was the thread that bonded the couple, arching from the private to the personal.

Theirs was a relationship of deep and shared concerns, each providing strength to the other. When large sections of 19^th century Maharashtrian society was ranged against Phule’s reconstructive radicalism, it was the unfailing and shared vision and dedication of his life partner that needs have been emotionally sustaining.  In our tribute to this couple and the tradition of radical questioning that they harboured, we bring to our readers these letters.

1856. The first letter, written in 1856, speaks about the core issue: education and its transformative possibilities in a society where learning, had for centuries been the monopoly of the Brahmins; who, in turn, used this exclusive privilege to enclave, demoralize and oppress. Away at her parental home to recuperate from an illness, Savitri describes in the letter a conversation with her brother, who is uncomfortable with the couple’s radicalism.

October 1856
The Embodiment of Truth, My Lord Jyotiba,
Savitri salutes you!

After so many vicissitudes, now it seems my health has been fully restored. My brother worked so hard and nursed me so well through my sickness. His service and devotion shows how loving he really is! I will come to Pune as soon as I get perfectly well. Please do not worry about me. I know my absence causes Fatima so much trouble but I am sure she will understand and won’t grumble.

As we were talking one day, my brother said, “You and your husband have rightly been excommunicated because both of you serve the untouchables (Mahars and Mangs). The untouchables are fallen people and by helping them you are bringing a bad name to our family. That is why, I tell you to behave according to the customs of our caste and obey the dictates of the Brahmans.” Mother was so disturbed by this brash talk of my brother.

Though my brother is a good soul he is extremely narrow-minded and so he did not hesitate to bitterly criticize and reproach us. My mother did not reprimand him but tried instead to bring him to his senses, “God has given you a beautiful tongue but it is no good to misuse it so!” I defended our social work and tried to dispel his misgivings. I told him, “Brother, your mind is narrow, and the Brahmans’ teaching has made it worse. Animals like goats and cows are not untouchable for you, you lovingly touch them. You catch poisonous snakes on the day of the snake-festival and feed them milk. But you consider Mahars and Mangs, who are as human as you and I, untouchables. Can you give me any reason for this? When the Brahmans perform their religious duties in their holy clothes, they consider you also impure and untouchable, they are afraid that your touch will pollute them. They don’t treat you differently than the Mahars.” When my brother heard this, he turned red in the face, but then he asked me, “Why do you teach those Mahars and Mangs? People abuse you because you teach the untouchables. I cannot bear it when people abuse and create trouble for you for doing that. I cannot tolerate such insults.” I told him what the (teaching of) English had been doing for the people. I said, “The lack of learning is nothing but gross bestiality. It is through the acquisition of knowledge that (he) loses his lower status and achieves the higher one. My husband is a god-like man. He is beyond comparison in this world, nobody can equal him. He thinks the Untouchables must learn and attain freedom. He confronts the Brahmans and fights with them to ensure Teaching and Learning for the Untouchables because he believes that they are human beings like other and they should live as dignified humans. For this they must be educated. I also teach them for the same reason. What is wrong with that? Yes, we both teach girls, women, Mangs and Mahars. The Brahmans are upset because they believe this will create problems for them. That is why they oppose us and chant the mantra that it is against our religion. They revile and castigate us and poison the minds of even good people like you.

“You surely remember that the British Government had organised a function to honour my husband for his great work. His felicitation caused these vile people much heartburn. Let me tell you that my husband does not merely invoke God’s name and participate in pilgrimages like you. He is actually doing God’s own work. And I assist him in that. I enjoy doing this work. I get immeasurable joy by doing such service. Moreover, it also shows the heights and horizons to which a human being can reach out.”

Mother and brother were listening to me intently. My brother finally came around, repented for what he had said and asked for forgiveness. Mother said, “Savitri, your tongue must be speaking God’s own words. We are blessed by your words of wisdom.” Such appreciation from my mother and brother gladdened my heart. From this you can imagine that there are many idiots here, as in Pune, who poison people’s minds and spread canards against us. But why should we fear them and leave this noble cause that we have undertaken? It would be better to engage with the work instead. We shall overcome and success will be ours in the future. The future belongs to us.

What more could I write?

With humble regards,

Yours,

Savitri

The Poetess in Savitribai

The year 1854 was important as Savitribai published her collection of poems, called Kabya Phule (Poetry’s Blossoms).
Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (The Ocean of Pure Gems), another collection of what has come to be highly regarded in the world of Marathi poetry was published in 1891. (The Phules had developed a devastating critique of the Brahman interpretation of Marathi history in the ancient and medieval periods. He portrayed the Peshwa rulers, later overthrown by the British, as decadent and oppressive, and Savitribai reiterates those themes in her biography.)
Apart from these two collections, four of Jyotiba’s speeches on Indian History were edited for publication by Savitribai. A few of her own speeches were also published in 1892. Savitribai’s correspondence is also remarkable because they give us an insight into her own life and into the life and lived experiences of women of the time.

1868. The Second letter is about a great social taboo – a love affair between a Brahman boy and an Untouchable girl; the cruel behavior of the ‘enraged’ villagers and how Savitribai stepped in. This intervention saves the lives of the lovers and she sends them away to the safety and caring support of her husband, Jyotiba. With the malevolent reality of honour killings in the India of 2016 and the hate-driven propaganda around ‘love jehad’ this letter is ever so relevant today.

29 August 1868
Naigaon, Peta Khandala
Satara
The Embodiment of Truth, My Lord Jotiba,
Savitri salutes you!
I received your letter. We are fine here. I will come by the fifth of next month. Do not worry on this count. Meanwhile, a strange thing happened here. The story goes like this. One Ganesh, a Brahman, would go around villages, performing religious rites and telling people their fortunes. This was his bread and butter. Ganesh and a teenage girl named Sharja who is from the Mahar (untouchable) community fell in love. She was six months pregnant when people came to know about this affair. The enraged people caught them, and paraded them through the village, threatening to bump them off.

I came to know about their murderous plan. I rushed to the spot and scared them away, pointing out the grave consequences of killing the lovers under the British law. They changed their mind after listening to me.

Sadubhau angrily said that the wily Brahman boy and the untouchable girl should leave the village. Both the victims agreed to this. My intervention saved the couple who gratefully fell at my feet and started crying. Somehow I consoled and pacified them. Now I am sending both of them to you. What else to write?
Yours
Savitri

1877. The last letter, written in 1877, is a heart-rending account of a famine that devastated western Maharashtra. People and animals were dying. Savitri and other Satyashodhak volunteers were doing their best to help. The letter brings out an intrepid Savitri leading a team of dedicated Satyashodhaks striving to overcome a further exacerbation of the tragedy by moneylenders’ trying to benefit.  She meets the local District administration. The letter ends on a poignant note where Savitribai reiterates her total commitment to her the humanitarian work pioneered by the Phules.

20 April, 1877
Otur, Junner
The Embodiment of Truth, My Lord Jyotiba,
Savitri salutes you!
The year 1876 has gone, but the famine has not – it stays in most horrendous forms here. The people are dying. The animals are dying, falling on the ground. There is severe scarcity of food. No fodder for animals. The people are forced to leave their villages. Some are selling their children, their young girls, and leaving the villages. Rivers, brooks and tanks have completely dried up – no water to drink. Trees are dying – no leaves on trees. Barren land is cracked everywhere. The sun is scorching – blistering. The people crying for food and water are falling on the ground to die. Some are eating poisonous fruits, and drinking their own urine to quench their thirst. They cry for food and drink, and then they die.

Our Satyashodhak volunteers have formed committees to provide food and other life-saving material to the people in need. They have formed relief squads.
Brother Kondaj and his wife Umabai are taking good care of me. Otur’s Shastri, Ganapati Sakharan, Dumbare Patil, and others are planning to visit you. It would be better if you come from Satara to Otur and then go to Ahmednagar.

You may remember R.B. Krishnaji Pant and Laxman Shastri. They travelled with me to the affected area and gave some monetary help to the victims.

The moneylenders are viciously exploiting the situation. Bad things are taking place as a result of this famine. Riots are breaking out. The Collector heard of this and came to ease the situation. He deployed the white police officers, and tried to bring the situation under control. Fifty Satyasholdhaks were rounded up. The Collector invited me for a talk. I asked the Collector why the good volunteers had been framed with false charges and arrested without any rhyme or reason. I asked him to release them immediately. The Collector was quite decent and unbiased. He shouted at the white soldiers, “Do the Patil farmers rob? Set them free.” The Collector was moved by the people’s plights. He immediately sent four bullock cartloads of (jowar) food.

You have started the benevolent and welfare work for the poor and the needy. I also want to carry my share of the responsibility. I assure you I will always help you. I wish the godly work will be helped by more people.

I do not want to write more.
Yours,
Savitri

(These letters have been excerpted with grateful thanks from A Forgotten Liberator, The Life and Struggle of Savitrabai Phule, Edited by Braj Ranjan Mani, Pamela Sardar)

Bibliography:

Krantijyoti : Revolutionary flame
Brahmans: Priestly “upper” caste with a powerful hold on all fairs of society and state including access to education, resources and mobility (spelt interchangeably as Brahmins)
Mahars:The Mahar is an Indian Caste, found largely in the state of Maharashtra, where they compromise 10% of the population, and neighboring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed social reformer B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century.
Mangs: The Mang (or Matang -Minimadig in Gujarat and Rajasthan) community is an Indian caste historically associated with low-status or ritually impure professions such as village musicians, cattle castraters, leather curers, midwives, hangmen, undertakers. Today they are listed as a Scheduled Castes a term which has replaced the former the derogatory ‘Untouchable’
Satyashodhak Samaj:  A society established by Jyotirao Phule on September 24, 1873. This was started as a group whose main aim was to liberate the shudra and untouchable castes from exploitation and oppression
Shudra: The fourth caste under the rigid caste Hindu system; these were further made more rigid in the Manu Smruti
Ati Shudra: Most of the groups listed under this category come under the untouchables who were used for the most venal tasks in caste ridden Hindu society but not treated as part of the caste system.
Jowar: The Indian name for sorghum

How the Education for girls was pioneered

The Phule couple decided to start schools for girls, especially from the shudra and atishudra castes but also including others so that social cohesion of sorts could be attempted in the classroom. Bhidewada in Pune was the chosen site, a bank stands there today. There is a movement among Bahujans to reclaim this historic building. When the Phules faced stiff resistance and a boycott, a Pune-based businessman Usman Shaikh gave them shelter. Fatima Shaikh Usman’s sister was the first teacher colleague of Savitribai and the two trained teachers who ran the school. The school started with nine girl students in 1848.

Sadashiv Govande contributed books from Ahmednagar. It functioned for about six months and then had to be closed down. Another building was found and the school reopened a few months later. The young couple faced severe opposition from almost all sections. Savitribai was subject to intense harassment everyday as she walked to school. Stones, mud and dirt were flung at her as she passed. She was often abused by groups of men with orthodox beliefs who opposed the education for women. Filth including cow dung was flung on her. Phule gave her hope, love and encouragement. She went to school wearing an old sari, and carried an extra sari with her to change into after she reached the school. The sheer daring and doggedness of the couple and their comrades in arms broke the resistance. Finally, the pressure on her eased when she was compelled to slap one of her tormentors on the street!

Once the caste Hindu Brahmanical hierarchy who were the main opponents of female education realized that the Phule couple would not easily give in, they arm-twisted Jyotiba’s father. Intense pressure was brought by the Brahmins on Phule’s father, Govindrao, to convince him that his son was on the wrong track, that what he was doing was against the Dharma. Finally, things came to a head when Phule’s father told him to leave home in 1849. Savitri preferred to stay by her husband’s side, braving the opposition and difficulties, and encouraging Phule to continue their educational work.

However, their pioneering move had won some support. Necessities like books were supplied through well wishers; a bigger house, owned by a Muslim, was found for a second school which was started in 1851. Moro Vithal Walvekar and Deorao Thosar assisted the school. Major Candy, an educationalist of Pune, sent books. Jyotirao worked here without any salary and later Savitribai was put in charge. The school committee, in a report, noted, “The state of the school funds has compelled the committee to appoint teachers on small salaries, who soon give up when they find better appointment…Savitribai, the school headmistress, has nobly volunteered to devote herself to the improvement of female education without remuneration. We hope that as knowledge advances, the people of this country will be awakened to the advantages of female education and will cordially assist in all such plans calculated to improve the conditions of those girls.”

On November 16, 1852, the education department of the government organised a public felicitation of the Phule couple, where they were honoured with shawls.
On February 12, 1853, the school was publicly examined. The report of the event state: “The prejudice against teaching girls to read and write began to give way…the good conduct and honesty of the peons in conveying the girls to and from school and parental treatment and indulgent attention of the teachers made the girls love the schools and literally run to them with alacrity and joy.”

A Dalit student of Savitribai, Muktabai, wrote a remarkable essay which was published in the paper Dyanodaya, in the year 1855. In her essay, Muktabai poignantly describes the wretchedness of the so-called untouchables and severely criticizes the Brahmanical religion for degrading and dehumanizing her people.

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Prohibitory orders have been issued in Shivamogga after clashes broke out between two groups in Shivamogga town of Karnataka, on Independence Day. Violence broke out after one group protested the display of a picture of Hindutva leader VD Savarkar at a local business hub, by trying to replace it with a portrait of Tipu Sultan.

According to the Times of India, Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), that prohibits a gathering of four or more people, has been imposed and will stay in effect till August 18. Moreover, schools will also remain shut today, not just in Shivamogga, but also in neighbouring Bhadravathi town. 30 platoons of armed police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed in the area.

Trouble began when one group placed a portrait of Savarkar at a business hub in the Ameer Ahmed Circle area of the city. Soon another group protested, as the business hub was located right next to a mosque. This group in turn tried to place a portrait of Tipu Sultan at the spot, leading to an outbreak of violence.

Police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the crowd. One person was arrested following a complaint by the Shivamogga City Corporation for allegedly forcing the staff of the business hub to remove the picture of Savarkar. In wake of the violence, local businesses downed their shutters.

Superintendent of Police Laxmi Prasad told NDTV, “We have imposed Section 144. Tension flared up so we had to resort to lathicharge.”

According to TOI, a youth, identified as one Prem Singh from Rajasthan, was reported stabbed at Gandhi Bazar, barely 200 meters from the spot. The youth has been admitted to hospital, and police are verifying if the attack on him was related to the clash. SP Prasad told Hindustan Times, “We will probe if the stabbing is related.”

HT also reports that later in the day, right-wing groups such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal held a flash protest in the city.

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The post Shivamogga: Tensions prevail after two groups clash on Independence Day appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Indian Express, in what may be a first for the legacy media organisation, issued an apology style clarification for an advertorial titled ‘Transforming Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath’ that carried a collage of images from Kolkata, passing them off as achievements of the Adityanath led Uttar Pradesh Government! The biggest photo of the collage was that of the Chief Minister himself, and the smallest one was of the iconic yellow kolkata ambassador taxicab. The flyover being passed off as something Adityanath built was identified as the Maa Flyover bridge in Kolkata. 

An identical image used in the UP Govt advertorial is incidentally available on the Trinamool Congress website since 2018, accompanying an announcement that the “Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has decided to set up a few foot overbridges on Kazi Nazrul Islam Sarani and Eastern Metropolitan Bypass for faster movement of traffic and safety of the pedestrians. An underpass and a pedestrian footbridge will come up at Ruby intersection. The underpass will come up on the Mukundapur side while the foot overbridge will be constructed near the station of Garia-Airport Metro route.” 

The image incidentally is also available for purchase as a stock image on alamy.com. All the user needs to do is seek a flyover photo “at sunrise with moody sky and city scape” and it shows up, complete with a price list depending on usage. And that is what perhaps the designer of this poster did, ignorantly put up a few stock images, and passed it off as an attractive collage showcasing achievement of the UP government. The collage is most likely to have been screened, proofread, and passed through layers of designers and editors before it made it to the ‘front page’ of the Indian Express along with the newspaper’s Masthead, or name. It was only in the second page of the advertisement did it say that it was an ‘advertorial’. To the lay reader, it was a strange sight on Sunday morning to see Indian Express, which prides itself of critical reporting, especially of speaking truth to power, showcase such a large photo of the CM and list ‘achievements’, of a state government.

An advertorial, for the uninitiated, is simply a paid advertisement dressed up to look like a news report, or an editorial element. It will not be designed to look like a typical advertisement as such, but great effort is put in to make it look like it is a newspaper’s coverage, even if over the top, in this case of the various infrastructural projects and plans that the Uttar Pradesh government has seemingly claimed as its own.

While the revelations of the goof up, and misinformation presented in the advertorial, was alerted by multiple social media users, the Uttar Pradesh government, remained silent on the issue. 

Dear @myogiadityanath ji,whoever approved these images,please do tell them the flyover appears to be from Kolkata-the Maa Flyover.I can also spot a yellow taxi. And those tall buildings are the JW Marriot,also in Kolkata and by the same flyover if I am not mistaken? @manishndtv pic.twitter.com/POum6H7y4N

— Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) September 12, 2021

Most advertisements and advertorials come ready made to newspapers and magazines from the advertising agency, or information and publicity departments in case of government bodies. Usually the editorial staff only comes to see the actual advertisement when it is placed in its designated page just before the publication goes to the press. Editors do not usually interfere in the content and mostly have to ensure it is not violating any law of the land and that it should not be offensive, or hurt any sentiments. 

Ironically, even then it was the Indian Express whose motto is ‘Journalism of Courage’ that chose to express its regrets and seemingly owned up to its ‘mistake’. It issued a statement: “A wrong image was inadvertently included in the cover collage of the advertorial on Uttar Pradesh produced by the marketing department of the newspaper. The error is deeply regretted and the image has been removed in all digital editions of the paper.” The advertisement had read, “Before 2017, UP was not taken seriously with regard to investment, but in his four-and-a-half-year rule, that negative perception has been broken and in 2020, it has emerged as the second largest economy in the country.” 

A wrong image was inadvertently included in the cover collage of the advertorial on Uttar Pradesh produced by the marketing department of the newspaper. The error is deeply regretted and the image has been removed in all digital editions of the paper.

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) September 12, 2021

However, the advertisement has of course fed the TMC-BJP war of words. The Trinamool Congress has spoken up against Uttar Pradesh government advertisements using images from Kolkata. Abhishek Banerjee, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and  National General Secretary, All India Trinamool Congress accused the UP government of “stealing images from infrastructure seen in Bengal” 

Transforming UP for @myogiadityanath means stealing images from infrastructure seen in Bengal under @MamataOfficial‘s leadership and using them as his own!

Looks like the ‘DOUBLE ENGINE MODEL’ has MISERABLY FAILED in BJP’s strongest state and now stands EXPOSED for all! https://t.co/h9OlnhmGPw

— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) September 12, 2021

The Samajwadi Party too chimed in, saying “till now, the BJP government of UP was falsely propagating the works of the SP government, but now it has reached the limit of falsehood when it is telling the picture of Kolkata as the picture of its development.”

अभी तक तो सपा की सरकार के कामों को ही उप्र की भाजपा सरकार अपना बता-बता के झूठा प्रचार कर रही थी पर अब तो झूठ की हद ही हो गई है जब वो कोलकाता की तस्वीर को अपने विकास की तस्वीर बता रही है।

भाजपा को ‘झूठे प्रचार की ट्रेनिंग का अंतरराष्ट्रीय संस्थान’ खोल लेना चाहिए। #भाजपा_ख़त्म pic.twitter.com/EV4D3zhsVn

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 12, 2021

मुख्यमंत्री के झूठ की फिर खुल गई पोल!

विज्ञापनों में जनता का पैसा पानी की तरह बहाने वालों के पास दिखाने के लिए अपना किया कोई काम नहीं, तो कोलकाता में हुए निर्माण की तस्वीर छाप कर जनता को कर रहे गुमराह, शर्मनाक!

यह है झूठ बोलने में नंबर 1 भाजपा सरकार। जिसके “दिन है बचे चार”! pic.twitter.com/jGXWmlwpZq

— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) September 12, 2021

CM Adityanath was busy making ‘abba jaan’ comments

CM Adityanath seemed ‘unaware’ of the goof up, or perhaps he was too busy making public speeches in Kushinagar, laced with potentially volatile statements such as, “Under PM Modi leadership, there is no place for appeasement politics….Before 2017 was everyone able to get ration?….Earlier only those who used to say ‘Abba Jaan’ were digesting the ration”.  He also added that “the people of the state should not tolerate the pro-Taliban casteist-dynastic mentality that shoots at Ram devotees. Remember! Wherever the scorpion is, it will bite.”

राम भक्तों पर गोली चलाने वाली तालिबान समर्थक जातिवादी-वंशवादी मानसिकता को प्रदेश की जनता कत्तई बर्दाश्त न करे।

याद रखिएगा! बिच्छू कहीं भी होगा तो डंसेगा।

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) September 12, 2021

The taunt apparently directed at the UP’s previous Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party governments accusing them of appeasing Muslims. Adityanath also alluded that the Congress the “mother of terrorism” and the Samajwadi Party a “bichhu” scorpion or without naming it. He reportedly said, “Congress gives only diseases, insults the faith of Lord Rama and encourages the mafia. But the BJP makes the people healthy, paves the way for the building of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and sends the mafia to their rightful place”, shortly after inaugurating the district prison in Sant Kabir Nagar built at the cost of Rs 126 crore, reported Deccan Herald. He accused the previous governments of making UP a symbol of “dynastic politics, nepotism, appeasement, dacoity, hooliganism and riots”. 

#AbbaJaan done it!
The advertisement faux pas. https://t.co/FYonP6OuwQ

— Saba Naqvi (@_sabanaqvi) September 12, 2021

“Those who used to say ‘Abba Jaan’ digested the ration for the poor.”
An elected CM in India guilty of overtly communal incitement, flagrant violation of Section 153 A of IPC

Suo Moto Cognizance anyone? Supreme Court? @Uppolice

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) September 12, 2021

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The post Why did Indian Express apologise for the epic Adityanath advertorial goof up? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

After responses from various stakeholders regarding the Vizag gas leak came in, the High Powered Committee (HPC) constituted to probe the cause behind the LG Polymers gas leak which claimed 12 lives, said it will have an interaction with the affected groups in the next few days, The New Indian Express reported.

The HPC was constituted by the government on May 8 and was headed by Special Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests) Neerabh Kumar Prasad and four other members including Special Chief Secretary (Industries & Commerce Department) R Karikal Valaven, Visakhapatnam District Collector Vinay Chand and Visakhapatnam City Police Commissioner RK Meena as members and AP Pollution Control Board member-secretary Vivek Yadav as the member-convener to probe the reasons for the mishap which killed 12 persons.

The committee till now held discussions with Director, Indian Institute of Petroleum, Visakhapatnam and several others. It also visited the site of the mishap and closely examined the industry premises along with the Director, IIP, Dehradun and industry experts. The HPC also conducted a detailed examination at the storage tank site, control room and factory premises.

On Monday, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the health teams who were involved in relief operations there and also three environmental and scientific experts in the field were asked to give their views to the HPC.

The State government has also deployed four teams to inspect safety norms in all the 20 hazardous industries in the Visakhapatnam district. Speaking to TNIE, HPC member R Karikal Valaven said that the team comprising officials from industries, factories, boilers and pollution control board and two professors (experts) would inspect five hazardous industries each. “Starting Monday, each team would inspect five industries and submit a report to the government on Thursday. On Friday, we will go through the reports and take a decision,” he added. 

The Andhra Pradesh government has granted a compensation of Rs. 1 crore to the kin of eight out of the twelve deceased in the incident.

Still not out of danger

Experts said that had the violation of safety norms at the LG Polymers factory gone unnoticed for a few more days, a catastrophe would be inevitable. Deccan Chronicle reported that experts found that there were other storage facilities at the factory that were vulnerable to a leak of vapour on a larger scale.

Two of the experts deputed by the Centre had certified that styrene was stored in a high-risk present condition at the factory. On Monday, the Andhra Pradesh government on Monday directed the company to immediately take 13,000 metric tonnes (MT) of material out of the country. Accordingly, the state government arranged, with the help of the Union Shipping Ministry, a vessel to carry 8000 MT to the company’s HQ LG Chem Ltd. in Seoul. Another vessel is being arranged to ship 5000 MT out of the factory. This process is said to be completed in 3 – 4 days, a press release from the Chief Minister’s office said.

Two experts deputed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Dr. Anjan Ray, director of the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Shantanu Geete, an industry expert, inspected the storage facilities at the Vizag port premises, DC reported.

A senior official said, “It was noticed that polymerization has just begun in another storage facility on the factory premises.”

The experts also visited the storage facility in the port and found out that not all technical and safety parameters were being followed. Dr Ray, who is an expert on styrene, recommended to the government that material from both the factory and the port should immediately cleared.

“The preliminary conclusion is that the storage facilities were not designed to keep the material for a long duration. The plant personnel claimed that the material is emptied every 10-15 days and never stored more than that,” industries minister M Goutham Reddy told the publication.

Related:

Visakhapatnam Gas leak: National Green Tribunal orders LG Polymers India to deposit ₹50 crore for damage caused

The post Vizag gas leak: High Powered Committee meets stakeholders, begins probe appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Karkardooma Court of Northeast Delhi granted bail to former Congress councilor Ishrat Jahan and three others who were arrested from an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest site at Khureji Khas in February.

However, activist Khalid Saifi’s bail application was dismissed. The bail orders came late and the court cited that he could not get bail due to pending investigation against him.

Surprisingly though, during this while, the special branch of the Delhi police filed another case against both, Saifi and Jahan stating that they were the masterminds of the Delhi communal riots that took place in February. Both were then produced before the Patiala House Court without the presence of a lawyer post which a Special Cell of the police decided to remand them to a custody of six days.

In light of this, United against Hate put out a statement condemning the false charges invoked against Khalid Saifi and Ishrat Jahan and demanded their immediate release. The organization has also demanded that an independent investigation team under the guidance of the Delhi High Court be instituted to probe into the Delhi violence.

The Jagatpuri police had arrested Saifi on February 26 and brutally tortured him at the police station. Due to this, he suffered a fracture in his leg and is now moving around in a wheelchair. He is a diabetic and now his health is deteriorating day by day. Even then, the Delhi police is accusing Saifi of lying saying that if he was hurt why he didn’t say so during his first court appearance. However, the fact is that Saifi’s first appearance in court was not in the court room, but at the parking lot of the premises where lawyers were not allowed entry.

In its statement, United against Hate has said that the Delhi police is avoiding nabbing the right-wing extremist elements who perpetrated the violence in Delhi during February 23 – February 25 and falsely implicating social and human rights activists in these cases.

Their statement read, “We oppose such false, offensive and fake actions of the Delhi Police, because due to this the real culprits are still being allowed to roam free while people who work for the betterment of the society are being ill-treated.”

“At a time when the country is going through a severe health crisis, when people are being prevented from going to public places and the courts are working at minimum capacity, it is shameful to see that at such a time too, human rights and social workers are being wrongly arrested by the police and not even being provided adequate judicial facilities for their protection,” the statement added.

Related:

Delhi violence: Volunteers submit memorandum of demands to Delhi gov’t about relief and rehabilitation 

Doctors need more protective gear now, before COVID-19 cases explode

Covid-19 update: Positive cases over 400, 7 deaths; lockdown in 75 districts

The post United against Hate condemns implication of Khalid Saifi and Ishrat Jahan in false charges appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Soon after a Hindu Munnai worker was attacked in Coimbatore, two mosques were attacked by hurling bottles filled with petrol on March 5. Madukkarai Anand, District Secretary of Hindu Munnani, was attacked by some unidentified people, who came on bikes, while he was returning home after participating in a pro-CAA ‘dharna’ in Coimbatore. Hindu Munnani quickly termed the attack on its worker as an organised one incited by DMK, Congress and left parties.

After protests and petitions by the representatives of the Muslim community, by March 13, the city police had made 127 preventive arrests in view of maintaining order in the city.

In this backdrop, came differentiated action from the city police. In two separate acts of violence, one on a Hindu outfit and other on a Muslim place of worship, the police charged the suspects in what can be said, an allegedly discriminatory manner. Initially, on March 19, it was reported that while the sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)  were invoked against the Muslims arrested for attack on Hindu outfit functionaries, the same wasn’t done in case of the Hindus suspected of hurling petrol bombs at the mosques. They were only charged under some sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Members of district All Jamaat and Muslim organisation had raised a concern on this and asked the police to treat both incidents on the same footing and not go lenient on any suspect basis their religion.

Today, the city police has appeared to correct this anomaly and booked all four accused under the national Security Act. Reportedly, A Azharuddin (30) from Karumbukadai and S Noor Mohammad (30) from Saramedu were arrested for their alleged involvement in the assault on a Hindu Munnani district secretary M Anand on March 4 near Nanjundapuram in the city. 

On the other hand, K Pandi alias Sadaiyandi (41), a member of BJP from Periyasamy and V Akil (23), a member of VHP were arrested for hurling petrol bomb on a mosque at Vedhambal Nagar on March 5.
 

Related:

Haji Ali, Mahim Dargah close for devotees amid Covid-19 pandemic

Madras HC paves way for police permission for anti-CAA protest when Covid-19 ban is lifted

Protest against indiscriminate arrest of hundreds of Muslims in violence affected NE Delhi

The post Four accused in Coimbatore unrest charged under NSA appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Women’s Day, a sale was held at Shaheen Bagh, the site of the longest-running and women-led protest against the new citizenship matrix, to raise funds for the Delhi riot victims and a moment of silence was observed for everyone killed in the carnage. Shaheen Bagh was teeming with an assortment of activities dedicated towards the relief fund, the primary discussion was centred on the stir against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC).

One protester, Kausar told the gathering that Shaheen Bagh had observed a moment of silence on Sunday for those killed in the riots. “We mourn for head constable Ratan Lal and Intelligence Bureau employee Ankit Sharma. Mothers understand what it is to lose a child. That’s why on Women’s Day we decided to contribute to the relief effort,” she said.

“Log tut jate he ek ghar banane mein,

tum taras nahin khate bastiyan jalane mein”

[People break their backs building a home, You don’t pity burning down villages]

This moving couplet of noted poet Bashir Badr was emblazoned on the posters hung around the street stalls near the Shaheen Bagh protest site on Sunday. It was this powerful yet poignant verse found resonance amongst the women of Shaheen Bagh who banded together on the occasion of International Women’s Day to lend a helping hand to the victims of the Delhi violence, which rendered many homeless and over 50 dead.

“People have put their lifelong savings to build homes. All have been plundered in this violence; shops looted, many have lost their loved ones,” Aslima laments before she explains the purpose behind this initiative in detail.

“On this Women’s Day, we want to do our bit in whatever way possible. We have set up shops here selling our handmade craft items and doing mehendi art. We will donate the money to the riot victims in Mustafabad, Jafrabad, Chand Bagh among others,” she sums up.

Next to Afreen’s stall was Shahdah’s set-up where she lined up handmade colourful potteries. The bespectacled woman remained resolute when asked about the government’s unwavering stance on the CAA.

“Jab tak upar wale ki marzi hogi, tab tak datte rahenge. Inshallah (Till the Almighty is with us, we will remain steadfast),” she says. There is also a special message for prime minister, Narendra Modi. A group of three women had this poster, “We would urge him to stop doing politics of religion.”
 

Bail for the Assailant

In sharp contrast to the mood at Shaheen Bagh, in another part of Delhi, the gunman who had opened fire at the protest site had been given a hero’s welcome after he was freed on bail, and a perceived fresh attempt was under way to defame the protesters.  East Delhi dairy farmer Kapil Baisla, who had fired at the site on February 1, was granted bail on Friday (March 6) and was released on Saturday (March 7). Baisla received a hero’s welcome when he arrived home at the urban village of Dallupura, suggests a viral TikTok video that showed men embracing him and dancing to folk songs. The gunman’s lawyer, Narveer Dabas, had demanded bail citing a six-hour delay in filing the FIR while arguing the investigation was over and the police did not need him, and that Baisla was in no position to influence witnesses, who were police officers anyway.

The court was further told that Baisla has a wife and child to take care of. The prosecution opposed bail on the grounds that the allegations were “very serious in nature and the case was only at its initial stage”. Additional sessions judge Gulshan Kumar granted bail against a bond of Rs 25,000 and a surety of the same amount. Such relief is usually not granted to those considered prone to violence and a risk to peace. A person who opened fire at a crowded — and peaceful — protest site normally checks both boxes.

Targeted violence had broken out after an incendiary speech by BJP leader Kapil Mishra in the presence of the police on February 23. The Centre told the apex court last week that conditions were “not conducive” to filing FIRs against BJP leaders for hate speeches.

Earlier, the police had declared as a minor another gunman who had shot and injured Jamia student Shadab Farooq on January 30 during an anti-CAA march.

This shooter, who described himself as “Rambhakt”, is in judicial custody at an observation home for boys and has been allowed to take his Class XII board exams in his home state of Uttar Pradesh. “Rambhakt” and Baisla opened fire after Union minister Anurag Thakur led a rally in chanting “shoot the traitors”.

Farooq, a mass communication student whom “Rambhakt” allegedly shot in his left forearm, told this newspaper: “At some point of time we realised that we had to leave safety behind and protest en masse. Nothing else will work… The media is in the hands of the regime. The whole country knows that the CAA is a bad law, and these attacks are just attempts to divert the attention of people.”
 

Arrests around Jamia

On Sunday, the police claimed to have picked up two suspected Islamic State terrorists from Jamia Nagar, located near Shaheen Bagh and home to the Jamia Millia Islamia, for allegedly “instigating anti-CAA protests”, news agency ANI reported.

It is against such a backdrop that word spread about the police’s claim on the arrests.ANI quoted deputy commissioner (special cell) Pramod Kushwah as saying: “A couple, Jahanjeb Sami and Hina Bashir Beigh, linked to (the) Khorasan module of ISIS were apprehended from Jamia Nagar, Okhla. The couple (were) instigating anti-CAA protests.”

The post Sisterhood, Resistance & Resolve: Shaheen Bagh’s women mark Interational Women’s Day, support Delhi violence survivors appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Karnataka High Court granted bail to 21 people arrested in Mangalore who were arrested for offences committed allegedly during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). While stating the judgement, the Court observed that there had been a deliberate attempt by the Mangalore police to cover up the excesses they committed against the ant-CAA protestors.

The order passed by Justice John Michael Cunha read, “… a deliberate attempt is underway to cover up the police excesses by implicating innocent persons at the whims and caprice of the police. Overzealousness of the police is also evident from the fact that the FIRs are registered under Section 307 IPC (attempt to murder) against the persons killed by the police themselves.”

The judgement also stated, “The records indicate that a deliberate attempt has been made to fabricate evidence and to deprive the petitioners of their liberties. Any criminal antecedents of the petitioners are not disputed. There is no direct evidence to connect the petitioners with the alleged offences. The investigation appears to be mala fide and partisan.”

The Karnataka High Court also took note of CCTV footage and photographs that pointed out that the crowd was unarmed, showing only one person who was holding a bottle. “On the other hand,” the court added, “photographs produced by the petitioners show that the policemen themselves were pelting stones at the crowd.”

The Court also reprimanded the police saying that though it had registered 31 FIRs (including being charged with being members of an unlawful assembly and armed with lethal weapons) against the protestors, not a single case had been registered based on complaints made by the families of those who were injured and those who died to the police firing.

Two people were allegedly shot dead and a third was injured by the Mangalore police during protests against the CAA on December 19, 2019. A fact-finding report that was published by human rights activists said that the police allegedly went on a rampage during the protests and stormed into shops in the vicinity, pulling out people, selectively attacking Muslims. At around 4 pm, a team of police attacked Ibrahim Khaleel mosque where about 80 persons were praying peacefully. The police apparently sought to chase certain youth into the said mosque and then initiated an indiscriminate attack upon the mosque. The police launched an attack of stones and tear gas through and above the slats of the mosque gate, causing havoc and confusion.

The report also stated that the police attacked the Highland Hospital where the bodies of the deceased were kept. It was reported that the police attacked the Highland Hospital demanding that the bodies be handed over to them as they were Medico Legal Cases (MLCs). The police upon arrival at the hospital were faced by an angry group of mourners, who pelted stones at the police outside the hospital. The police engaged in lathi charge outside the hospital. They did not stop there. The police then fired tear gas within the hospital compound and proceeded to storm the hospital. They tried to barge into patient rooms including the ICU.

It said that denying bail to the petitioners would be a travesty of justice and an act of sacrificing their liberties to the mercy of the district administration and the police.

Last week, the Karnataka High Court had also ruled that the prohibitory orders passed under Section 144 CrPC on December 18 in Bangalore were illegal. Slowly but steadily, the evidence of police brutalitiy and the confessions of the police about their attacks on those protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are coming to fore. With videos of the Delhi police attacking the students at Jamia Millia Islamia University and the UP police giving a ho-hum confession about their attacks on protestors in Bijnor, it is time for the Mangalore police to own up to its brutal actions.

The complete judgement of the Karnataka High Court may be read here.

Related:

Mangaluru: Fact-finding report unearths the reality of police brutality at anti-CAA protests
Fact-finding report reveals police brutality at Aurangabad and Phulwari Sharif
‘Bloody Sunday 2019’- PUDR releases report on Jamia police brutalities

The post Deliberate attempt by Mangalore police to cover up excesses: Karnataka HC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In the latest instance of the media’s self-censorship in these times of the BJP/RSS, news about the dramatically increasing assets of BJP President Amit Shah and the diminishing educational status of Union Minister, Smriti Irani, was posted on the websites of Times of India, Economic Times, Navbharat Times and DNA on Saturday but they mysteriously disappeared within hours.

The original report, published under the joint bylines of Himanshu Kaushik and Kapil Dave in the Ahmedabad edition of the Times of India, was based on the affidavits submitted by Shah and Irani while filing their nominations to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat.

According to the news report, “Shah’s movable and immovable (including his wife’s) assets which were worth Rs 8.54 crore in 2012 are now worth Rs 34.31 crore.” This amounts to a sharp increase of 300% in 5 years.

The reports pulled down by the websites had also said, “the movable and immovable (including her husband’s) properties of Smiti Irani in 2014 were worth Rs 4.91 crore but the value of her self-declared assets increased to Rs 8.88 crore, an 80 per cent increase during the same period.”

More interestingly in her case as pointed out by the National Herald, “the report also revealed that Smriti Irani for the first time appeared to have acknowledged that her sworn affidavit in 2004 about her educational qualification was false. While unsuccessfully contesting for the Lok Sabha in 2004, she had claimed to have done her B.A. in 1996 from Delhi University. But when she filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha in 2012, she claimed that she had done her B.Com part-I in 1994”.

In her 2014 election affidavit for the Lok Sabha seat, when she contested against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Amethi, she had entered, under the education qualifications column, ‘B. Com. Part 1, School of Correspondence, Delhi University, 1994’.

Furnishing wrong information in an affidavit is an offense under the law. A petition is already pending in the court against Irani who currently is in-charge of ministry of Information & Broadcasting as also Textiles. The moot point is: If she has now set the record straight on her educational status, it still leaves the issue of her having provided different information at different times in different affidavits.

The affidavits filed by Shah and Irani have yet to be posted on the official website of the Gujarat Election Commission.

The question being asked in political and media circles is about the mystery surrounding the pulling out of these stories from the websites of both the Times group and the DNA. Attempts by correspondents from The Wire to speak to the editorial and the top managerial team drew a blank. The fact that the stories were simultaneously pulled down from the websites of two different publications lends credence to the suspicion that this was prompted by someone outside the publications.

Even though the original links of the stories still show up in Google search, upon clicking the link, one comes across error reports suggesting that the story pages have been taken down without any explanation. A click on the original link to the TOI report says: “We’re sorry, we seem to have lost this page, but we don’t want to lose you.” Similarly, the DNA page denies access, saying that: “you’re not authorised to access this page.” But one can still access the report in DNA’s e-paper which is available on its website.

As observed by the National Herald, “this has further cemented public perception about Modi government’s control over mainstream media and its double talk over propriety, transparency and accountability in public life. On twitter, hashtags like #ShahControlsMedia have been dominating the trend with many heaving a sigh of relief that ‘only stories had disappeared online and not the journalists who reported them’.”

Here below are a few examples of responses to the mystery of the stories that suddenly went missing.

The post Media’s self-censorship: Times group, DNA publish, then pull out news about Amit Shah’s escalating assets, Smriti Irani’s diminishing educational status appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image: The Hindu

As long-standing well-wishers and members of the intellectual community served by the EPW (Economic & Political Weekly), we are appalled and dismayed by the recent events leading to the abrupt resignation of the Editor, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.

We are distressed that the Board of the Sameeksha Trust has insisted that the Editor retract an article published in the journal, and is preparing to introduce new norms for the Board-Editor relationship and appoint a co-editor. It is obvious that, taken together, these actions (mentioned by the Editor in interviews to the press and not denied in the statement issued by the Trust) would force any self-respecting editor to resign. By failing to distinguish between internal issues of procedural propriety in Board-Editor relationship from the much larger question of the EPW’s public reputation for integrity, the Board of the Sameeksha Trust has dealt a strong blow to the journal’s credibility.

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta’s professional reputation has been primarily that of an investigative journalist of several decades standing.  His well-known past exposés have delved into the malpractices of large corporations and the frequent complicity of state institutions in such corrupt practices. That such journalism could provoke retaliation by those investigated may be expected.  These facts must have been known to the Board of Trustees of the Sameeksha Trust when they appointed Guha Thakurta as Editor just 15 months earlier. It is one thing to wonder if the Editor may have erred in initiating legal action on behalf of the Trust without first consulting its Board, and quite another to withdraw an already published article from the journal.

If the Board believes the article to be mistaken in its facts, it must issue a public apology and retraction. If it is only concerned that due deference was not shown to the Board, it must publicly stand by the article.  By forcing the Editor’s resignation without clarifying its stand on the substance of the article, the Board has diminished the institution that it is mandated to nurture.

The fact that a legal notice was sent to the Editor and the publishers (Sameeksha Trust) of EPW, for an ongoing investigation on the tweaking of rules that have benefited the Adani Group, is not surprising. Legal notices have unfortunately become the standard means used to intimidate and suppress investigative journalism. When they translate into court cases that can extend over years, they obviously add to costs and further harassment of honest journalists. However, as long as all the published material can be adequately substantiated and verified, there is little reason to fear an adverse result from the judicial process. But publishers MUST stand behind and back their editors on this if the journals are to maintain their independence and credibility.

India is currently living through a dark period in which there are real concerns about freedom and independence of intellectual expression, both for academics and journalists, with significant corporate takeover of major media houses and increasing instances of overt and covert intimidation of independent thinking and debate.

India is currently living through a dark period in which there are real concerns about freedom and independence of intellectual expression, both for academics and journalists, with significant corporate takeover of major media houses and increasing instances of overt and covert intimidation of independent thinking and debate. In this context, reports of what appears to be a capitulation by the Board of Trustees of Sameeksha Trust –  removing the “offending” article from the EPW website and trying to impose humiliating terms on the Editor – are alarming.

The EPW has a long and distinguished tradition of promoting independent and critical thinking that is vital in a democracy.  We expect the current Trustees to be mindful of our inherited legacy that they hold in trust on behalf of us as scholars, analysts and activists in India and abroad, who have contributed to EPW over long decades.  They need to take immediate steps to restore the prestige and credibility of the journal and the Sameeksha Trust. This letter is therefore also asking the Trust, which is in the nature of a body accountable to a larger public, to create channels of communication between the Trust and the EPW community so as to strengthen the autonomy and integrity of EPW.
 

1. Amiya Kumar Bagchi, Emeritus Professor, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata
2. Akeel Bilgrami, Sidney Morgenbesser Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University
3. Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
4. Mary E. John, Professor, CWDS, New Delhi
5. Sushil Khanna, Professor, IIM, Kolkata
6. T. M. Thomas Isaac, Finance Minister, Government of Kerala
7. Bina Agarwal, Professor, University of Manchester
8. Ramchandra Guha, Bengaluru
9. Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University
10. Noam Chomsky, MIT
11. C. P.Chandrasekhar, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
12. Sunil Khilnani, Professor, King’s College London
13. Susie Tharu, Emeritus, English and Foreign Languages University
14. T. Jayaraman, Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
15. Sashi Kumar, Chairman, Media Development Foundation, Chennai
16. R. Ramakumar, Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
17. Vikas Rawal, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
18. Alicia Puyana Mutis, Flacso, Mexico City
19. Anis Chowdhury, University of Western Sydney
20. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Malaysia
21. Yılmaz Akyüz, Chief Economist, South Centre (Former Director, UNCTAD.)
22. Zoya Hasan, Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University
23. M.V. Ramana, Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada
24. Geeta Kapur, Art scholar, Delhi
25. Vivan Sundaram, Artist, Delhi
26. Chandra Dutt, Director, Centre of Science and Technology For Rural Development, Kerala
27. Laxmi Murthy, Bangalore
28. Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Professor Emeritus, JNU
29. Satish Deshpande, Professor, Delhi University
30. Uma Chakravarti, retired historian, Delhi University
31. Tejaswini Niranjana, Professor, Lingnan University, Hongkong
32. V. Geetha, Independent scholar, Chennai.
33. Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Independent researcher, Bangalore
34. Nandini Sundar, Professor, University of Delhi.
35. J Devika, Centre for Development Studies, Kerala
36. Padmini Swaminathan, retired Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad
37. Patrick Bond, Professor, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
38. Prem Chowdhry, Historian
39. Nivedita Menon, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
40. Itty Abraham, National University of Singapore
41. Aditya Nigam, Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
42. R. Nagaraj, IGIDR
43. Partha Ray, IIM Calcutta
44. S. Parasuraman, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
45. Anand Chakravarti, Retired Professor, University of Delhi
46. Abhijit Sen, Retired Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
47. Jeemol Unni, University of Ahmedabad
48. Abhijit Banerjee, Professor, MIT
49. Himanshu, Associate Professor, JNU
50. Mritunjoy Mohanty, Professor, IIM, Kolkata
51. Sunanda Sen, retired Professor, JNU
52. Praveen Jha, Professor, JNU
53. Dhruva Narayan, Centre for Social Development
54. Manoranjan Mohanty, retired Professor, Delhi University
55. Amita Baviskar, Institute of Economic Growth
56. N. Krishnaji, retired, Centre for Development Studies
57. Yılmaz Akyüz, Chief Economist, South Centre (Former Director, UNCTAD.)
58. Mohammad Konneh,
59. Paris Yeros, Professor, Federal University, Brazil
60. Elontero Prada, Professor, Sao Paolo University, Brazil
61. Meyer Brownstone, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto
62. Radhika Singha, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
63. Laurence Cox, National University of Ireland and Fondation des Sciences des Hommes Paris
64. Dia Dacosta, University of Alberta
65. Seth Sandrowsky, Sacramento, California
66. Jai Sen, World Social Forum,
67. Kannan Srinivasan, New York
68. Pradip Kumar Datta, JNU
69. Nirmalangshu Mukherji
70. Avinesh Kumar Gupta, World Forum of Economists
71. Sudeshna Banerji, Jadavpur University
72. Kuttappan Vijayachandran, Industrial Research Services
73. Samuel H Daniel, Independent researcher USA
74. Radhika Desai, Professor, University College, Manitoba
75. M. Vijayabaskar, Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies
76. SK Godwin, SK, IIM Kolkata
77. Mani Kumar, Independent researcher.
78. Sudip Chaudhuri, Professor IIM Kolkata
79. Venkatesh Athreya, Prof (retd) Bharathidasan University
80. Anamitra Roychowdhury, JNU
81. Dipa Sinha, B. R. Ambedkar University, Delhi
82. Kunibert Raffer, Prof (retd), University of Vienna
83. Rajender Singh Negi
84. Sumit Mazumdar, Institute of Public Health, Kalyani
85. Avinash Kumar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
86. Ashwini Deshpande, Professor, Delhi School of Economics
87. K. Srivatsan, Anveshi Research Centre Hyderabad
88. Veena Shatrugna, retired, National Institute of Nutrition Hyderabad
89. Ashok Chowdhury, All India Union of Forest Working People
90. Matt Meyer, International Peace Research Association
91. Aabid Firdausi, Kerala University
92. A R Vasavi, Independent Reseacher Bangalore
93. Gopi Kanta Ghosh, Independent researcher.
94. Radha D’Souza, University of Westminster
95. E.A.S Sarma, I.A.S. Retd., Hyderabad
96. Lawrence Shute, Prof Emeritus, California State Polytechnic University
97. Sumit Sarkar, retired Professor, University of Delhi
98. Tanika Sarkar, retired Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
99. Gita Chadha, University of Mumbai
100. Lata Mani, Bangalore
101. Anandhi S., MIDS Chennai
102. K. Ramakrishnan, Chennai
103. Sunil Mani, Director, CDS Trivandrum
104. Carol Upadhya, NIAS Bangalore
105. Sanjay Srivastava, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi
106. Janaki Abraham, Delhi School of Economics
107. Oishik Sirkar, Jindal Law University, Sonepat
108. Balwinder Singh Tiwana, Punjabi University
109. Mandira Sarma, JNU
110. Jesim Pais, Society for Social and Economic Research
111. Rajni Palriwala, University of Delhi
112. Rama Melkote, retired Professor, Osmania University
113. Uma M Bhrugabanda, EFLU Hyderabad
114. Joseph M.T., University of Mumbai
115. M.S. Bhatt, retired Professor, Jamia Millia Islamia
116. Malancha Chakrabarty, Associate Fellow Observer Research Foundation
117. Dr Sakuntala Narasimhan, Independent scholar
118. Abdi Seido, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Dire Dawa University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
119. Dr. Kushankur Dey, Xavier University Bhubaneswar
120. Shambhu Ghatak, Associate Fellow, Inclusive Media for Change
121. Swati Pillai, Watershed Organisation Trust Pune
122. Pushpendra, Professor Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Patna
123. Ravi K. Tripathi, Université Pairs XIII – Sorbonne Paris
124. Mandeep Kaur, Dyal Singh College.
125. Anis Chowdhury, University of Western Sydney and Co-editor, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy
126. Venkatesh Athreya, Professor of Economics (Retired), Bharathidasan University
127. Sunanda Sen, Former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru Universty, New Delhi
128. Arindam Sen, Editor, Liberation, Kolkata
129. Nayanjyoti, Research Scholar, Delhi University
130. Avnesh Kumar Gupta, Hon. Secretary General, World Forum for Economists
131. Andrew Cornford, Geneva Finance Observatory.
132. S.V.Narayanan, Independent Analyst
133. Amar Yumnam, Professor, Manipur University, India.
134. Rohit Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru University
135. J.  George, (Rtd) Independent Researcher, DELHI.
136. Kalyan Shankar Ray, Bhubaneswar
137. Bindu Oberoi, Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University
138. Uma Maheswari Bhrugubanda, EFL University
139. R. Srivatsan,
140. Abid Firdausi MS, University of Kerala
141. Navnita Behera, IRIIS
142. Anupam Mitra
143. Surajit C Mukhopadhyay, Seacom Skills University
144. Eleuterio Prado, Professor, São Paulo University, Brazil
145. Mustafa Ozer, Anadolu University, Turkey
146. Vishal Sarin, LP University
147. Shipra Nigam, Research Scholar
148. Vipin Negi, University of Delhi
149. Rosa Abraham, Institute of Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru
150. N. Mani, Erode College, Kerala
151. Hemant Adlakha, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
152. Collins Mtika, Director – Centre for Investigative Journalism – Malawi
153. Ranjini Mazumdar, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
154. Suneetha Achyuta, Coordinator, Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s Studies

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