The Strange Case Of Sodi Sambo
The Strange Case Of Sodi Sambo
Who is Sodi Sambo? - A Background
The silence of the media in the case of Sodi Sambo
The detention of Sodi Sambo: A minute-by-minute account
Almond Workers’ Strike: one of the largest unorganized workers’ strikes in Delhi
Shrinking Democracy in Delhi University: Harassment of Sanhati activist Anirban Kar
The “Campaign Against War on People,” organized a seminar on state repression in West Bengal and Orissa in the North Campus of University of Delhi on 14th December 2009. About an hour before the seminar was scheduled to start, Dr. Anirban Kar, a member of the Sanhati collective, who teaches economics in Delhi School of Economics was stopped from putting posters for the seminar.
Land Acquisition (Amendment) and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bills: National Convention under banner of Sangharsh
*Invitation to National Convention/Demonstration*
on
*Displacement and Development in the context of proposed*
*Land Acquisition (Amendment) and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bills*
*November 18th – 21st 2009, New Delhi *
Right to Food Campaign: Charter of demands, Rally outside Parliament Nov 2009
Click here to read Charter of demands outlined in National Sammelan in Delhi [PDF, English »]
Greetings from the Right to Food Campaign Secretariat, New Delhi. This is to invite you to a rally on the 26th of November, 2009 to put pressure on the UPA government to enact the proposed right to food act as pledged by the congress party in its manifesto and announced by the President of India on June 4 in the parliament and Prime Minister on15 August 2009 from the red fort.
All of us are also aware of the fact, that the country is faced by severe drought and spiralling food prices. The situation of hunger and malnutrition in the country is exacerbated even more than usual. In the midst of all this, the UPA government has failed to live up to its promise of enacting the right to food act within 100 days of its inception. The government is denying the need of enacting such a useful act urgently, in the guise of its involvement and efforts in tackling drought, which is a farce.
Initiative Against War on People: Statement and meeting
Initiative Against War on People
Invitation: Meeting of people’s organisations and individuals: At Gandhi Peace Foundation, DDU Marg, Delhi 5 PM on 27th October 2009.
The Indian government has deployed 100,000 troops in addition to the existing paramilitary and police forces in parts of central India, including Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand, Maharashtra Lalgarh - Jungalmahal area of Bengal - a vast area inhabited by mainly tribal people. Forces are being withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast to join battalions of CRPF commandos, the ITBP, the CoBRA and the BSF. There is also talk of bringing in the Rashtriya Rifles – a paramilitary force that is directly guided by the Indian Army created especially for counter-insurgency work known for its notoriety in Kashmir and Northeast in the past few decades, and the purchase of bomb trucks, bomb blankets, bomb baskets, and sophisticated new weaponry. The Air Force has already been deployed and a full-scale air operation is in the offing.
Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS) challenges government in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa
October 21, 2009
The Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS), which held the Koraput district administration to ransom for months and forced non-tribals out of Narayanpatna, on Tuesday threw a challenge to the Government right in the capital.
PUDR statement condemning Francis Induwar’s death
October 10 2009
People’s Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi (PUDR) unequivocally condemns the gruesome killing of Inspector Francis Induwar by the Maoists in Jharkhand.
CPIML - Liberation statement on Operation Green Hunt
Press Statement by CPI (ML) - Liberation
New Delhi, September 20 2009
Delhi public meeting and statement on impending offensive of the government
The following statement was formulated during the course of a public meeting in Delhi on August 4 2009, on the impending armed offensive of the government “to wipe out the CPI(Maoist)”. It reflects a certain aspect of civil society response to the issue. - Ed.
Articles reporting effects of the current drought in India
This collection of reports on the drought in India appeared in Outlook. September 1, 2009.
Satellite data shows groundwater depletion in North India: implications for political economy
Recent research (the latest one was a study in Nature, 12 August 2009) has highlighted the alarmingly high rate at which groundwater levels in various parts of Northern India are falling. Since water in one of the key inputs into agricultural production, this will have very serious consequences for the political economy of the region where a large section of the population still derives its income from agriculture or related economic activities.
Soft attacks on media freedom: The “correct information” and Ambika Soni
July 16 2009. In a recent interview, Ambika Soni, the new Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, spoke of the imminent creation of a nodal group which would control media information in the event of terrorist attacks like Mumbai 2008.
an empowered nodal group could be accessed for information in times of emergency. This empowered group could include my colleagues from vital ministries that can pass on correct information on the situation
Garga Chatterjee analyses the deeply autocratic ethos underlying such measures, planned in the name of public good, national interest, and security.
Click here to read article [PDF, Bengali] »
An economic survey of the Mumbai population
July 14, 2009
A recent survey conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and commissioned by the central government, reveals that the urban poor comprises close to 30% of the city’s population.
Reactions to Lalgarh in Telugu media
June 29, 2009
With regard to Lalgarh people’s uprising, there have been a lot of news and views in Telugu during the last two weeks. Sanhati invites English translations of the articles below.
Fact-finding team on Lalgarh arrested
This page is a part of Sanhati’s Lalgarh reporting.
June 27, 2009: 1. Statement from Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners on arrest of fact-finding team
June 28, 2009: 2. Menon and others released, threaten to move HC against WB govt
Operation Lalgarh: cobras, satellites, spies
This page is a part of Sanhati’s Lalgarh reporting. It collects developing news on Operation Lalgarh, an Operation in the course of which locals received their first acquaintance with Indian scientific achievement in the form of spy satellites, and a rare acquaintance with mainstream media, in the form of embedded “war” journalists.
Fanshen in Lalgarh: June 5 - June 22, 2009
By Amit Bhattacharya
The Lok Sabha elections throughout the country ended on 13 May and results were declared on 16 May, 2009. The phase of struggle in Lalgarh that started from then on was something that was totally unprecedented in the history of our country—in depth, magnitude and significance. The subsequent history can be divided into Phase I and Phase II. Phase I is related to people’s movement, while Phase II with the deployment of para-military forces, brutality perpetrated by them and resistance by the people and the Maoists.
Statements from CPIML(Liberation), PUDR, Chhatradhar Mahato, Kannabiran, Delhi intellectuals, Protibadi Udyog, Lok Morcha Punjab on Lalgarh and ban on CPI(Maoist)
Statement from CPIML(Liberation) on Lalgarh - June 24, 2009
Statement from PUDR on banning of CPI(Maoist) - June 25, 2009
Statement from Chhatradhar Mahato - June 21, 2009
Statement from PUCL president Kannabiran on Lalgarh - June 25, 2009
Statement from a group of Delhi intellectuals on Lalgarh - June 19, 2009
Statement from Protibadi Udyog, Mazdoor Mukti Committee, Radical Socialist, Sramajeevi Samiti, and Prosit Das, Jogin, Kaustav De, P.R. Ghosh - July 2, 2009
Statement from Lok Morcha Punjab on State offensive in Lalgarh - June 26, 2009
Report of fact-finding team from JNU on the eve of Lalgarh violence
June 17, 2009. By a fact finding team of students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
A fact finding team of nine students from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) recently visited Lalgarh, to probe into the reality of the ongoing movement of the people in the area. Here we are enclosing the preliminary details of what we saw. We would like to appeal to your daily/ news channel to also highlight on certain issues of the movement, which we feel are not coming to the forefront, as much as it should have.
Hurricane Aila: Pictures from the Sunderbans, and details for relief contribution
Pictures from Sonakhali
Planning Commission recommends dismantling of Public Distribution System
June 13, 2009
Is the government trying to shirk its responsibility of providing a social security net even as it contemplates a right to food act?
In a move that could undercut the very logic of UPA’s much-touted right to food Act, the Planning Commission has recommended that the government do away with the public distribution system (PDS) and begin cash-for-food schemes instead.
Unicef attacks India’s record on poverty
June 13, 2009. Rediff News.
India has failed to use a period of high economic growth to lift tens of millions of people out of poverty, falling far short of China’s record in protecting its population from the ravages of chronic hunger, United Nations officials said on Tuesday.
Evolving news: Salwa Judum abduction in Lingagiri, CG
For latest news and updates, please visit: http://www.binayaksen.net/
Here is the statement of the PUCL National Secretary, which explains some of the facts relating to the abduction of VCA functionaries by the Salwa Judum.
Hurricane Ayla: An appeal for help, and an assessment of the damage
Hurricane Ayla has caused extensive damage all over West Bengal, in particular the Sundarbans area of South Bengal.
Thousands of houses have been decimated, dams have been breached. The latest governmental statistic shows 68 people dead, of which 46 are from South Bengal. These are just the preliminary reports as many interior places are yet to be reached by the rescue teams. The home secretary puts the total number of homes damaged at 61 thousand while total number of hurricane affected people at 22.3 lakhs.
Lok Sabha Election 2009: Summary of results
Results by party and state.
UCIL plans expansion of Uranium extraction in Jadugoda: EIA/EMP reports unavailable
May 17, 2009. A report received from JOAR, the Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation.
This report details new plans by UCIL for expansion in Jadugoda, and the developmental state of nearby villages.
Photos and report from Raipur program protesting Binayak Sen’s 2nd year in jail
Dr. Binayak Sen’s continued incarceration, under trumped-up charges of assisting Maoists, is a pointer to the increasing authoritarianism of the Indian state and the worsening conditions of political prisoners in the country. In the on-going struggle for the release of Binayak Sen and to draw attention towards the larger problem of state repression and rights of political prisoners, a satyagraha was held in Raipur on May 14, the day that marks two years of Binayak Sen’s arrest. About 30 organizations from all over the country participated in this satyagraha, with 225 activists courting arrest. This is the ninth round of satyagraha, which began eight weeks ago, in an effort to mobilize public opinion against Dr. Sen’s unjust incarceration.
Over a million Bengal tea workers lost jobs, says study
May 1 2009. The Hindu
More than a million workers have lost their jobs and are facing abject poverty, starvation and diseases after tea gardens were closed down in recent years in the Dooars region of West Bengal, a study claimed today.
Anatomy of an Encounter in Bastar
Three Naxalites were killed in an encounter near Kirandool on the 12th of April, 2009. However, the police version is completely inconsistent with the version of the villagers that they had visited.
INFOGEN: updates on employee rights movement
INFOGEN, an IT firm in Kolkata, recently folded up overnight with its management disappearing, bringing into focus the issue of employee rights on a landscape dotted with such firms. An appeal from employees was published earlier.
Binayak Sen’s failing health and the Chhattisgarh police’s active prevention of care
April 22 2009. Ilina Sen’s SOS Message on Conspiracy by Chhattisgarh Administration
Dear friends,
I am writing to share some extremely distressing information that has just now come to light. We now have clear proof that the police in Chhattisgarh are actively interfering with Binayak’s need for health care. I will just go over the facts with you.
Report of the All-India Fact-Finding Team on Lalgarh
Fact-finding team: Amit Bhaduri, economist, Professor emeritus, JNU; Madhu Bhaduri, womens’ rights activist, IFS, former ambassador to Vietnam; Vidya Das, adivasi rights activist, Agragamee, Kashipur, Orissa; Gautam Navlakha, PUDR, consulting editor, EPW; Colin Gonsalves, supreme court lawyer, Human rights law network; Aseem Srivastava, economist, writer, activist; Kaustav Banerjee, economist, CSD, Delhi; Budhaditya Das, student, DU; Manika Bora, student, JNU; Sudipta, human rights activist, Adhikar, Asansol, West Bengal
Nayachar chemical hub: Citizens’ panel slams govt
April 1, 2009.
A citizens’ committee, comprising geologists, chemists, chemical engineers, physicist, river scientists, doctors, economists and fish experts, has alleged that the government has withheld information on the proposed chemical hub at Nayachar.
The Infogen scam and employee rights on the IT landscape
Infogen, an IT firm in Kolkata, recently folded up overnight, and its management absconded, leaving over a thousand employees jobless. With IT firms mushrooming all over, there is an acute need for ensuring employees’ rights and proper prosecution in criminal cases.
World Bank report: stop NREGA, promote migration and clustered growth
1. World Bank roots for urbanisation, migration - March 13, 2009
2. Migration to urban areas is good, says World Bank - March 13, 2009
3. Encourage clustered economic growth, World Bank tells India - March 13, 2009
4. NREGA is a barrier to economic development: World Bank - March 15, 2009
5. World Bank to clear $2.6 bn loan for India soon - March 15, 2009
Various schemes of the Indian government like NREGA, watershed programmes and schemes for development of small and medium towns are acting as “policy barriers to internal mobility”, the bank said in its ‘World Development Report’ 2009.
Recent court rulings pertaining to civil liberties
1. Andhra Pradesh Court ruling : Police must file FIR after encounter - Feb 2009
2. Conviction is possible even if proof deficient: SC - March 2009
Land reforms in reverse gear?
By Anindita Chowdhury. The Statesman, February 28 2009
In its zeal for industrialisation, the CPI-M now seems to be moving in the reverse gear on land reforms, going back on the progress it made three decades earlier.
The complaint has come from the state land and land reforms department after the state industries department demanded that the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC) be given ryot status so that they can lease out land to industrialists and manage the land on their own. The proposal apparently, has the blessings of the chief minister as well.
The shark has pretty teeth: the State vs. Binayak Sen
Human rights activist and public health specialist Binayak Sen was arrested two years ago for being a member of an unlawful association. For good measure he has also been charged with ‘sedition’ and ‘conspiracy’ and waging war against the state. The police also added charges claiming he acted as a courier for the Naxalities. He is being held under the Chhattisgarh State Public Security Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act — both ugly images of the repealed POTA and tools in hands of the state to silence voices of dissent.
This is an update on his trial.
Reports on police firing in Dumka, Jharkhand: the site of a controversial power and dam project
Short documentary on state violence in Dumka, Jharkhand [Youtube, Hindi, 6 mins]
Background report on Dumka firings by Sandeep Pandey
A comprehensive report from NAPM
NREGA activists Bhukhan Singh and Niyamat Ansari arrested in Jharkhand
Message from Jean Dreze:
Two NREGA activists, Bhukhan Singh and Niyamat Ansari, were arrested on false charges in Manika (Latehar District, Jharkhand) on 15 February 2009, and sent to jail on 16 February. This appears to be a retaliation against the leading role they played in the recent struggle for payment of unemployment allowances in Manika. This struggle led to the payment of the unemployment allowance in two Gram Panchayats (Kope and Jerua) on 7 February 2009, and a fine on the local BDO. For further details, see attached complaints to the DGP Jharkhand (and earlier press note in Hindi).
Government cannot arm people in Naxal-hit areas: Supreme Court
Feb 6, 2009. The Times of India.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the government cannot arm common men or those associated with Salwa Judum — an anti-naxal people’s movement in Chhattisgarh — to curb the unlawful activities of naxalites, in remarks which are sure to encourage those campaigning for the dissolution of the armed resistance promoted by the state government to counter the growing Left-wing extremism in the state.
North Bengal - when the cup inebriates
North Bengal - when the cup inebriates: Sankar Ray, Perspectives
Morcha peace pledge, threat
Bid to stop ‘ethnic’ conflict - Talk at the earliest, CM writes to Gurung
Urban beautification: 5000 Dalits to be evicted from century-old community in Belgachhia, Howrah
They informed us that their predecessors have been staying in that area for more than 100 years.
Dankuni says goodbye to DLF
January 17, 2009: DLF, which was pursuing a huge real-estate project at Dankuni, West Bengal amidst widespread protests, has formally abandoned the project, ostensibly due to the current economic crisis.
900 landholders reject land acquisition at Andal Aerotropolis project
1. 900 landholders reject land acquisition in Andal, site of Aerotropolis project - Jan 11 2009
2. Villagers form Farmers Committee at Andal, site of Aerotropolis project - Jan 6, 2009
Previous reports
Gurgaon, North India: workers riot after death, DLF and Maruti shaken by crisis
These updates are from the December 2008 issue of Gurgaon Workers News
1. Updated list of exploitative companies and what they do
2. Commonwealth Games: Building Workers’ Riot in Delhi
3. Maruti Suzuki and DLF: Pillars of Gurgaon’s Urbanisation shaken by Crisis
Hotel boom in Bengal
Apeejay Group in Kolkata, Shrishti in Rajarhat
DLF and Siddha Group in Rajarhat
Ruchi Realty in Kolkata
Ambuja Realty in North Bengal
Salarpuria group in Rajarhat
Singapore major FEO in Kolkata
Forest Rights Act: general issues of implementation and performance of various states
Constant updates on the Forest Rights Act are available on forestrightsact.com
In December 2006, Parliament passed the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. This historic legislation marks the first time in India’s history that a law has been passed recognising the rights of forest communities. Implementation of the Act is an unfolding political struggle.
1. General issues in implementation across states
2. Detailed updates from various states as of December 2008
Update on Apeejay-Bharati shipyard project: survey from WBIDC to probe discontent in Haldia
January 8, 2009: West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation will soon conduct a socio-economic viability study to overcome the land acquisition hurdle for the Rs 2,000 crore Apeejay-Bharati shipyard joint venture project in the State.
Previous news: Nov 2007: Farmers boycott meeting with corporate officials , May 2008: Villagers against Apeejay, Bharati venture
Current statistics of healthcare in Bengal: causes for concern and factors behind degradation
1. Current statistics of healthcare in Bengal: causes for concern
2. Amartya Sen lists factors behind failing ‘health’
Katwa, West Bengal: Farmers deny land claim
Dec 20, 2008
The power minister today asked Burdwan district officials to complete land acquisition formalities in Katwa for a power plant after being told that most farmers had agreed, but the land owners have denied the claim.
“Malnutrition” a sanitized term for “starvation”? - a death in Belpahari
‘Malnourished’ Sabar dies: Belpahari, West Midnapur, Dec 14 2008
Kalla Sabar (34) a resident of Labani under Simulpal gram panchayat in Belpahari block in Midnapore West died succumbed to tuberculosis yesterday. Kalla had contracted tuberculosis as a result of acute malnutrition. Kalla’s body thrown in a nearby forest by the family members, police said.
Fighting terror: PM says human rights may be abrogated, Bengal DGP advocates torture
Human rights may be overlooked to fight terror: PM
West Bengal DGP advocates torture, MASUM protests
NREGA implementation crumbles in Bengal; PBKMS files PIL
Dec 14, 2008. Swapan Ganguly, General Secretary, Paschim Banga Khet Mazoor Samity.
The Calcutta High Court today admitted a public interest litigation on non implementation of the 100 days work guarantee scheme in West Bengal. The Bench consisting of Chief Justice SS Nijjar and Justice Sanjib Banerjee ordered the State and Central Governments to file their replies within two weeks to the allegations raised by Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS), a non party, registered trade union of agricultural workers.
16,632 farmer suicides in India in 2007
Suicides by farmers of Maharashtra crossed the 4,000-mark in 2007, for the third time in four years, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). As many as 4,238 farmers of the State took their lives that year, the latest for which data are available, accounting for a fourth of 16,632 farmer suicides in the country.
Vigilanteism in Bengal after Mumbai 2008: a modest proposal
Some commentators like Biju Mathew have stressed the dangers of State and civilian vigilanteism and the consequent erosion of civil liberties in the wake of the Mumbai attacks of November 2008. These dangers are particularly grave amidst general demands for the recall of POTA and for higher defense budgets and militarized lives for ordinary citizens. A modest proposal in Bengal holds ominous potential.
Tata pushes for bailout fund for India Inc - free markets at work
Govt to consider Tata’s proposal in helping domestic companies
An open letter to Ratan Tata
Indian Prime Minister’s security robs 5,000 villagers of power in Bengal
Dec 5, 2008: It is naturally assumed that the human cost of development will be outsourced to rural populations, far away from urban enclaves - hence the location of polluting industries and nuclear power plants in those areas, slum eviction drives in the cities, etc. An extension of this mindset is that it is perfectly natural for 5,000 rural citizens of India to go without power for 3 days, to ensure that their Prime Minister’s 25 minute trip to the locality is secure. Police are ready to be deployed, in case somebody finds the sacrifice exploitative. The fact that the trip finally doesn’t take place on a whim adds to the insult.
Singur Update: Farmer commits suicide, Tata sheilds “trade secret”, faces resistance in Sanand, Gujarat
A sharecropper who had apparently lost work after nearly 1,000 acres were acquired for Tata Motors hanged himself today.
Bholanath Patra’s wife Shyamali said the family had six cottahs outside the factory site, but that was too little. “After he lost his job, we found it difficult to arrange two square meals a day. He started working in a cold storage unit but his health began to fail,” said Shyamali, a mother of two in Bajemelia.
Dunlop tyre company shut down: Workers blamed for resisting salary cut
Nov 30, 2008: The Dunlop management today declared suspension of work in Bengal’s Sahagunj, rendering nearly 1,200 workers jobless.
Lalgar in West Midnapur, Bengal, on a warpath over Jindal’s Salboni SEZ and police repression
The indigenous people of West Midnapore appear to have adopted protests more familiar with those taken in Nandigram where, in the backdrop of police excesses, the locals dug up roads to prevent the law enforcers from making inroads into their villages. For the fifth successive day since Maoists set off a landmine close to the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s cavalcade, the indigenous people of Lalgar, in Jhargram sub-division, continued to put up obstacles in their bid to prevent the police from raiding villages from where secondary school students were arrested for their alleged involvement in the blast. The people of Lalgar and adjoining parts of Jhargram subdivision are on a warpath protesting against the torture of adivasi women and arrest of seven “innocent” community men in connection with the 2 November blast.
BESU Shibpur: violence, arrests, and university officials pandering to their political masters
A message from Dipanjan Rai Chaudhuri. Nov 8, 2008
The Bengal Engineering College, now a university, the BESU, has been closed sine die by its VC on November 6, after he called in the police to punish a section of the students who do not follow the dictates of the SFI, the students’ organisation of the major ruling party.
Ominous developments in Orissa: Sangh Parivar critic arrested for writing book
Writing against Sangh Parivar and Brahmanism is ‘inflamatory’ or ‘War agaisnt State’ - The Orissa police proves it by arresting a Bhubaneswar based critic of Brahmanism and RSS. Mr.Lenin Kumar, editor, Nishan was arrested day before yesterdey for writing the book ‘”Dharma Naanre Kandhamalare Rakta Nadi”.
David Pugh’s report on India’s anti-displacement movements: the unedited version
A version of this article appeared on MRzine with some editing including the removal of a section on West Bengal and other amends affecting the treatment of the struggle in Singur and the role of the CPI(Marxist). The unedited version is given below. - Sanhati
I recently spent three weeks gathering information about the anti-displacement movement in India. As a guest of Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan (People’s Movement against Displacement and for Development), I traveled across five states in central and eastern India visiting the sites of proposed industrial and mining projects, Special Economic Zones and real estate developments. I spoke with hundreds of villagers who are threatened with displacement and with many dedicated activists who are helping to organize the people’s resistance.
Real estate projects in Rajarhat face farmer resistance
21 Oct 2008: Days after Ratan Tata shifted his Nano car plant from Singur to Sanand in Gujarat, Kolkata’s biggest IT project slated to come up on a 33 2-acre plot in Rajarhat has hit a roadblock. Many farmers at Rajarhat’s Jagadishpur — the site identified for the Rs 1,500-crore IT project — have refused to give their land for the venture saying they have been shortchanged by the government.
Recent updates on Singur
Singur land for industry, says govt - Oct. 22, 2008
SC doesn’t like APDR filing petition on behalf of Singur farmers - Oct 13, 2008
CPM sees gain in Singur ‘restraint’: Flak for Tata at party meet - Oct 13, 2008
Armed tribals protest Arcelor Mittal plant in Jharkhand
Oct 20, 2008
Thousands of villagers marched in Jharkhand on Monday to protest against a proposed Arcelor Mittal steel plant, police said, the latest in a series of confrontations over industry on farmlands.
Statement on Singur from Sanhati
October 12, 2008
Months of unflinching resistance by the people of Singur, especially landless labourers and marginal farmers, against the unjust and violent farm land acquisition by the West Bengal government has finally forced Tata Motors to withdraw its small car project from that area.
Singur resonates in Delhi: contradictions in peasant political economy
October 12, 2008
The now familiar debate of development versus displacement has cropped up again. Farmers whose land has been acquired by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) are up in arms.
Anti-SEZ prairie fire spreads to Himachal Pradesh: opposition to SKIL’s SEZ
By Manshi Asher, Himvani
This article is a critical note on the proposed SKIL SEZ, in Gagret, Himachal Pradesh.
Who committed the real violence at Graziano Transmissioni?
Who committed the real violence at Graziano Transmissioni? - Kavita Krishnan
Graziano Workers Solidarity Forum formed
Farmers defeat first referendum on an SEZ in India, in Raigad, Maharashtra
Farmers in Raigad district have defeated Reliance Industries SEZ referendum that the government had organized to know people’s impression about the Reliance Industries’ mega SEZ. The defeat of referendum means that the Special Economic Zone may not come up at the site where it was originally planned. The yet to be launched SEZ was being described as mother of all SEZ that have come up so far in India.
The sinister ways of Chhattisgarh police: updates on Dr. Binayak Sen’s trial
Questions on Dr. Sen’s trial - PUCL update, September 15, 2008
Events of the third phase of Binayak Sen’s trial and incidents preceeding Ajay TG’s bail - By Kavita Srivastva, Secretary, National PUCL
Dr. Sen’s trial observation - By Abhay Shukla, NHRC
Supreme Court tells Chhattisgarh government to implement NHRC recommendations on Salwa Judum
Salwa judum ‘atrocities’: Apex court seeks report
Anti-Naxal Salwa Judum faces axe over rights abuse
Implement NHRC recommendations on Salwa Judum, Supreme Court asks Chhattisgarh government
Recommendations for a new POTA
If the government agrees to have tough a anti-terror law as recommended by the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), Naxalites will also be treated as “terrorists” as the panel has termed them nothing but those who follow “ideology-oriented terrorism” — a departure from the official line which has so far preferred to call them “Left-wing extremists”.
Singur replay threat in Katwa
Durgapur, Sept. 9 2008: Farmers protesting land acquisition plans for a power plant in Katwa today warned of a backlash like the ones in Singur and Nandigram if the government resorted to forcible takeovers. The Krishi Jomi Krishak Khetmajur Raksha Committee, which is leading the protests, held a meeting this morning in Katwa, 180km from Calcutta, and iterated its stand against forced acquisitions.
Jindal converts proposed Salboni plant in West Bengal to SEZ status
August 31, 2008
This is very recent news, and not very widely known yet. The Jindal group, which is planning to set up a mega steel plant in Salboni in West Bengal, had applied for SEZ status for their plant in September 2007. The SEZ status was granted by the government of West Bengal on August 28, 2008. This might become a new, and disturbing pattern, as every industry which will be planned to be established will apply for SEZ status, with the accompanying suspension of labour laws, huge tax rebates etc. Things are moving fast, and quietly. The SEZ-Birodhi Prachar Mancha, a SEZ watchdog and awareness forum in Kolkata, is also going to move against this. - Partho Sarathi Roy, Sanhati
Uranium Corporation of India’s track record: 4 leakages in Jadugoda in last 20 months
On 16th August, 2008, pipes carrying uranium tailings in Jadugoda (Jharkhand) burst again, spewing the village of Dungridih in Jadugoda with radioactive waste for the third time since Dec 2006. Records obtained from UCIL (Uranium Corporation of India Ltd, which owns and operates the mines and operations in Jadugoda) through RTI filings reveal that there have been three previous tailing pipe leakages in recent months, where radioactive material was released into the environment- - on 24th December 2006, 10th April 2007, and 22nd February 2008. In an additional incident in July this year, excessive rains caused the tailing ponds to overflow and contaminate the village ponds and canals.
Violence in Chengara, police complicity, and the CPIM
The wretched of the earth are standing up in Kerala and re-defining the politics of agitation. Their young middle class supporters are rewriting the grammar of protest. All this has stumped the political establishment, of which the traditional Left is now the dominant element. It all started when CK Janu marched into Thiruvananthapuram with hundreds of her tribal followers in 2001 demanding restoration of their alienated forest lands. Breaking with the tradition of staging rallies or holding meetings, they erected makeshift hutments in front of the State Secretariat and camped there.
Statement by Dave Pugh on his detention during his Fact-Finding Trip to India
by Dave Pugh August 16, 2008
Yesterday I returned to the U.S. after spending three and a half weeks gathering information about the anti-displacement movement in India. I traveled across five states in central and eastern India to the sites of projected industrial and mining projects and real estate developments. I spoke with hundreds of villagers who are threatened with displacement and with many dedicated activists who are helping to organize the people’s resistance.
Land acquisition protests: five farmers shot in Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Greater Noida, Aug 13, 2008
Five people were killed Wednesday in firing by police on farmers protesting inadequate compensation for their land being acquired in Uttar Pradesh’s booming Greater Noida region bordering the national capital.
Protima Das, Pradeep, and David Pugh detained in Orissa on Maoist charge
Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan Press Statement, 12 August 2008
The Orissa police detained Mr. David Pugh, a teacher from US on 12th August along with advocate Miss Protima Das and an anti-displacement activist Mr.Pradeep who accompanied him assisting in translation and showing the area in Kalinganagar and Sukinda on their way back to Bhubaneswar.
Flashpoint Chengara - landless Dalits, the Left Democratic Front, and terror
A historic land struggle has been unfolding at Chengara in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, involving about 7500 families, which includes all sections of landless people, the majority of them being Dalits and Adivasis. Landless people have claimed land in the Chengara estate, a rubber plantation, which had been leased to the Harrison Malayalam Plantation by the government of Kerala. At present, the lease is invalid and the property has lapsed back to the government. The landless people who have flocked there from all parts of Kerala demand that this government land be redistributed to them. These marginalised people have thereby demanded a say in what must be done with government land in Kerala: given the present political and economic climate, the likelihood is that this land will be taken over by the state only to be assigned unconditionally, or with minimum conditions, to the multi-nationals.
Ajay TG granted bail, plans to make film on political prisoners
August 5, 2008.
1. Release News
2. Ajay’s future plans - prison diaries of a suspected Naxal
The Bhopal struggle: Historic statement by the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers
August 8, 2008
The Government of India has announced that it will take legal action on the civil and criminal liabilities of Union Carbide and Dow Chemical for the ongoing disaster in Bhopal, India. This landmark announcement comes after over 5 months of campaigning by Bhopal survivors and their international supporters, which included a 500-mile march and a 130 day sit-in on the streets of Delhi by survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Disaster.
Supreme Court okays Vedanta and POSCO projects in Orissa
August 11, 2008: India’s Supreme Court has said two huge and controversial mining projects can proceed in the eastern state of Orissa. Dongria Kondh tribespeople say their livelihood will be destroyed. A BBC report.
The role of NRI lobbies: from the nuclear deal to Dow Chemicals to Nandigram
Powerful NRI lobbies in the U.S.A. such as the US-India Business Council (USIBC), US-India Friendship Council, Indian American Forum For Political Education, the US-India Political Action Committee, Coalition for Partnership with India and others have consistently pushed for the US-India nuclear deal, the chemical hub at Nandigram, and deals with Dow Chemicals.
1. USIBC pledges support for securing nuclear deal - July 23, 2008
2. US-India Friendship Council: ‘Finally, Congress party showed some spine’ - July 12, 2008
3. USIBC: Nandigram Investment Plans on track despite violence
4. NRI groups, Dow Chemicals, and the Bengal government - read RTI documents: Questions and Response from government.
Death in the afternoon: the murder of NAPM Karnatka convenor A.D.Babu and other rights activists
The Karnataka convener of the National Alliance for People’s Movement, A.D. Babu, was killed recently. He was on his way, along with two colleagues, to a NAPM meeting on an anti-liquor campaign at Ramnagaram, when a group stopped his vehicle at Mayanagram, a few km from the venue, and attacked him with knives and swords. He died on the spot. It is believed that a Karnataka liquor mafia is behind the gruesome murder.
Human Rights Organization Masum under attack for coordinating People’s Tribunal on Torture
June 12, 2008
Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) had organised a People’s Tribunal on Torture (PTT) on 9-10 June. The police have started a case against MASUM claiming the tribunal to be illegal. On June 12 a huge police force raided MASUM’s office (26 Guitendal Lane, Howrah 711101). To protest against this, a meeting has been planned at MASUM’s office, today, on 13 June at 4pm. Please come and send this news to all.
Detailed report on incident from The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.
People strike back at CPIM’s neoliberal policies: Tremor after tremor at the Panchayat Elections
Panchayat Elections 2008 Final Tally:
Panchayat Samiti: Total - 329. LF - 189, Opposition - 131, No Result - 9.
Gram Panchayat: Total - 3220. LF - 1585, Opposition - 1498, No Result - 137.
Brutalized Singur and Nandigram vote out CPIM’s anti-people policies
Nandigram from May 5-11, 2008 - APDR report
Factsheet on incidents regarding Nandigram from May 5 to 11, 2008 - APDR report
Government vs. CRPF: Lakshman Seth and his arm-twisting - May 12, 2008
Nandigram on the eve of the Panchayet Elections - A MASUM report
May 10, 2008. Click here for a cartoon of today’s Nandigram!
On getting information of the continuing disturbances and police inaction in Nandigram, our fact finding team reached violence-torn Nandigram today and has gathered shocking information from the villagers. Since last night musclemen and goons alleged to be supporters of the largest ruling party CPI(M) flaunting red flags resorted to bloody violence in the area. These miscreants snatched away voter identity cards of many villagers and beat them mercilessly even on the mere suspicion of not being supporters of the ruling party.
Mahamichhil for Nandigram and reflections on the people’s movement
Kolkata witnessed another Mahamichhil on May 9, 2008. To (a) protest against the reign of terror unleashed by the CPI(M) on the eve of the panchayat elections, aimed at cowing down voters all over the state, and (b) especially to condemn the atrocities being perpetrated by CPI(M) workers in collusion with the state police in Nandigram.
Who is Ajay TG? Political arrests and the tightening noose
Update May 12, 2008: PUDR condemnation statement, Petition of solidarity
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) strongly condemns the arrest of Ajay TG, widely recognized film maker, journalist and human rights activist by the Chhattisgarh police in Raipur on 4 May 2008 and calls for his immediate release.
No choice for forgotten Santhals in Bengal
By Shyam Sundar Roy
About 500 voters, belonging to over 160 Santhal families living under Shiromoni gram panchayat in Midnapore Sadar block, do not know which party to vote for in the ensuing panchayat elections, as they say none of them are ready to help them.
My Name is Radharani Ari and This is How My Consciousness Was Raised.
Honourable Chief Minister, I am the same Radharani Ari of Nandigram. How many more times will your cadres rape me?
Yes, I am the same person. The same Radharani Ari, resident of Nandigram Block, village – Gokulpur. Whether or not you remember me, I am not too sure, although by now the entire state of West Bengal has heard about me. I did not catch the limelight due to some creditable act of mine but on account of my misfortunes. I am a housewife of, by now infamous, Nandigram.
Sibpur BESU - Coercion to join the SFI - Terror and the administration-police-criminal nexus
The political landscape in colleges across West Bengal is barren - the SFI wins mainly uncontested almost everywhere, through an intricate mechanism of nepotism, selection and campus terror.
The students of Sibpur BESU are facing an assault of the college administration- local goons-police. The Vice-chancellor Nikhil Ranjan Banerjea is orchestrating the assault, the aim of which is to terrorize students into joining or supporting the students’ wing of the major ruling party. It is not an accident that all those who are being arrested by the police are distinguished by their non-allegiance to this students’ organisation.
Implementation of Forest Rights Act in Bengal - Questions on the process
The Government of West Bengal has begun the implementation of the Forest Rights Act with great delay and reluctance. It is clear that a process of sabotage is going on in the implementation, and this requires constant vigilance and protest. Following are two documents - (1) a press release from the North Bengal Regional Committee of the National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW), raising questions of legality of a recently issued order (number 1220/PN/O/I/1A-2/07, dated March 17, 2008) and (2) Letter to the chief secretary to the Government of West Bengal from Nagarik Mancha on the issue, March 27, 2008.
Civil Liberties under Attack: The “Maoist” Scare and Mithu Ghosh
Today we are witnessing the sharpest assault on democratic rights since Emergency. And as before, the reason is an upsurge from below, in the current case in resistance to the imposition of neoliberal policies. A most ominous event is the recent arrest, by the police of CPI(M)-led left front government, of Mithu Ghosh, an activist of Sharamik Sangram Committee (SSC) and Krishak Committee (KC), along with a senior leader of Nandigram movement and his son on 12th February, 2008 from Sonachuda, Nandigram West Bengal. An allegation of Maoist link under section 120B, 121, 121A and 153 of IPC was charged.
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