Nationwide Protests | SabrangIndia

All-India Anganwadi worker and helper strike on February 1

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 12:09:28 +0000

Image Courtesy:thehindu.com

Condemning the termination of Haryana’s protesting Anganwadi and helpers, unions called for an all-India protest on February 1, 2022. The All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers (AIFAWH) denounced the BJP-JJP-led Haryana government for ignoring workers demands. It also protested the alleged filing of fake cases against them.

This call for protests comes at a time when more than 50,000 workers are on strike since December 8, 2021 for the increased honorarium and job regularisation promised to them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced on September 11, 2018, that helpers would receive ₹4,500 instead of ₹3,000 while Anganwadi workers would get ₹2,200 instead of ₹1,500. However, four years down the line, workers have still not received these benefits.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on December 29, 2021, announced that their monthly honorarium will be increased and that they will get arrears for two years, along with an incentive of Rs 1,000 each for working as frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Astonishingly, the latter incentive was only promised to those workers who returned to duty on January 12, 2022.

“This ‘incentive’ made by the CM in his unilateral announcement for all those Anganwadi and mini-Anganwadi workers and helpers who risked their lives doing Covid duty is now being used as ‘traitor incentive’ to break the strike. This is illegal, unethical and unheard anywhere,” said A. R. Sindhu, General Secretary AIFAWH.

Far from alleviating pain, the protesters dismissed this announcement, and asked why benefits announced in 2018 have still not been implemented.

Similarly, Khattar gad also announced one-time retirement benefits of ₹1 lakh and ₹ 50,000 for the Anganwadi workers and helpers respectively. Here too the department asked for a list of the people who retired by December 31, 2021 but only those workers who were not on strike.

“Government is now trying to break the strike by organising training for ‘play way school’ for workers when schools and offices are closed due to Covid-19. The government is also resorting to a misinformation campaign on benefits for Anganwadi workers and helpers in other states,” said Sindhu.

The 52-day long strike called by the Joint coordination committee of Anganwadi unions stresses this question along with a demand for the non-privatisation of pre-school in Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).

The strike was also steadily gaining more support, as seen on January 12 when women garnered mass mobilisation for the ‘jail bharo’ demonstration. However, instead of acknowledging these protests and calling for a dialogue, the government removed over 25 union leaders from their position as anganwadi workers and helpers. The AIFAWH called the move “unfair labour practice and illegal”. Shakunatala, who is the State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers General Secretary and AIFAWH Secretary, was also falsely implicated in many cases.

“We strongly condemn this action and demand immediate reinstatement of the retrenched workers in the state,” said Sindhu.

The AIFAWH called it shameful that the government took more than 20 days to call the striking union for a negotiation. It stressed that anganwadi and helpers services are crucial for child development as well as pandemic-management. As such, it promised solidarity with the state workers and called for protests across India.

“We demand that the government immediately stop repression of the striking employees and restart the dialogue with the unions so as to reach an amicable settlement,” said the AIFAWH.

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Dilution of environmental laws, a persistent tactic: AIUFWP

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 09:31:44 +0000

Image Courtesy:cppr.in

Enraged by the severe changes in the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA), the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP) has called for nationwide protests on November 12, 2021.

On October 11, AIUFWP Chairman Ashok Chaudhary condemned the manner in which the draft proposal changes to the Act infringe on the rights of forest-dwellers and tribal communities. However, he stressed that this isn’t the first time the central government has introduced amendments to “turn the tide against the peoples’ aspirations and rights.”

On March 23, 2020, the central government issued a draft notification concerning Environment Impact Assessment rules (draft EIA 2020). At the time, the AIUFWP demanded a complete withdrawal of the same citing multiple reasons, not the least of which was the timing of the move.

Chaudhary wrote a letter to relevant officials in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), criticising the department for issuing the notification amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. That the draft EIA 2020 was circulated online in English and Hindi alone also irked union members, who could not understand these languages nor access the internet to read the document.

“As the weakening of provisions under EIA 2006 is now prescribed by this new draft, we find that forest-dwelling communities are one of the most vulnerable stakeholders who will be affected by these changes and hence their opinion on this should be sought,” said the AIUFWP in the letter.

It highlighted contentious aspects of the notification like the post-facto clearance mechanism that allowed projects to begin construction before availing an EIA clearance – rendering the whole process obsolete. Many new projects were included in the “Industrial Estate” category – Coastal Economic Zones, special investment regions, petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical investment regions, hydropower and renewables – that could infringe on basic rights of local indigenous communities.

“Draft EIA 2020 gives industries, corporations, and public projects licence to loot our “Jal, Jungle, Jameen” “Water, Forest, and Land” which is antithetical to the idea of national interest,” it said.

The AIUFWP also said that the draft EIA 2020 weakened state governments’ powers over such issues that will worsen the pollution in concerned areas. It may be mentioned that similar concerns have been raised about the draft proposals in the FCA as well. The draft EIA 2020 barely gave concerned social groups the time to respond to the sudden changes. This time, the MoEFCC extended the deadline for comments and responses till November 1.

Still members remain cautious, especially after how categorisation and recategorization of projects in the draft EIA 2020 were done through a ‘Technical Expert Committee’ that replaced public hearings.

“Not only is public scrutiny avoided, an objectionable pattern ignores “Project Affected Communities.” There is a need to look at the draft EIA 2020 in conjunction with other legal provisions in relation to forest, land, and rights,” said Chaudhary.

By this he referred to amendments like those of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, (LARR 2013) that gave free passes to government projects without public consent. Similarly, changes to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 violate the Forest Rights Act and the Wildlife Protection Act that barred projects without gram sabha consent.

The AIUFWP considered the convergence of such changes, along with eviction threats and then the draft EIA 2020 as “anti-people.” Further, members said that the draft EIA 2020 violated constitutional norms and procedures as well as the founding principles of the MoEFCC. Citing the report of a High Level Committee, the AIFWP said the Ministry should “give due consideration to the views/opinion and objections raised by stakeholders including environmental experts.”

Above all, the draft notification also provided a 20-year increase in the validity of environmental clearances for mining projects: five years for river valley; eight years for irrigation and nuclear projects’ three years for all other projects.

“This is alarming for a number of reasons, for projects through their operations must be closely monitored,” said Chaudhary.

To make matters worse, the FCA changes suggest doing away with Section 2(iii), diluting mining lease procedures in forest land. It also suggests that “environment-friendly” technology like the Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) should be excluded from the purview of the Act.

AIUFWP General Secretary Roma Malik said on Monday that these changes are taking away gram sabha’s rights when tribal folks’ land claims are yet to be settled in courts. As a result, India’s federal structure is being centralised drastically.

To challenge such weakening of environmental laws, the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan has called upon all tribal and rural villages to demonstrate on November 12 and submit a memorandum to local authorities rejecting such changes.

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George Floyd murder: One year on

Tue, 25 May 2021 11:47:53 +0000

Image Courtesy:news.sky.com

It’s been a year since Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the back of the neck of George Floyd for nine minutes as he died gasping for breath, his last words, “I can’t breathe.”

The 46-year-old African American Man was killed after cops tried to restrain him in connection with an allegedly fake $20 bill. A video of Floyd’s killing went viral and sparked nationwide protests for weeks. On March 20, this year Derek Chauvin was convicted on three counts for the murder of George Floyd. In fact, a few days before the verdict, the City Council of Minneapolis also unanimously approved a settlement of $27 million dollars to Floyd’s family.

Racism still rampant

Since the cold-blooded killing of George Floyd, the United States has seen an unprecedented surge in voices demanding justice for victims of racism and an end to systemic racism itself that lies at the root of income inequality and access to education, healthcare, housing and other resources.

While segregation was outlawed decades ago, it is no coincidence that even today, most low-income neighbourhoods are home to predominantly non-white populations. Public schools in such neighbourhoods are understaffed and underfunded thereby perpetuating a cycle of poverty and misery.

People of colour who do make it out of these neighbourhoods and try to build a life are then targeted using false and often absurd complaints that are deeply rooted in the complainant’s own racist baggage. Black people have been accused of being prowlers and car thieves by their non-black neighbours!

In fact, last year a video of a woman named Amy Cooper calling 911 while standing in Central Park and accusing Christian Cooper, a black man of threatening her went viral. Christian, a bird-watcher, had just requested Amy to leash her dog, but instead she called the police and told them that “an African-American man” was threatening her, showcasing how black people are unfairly targeted by those who think they can easily get away with making false accusations.

Even today, a disproportionately large number of black people are sent to prison for crimes where most white people get let off with a mild rap on the wrists. Pew Research quoted the 2018 statistics by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to say that there were 1,501 black prisoners for every 1,00,000 black adults! According to the Pew Research Center, “Black men are especially likely to be imprisoned. There were 2,272 inmates per 100,000 black men in 2018, compared with 1,018 inmates per 100,000 Hispanic men and 392 inmates per 100,000 white men.” What’s worse, “The rate was even higher among black men in certain age groups: Among those ages 35 to 39, for example, about one-in-twenty black men were in state or federal prison in 2018 (5,008 inmates for every 100,000 black men in this age group).”

Say her name: Breonna Taylor!

But while Derek Chauvin was recently convicted for killing George Floyd, last year a grand jury refused to charge officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor in her own home! 26-year-old Taylor was an Emergency Medical Technician and was fast asleep in her own home on March 13, 2020 when officers of the Louisiana Metro Police Department barged into her home shortly after midnight. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fearing the men to be intruders, fired at them, and the policemen retaliated with more gunfire killing Taylor. Policemen fired at least 20 rounds, out of which 8 hit Breonna Taylor. But in yet another shocking twist, it was Walker who was arrested for attacking the police! The police claim they were executing a warrant for two men, one of whom was Taylor’s ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover, who was wanted in connection with a drugs case and had used Taylor’s address to receive packages. Not only was this disputed by the Postal Department, both men were found to be in custody at the time of the police raid on Taylor and Walker’s home. A few months later, charges against Walked were dropped, but justice still eludes Breonna Taylor.

The murder of Daunte Wright

Then there is the shocking case of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old African-American man who was killed in a police shooting at a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota in April this year. He was initially stopped for an expired tag, but police tried to handcuff him when they discovered an outstanding warrant in his name. Shockingly, Kimberly Potter, the police officer who shot him claimed that she had intended to draw her taser when she drew out her gun instead and shot Wright! A bizarre video of the incident shows Potter yell, “Taser, taser, taser,” as she shoots Wright. While Potter and even the city’s police chief resigned, Potter was only charged with second-degree manslaughter instead of murder charges. Imran Ali, prosecutor and co-counsel in the case recently resigned citing “vitriol” and “partisan politics”. Ali was one of the two people who had charged Potter with second-degree manslaughter. The other was Washington County Attorney Pete Orput. Activists held protests outside Orput’s home demanding murder charges be filed.

Curious parallels with India

Several parallels can be drawn between what is happening in the US and India with respect to cases where police brutality becomes a weapon for committing a hate crime.

The custodial killing case of Khwaja Yunus is still fresh in memory. The young man was allegedly falsely implicated in the Ghatkopar blast case and then killed in custody. The police then allegedly made it look like he escaped from a prison transport vehicle!

Recently, a 17-year-old Mohammed Faisal Husain was also allegedly beaten to death in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao by policemen while he was in their custody at a police station. While the police initially claimed that he was picked up for violating a Corona curfew, and died of a heart attack, a post mortem revealed head injuries as cause of death.

SabrangIndia’s sister organization CJP has now launched a petition demanding justice for Faisal and reparations for his family. The petition may be signed here.

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Snapshots of revolution! Top 10 photos of Bharat Bandh

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 14:18:28 +0000

Image Courtesy:newsable.asianetnews.com

The resounding response for the near-impromptu Bharat Bandh on December 8, 2020 was a testament of India’s love for its annadaatas. People across the country came together to condemn the three black laws passed by the central government – the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

During evening summary reports, farmers leaders announced that 25 states reported their participation in the nationwide shutdown. As the day went on with frequent arrests, protests and more agitations, we present the top 10 moments of Tuesday’s Bharat Bandh:

Empty markets and shuttered shops across India conveyed more regarding the black laws than any mass protest yet. From Punjab (first picture) to Karnataka (second picture) and beyond, supporters closed businesses to stand with farmers.

Meanwhile, some supporters were lauded for adding their voice to the farmers movement…

… and others like Bhim Army President Chandrashekar Azad were detained before they could show their support.

Nonetheless, protests continued all over India.

Protesters participated in the shutdown with full vigour, even going so far as to stop trains.

Aged farmers were not the only participants for Tuesday’s protest. Young ones joined the masses as well.

Farmers have asserted their resolve to continue with the movement until their demands are met.

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Bharat Bandh: Indians answer farmers’ call for a nationwide shut down

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 07:31:31 +0000

Image Courtesy:indiatvnews.com

The day has barely begun and India’s annadaatas have received overwhelming support from the rest of citizens. Bharat Bandh on December 8, 2020 starts off in earnest, except in market areas, across India that are closed in support of farmers’ movement against the three anti-farmer Acts forcibly passed by the central government.

The highlight of this protest so far has been young protesters who participated in continuing dissent to decry the three laws – the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

Beauty Of Farmer Protest #आज_भारत_बंद_है #BharatBand pic.twitter.com/5VLflIFRrd

— Pratik Patil (@Liberal_India1) December 8, 2020

#BharatBandh #आज_भारत_बंद_है #ModiYesOrNo
? pic.twitter.com/1Zp62iMzZ0

— Diljit Dosanjh (@Diljitdosanjhi) December 8, 2020

Meanwhile, West Bengal began rasta roko (road block) protests across the state in full force.

https://www.facebook.com/aikscc/posts/1731003270408853

https://www.facebook.com/aikscc/posts/1730976580411522

Haryana shut down its shops and mandis in continued support of farmers.

Markets across Maharashtra were closed in solidarity with farmers. Supporters from Akole area in Ahmednagar encouraged all to join their voices with farmers. Other parts of the state such as Chinchora village of Nandurbar District and Thane district observed protest rallies.

Members of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathan were arrested early morning for agitating on rail tracks in Maharashtra’s Jalna district. Police detained a large group of protesters.

Similarly, few people in front of Janata Bhawan in Guwahati, Assam were detained for participating in Tuesday’s shutdown.

Assam: Police detain a few people that were protesting in front of Janata Bhawan in Guwahati today, in support of #BharatBandh called by farmer unions. pic.twitter.com/YsxYDWBmLD

— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2020

In Gujarat, President of the Khedut Samaj Gujarat (KSG) Jayesh Patel was reportedly arrested at 6:17 AM.

Reminding farmers that they are not in their fight for rights, Dalit organisations also went out on streets to join Bharat Bandh.

Members of Dalit rights group, Dalit Tigers join the protest at Town Hall in Bengaluru and extend support for the farmers’ agitation. #8DecemberBhartBand #FarmLaws pic.twitter.com/qdy35H5QpW

— Theja Ram (@thejaram92) December 8, 2020

While political parties promised to participate in today’s protest, the Aam Aadmi Party’s social media handle reported that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was put under house arrest.

Important :

BJP’s Delhi Police has put Hon’ble CM Shri @ArvindKejriwal under house arrest ever since he visited farmers at Singhu Border yesterday

No one has been permitted to leave or enter his residence#आज_भारत_बंद_है #BJPHouseArrestsKejriwal

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 8, 2020

Reports are also coming in of huge protests in Odisha and Karnataka.

Student Unions began their protests a day earlier recognising many student members who stand to suffer from the black laws.

https://www.facebook.com/sficecofficial/posts/10160735180779012

Other than trade organisations, the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) also promised to join the call for the nationwide shut down. Members have threatened to go on a samundar bandh where fisherfolk will go on a strike if farmers’ demands are not met. The All India Railwaymen’s Federation have also promised to stage protests at various stations across India.

As the voice demanding the repeal of laws grows stronger, the central government faces more and more pressure to bend to the will of people.

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Meeting adjourned, farmers to meet Agriculture and Railway ministers on December 3

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 14:16:48 +0000

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar teamed up with colleague Union Railway’s Minister Piyush Goyal, and met the selected representatives of the lakhs of farmers on December 1. However, the farmers will now have to return on December 3, for another round of meetings with the two ministers!

According to a report by News18, Chanda Singh, one of the farmers leaders, who was at the meeting with the ministers, and other government officials confirmed that the talks will continue, as will the massive Farmers Protest. “We discussed a lot of issues. We will have a meeting day after tomorrow. We will continue with our protests,” Singh was quoted after the December 1 meeting that took place after a six-day deadlock between the government and the farmers.

However, it is not yet known what details were discussed or why another round cannot be held on December 2? What is it about December 3, that the Agriculture minister had also proposed this as the original meeting date a few days ago? News 18 has quoted sources revealing that “the government has proposed the formation of a committee to discuss contentious provisions of the new farm laws with protesting farmers”. As the farmer-government meeting is yet to reach a final conclusion it is not yet known who will be a part of this committee and what is its mandate. The news report states that the union ministers have “asked farmer union leaders to nominate members to be part of the proposed committee which will also include agricultural experts and government representatives.”

For now, the leaders return to join the many thousand farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, who continue to brave the cold wave conditions at Singhu and Tikri borders where they have camped since November 26. The farmers have so far been firm on their demand for a complete withdrawal of new farm laws and want a guarantee of minimum support price.

The meeting on December 1 was close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech which seemed to be in support of the laws passed and so far it seems that the government is unlikely to roll back: The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said then that the “new agricultural reforms have given farmers new options and new legal protection and the old system will also continue if someone chooses to stay with it.” The PM said the criticism seen now “is based on mere apprehensions” adding that “confusion is being spread in society about what has not happened yet, which will never happen” adding that “a very meager MSP purchase used to take place. This deception went on for years. Large loan waiver packages were announced in the name of farmers, but they did not reach the small and marginal farmers.” He accused previous governments of “deceit in the name of schemes” he says were launched in the names of farmers. This “deception” he said has made the farmers “ apprehensive about the promises of governments”, he accused the Opposition of spreading “lies”.

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AIKS organises nationwide rasta roko campaign

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 13:37:03 +0000

A nationwide rasta roko protest will take place on December 3, 2020 for the immediate repeal of anti-farmer farm Acts and withdrawal Electricity Bill 2020 said the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS.)

During this protest farmers will demand the withdrawal of the the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 along with the Electricity Bill.

Further the farmers organisation declared a pan-India solidarity week from December 3 to December 10. On Thursday, road blockades will continue for one or two hours in every district and tehsil of India.

“Throughout this week, actions like burning the effigy of the Prime Minister, 24 hour sit in dharnas, demonstrations, rallies, Jathas, public meetings will be organised in as many places as possible,” said the AIKS in a press release.

The blockade intends to express solidarity with agitations being organized by farmers of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The organisation said that as of December 1, about 2 lakhs agitating farmers from Punjab, Haryana with thousands of tractors and vehicles reached various borders of Delhi while braving through water cannons, lathis and tear gas shells of police.

“We also condemn the efforts by the central government and BJP-ruled states to crush and suppress the farmers’ agitations by using police. Efforts to make a malicious campaign against the movement and divisive tactics employed by the BJP Government will be countered unitedly,” they said.

Earlier the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) condemned the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s deliberate misinterpretation of farmers’ demand as Opposition-led misinformation.

“The Prime Minister’s pleading that opportunities for farmers will increase, alternatives will come in, that there is nothing barring old systems from operating, are blatant lies. The Acts clearly mention that trading will be done by private corporations and the crop rates will be decided by online exchanges, not MSP rates, which is the old system. These laws give corporations opportunities, make them the alternative in dictating terms of farming, purchase, processing, storage and marketing of food,” said the AIKSCC.

Accordingly, they asked Modi to stop his “pretentious sloganeering” that “Annadata Aatmanirbhar Bharat ki Aguai Karega” [Annadata will lead an independent India] because current laws and policies push them towards “Annadata Companiyon ka Gulam Banega” [Annadata will become slaves for companies.]

Moreover, the Working Group of AIKSCC appealed to the Delhi AAP-led government to immediately withdraw its notification of the New Mandi Bypass Act and come clean on whether it supports farmers.

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Our farmers cannot be treated like criminals and terrorists: Citizens For Democracy

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 08:36:03 +0000

Image Courtesy:muslimmirror.com

The farmers’ protest is getting steady support from various groups across regional, political and religious sections as the visuals of the government’s indifference to the voice of lakhs of farmers braving the bitter Delhi cold, are going viral over social media.

Adding their voice in solidarity with the farmers, the Citizens For Democracy (CFD) has issued a strong statement against the “brutal reaction” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments both at the Centre, and in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, to the peaceful agitation of the farmers. The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, the alliance of various farmers organisations, had declared their intention of organising their march ‘Delhi Chalo’ to lodge their protest long ago, stated the CFD, adding that the government still “did not take any concrete step to settle the issues involved i.e. the three controversial farm laws.” And when the farmers began their march to Delhi, from various parts of the country on November 26, “the response of the Centre and Haryana Government was of repression.”

The group recalled that the BJP-led government of Haryana sealed the state’s borders, put up barricades, dug the roads in order to prevent the farmers from proceeding to Delhi but the farmers were not deterred. They marched through the barricades, faced water cannons and tear gas, and are now on dharna at Singhu and Tikri areas on the Delhi-Haryana borders. The farmers have said they are prepared for a prolonged protest if needed, and are well equipped with ration for at least six months.

According to the CFD, a team of activists including People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) members visited the Singhu border and found the, around one lakh protesters to be most disciplined. They have rejected the “government’s offer to allow them to stage their protest at Burari ground” and the Haryana Police has booked state Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni and several farmers on attempt to murder, rioting, causing obstruction in government duty and other charges for violations during their “Delhi Chalo” march. Large number of farmers have been arrested.

The CFD called the Haryana Police’s accusation of attempt to murder against the youth who had turned off a water cannon, a “shameful act”, adding that “no civilized government is expected to treat this way the protesters who want to exercise their constitutional right in peaceful manner.” The CFD also criticised Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar’s statement alleging that there is ‘Khalistani connection’ in the farmer’s protest as “the most deplorable one.” They remind Khattar “Punjab has always been at the forefront of the struggle against unjust laws. Jalianwala Bagh episode of 1919 when hundreds of protesters had gathered to challenge the Rowlatt Act and sacrificed their lives is one such example.”

Another “glorious chapter from Punjab is the struggle to oppose the infamous ‘emergency’” recalled the CFD, “when during its 19 months (June 1975 to March 1977) the protesters – Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians would gather at Golden Temple in Amritsar every day, would march in procession raising slogans opposing ‘emergency’ laws offering their arrest till the Emergency lasted. It was one of the strongest resistances during the ‘emergency’. To make such remarks as made by Mr. Khattar is the most condemnable attempt to malign the protesters who are agitating to challenge the laws which they think as totally unjust.”

The Citizens For Democracy (CFD) has urged the Central government to accept farmers’ demands because “the same are legitimate. We also call upon the Haryana government to immediately withdraw the cases filed against the farmers and release all the arrested ones forthwith. Governments should realise that our farmers cannot be treated like criminals and terrorists.”

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Residents of Jamia Nagar and left organisations voice their solidarity with India’s farmers

Sat, 28 Nov 2020 14:32:00 +0000

Political and civic organisations on November 28, 2020 voiced their support with the nationwide farmers protest against the new agriculture laws.

Leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Nationalist Congress Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Communist Party of India -Marxist Leninist and other left organisations, in a joint statement, said that the Nirankari ground allotted to farmers by the central government is too small to accommodate the tens of thousands of protesters approaching Delhi.

“We the undersigned demand that a larger ground like Ram Lila Maidan or similar must be allotted for this peaceful protest and all necessary arrangements must be made for their stay and food,” they said.

Demanding that the government adhere to the democratic process and norms and address the concerns of the protesting farmers, leaders reiterated their opposition to the new agriculture laws that threaten India’s food security, Minimum Support Price (MSP) system and destroy Indian agriculture and farmers.

“Braving severe repression, tear-gassing, heavy water cannoning, roadblocks, police barricades and digging up the national highways surrounding Delhi akin to waging a ‘war’ on our farmers, tens of thousands of farmers have successfully reached the National Capital of Delhi. We salute their determination and courage in this massive protest demanding the withdrawal of the retrograde anti-Kisan agri laws,” said the press statement.

The Indian National Congress (INC) published a separate video demanding an apology from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after Minister of State, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Anil Sharma called protesting farmers “gundas” (hooligans.)

Similarly, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted in support of protesting farmers.

अन्याय के ख़िलाफ़ आवाज़ उठाना अपराध नहीं, कर्तव्य है।

मोदी सरकार पुलिस की फ़र्ज़ी FIR से किसानों के मज़बूत इरादे नहीं बदल सकती।

कृषि विरोधी काले क़ानूनों के ख़त्म होने तक ये लड़ाई जारी रहेगी।

हमारे लिए ‘जय किसान’ था, है और रहेगा! pic.twitter.com/EZWxMpIoJc

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 28, 2020

Meanwhile, people of Shaheen Bagh, Batla House, Abul Fazal, Jauhri Farm, Zakir Nagar, Ghaffar Manzil, Jamia Nagar extended their strong support to “farmers agitating against the ‘fascist farman’ (Diktat) of the right-wing neoliberal regime.”

“We the people of Jamia Nagar will be shortly visiting protest sites in a collective of Muslim men and women with our demands to repeal the CAA [Citizenship Amendment Act] and anti-farmer, anti-labour laws. This elected government should note that we elected them to enact and implement the guiding principles of the Indian Constitution, which promotes social justice, equality and fraternity, not eroding them through the process of Jingoistic majoritarianism. We won’t allow them to further erode and control the executive, judiciary, legislative, media and sell India to fascist and corporate lobbies of Ambani and Adani,” they said in a press statement.

They also demanded the government repeal its “anti-people laws” passed in 2014-2019 as well as policies passed during the current tenure.

Earlier on Saturday, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) stated that Punjab and Haryana farmers have continued their onward march towards Delhi. The coalition called it an “unprecedented and undeterred mobilization ever witnessed in the history of the country.”

Moreover, they condemned the Uttar Pradesh government for its brutal, barbaric repressive behaviour against farmers’ protests in the state. Protestors from Uttarakhand have also been camping in Uttar Pradesh since they were detained by the state police.

Leaders also countered the notion that these protests are mainly Punjab-centric by pointing out that farmers are attempting to enter Delhi from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, indicating that the resistance is pan-India. Further agitations are underway in numerous states including in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and other areas.

“The lack of sincerity of this government is apparent in numerous ways. Empty assurances and statements will not be believed by farmers any more. The government chose to ignore farmer protests for months on end now, and tried to malign it in numerous ways. It spent crores of rupees of taxpayers’ money in a publicity blitzkrieg in the name of ‘farmers being misinformed’. This very attitude and approach of the Govt. is unacceptable,” said leaders in a press statement.

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Top 10 moments of November 26, 2020

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 14:43:37 +0000

Image Courtesy:indiatvnews.com

A tsunami of raging farmers, workers, flooded public spaces of India on November 26, 2020 to decry the anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-human laws of the central government.

While it is impossible to succinctly summarise the plethora of events that took place today, here are today’s top 10 photos that portray the anguish and determination of India’s peasantry.

The day started off with Punjab farmers marching towards Delhi. The Central government welcome the grieving masses with water cannons and police barricades.

Kashmiri workers voiced their solidarity with the national movement, possibly one of the crowning moments of Constitution Day.

On reaching Jantar Mantar, Delhi, farmers had to deal with the manhandling of police.

Protesters also Gave a visual representation of their angst.

Workers from the construction sector and other PSUs joined the All India General Strike. Scheme workers also added their voices.

In certain parts, people formed human chains to show a united front for their demands.

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