The Movement of India | Mar-Apr, 2016 by The Movement Of India

TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial Feature § The Idea of India: Whose Idea of Which India? S.G. Vombatkere

§ A Confluence or River Break? The Larger Debate Over JNU Controversy Ashish Ranjan Jha

§ The Battles We Need to Fight Vimal Bhai

§ Timeline of Events in Delhi #StandWithJNU #Justice4RohitVemula § Viduthalai: Freedom From What? Gabriele Dietrich

§ Azadi! Jeene Kee Azadi ! Pyaar Karne kee Azadi ! Shiv D Sharma

§ Dulling Hope: The Fight for Dalit Rights Persists Madhuresh Kumar

§ Bonded in Tea Gardens Progressive Plantation Workers Union

Commentary § A National Botch Up? A Nationalist Botch Up? Anand Mazgaonkar

Policy and Practices § Curbing Air Pollution: Bigger Repercussions of the Odd-Even Scheme Radhika Krishna

§ Overcoming Inoperative Establishments: Amendments to the SC/ST Act Maansi Verma

In Focus § A Promise of Acche Din: The Union Budget of 2016-17 Amit Kumar

Movements and Alliances § Defining Democracy: Maha Rally of Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan The MOI Team

§ Eviction Without Rehabilitation? Gross Human Rights Violation Persists GBGB Andolan

§ River Health is Vital for People’s Survival Matu Jan Sangathan

§ The Marred Sovereignty of Indian Institutions NAPM

News and Notes Upcoming Events Open Space § Wails of Yamuna Sanjay Parikh

EDITORIAL Dear Readers, Gandhi ji said, “Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living?” It is 2016, the supposed ‘21st Century’ of a ‘Digital India’ and yet the price of freedom is yet to be paid. The payment being the constant deviation of real life economic issues that are constantly faced by the ‘common people’. This common person is not the one living in a fancy establishment with two cars and a credible bank account, but the common person today is dearth, soil, dust and the first victims of any development, in name of larger public good. The country seems to have come to a political standstill. Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas has taken a backseat for Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Massive draught affecting several parts of the country is not the cooncern but the IPL is. We are sabotaging the ‘life of the common person’ by living in a constant state of elections. What use is this constant campaigning? The lust for power is the only concern and real issues are getting lost in the media din, hoardings and slogans such as ‘Swacha Bharat’, ‘Make in India’, ‘Clean in India’ and the sorts when the truth remains simple –India is for Sale. As B.R Ambedkar aptly remarked, “How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting out political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which this Assembly has so laboriously built up.” When neo-liberal politics hit India in the early 1990s, many vital economic reforms were rolled out but the ‘common person’ has remined trapped in a series of debts and absolute poverty. In all this apathy, the slight respite came from the MGNREGA which was designed to provide employment guarantee in the rural parts of the country for non-skilled work. The aim being to help purchasing power of rural individuals. However, with 1.14 Lakh Crore loan write off by Public Banks to corporates and MGNREGA guarantees or schools, not gaining their necessary funds and having to scrounge and live in a state of such rampant vulnerability, only shows where the priorites are and who is in real control of the economy. The recent leaks of the Panama papers only bring to fore the malaise within the system all favouring the rich. The turbulence within campuses across the country like Hyderabad Central University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Film and Television Institute of India, IITs, or the ongoing attack against the activists like Soni Sori in Bastar, attempts at muzzling the freedom of press and of the community organisations and movements have brought together everyone and a united call for azadi/ Freedom! Freedom and dignity in India! 2

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As people’s movements take new vigour and energy in ensuring the reinstatement of human rights, dignity of livelihoods systems and protection of its masses; this Issue of the Movement of India brings to you various critics, analyses and narratives on ‘azadi’ and the price we must pay for it. Additionally, the issues contains summations and commentaries on the ‘Odd-Even Scheme’ at curbing air pollution, the Amendment of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act), Amendment of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, reports of the plight of tea-gardens in West Bengal, eviction of slum dwellers in Maharashtra amongst other struggles. While important milestones with respect to ‘freedom’ are featured, a glimpse of some alternatives for the road ahead has also been provided. Jai Bhim ! Jai Hind !

November, 2015 “To get a copy of this report, please send an email at napmindia@gmail.com" The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

FEATURE The Idea of India: Whose Idea of Which India? -S.G. Vombatkere The Idea of India: The ‘Idea of India’ is itself a relatively new concept epitomised in catch phrases like ‘Incredible India’, ‘Shining India’, ‘Make in India’ etc. It has been marketed so as to convert India as a preferred destination for tourism and foreign direct investment (FDI), in consonance with the holy grail of economic development through GDP growth based upon aggressive and unquestioned industrialization-at-anycost. Arguably, the ‘Idea of India’ is promoted by the adherents of neo-liberal economics which effectively dictates politics. Indians with formal education have an understanding of India in its cultural, geographical and political senses, with variations according to their socioeconomic environment, exposure and experience. Many people with, say, only primary school education also have their own ‘take’ on what is India. But the pertinent point is that, whatever the manner in which an Indian understands ‘India’, what is (are) the feeling(s) that s/he Joe Athialy

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has for that idea. A person who has never seen a map of India, and does not know of the existence of most of the States and the multiplicity of languages that make this diverse nation, would not begin to understand the country ‘India’ leave alone the nation ‘India’. What feelings can one expect such a person would have for India? Feelings for India: A majority of India’s 1.25 billion citizens eke out a miserable existence on Rs.20 per day, and have little ‘national’ interest beyond looking for the next meal. Noting that in 50 years starting 1950, over 50 million people have been displaced for dam-canal projects alone, millions even today are annually being added to this majority as forest and agricultural land is being taken from them for ‘infrastructure’ projects including extractive and production industries. They do not understand India-the-nation (with its Constitution) or India-the-country (from its territorial map), but they certainly understand the power of the State which displaces, dispossesses and pauperizes them, often accompanied by police violence. True, an understanding of the power of the vote has reached the remotest corners of India, but people who vote, only vaguely understand what the State Assembly or Parliament means to them. They have zero access to persons in power to speak about their needs and problems, leave alone their aspirations, even assuming that persons in power are interested in listening.

However, many such people do know that they live in so-and-so State (e.g., Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, etc), know that the ultimate power over their lives lies with the ‘sarkar’, and that government officials – local bureaucrats, forest officials, police officials – are the arbiters of their fate. But more importantly, even if they did fully understand the idea of India-the-country and India-the-nation, they cannot possibly have kind feelings for an ‘India’ which deprives them of what they have, and abandons them to an uncaring, often hostile social system which operates on caste, community and language bases. It is well to repeat that this concerns a majority of Indians who live in forest and rural areas and urban slums. To them, ‘nation’ may mean the society to which they belong and with which they interact, including especially the aforementioned government officials. When an individual is a victim of economic violence, gets little or nothing from society, and keeps getting depressed socially and economically, he/she can have little love for that society. It does not take much imagination to understand that herein lays the seeds of discontent, protest, militancy and terrorism. Threat to the ‘Idea of India’: Social and economic inequalities are glaring in our Indian context. The gap between the privileged and the deprived, or between the powerful and the disempowered, or between the wealthy and the poor is large and increasing. The ‘upper castes’ bear down on ‘lower castes’ and ‘outcastes’, and society continues to

give more to those who are already better off, and less to those who are needy. And even though the Constitution of India assures every citizen justice, equality and liberty, the elected persons who are sworn to implement its lofty principles are mostly in its wilful breach or neglect. At the top end of the spectrum, members of a minority (perhaps the ‘top-five-percent’) uses its power and wealth to govern, and unhesitatingly uses means fair or foul, legal and illegal, to increase their own wealth and influence, and seek luxury, physical comfort and personal enjoyment. It is this top-five-percent; very influential section of society, many prominent members of which are involved in monstrous corruption scams, which prescribes what is patriotism, and demands patriotism from everybody else. It decides what is development and rejects other ideas as antidevelopment, it decides what is the national interest and brands all else as antinational. And most regrettably, a tiny section of this top-five-percent uses its influence and power to raise mob sentiments and target those whom they see as threat to their selfish designs. The threat is the common and sometimes not-so-common man/woman who dares. He/she speaks truth to power (e.g., Medha Patkar), questions decisions (e.g., Soni Sori), expresses radical points of view (e.g., Teesta Setalvad), expresses dissent (e.g., S.P. Udayakumar), or holds alternate opinions (e.g., G.N. Saibaba). Such persons are dealt with by using the force of law – as distinct from the protection provided sometimes but not always, by justice – by filing criminal including sedition cases, and subjecting them to prolonged legal The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

processes including detention and torture, and denial of bail. Some inconvenient persons (e.g., Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi) are eliminated by self-appointed vigilantes, or through extrajudicial killings or ‘encounters’ arranged by shadowy and unaccountable agencies of the State. Of course, dissension and alternative points of view are also witnessed in the three levels of legislative governance, but this is increasingly seen as shadow-boxing or sparring between parties which seek to perpetuate the power system. Joe Athialy

understands India-the-country. For him, the national flag represents everything for which he fights, and routinely faces risks and hardship in the service of what he understands as India-the-nation. The soldier exists to defend the nation against its enemies, but we need to remember that the ‘enemy’ is defined by the State, namely the national executivelegislature-judiciary. If this definition includes or targets those who question government decisions and policies, and dissent with its executive and legislative actions, then the soldier willy-nilly becomes an instrument of misuse of State force. Sadly, the civil instruments of State force, namely the State and Central Armed Police Forces, have been in the unenviable position of being ‘tools of coercion’ over past decades of governments in States and Centre ruled by different political parties. Enter JNU:

Patriotism, Love for India, and Nationalism: A soldier, who serves in difficult border areas and risks his life and limb (and many lose them) in defending India against intrusions and attacks from neighbouring countries, and is also constantly deployed in internal security and disaster relief, is the epitome of a patriot. True, some errant soldiers commit crimes, but that does not devalue the national service of the members of the defence forces, which are the last resort of Government of India. A soldier meets people from all over the country since he is posted all over the country and serves with other soldiers hailing from all over the country, and 6

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At a student’ meeting at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) held to mark the anniversary of Afzal Guru’s execution, slogans against India and favouring Pakistan were heard. The anti-India content of the slogans have been condemned by one and all. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accuses the leftist JNU Students (and in

particular, Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar, its Students’ Union President) with raising these slogans, and condemns their holding a meeting to ‘support’ Afzal Guru, who was tried, convicted, condemned to death and executed. In response, the JNUSU President and others stoutly deny using such slogans, allege that persons who called these slogans were ABVP infiltrators, and maintain that the meeting was not to praise Afzal Guru but to protest the death sentence awarded to him, and criticize policies and actions of the union government. Forensic examination appears to show that some of the videos (apparently shot with mobile phones) of the meeting which were used to ‘prove’ that anti-national slogans were called by JNUSU students were morphed. The Delhi Police, directly under the Union Home Ministry, moved in on tipoff (some alleged prior information) by ABVP, and arrested Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar and others for sedition under IPC Sec 124A. The Union Home Ministry maintains that anti-national activities must and will be dealt with severely. On the other hand, most JNU teachers and some opposition political parties which have jumped into the fray, maintain that even if anti-national slogans were shouted, it cannot justify police action in a university, and anyway certainly not charges of sedition. They argue that protesting against government is not anti-national, and is a part of democratic tradition in keeping with the Constitution. Battle Lines Drawn, Soldiers Involved: The foregoing is not to justify or vilify one or another side of the affair, but to show that battle lines have been drawn. On the one hand there is ABVP claiming to protect

the nation against anti-national people. On the other hand, Left-leaning JNUSU students claim that they respect the Constitution of India, are not anti-national, and are determined to continue protests against government. Thus we are presented with a so-called binary, with one side claiming to define what is antinational and the other side demanding the right of dissent and democratic protest. This binary has been emphasized by ABVP and its parent BJP, by holding up the very recent example of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa, one of ten casualties of an avalanche on Siachen glacier, to show up the Left-leaning students as antinational for supporting Afzal Guru while being uncaring for the patriotism of soldiers who sacrifice their lives in the service of the nation. Thus, the patriotic Indian soldier has been willy-nilly dragged into a position of getting counter-poised against ‘anti-nationals’. This is particularly sad as well as dangerous, since the serving Indian soldier is the most secular Indian citizen. He is an Indian first and foremost, and religious institutions of all religions (temple, mosque, church, gurudwara) are maintained in units, and all soldiers regardless of their personal religious faiths, take part in all religious functions and celebrations of all the religions. Soldiers are, by law, prohibited from becoming members of any religious association while in service, though they are encouraged to attend religious institutions within the units and headquarters, as mentioned above, and can (and do) worship at temple/mosque/church/gurudwara when on leave. It is well to recall a quip which was doing The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

the rounds recently. A civilian friend asked, “What is the percentage of Muslims in the Indian Army?”. The answer he received was ‘”Zero”. The response went further to say that there were also no Hindus in the army nor Christians etc., because there were only Indians in our Indian Army. That is to say that when a Hindu soldier dies, he does not die for the Hindus of India, and when a Muslim soldier dies, he does not die for the Muslims of India; all soldiers serve, fight and die for all Indians of India. Threat to the Constitution: In furtherance of defining ‘national’, the ABVP called on retired soldiers (Veterans) to join them in meetings and marches under the national flag, in various places across the country. This is perfectly legal because a Veteran is at liberty to join any religious, social or political association according to his wish and choice. But, and here is a capital BUT, the strong existing organic bond between the retired and the serving soldier can very easily cause serving soldiers to begin taking sides on the basis of religion. This will irrevocably destroy the secular nature of the strictly a political Indian military, bringing it under the influence of religious leaders, and compromising its control by the civilian government. This (hopefully un-thoughtout) move of BJP can easily slip into a situation like in Islamic Republics in India's neighbourhood, where the military is virtually under the control of the mullahs. This would definitely be a violation of the Constitution of India, which defined India as a ‘Secular, Republic’, even before the word was inserted into its Preamble in 1976.

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Back to the ‘Idea of India’: The current face-off between the selfprofessed pro-nation BJP and the allegedly anti-national Leftists, brings into sharp focus the question of what India-thecountry and/or India-the-nation means to the common Indian. It really begs for a more accurate description of ‘who really is’ the ‘common Indian’. Statistically, one might ‘define’ the common Indian as the person with the average (mean) wealth. But with 140 Indian dollar billionaires whose aggregate wealth exceeds 25% of national gross domestic product (GDP), and around 70% of Indians living on less than Rs.20 per day, the statistical ‘mode’ would be much more representative, and perhaps fall close to the Rs.20-per-day segment. And we have already discussed how a person from this stratum of society would understand and view India-the-country and/or India-thenation. The created binary situation also calls to attention the questions whether the idea of ‘India’ is open to interpretation and ownership by one or other person, group or political party. Receding Democratic Scenario: The Constitution decrees that no person shall be deprived of life and liberty except with due process of law. Accordingly, rightly or wrongly, Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar has been charged with sedition, and he was duly tried in a Court of Law and subsequently granted bail. Notwithstanding, two persons have publicly offered cash rewards (prize money) to any person who will deprive Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar of his life and liberty – Rs.11 lakhs for shooting him dead, and Rs.5 lakhs for cutting off his tongue.

conviction for a ‘crime’ defined by itself, and pass a death sentence with impunity. The idea of a democratic India with the rule of law appears to be a rapidly receding scenario.

The rule of law has collapsed as Delhi Police under the Union Home Ministry, has merely booked the Rs.11 lakh donor with defacing public property for pasting his printed posters on walls. The Rs.5 lakh donor has been expelled for six years from his political party. What is common among the two ‘offers’ is that both gentlemen belong to the Sangh Parivar, and the union government and the party which runs it, have effectively treated these ‘public offers’ as infringements, without condemnation of the spirit behind the ‘offers’ and their potential to cause death and consequent public disorder. Thus vigilantism by incitement to violence is blatantly visible in broad daylight. During the earlier UPA dispensations, a dissenter had only to be wary of government with which argument in Court against a charge was possible. But today, argument with a vigilante mob is impossible, especially as government is a silent (and not disapproving) spectator. An extra-legal entity can now decide on

Bottom Line: The JNUSU and its Left supporters dissent with and decry the economic policies of the union government as being cronycapitalist, anti-poor and pro-corporate, and the cause for mass population displacement, farmers suicides and pauperization of millions. They have not, to the best of this writer's knowledge, considered the possibility of destruction of the secular nature of India's military, and consequent majoritarian militarism in India, which will inevitably destroy democracy. The BJP on the other hand continues to allow, if not actually orchestrate, its loose cannons to make blatantly antiConstitutional and illegal statements, perhaps claiming that it is righteous anger against ‘anti-national’ behaviour. The current situation calls to attention whether the idea of nationalism is open to interpretation by one or other person, group or political party, and whether the ‘Idea of India’ is open to brand ownership, especially when a majority of citizens cannot conceive of India-the-country or India-the-nation.

(Major General S.G. Vombatkere, retired in 1996 as Additional DG Discipline and Vigilance in Army HQ AG’s Branch. He holds a PhD degree in ‘Structural Dynamics’ from I.I.T Madras and his current area of interest is strategic and development related issues. Email: sg9kere@live.com)

The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

A Confluence or River Break? The Larger Debate over JNU Controversy -Ashish Ranjan Jha

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) controversy is the result of relentless pursuit of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) to divide the people on fault lines which are carefully created based on lies and halftruths. They have been emboldened by their electoral successes of other divisive campaigns in the past such as Love Jihad and Ghar Wapsi campaigns. The lines are carefully drawn so that majority opinion is on their side and those opposing them can be painted as ‘anti-nationals’. Take, for example, the case of Afzal Guru, many in the country including some of the leading politicians, a high court judge, journalists and writers are of the opinion that he did not get a fair trial and his hanging was unfair. But, of course, don’t accord him the status of a martyr. However, the BJP wants to paint all such discourse on Afzal as equivalent to painting him as a martyr. Similarly, many in India want to talk about Kashmir, about the various problems Kashmiris face, about militancy, about life 10

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in a highly militarized Kashmir, about the complex situation of Kashmiri youths, about those who want independence in Kashmir etc. But whosoever voice their concerns are labelled as ‘seditious’. Those who support discussions on Kashmir from any angle are also painted in similar manner. The hope is that since most Indians want Kashmir to remain a part of India, by posing questions concerning Kashmir as ‘Pro Freedom’ versus Kashmir as a part of India, the people raising questions can be easily marginalized and more political support can be garnered for the BJP. In the scheme of things, Kanhaiya Kumar’s position to respect the right of students to organize an event on Afzal and Kashmir at JNU campus doesn’t become an issue of discussion. Instead, Kanhaiya is portrayed as someone who is supporting azadi in Kashmir and someone who considers Afzal a martyr. He is then accused as someone who shouted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ or slogans like ‘Bharat ki barbadi tak jung

rahegi azadi tak’. A doctored video is produced as evidence. This is a clever strategy except that it backfires, at times. It is quite clear now that Kanhaiya was not the organizer of the event on 11th February, 2016. He went to the place of the meeting when it appeared to him that there would be some trouble between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers and those who had organized the event. Kanhaiya did not raise any objectionable slogan though objectionable slogans did get raised in that gathering and indeed need to be condemned. Till date it is not clear who raised those slogans. It is apparent that some masked people were part of the gathering and could have raised those slogans. The Home Ministry (almost with hidden glee) grabbed the opportunity that the slogan shouting had provided and arrested Kanhaiya, the president of JNU students union. Students (Kanhaiya and others) were said to have a connection with Hazif Saeed. This was alleged by none other than Rajnath Singh himself. It later turned out that he had based this connection on a fake tweet of Hafiz Saeed. It showed what the government intended to do. A relentless character assignation of JNU fraternity followed. Umar Khalid was called a terrorist. False claims such as Khalid made hundreds of calls to Middle East and he had visited Pakistan were made without any concern to evidence. A BJP MLA even went on to claim that he discovered 3000 condoms and 2000 liquor bottles in the campus. BJP cadres started organizing events in different cities highlighting the anti-national character of JNU. It seemed that BJP wanted to give a spectacular

dimension to these villainous campaigns. The government did nothing to calm down the surcharged atmosphere. Instead, it fuelled the controversy by aggressive positioning and false claims such as drawing a connection between Hafiz Saeed and students at JNU. Their case was transferred to the special cell of Delhi police. An atmosphere was created in which it became possible to assault Kanhaiya in courts without any fear. The Media played a big role in dividing the country. Few TV anchors went on a crusade to paint JNU and the students, Kanhaiya included, as demons. Zee News owned by Subhash Chandra crossed all boundaries of journalistic ethics. Interestingly the BJP has provided a category security to Senior Editor, Sudhir Chaudhary of Zee News. #ShutDownJNU was the call given by the social media zealots. All norms of healthy communication were trumpeted down and if you were on the side of the government you could easily get away with any misdemeanour. This was clearly proven when lawyers who beat up Kanhaiya were given bail within no time. Similarly no action was taken on TV channels which showed the doctored video. The BJP hoped to reduce the entire debate into black and white area of whether anti India slogans were raised in the campus or not. This for them would be sufficient to marginalize the left forces within and outside the campus and garner support in their favour. However, as the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns has said, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”, the plans of BJP didn’t fructify. In Kanhaiya and Umar, the BJP found a mature adversary who was not willing to The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

play by their game rules. Instead they chose to highlight chronic problems of the country and connected these issues with what was happening at JNU. Kanhaiya’s scathing attack on Sangh Pariwar and at the same time his refusal to adopt a ‘tit for tat’ strategy drew a different line altogether and made BJP very uncomfortable. Kanhaiya was successfully able to raise larger questions about different kinds of inequalities that exist in crude forms in our country today. He combined the sacrifice of jawans with pain of our kisan who is being forced to commit suicide. He was also successful in highlighting the struggles around the Rohit Vemula episode. The example of blue bowl and red bowl that were given to him in jail communicated the dalit-left solidarity like never before. Similarly Umar came out of hiding and gave a brave speech and placed all doubts about his Middle East connections to rest. He refused to be stereotyped as a Muslim and came out as a person who is passionately involved in causes of the poor and the marginalized. The arrest of Kanhaiya and the attack on JNU fraternity developed fissures within the BJP cadre in JNU. Influenced by the liberal democratic ethos of JNU some of the ABVP functionaries of the JNUSU resigned. The arrest and onslaught has spawned off

several debates in the country. Debate on nationalism is one such debate where BJP hopes to gain by painting dissenting voices as anti-national. The image of ‘Bharat Mata’ as depicted in the following lines by Sumitranandan Pant appears to be an enigma to the followers of the BJP: “Bharat mata gram vasini. Kheton men faila hai shyamal Dhool bhara maila sa aanchal, Ganga, Yamuna me aansu jal, Mitti ki pratima udasini. ….. Tees koti santaan nagn tan,… “Mother India! Dwelling in village Spreading her dirty wrapper Over her fields Vast and green, Her tears flowing Into the Ganga and the Yamuna Oh! Mother of three hundred million naked children! A statue of clay- mute and sad!” Challenging the BJP to debate this complexity of Bharat Mata is the strength of progressive forces and hopes they continue to confront the BJP with this reality.

(Ashish Ranjan Jha is and activist with Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, Bihar. Email: ashishranjanjha@gmail.com)

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The Battles We Need to Fight -Vimal Bhai On February 9, 2016, there was an incident at a premier university in Delhi, fueling an intense debate and outcry of nationalism across the country. The lines got drawn, and consumed everyone even the courts and lawyers also became hyperactive. In the same month, though some other incidents also took place, like thousands of farmers assembled at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and protested forcible land grab by corporate facilitated by the government and demanded their land rights. They also exposed government’s failure to provide farmers adequate compensation for their agricultural produce. Elsewhere, those affected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam and faced with the prospect of submergence in the coming Monsoon, their cases in the Supreme Court kept getting adjourned day by day. In another similar incident, Supreme Court sent back the 10 year old case regarding the displacement due to the Tehri Dam Project to the Nainital High court on the 20th of February, 2016. They say a lot about the nature of judiciary in the country today. At the same time, the news of 1.14 Lakh crores corporate debt write off by Public Sector Banks came but they found it hard to write off loans ranging from 15,000 Rs to few lakhs of farmers, many of whom committed suicide. They didn’t make to the primetime news debate and discussions and found few second mentions in news bulletins or in the inner pages of the newspapers. Says a lot about our priorities !

Manufactured debates and discussions around chanting of slogans like ‘VandeMataram’, ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ or other such non issues are raised and given prominence, so that the common people remain distracted and do not raise basic issues regarding the poor conditions of farmers, tribals, corruption, land acquisition, price rise, unemployment etc. If people don’t raise these issues then these get easily sidelined by the government. This is an old technique adapted by the BharatiyaJanta Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) to distract people’s attention away from basic issues. And they have succeeded in doing so to a certain extent and this is want they want. What is a country? A country is beyond people present within a geographical area and itstheir culture, civilization, resources, freedom, dignity and happiness, all encompassing.It can’t just be a place where people hail the motherland or salute the national flag.One has to be associated with the people, with the resources and environment of the country and has to work towards the comprehensive development of the land and the people residing. It is only then that a country can be called prosperous and developed. Unfortunately, in today’s hyper nationalized India, the problems of the common people find no reflections. After all, which country are we talking about? This is the unfortunate reality today. This is the question to be asked. If we are talking about freedom, then it is freedom from The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

whom? What kind of freedom? How will we achieve this freedom? The only way out is ‘struggle and people’s movements’, which are going on in various parts of the country, and where people are fighting for their rights. Be it the fisher folk fighting for their rights, or those displaced due to dams are protesting against building of new dams, or slum dwellers struggling against evictions or farmers demanding better prices or workers demanding fair wages and dignified working conditions. Today, displacement is a huge issue, be it tribals in forests or poor people living in cities, or farmers, fisher folks or workers near mountains or rivers or in the fields. Theyare being displaced due to projects conceived in the name of national interest. People are fighting against such projects. Displacement is one of the major reasons for poverty. In the city of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, most of the rickshaw pullers are displaced due to the Bargi dam. The government is trying to implement its hidden agenda. The way, in which government appeared to be determined to bring about changes in the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 made it completely clear whom the government wanted it to be benefit. It was clear that the government was trying to impress the people like Ambanis and not the common person. So we have to understand that the concept of development we are fighting against has been camouflaged with the communalism and nationalism and hence it is going to be an extremely tough fight. We have to understand that the debates around nationalism arethe new form of communalism. No one is going to stand

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against the country, but yet the government is trying to be the only face of the country by projecting its policies and initiatives as ‘propeople’ and ‘pro-nationalism’. This is a way to weaken and demonizethe people who are fighting against the policies of the government. The intellectuals as well as the common people of our country are seen to be stuck in this fight towards attaining nationalism. The issue regarding the rights of the common people and the corporate loot of the natural resources facilitated by the government is nowhere to be seen in the national perspective. According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, in 2014 alone 1,33,666 farmers had committed suicide out of which 64.5% were marginal farmers. Which nationalism are we talking about? While answering a question raised in the parliament, the Home Minister of India, Shri Haribhai said that from 2002 to 2014, a total of 127 ladies were declared as ‘witches’ and therefore killed in Jharkhand. How can we call India our motherland? A manufactured hype around a certain kind ofnationalism is being created, so nobody raises their voices against these issues. The progressive voices are also engaged in trying to challenge this hype of nationalism. This too is important, but to ignore the issues regarding WaterForest and Land (Jal-Jangal-Zameen) will also be equivalent to fulfilling the nefarious designs of the government. At the moment, the government is trying to hide the challenges faced by the common people. So it is clear that in order to do so, the RahastriyaSwayamsevakSangh (RSS) is openly working towards it. If the country starts agitating on the real problems like ...continued on page 26

Timeline of Events in Delhi #StandWithJNU #Justice4RohitVemula January 17, Hyderabad

January 18, New Delhi January 19, New Delhi January 23, New Delhi

February 9, New Delhi

February 12, New Delhi

February 14, New Delhi February 14, New Delhi February 15, Delhi

February 18, Delhi February 19, New Delhi

February 22, New Delhi

Dalit Scholar and Ambedkar Students Association activist Rohit Vemula from Hyderabad Central University commits suicide over continued discrimination and harassment by the university authorities Protests at MHRD to raise voice against the witch hunting of 4 Dalit scholars from HCU JNUSU announces university strike against administrative murder of Rohit Vemula National Confederation of Dalit Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR) holds a solidarity action against casteist forces demanding justice for Rohit Vemula followed by a candlelight march at Jantar Mantar JNUSU President, Kanhaiya Kumar arrested on ground of ‘sedition’. Police crackdown at JNU is reported where videos are used to identify students and pick them up from hostels. Several targeted students go underground. JNU students gather at the administrative block to protest against the free run given by Vice Chancellor to police in coordination with ABVP for identifying student leaders for arbitrary arrests. JNU Teachers Association calls for a press conference followed by a march by the JNU community to protect the university, its democratic ethos and spirit of critical thinking. Public Meeting and People’s March held at Jantar Mantar to ‘save democracy’ and stand with JNU JNU Teachers Association holds a press meet to express its views and clear its position on the impasse inside JNU campus. Protest March by intellectuals and academics from Constitution Club to Press Club of India against anti national activities in JNU campus JNU Solidarity March against imposition of sedition charges against JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar and other students Delhi Union of Journalists calls for observance of ‘black day’ and demands immediate arrest of those arrested in violence of protests. Students at JNU hold a night vigil as solidarity support to five students - Umar Khalid, Anirban, Ashutosh, Rama Naga and Anant Prakash The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

February 23, New Delhi

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March 28, New Delhi

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Delhi High Court refuses to grant interim protection from the arrest to JNU students (Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya), and asks them surrender and follow the due processes of law. Massive mobilistion of students from countrywide campuses in Delhi. March from Ambedkar Bhavan to Jantar Mantar Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (Hyderabad) call for a Press Conference in Delhi in light of the shameful detention of peaceful protestors paying respect to institutional murder of Dalit Research Scholar, Rohit Vemula and Smriti Irani’s lies in Lok Sabha #StandWithJNU intensifies the struggle against government crackdown on JNU with students protest gathering at the administrative block. Press Conference by Prof. Chaman Lal on returning the ‘non Hindi speaking area Hindi writer’ award to the Government of India over JNU issue. Day long dharna at JNU against the academic suspension of 8 JNU students March to the Parliament demanding for justice by JNU student protestors Kanhaiya granted conditional bail by Delhi High Court. Speaks in JNU after release and delivers a historic speech without mincing words. “The fight will go on till the release of Comrade #Umar and #Anirban” he declares. JNUSU and JNU Teacher Association protest to demand the removal of Registrar and against the bogus enquiry of the Committee. Sessions Court grants six month interim bail to Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya Show of solidarity outside MHRD to condemn police action on students in HCU and demand immediate removal of Vice Chancellor, Appa Rao. Joint Action Committee for social justice calls for urgent meeting on HCU issues, justice for Rohit Vemula and fascist attacks on universities. Mass delegation to NHRC by civil society organizations, students groups, teachers’ collectives, lawyers’ collectives and human rights groups for boycott in all campuses across India.

Viduthalai – Freedom from What? -Gabriele Dietrich Having been asked to explore what is ‘azadi’ (freedom) for the women in Pennurimai Iyakkam, Madurai in context of the debate on ‘sedition’ in JNU and Delhi at large, I’d like to start by saying that we are on another planet on these matters in Tamil Nadu. Our movement song is the independence struggle song by our national poet Bharati, called ‘Viduthalai’ (freedom). He had to take refuge in the French colony of Pondicherry during the freedom struggle. The song says that “nobody is born poor or inferior and that all human beings must have access to wealth and education. We will burn the madness of denigrating women. We will abolish caste; all will live together in freedom.” This is clearly freedom struggle’s freedom as sedition is not in the picture; freedom in India, not from India. But, we are far from achieving it. Probing a bit deeper, what do the women of Pennurimai Iyakkam say? We want to close the TASMAC shops. These are shops that provide cheap, subsidized liquor in government outlets which give enormous revenue to the government, while clean drinking water is not available much of the time. The drinking habit ruins the health of the addicted, but also triggers a rain of violence on wife and children, which often disrupts children’s studies. Young children are also prone to being abused and there have been tremendous campaigns in the form of long yatras (hundred days in 2015) by anti- alcohol movements. The immediate threat at this particular juncture is of evictions. The floods in

November are serving as a pretext to evict slum dwellers along water courses. In reality, the floods have exposed very blatantly the lack of planning by government bodies. The building of hospitals, bus stands, court buildings, colleges in wet lands and water bodies had led to enormous stagnation of water. The disastrous conditions in Global Hospital and Madras Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology (MIOT) in Chennai during the floods are well documented. The release of untreated raw sewage into the river system by metro water can be observed on a day to day basis and has been exposed by people’s movements since many years. Corruption is the only explanation if we ask why this practice has not been stopped. Another observation which comes to the fore in the discussions is women’s incapacity to make their own decisions. Most marriages are arranged within the caste system and the sexual division of labour decrees that the household labour like cleaning, cooking, bringing up children is primarily a women’s responsibility. They cannot come out of this system, because otherwise the children will suffer. The children, especially daughters, must be protected from rampant violence. Stopping the violence, making it unacceptable, intervene with it physically, seems to be a key problem. There is the trend to push slum dwellers out of the city to settlements areas thirty kilometres outside, where there is no infrastructure, work opportunity, health system, and school education. This is a modern form of un-touchability. In these The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

localities, it is free for all goondas (ruffians). Many women have been pressed into sex slavery. It is difficult to fight this trend, because some slum dwellers also look at the alternative accommodation as an ‘asset’ which perhaps could be sold. This means that corruption has seeped into people’s minds and they sometimes lack the clarity to hold on to their rights to be rehabilitated in situ, especially if they live in a recognized slum. The Slum Clearance Act of1971 has never been revoked after all. From February 21st to March 1st, 2016, a vehicle yatra took place organized by United Women Front (UWF) and NAPM starting from Thuttukudi and ending in Chennai, covering most Districts of Tamil Nadu. The key demands were land distribution of surplus lands and panchami lands and freedom from bondage. The yatra started with a formidable human chain of women salt workers demanding land for housing and for co-operative production of salt. The last day saw a huge mobilization of slum dwellers and representatives of peasant organizations and Dalit Movements in Chepakkam in Chennai, defending their Right to Life and Livelihood, including right to land and work. The struggles are continuing to protect different localities which are recognized slums in danger of eviction. There are also continuous attempts to close TASMAC shops. Most of the shops are located in ‘forbidden’ locations, violating the rules of avoiding the vicinity of schools and temples and living areas.

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The Political Situation: The political situation in Tamil Nadu is quite confused and confusing, as elections have been announced for May 16th, 2016. There are demands to close down TASMAC shops at least during election campaign and voting, but of course this would not solve the problem of use of liquor, money and biryani during elections. It would only have a symbolic value. The situation is rather bleak, as the Amma Raj is under jeopardy due to court cases on unaccounted wealth. At the same time it is clear that going back to the Karunanidhi clan also does not hold any promise of integrity. Film stars like Rajinikant and Vijayakanth are running their own Dravidian outfits and have not at present indicated their inclinations to ally with anybody. Neither the Congress Party nor the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) are substantial political entities in the state, though they will use the situation to expand their influence. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), basically a Vanniyar outfit, is going alone. Anbumani Ramdas, the second generation leader, is trying to play the green card. However, the party has to live down a difficult heritage of caste politics. The semblance of a Left Front appears to emerge out of an alliance of Dalit Siruthaihal of Thirumavalavan and the communist parties, which however, have a presence only in certain pockets of the state. The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader Vaiko is part of this alliance. He has taken a strong stand in favor of organic agriculture and regarding rejection of nuclear energy in Kudankulam and critique of the Neutrino project near

Theni. The heritage of the Eelam war and the Rajiv Gandhi murder case are still heavily weighing on the political scene. Human Rights organizations are favouring the release of the prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case. The situation in Sri Lanka has brought a semblance of democracy after the last elections, but no rethinking on economic policies, jobs and fulfilment of aspirations for the youth, disclosure on the fate of the disappeared is very limited and restoration of Tamil lands in Jaffna is a far cry. Tamil nationalism is simmering quietly and Prabhakaran will be resurrected on election posters in many places. Presently reading Nandita Haskar’s book on ‘The Many Faces of Kashmiri Nationalism’, it makes a fascinating reading in the light of the national debate on ‘azadi’ and ‘sedition’. The book focuses on the two contradictory characters of the Marxist trade unionist Sampat Prakash, a Pandit from Jammu by background, but working all over the valley as a working class organizer, and Afzal Guru hanged in 2013 at Tihar jail in the aftermath of the attack on Parliament. Sampat comes through as thoroughly secular Marxist in his convictions, but devoted to the idea of ‘Kashmiriat’, which enables him to relate to different forms of Kashmiri nationalism in manifold situations. Afzal Guru, a devoted Muslim, drawn to medical studies and poetry, got entangled in the conflict between religious nationalism and Indian security forces and went under in a hellhole of torture and efforts to build a normal life

for himself and his family. Reflecting earlier on the struggle of the Periyar Ambedkar Students Association in IIT in Chennai, who faced severe conflict with the administration a while before repression broke loose in the universities of Hyderabad and JNU in Delhi; the Dravidian reform has left a heritage of rationalist thinking and critique of religion which has strong democratic impulses. This democratic radicalism has been lost in the corrupted political culture of the Dravidian parties, especially while holding state power. It is questionable whether there is a vacuum into which BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) culture could seep. The Periyar Ambedkar combine is also the backbone for the DalitMarxist co-operation. However, this combine too, is lacking broad democratic impulses. The Dalit party is devoted to leadership cult and the Marxists have also never gone beyond their democratic centralism. It is important to keep in mind that decentralized participatory democracy needs to be at the root of the political process. For this, patriarchy and casteism have to be overcome consistently in many different situations. It has therefore been very apt to remember that the slogan ‘We want Azadi’ has been a feminist slogan since decades, vigorously promoted by Kamla Bhasin in numerous feminist workshops and training camps. As B.R. Ambedkar aptly said, “I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.”

(Gabriele Dietrich has been teaching ‘social analysis’ at the Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, Madurai since 1975. She has been deeply involved with women’s movements especially among slum dwellers and workers in the unorganized sectors including fisheries and a National Convener of NAPM. Email: reach.gabriele@gmail.com) The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

Azadi ! Jeene Kee Azadi ! Pyaar Karne kee Azadi ! -Shiv D Sharma “Mother, are you more troubled because I lied to you, or that I am who I am?”

The above dialogue between a gay male character and his mother in an intense coming out scene in the recently released bollywood family-drama film Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921) captures in its simplicity the intricacies that mark the debate on homosexuality in India, and probably elsewhere in the world. The history of what is now termed as the queer movement in India is fairly recent, but has primarily been anchored to the legal struggle against the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that reads: “Unnatural offences – Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature, with any man, woman, or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or for imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.” This is interpreted to include all those sexual acts that fall outside the category of penile-vaginal penetration, which even 20

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implies that oral sex between a man and a woman is a criminal offence under Section 377. While the provision does not explicitly mention any particular group of people that it criminalizes, however, it is the homosexual community that is mostly implied under its enforcement as any form of sex feasible between homosexuals is ‘against the order of nature’ as suggested by Section 377. But more importantly, the fear and apprehension of getting arrested under 377 looms over the queer community like a demon, thus depriving them of a sense of social security and dignity, and legal protection. At worst, section 377 has often been misused by the police to harass LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) individuals, lead to the sexual exploitation of hijras and other transgender people both by the police and civilians, and has been used by blackmailers to extort money from people indulging in gay sex. From Tihar to Pride Parades: The history of organized action as the

movement for the rights of homosexuals or queer community in India can be traced back to the aftermath of a 1994 survey which revealed that two-thirds of the inmates of Tihar Jail in New Delhi were engaging in homosexual acts. With this began an era of the queer movement that took itself to fighting against the antisodomy law by focussing on the threat that it poses to public health as an obstruction to HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. In 2001, Naz Foundation, a Delhi-based NGO working on HIV/AIDS issues, filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court, asking to exclude the acts of private consensual sex from its purview. Between the back-and-forth in the Court, the Health Ministry joined the Naz Foundation in its struggle with the National Aids Control Organization (NACO) filing an affidavit stating that the Section 377 impedes its efforts to HIV prevention. On the other hand, the Ministry of Home Affairs remained opposed to the repeal of Section 377 coinciding with the perception that homosexuality was against public morality. In 2006, a coalition of 12 NGOs and progressive groups based in Delhi representing different social movements, called ‘Voices Against 377’ joined the struggle by adding their petition to the case. The Alternative Law Forum, which is now a key advocacy group in the movement for LGBT rights, joined as its counsel. The language of the movement became the one of human rights and inclusiveness. The emphasis on violation of right to privacy, equality, non-discrimination, dignity, and health of queer individuals by Section 377 also fuelled both the academic efforts and social activism to think more actively about the queer identity and queer politics in India.

As a result, several formally and informally organised queer collectives, such as ‘Queer Campus’, came up in several cities closer to the end of the decade. As several of these groups were organised within educational campuses, there was a rise of scholarship on queer issues as well. The debate of homosexuality became increasingly visible in public and with that, the year 2008 saw several cities in India organizing Pride parade for the first time. Equally, the subject started gathering wider public attention through media in newspapers, as well as with gay and lesbian characters making appearances in Bollywood movies. In 2009, in a landmark judgement Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi and ors, the Delhi High Court struck down Section 377 decriminalizing consensual sex between adults, in effect decriminalizing homosexuality. Together We Are One: While the queer communities and their advocates across India hailed the judgement as historic, a number of groups filed petitions against it in the Supreme Court, following the first Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by an astrologer, Suresh Kumar Koushal. On the other hand, several interventions were filed in support of the Naz Foundation, Voices Against 377, and NACO in the Supreme Court. These included voices from diverse groups such as parents of LGBT persons, mental health practitioners, scholars and teachers, law academics, and even a Member of Parliament. However, the 2009 judgement was an important milestone for many in the LGBT community. Relieved with now having the legal support and constitutional The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

acknowledgement of who they were, coming out to friends and family became a lot easier. More people took their queer identity to streets, and the queer movement gathered further momentum. As the movement expanded to think about the larger ideas of azadi (freedom) and equality, it has grown to value intersectionality, often supporting and supported by other social movements. Most recently in 2015, the Delhi Queer Pride observed its march in solidarity with other campaigns against the threat to a whole range of freedoms. Activists from Occupy UGC movement, Dalits Rights movement, and FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) attended the march and spoke about the need of collective action against patriarchal oppression and violations of human rights. ‘Queer Azadi’ became one of the prominent chants of the movement. Acts Versus Identities: Can We Count on What We Count?

The case witnessed 15 days of arguments over 6 weeks in 2012 in the Supreme Court. The mystifying exchange in the Court mulled over the lack of empirical data, on one hand, that there was a homosexual ‘community’ in India, and whether Section 377 actually targets any particular group of individuals, on the other hand. The discussions spiralled into the questions posed by the bench which seemed to be interested only in knowing what were the acts that were criminalized under Section 377, invariably dismissing the idea that by criminalizing certain sexual acts it criminalizes identities that engage in such sexual activity. The question it prompts us to ask is whether our constitutional rights should be provisional, subject to validation from statistics, and whether the public perception should guide our acceptance of one’s identity. Can we count with accuracy identities that are stripped of their human rights and are criminal before the law? And should such a count steer our struggle for their rights? In December 2013, the Supreme Court of India reversed the 2009 judgement by Delhi High Court, recriminalizing homosexuality in the country, claiming the LGBT community to be a miniscule minority, thus challenging the very idea of equality by making it subservient to numbers. The Supreme Court judgement and the government’s passive attitude on the issue invited flak from all over the world. As a last resort, batches of curative petitions were filed in the Supreme Court by Naz Foundation and others in March 2014. Very recently on February 2nd, 2016, the Supreme Court accepted the curative

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petitions in an open court hearing and referred them to a five-judge Constitutional Bench for an in-depth hearing of the case. Though the legal battle for LGBT rights suffered a huge setback from the 2013 Supreme Court judgement, the queer movement did not lose the spirit. There were protests held widely across the country to oppose the Supreme Court judgement. The on-going campaign ‘No Going Back’ was officially launched by ‘Voices Against 377’ on the first anniversary of the judgement. The queer movement simultaneously has been focussing on the specific issue of the rights of transgenders and Hijra communities in India. The efforts finally culminated in the official creation of the category ‘third gender’ for transgenders, and the Rajya Sabha passing the rights of transgenders bill, hence moving forward in action towards equality for transgender people. No Going Back: 377 and the Road Ahead to Equality: As Jacques Ranciere, a political thinker said, “Equality is not something we must expect from state institutions, it is something that we must both presuppose and create through collective action.” This takes us back to the quote from the film I mentioned at the beginning of this article: the phobia of queer identification. From 1994 refusal to distribute condoms in Tihar Jail to the ambiguous language of Section

377, and the Court’s refusal to admit that it targets any specific community, or whether that the community exists in the first place, we’ve always only been at a tacit admission to the existence of LGBT population. However, with the public debate on legal fight against 377 and the efforts of the queer movement, the community has finally begun to assert its identity and claim its space in the society: “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re not going anywhere.” But the fight for equality goes much beyond the law. In order for the queer community to be able to realise its rights fully, the changes in law must be accompanied by the change in the mindset of the society. With the curative petition due for hearing in the Supreme Court, there is still hope to set right the legal injustice and discrimination against the queer communities. At the same time, we must not stop where the battle against 377 ends. Voices against 377 should and must be transformed to voices against homophobia and social prejudices. As the LGBT community starts to dream of the possibilities ahead- legalisation of gay marriage, amendment to rape laws, etc., the queer movement must continue to nurture its bigger dream of queer azadi and stand against all kinds of social injustices; moving from a language of rights to a language of freedom and pride.

(Shiv D Sharma is a gender and sexuality education trainer. He is currently the Deputy Manager of the Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality at Ashoka University. shiv.sharma@ashoka.edu.in) The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

Dulling Hope: The Fight for Dalit Rights Persists -Madhuresh Kumar “Our fight is against Brahaminism and not against Brahmins. Our fight is aginst hindutva fundamentalism, not against Hindus. Our struggle is for social and political emancipation of the oppressed classes. Our struggle is to bring out Dalits from the continued slavery of various political parties, including Left,” said Dr Sunkanna Velpula at a solidarity meeting on his recent visit to Delhi. One of the main leaders of Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) he was suspended along with Rohit Vemula,Dontha Prasanth, Vijay Kumar, and Sheshaiah Chemudugunta. He has been in Hyderabad Central University (HCU) for the past ten years and has been one of the main leaders of Justice for Rohit. ASA has been at the center of the HCU politics since 1992, the year it was formed, marking a clear shift towards democratic Ambedkarite politics, compared to earlier ultra left leanings of the many dalit students. This was not liked by progressive or left leaning intellectuals and activists on the campus, since it weaned away a big chunk of their cadres. The realizations came after years of the engagement and continued discrimination within the left parties and almost zero representation of the dalits in the leadership position. ASA, drawing on support and membership from all castes, since then have continued to raise the issues affecting the students community in general and fighting for the rights of the dalits specifically. The origins of the current turmoil also has its roots within the two programmes which ASA organized, debating death sentence of Yakub Memon and, screening of the film Muzaffarnagar Baqi Hai! These two programmes caused 24

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much consternation on the campus leading to the complaint by Susheel Kumar, ABVPHCU President in August 2015. After eight months of the struggle and the issue acquiring a national focus, ASA members have warned the University and State administration that, “if you really want to betray our faith in the democratic system then police will be responsible for forcing them to the path of extreme radicalism and none else”. It is this desperation and eroding faith in the state machinery and failure of the judiciary to protect the rights and inability to ensure justice which is pushing people to take extreme measures. Sunkanna added that, unless we work harder to restore the faith of people in the India Constitution and ensuring justice, nothing will come out of it and teachings of Ambedkar can only bring salvations to the dalit community. On the state of the current movement, Sunkanna added with the coming back of Prof Appa Rao, the Vice-Chancellor, on the campus, there is a growing sense that he is out to crush the movement with the backing from the State and Centre. He stated that in recently concluded General Body Meeting of the students, it was resolved that, i) VC Appa Rao has to step down immediately, ii) authorities must withdraw false cases against 48 students now, iii) lift restrictions on entry of outsiders to the campus, and iv) pass Rohit Act immediately to end discrimination on campus. The GBM attended by many was also an attempt to show its wider acceptance as opposed to administration’s claim that only few are involved in the struggle. Prof Rao may continue as the VC but the struggle to evict

him, and ending of the caste discrimination will continue for long and ASA is determined to do that. Dr. Velpula traces back the recent history of the students dalit movements and the role of the current VC Prof Rao to a decade ago and the caste discrimination within the Andhra society. In 2002, ten dalit students were rusticated. Appa Rao, the current Vice Chancellor was involved then too, he was a warden and had filed cases against the ASA members and today a similar case is presented to us again. Prof Rao belongs to the dominant caste Kamma and most of ASA members from Mala caste and there is a historic animosity between two. He says, “our struggle is for survival. Our existence itself is an every day struggle. It is not that the caste-based discrimination is not there in other universities, just the fact that they suffer silently and we chose not too”. Something, which hasn’t gone down well and they are facing the burnt of it. He further adds, as Dalits, we don’t have to leave our thread to fight the struggle for others; we are not faced with the dilemmas. It is our struggle and we alone have to fight it. Rohit’s mother, Radhika’s life is a testimony to this fact. She was adopted by an OBC family and used as child laborer. At the age of 14, she was married into another OBC family. Her husband was an alcoholic who started harassing her when he learnt of her dalit status. After a few years struggle, she divorced him and left with her two sons. She struggled to provide her two sons with the best of the education possible. And even before her efforts could lead to some peace and comfort, look what has come of it. Society took away her son. Today, Rohit, her elder son is no more and her struggle

continues. Her existence itself is a struggle and challenge to the society and caste dominance. The struggle for solidarity amongst dalit causes persists. The question turns to what kind of support and solidarity we want which is how to deal with day-to-day life and caste-based oppression. In the recent phase of struggle, support has poured from various quarters depicting a trajectory of movements across campuses such as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and the likes. Owing to social media presence, everyone is aware of the crackdown at HCU. Almost 32 countries stood in solidarity with them and there was a massive mass support from everywhere. Even the National Students Union of India (NSUI) or other Left students organisations has followed the cause but more needs to be done. We feel the need for a much wider coordination not only within the students community and solidarity committees but also with other Dalit organisations. We feel emboldened today when in Kerala; most households have a photo hanging of Rohit Vemula. The overwhelming support within Kerala has now encouraged us to start formation of ASA in many other places. We mooted the idea of coming together of various existing Amdekarite students organisations within the ASA fold but, due do many existing differences it may not be possible at this moment, the efforts are on. While the dalit movements have no particular difficulties with communism, it is felt that Left only has an agenda but no theory to deal with the cultural, religious or caste issues. The dream is for ‘dalits to be The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

independent’ but we continue to engage with all other social, political and economic issues. We don’t exist in isolation. While the left is not the enemy, sometimes the ASA joins hands with the left or even the NSUI to fight the ‘right wing forces’ in the elections. Ambedkar had said, in castesist India class struggle will not bring emancipation to Dalits, something we see in Kerala politics, where Dalits have remained a slave to LDF or UDF. The ‘caste’ even dominates left radical politics. Why must dalits sacrifice their lives for the radical left? Our effort is to bring dalits out of the slavery of the political parties. Thus, the ASA is led by radical Ambedkarites. On his own personal struggle, Sukanna says that he submitted his PhD on September 2nd 2015 and was suspended on September 8th for six months. But on September 11th his suspension was removed. However, on

December 18th, he was suspended again by the Registrar on December 18th under pressure from the Union government, even thought the same Registrar had filed a submission in the HC that there was no violence by ASA members, but even then five of them were suspended. They continued to their struggle and finally on January 17th, 2016, Rohit was forced to commit suicide and then only on January 19th, their suspension was revoked. He further concludes, “one has to be shameless to be in power. Our culture and existence itself protests, but we don’t have to leave the thread. We cannot have equality when we don’t know how to deal with inequality, but dignity is to fight for what we haven’t or can’t give hope to our community. The movements have benefitted from this realization, but there is still limited hope for the community.”

(Madhuresh Kumar is a National Convener of NAPM. kmadhuresh@gmail.com)

Page 14 continued.... starvation, communalism and poverty, then how will our Prime Minister fulfill the promises he has made in the various countries that he will provide them with the benefits of the open loot of natural resources, cheap labour and huge market and so on. On the other hand the mass movements have also made it clear that they will not restrain their fight for Jal-JangalZameen. If we want real freedom then the peoples movements of the country will have to strengthen themselves as well as the

intellectuals of the country will have to join the fight for the rights along with the movements. Hence, in real senses, Nationalism means that each and every person of the country should be able to fulfill of their basic needs of food, water, clothing and shelter along with proper health and education facilities without any discrimination in any part of the country. This is for what Gandhi, Subhash, Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, Ashfaqand many gave their lives.

(Vimal Bhai is with Matu Jan Sangathan and is a National Convener of NAPM. Email: bhaivimal@gmail.com) (The article was translated from Hindi to English by VishrutAggarwal,a volunteer at NAPM and NBA. Email: dongeorge10@gmail.com) 26

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Bonded in Tea Gardens -Progressive Plantation Workers Union The State government of West Bengal, among all round festivities throughout, organises a ‘Tea and Tribal Festival’ (whatever this means) with their characteristic enthusiasm this year as well in Banarhat of Jalpaiguri district. In order to showcase their oneness and concerns with adivasis and their very own tradition, culture and heritage remains the prime and focal point of concentration and publicity. The immensely hyped and stage managed happening, however, does not succeed to be an ‘event’ of acceptance and pride for the adivasis of Terai, Dooars and regions contributing to the tea economy- the bloodline that nourished the economy of North Bengal. Overtly manipulative practices by the so called political barons generally and in tea gardens, particularly- have spelt dooms for tea and the greater economies of the region. ‘Events’ do little to uphold the causes of the underprivileged, traditionally oppressed adivasis- mostly tea garden workers who starve, die and the majority of whom live to die with an earning of Rs. 95 per day- all thanks to the farce in the name of a tripartite agreement under the guise of a baseless exercise termed collective bargaining, an ongoing feudal practice devoid of any logic other than to protect interests and the whims of the oppressive and profiteering tea garden owners. A disgrace for any government that it is and a slur on the self-esteem of the tea workers as well, after almost a year of the latest collective bargaining effort, the present government failed to at least acknowledge

let alone apprehend the plight of the tea workers upheld by the Joint Forum of tea workers’ union (except the affiliates of the party in power). The unified demand of aggrieved tea workers, as voiced by the Forum was for declaration of a minimum living wage, as envisaged and prescribed by various legislations, verdicts and recommendations. Adoption and implementation of minimum wage strictly as per law of the land was and still remains the principal demand. Meetings, deputations, agitations, rallies including a tremendously acknowledged and accepted cycle rally in the recent past followed by hunger strikes by tea workers that failed to appeal to the conscience of the government, ever eager to uphold the owners’ self propagated miseries. Meanwhile, the starvation scenario in closed and semi-closed gardens remains unchanged. It seems the government is rather keen on more visible relief measures than real solution of mounting problems and wretchedness of tea workers as well as the adivasi population of the region. The tea and forest tribal population of the entire region strongly dissents the much publicised exercise and actions of the government to hand over state owned tea gardens to private owners as well as the attitude to promote and publicise so- called tea tourism – an uninformed and reckless enthusiasm - that not only amounts to a direct aggression on lives and livelihoods of adivasi community but also an overall attack on its rich culture and heritage that occupy a place of immense pride and identity. The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

The privileged tea garden owners, by and large, illegally and secretly, have been hiring out their bungalows and premises while distorting the provisions of Plantation Labour Act (PLA) to their fullest advantage. How can any government also promote the same trend?While strongly condemning the apathy (concessions for lack of information and an apparent superficial understanding of ground level realities notwithstanding) an appeal to the government, authorities and all concerned including some of the aspiring adivasi leaders, not to trivialise the dissatisfaction, disgust and distrust – as had been in the regime of all previous rulers. That, surely, is the message to any upcoming and aspiring

leadership, too. The mockery and cruel joke emanating out of this show business are, indeed, reflective of a very bad taste –hollow and shallow urban highhandedness - that ridicules the simple yet rich heritage of the ever downtrodden tribal community. They have always been projected as ‘objects’ of national pride rather than human beings, the state and country alike, irrespective of colours and characters of elected governments. Let these propaganda oriented mega shows come to an end henceforth because “What is Game for You is Death For Us”.

(Progressive Plantation Workers Union, memebr of NAPM is active in the tea gardens and works for the rights of the plantation workers. napmw.bengal@gmail.com)

Mumbai’s Slum Dwellers Rally for Housing Rights, Sanitation & Basic Amenities: Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan | April 5, 2016

Feature

COMMENTARY A National Botch-up? A Nationalist Botch-up? -Anand Mazgaonkar

How they danced and celebrated on 12thFebruary, 2016, as if they had found the ultimate anti-national, the very last one, and put him where he belonged- Tihar Jail. It was very much like they had started to celebrate the election victory in Bihar around 9:00 am that November morning in 2015. Reality dawned around 10:00 am on that November day and again this March 2016 evening. The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Accountants are now looking at the CostBenefit of ‘Project JNU,Project Kanhaiya’and must be thinking how they could have got it so completely wrong. They must wonder why these botch-ups are so regular. Why should BJP spokesmen have to clean eggs from their faces on television every night, in full public glare? Our hearts should go out to Sambit Patras and Nalin Kohlis. But even open air defecation is a reality in India so they should not be too embarrassed. What went wrong must be very important for BJP bosses and strategists since they now want to rule for at least 25 years. Was it a problem with Political Mathematics or was the problem Mathematical Politics? Did some overzealous Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) greenhorns set them up for this? Or, was the doctoring of the video clips messed up. They may not have been able to assign the job to Mr. Gajendra Chauhan since he hasn’t had the time to properly settle down at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)! Did Nagpur get it wrong and issue the

suicidal instructions? Or, was it a problem with interpretation of instructions? After all the instructions may have been issued in Sanskrit, or in Vedic codes. It might be interesting to investigate whether these ‘nationalists’ send their children and grandchildren to Sanskrit schools. There’s no way they could fall for English medium or Convent schools run by Christians who’re only interested in ‘conversions’. Clearly, if BJP doesn’t manage to rule for 25 years India might be 90% anti-national Christians and Muslims, and 10% nationalist Hindus. Hope the Sakshi Maharajs and Yogi Adityanaths save the country! Disastrous projects, in themselves, are not unique. Elections in 2004 and 2009, India Shining campaign, the Rs. 10 lakh suit, the Ram Mandir, Delhi and Bihar elections are cases in point. The problem with leadership botch-ups is that the rank-and-file gets nervous. The Cabinet might suddenly want to participate in Government decisionmaking! (Mrs. Indira Gandhi was not as courageous as Mr Modi, so she made only one infamous decision without taking the Cabinet into confidence) Senior leaders The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

might want to have say on policy matters. (It will be interesting to see if Kanhaiya inspires M/s. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yeshwant Sinha to squeak again.) Party men might demand that decisions be made by a gang bigger than the coterie of three. The ABVP may start asking questions so that they don’t look stupid. Shakha-men may even demand training in learning to think. The parivar should immediately issue a whip banning all its followers from hearing Kanhaiya Kumar's speech because his simple, searching words might resonate with the most indoctrinated of robots. Scientists and psychologists might be very interested in a comparative study between robots and parivar folks. The jury on who is more impervious to reason is out. And they have to suffer all this ignominy because their astrologers goofed up badly and the flopped Operation JNU was probably launched at some inauspicious moment. One can only imagine what such high risk games can do to the credibility of jingoists and pseudo-nationalists. The combative hot air balloon performance by Smriti Irani, the high voltage theatrics of the PM himself and the hyped up Budget were all washed out by the release-on-bail of a 20-something year old. The poor Prime Minister instead of basking in glory is left with scattered pieces of something worse than an aircraft crashing over 7, Race Course Road. How he’d wish that he were rather with Obama or Sharif clicking ‘selfies’. It is one thing to tweet and roar about everything except issues of substance. But

this business of rabble-rousing, stoking fires and trying to govern at the same time is so hazardous. Some people believe Nationalism means loving one’s country, serving the interests of its entire people, being tough with those violating the law, defrauding the country and stripping the country of her resources. Therefore, one would expect some action against the billionaire loan defaulters. When that doesn’t seem feasible Practical Nationalism, In-Practice-Nationalism consists of finding scapegoats, framing individuals, conducting media trials on fake evidence, and deluding ourselves that we’re indeed tough. Such being the atmosphere, justice, including court orders, is often like Budget promises- There’s something for everyone! There’s bail for the accused packaged with free advice, there are film songs for those with a cultural taste, there’s shot-in-thearm for the State with a no-guilt certificate, and there are kid-gloves for the police. Everyone goes home happy from the abode of the Goddess of Justice. The shaken and overwhelmed authors of the disastrous project are so shaken, you can hear them shrieking on TV channels. Anyone who were to announce a Rs. 1 crore award for any BJP member being sober, talking sense and giving any assurance of sanity would have his / her money absolutely safe in his/her own pocket. But whatever happens, if Kanhaiya cannot be silenced or contained some other diversion has to be created.

(Anand Mazgaonkar, is a National Convener of NAPM and is with Paryavaram Suraksha Samiti in Gujarat. anandpss@gmail.com) 30

Commentary

POLICY AND PRACTICES Curbing Air Pollution: Bigger Repercussions of the Odd-Even Scheme -Radhika Krishna It took the Delhi High Court to move the government at the State and National Level to even recognize that the air quality in Delhi has deteriorated to extreme levels. While state-centre politics are continued to be played, the Delhi government responded cautiously with the ‘Odd-Even’ scheme for city private cars (with a number of exemptions) on a trial basis during January 1-15, 2016. The ‘Odd-Even’ scheme certainly caught much attention and received praise for its efforts and outcome in general, but the political slugfest still persists. With the second roll out phase of the ‘OddEven’ scheme to be implemented from April 15-30, 2016 whereupon the government reviewed its decision and invited ideas for further improvement and engagement of various stakeholders; the scheme remains the only idea propagated against combating air pollution. While the Courts have suggested other measures such as the imposition of environment tax and stricter measures for construction within the city among other pipeline ideas, the necessity to go beyond this ‘Odd-Even’ scheme is prudent. This is because such a measure will be short lived and soon we will be left with only more cars and encroachment on public space. However, it remains clear from the experiences of many cities in the world that ensuring an ambient air quality in a big metropolitan takes time and a comprehensive approach towards city

planning. This implies scrutinizing the city infrastructure development along with other measures. While the ‘Odd-Even’ scheme served as a ‘Symbol of Development’ in reducing air pollution, the investigation of its sufficiency comes to surface. The first affected victims remain the ‘poor’ and the entry point to air pollution is the first attack on poor people which cannot be stopped by this ‘OddEven’ scheme alone. In an urban agglomeration like Delhi, the Odd-Even scheme was certainly successful in attracting the attention of different segments of the public wherein people are now aware of the harsh repercussions of vehicular congestion. The establishment of the ‘metro transport’ has certainly transformed the city and Delhi remains one of the world’s biggest urban agglomerations. While there have been improvements in public transport there is still a long way to go. Despite its popular uptake, the ‘Odd-Even’ scheme has sharpened the divide between the rich versus the poor in terms of public health. Children particularly are falling ill because of pollution levels. This causes a correlation with vehicular congestion because we are the ones responsible for driving cars. Thus, the larger question results in shifting government policies from the usage of personal transport to public transport. It is evident that neither the State nor the Union government will act, unless there is public pressure. The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

The history of air pollution in Delhi can be categorized into three phases. Between 1998-2002 saw the first phase of action. Coal power plants were closed, public transport was shifted to being run on natural gas and industries were removed from the city. The result being an improvement in Delhi’s air quality. Nearly 3,600 deaths were prevented because of controlling air pollution. While the pollution levels successfully decreased from 2002-2007, the levels increased again from 2009 onwards, thus placing us in a multi-pollution crisis: ozone levels are on the rise, particulate matter is increasing along with nitrogen dioxide and there is one death ever hour due to the pollution in the city. Subsequently, the air pollution crisis has resulted in a public health crisis with the only respite being the monsoon season that pollution levels subside though they remain very high during the winter seasons. It is especially during the winter that 32

Policy and Practices

emergency action must be taken, since the poor and vulnerable are prone to respiratory and cardiac problems and have aggravated symptoms. Thus, this calls for taking systemic action such as reducing the number of vehicles by half (Odd-Even scheme), banning fireworks and BBQs, and shutting down power plants. While it is not wrong to connect ‘congestion’ with ‘pollution’, the question persists if the ‘Odd-Even’ scheme did in fact make any difference? While examining the ‘exemptions’ from the Odd-Even scheme, the policy is applicable to private cars alone and not two wheelers as well. Women drivers are also exempted from the scheme which results in questioning ‘safety’ issues within the city. Furthermore, there is a problem of bus frequency and utilization wherein buses are often seen standing idle at the depot with a large number of trips being cancelled owing to the already existing congestion of the vehicles in the city. Nearly 21% of land is being used for transport. Thus, giving

land to road use when it is finite results in a shortage of houses and resettlement colonies. The extensive use of private cars further results in using ‘resettlement allocated’ land for parking. Additionally, cars are sold at subsidized costs and not taxed. Cars are also washed every day which results in water shortage problems and cars taking up a huge chunk of infrastructure. These result in wider societal impacts.

There has been criticism that the real impact of the ‘Odd-Even’ scheme could not be accurately measured owing to uncontrolled factors such as schools being closes, people going on holiday during the festive season and the likes. There is also criticism that the ‘Odd-Even’ scheme looks good on paper but is entirely different in practice and this is true since the scheme failed to reduce pollution levels which was its primary objective.

Delhi has a disproportionate land use policy when compared to other cities and thus we seek only band aid solutions. As pollution controls there are flyovers, crossings and under passes being used. Additionally, bicycle lanes and pedestrian lanes have also been overtaken by flyovers. Examining the city planning in terms of public transport and infrastructure calls for another investigation with comprehensive solutions.

Undoubtedly, Delhi’s city planning forces for its citizens to be motorized. In spite of public transport infrastructure such as metro and bus, all routes cannot be traversed by public transport and hence we must often rely on using private transport. This kind of high speed connectivity creates a type of sprawl. This ‘Odd-Even’ scheme only postpones problems and doesn’t present solutions. During the low-mid seasons, gasses concentrate where they originate thus creating an ‘urban sprawl’ as air cannot be exchanged now with the hinterland area- in spite of the scheme.

The use of technology to improve environmental conditions must be adopted. This involves using renewable and green sources of technology. Additionally, encouraging the creation of ‘green buffers’ can be important as these control temperature and mitigate water. In terms of returning to reliance on public transport, the usage, care and ownership of cars should be made more expensive. Public parking must be demarcated and the price of parking hiked. Ironically, the tax on a bus is much higher than on a car and this situation must be altered, since they will curtail the use of personal transport facilities.

The agents of change are in fact different in every city and so it is difficult to take comprehensive decisions which are thus taken more as relief measures. It is not sufficient to establish time bound targets since this is neither a member’s game nor a competition. It is important to take every step to curb pollution and for this type of systemic action, we need to take priority action.

(Radhika Krishna is a Research and Publications Associate with the National Alliance of People’s Movements. radhika@napm-india.org) The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

Overcoming Inoperative Establishment: Amendments to the SC/ST Act -Maansi Verma Introduction: The Winter Session of Parliament in December of 2015 presented a unique setting as it began with both Houses of Parliament debating on and renewing their allegiance to the Constitution by remembering the Father of our Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. The Lok Sabha for two days and the Rajya Sabha for three days indulged in an exchange of accusations with ‘intolerance’ being the catch phrase and each party left no stone unturned to prove the other as being more intolerant. In the backdrop of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s 125th Birth Anniversary celebrations, rights of minorities and marginalized assumed great importance. It was fitting then that in the same session, despite frequent disruptions, Rajya Sabha managed to pass The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2014 1 unanimously without any discussion. In these times of mistrust and buck passing, it was heartening to see the entire House coming together to pass this Bill which aimed at introducing new offences and providing stringent provisions to deal with the menace of crimes committed against people belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (Sts).

And it is indeed a menace. As per the National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) ‘Crime in India’ report of 2014, 47,064 cases of reported crimes were committed against SCs, up 19% from the previous year and 11,451 cases of reported crimes were committed against STs, a jump of 68.6% over 2013.2 The maximum number of crimes against SCs was reported from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka. As far as crimes against STs are concerned, the highest incidence of crime against STs was reported from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. Contours of the Bill: In its Statement of Objects and Reasons (SOR), the Bill highlights that certain forms of atrocities were noticed as occurring over the years which were not covered by the original Act. The Act, as it now stands after the amendment, criminalizes the following acts, among several others: § Forcing an SC or ST individual to vote or not to vote for a particular candidate in a manner that is against the law § Dedicating an SC or ST women to a

1 In a rare show of camaraderie, all the parties had reached an understanding that given the extremely important nature of the subject of the Bill, it will be passed with no questions asked. Though it must be noted that some members objected to it and convinced the Chair to put on record that this was only an exception and not a precedent to pass Bills in future without any discussion. 2 ‘Crimes Against Persons Belonging To Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes’; ‘Crime in India Report, 2014’. Can be viewed at: www.ncrb.gov.in

Policy and Practices

temple as a devadasi ยง Garlanding with footwear ยง Abuse SCs or STs by caste name in public ยง Imposing or threatening a social or economic boycott ยง Preventing SCs / STs from using common property resources ยง Preventing SCs / STs from entering an education or health institute etc. The SOR also noted that the implementation of the Act suffered from procedural hurdles like non-registration of cases, delays in investigations, delays in trial and low conviction rates. In light of this, an important amendment made in the Act is defining the role of a public servant in relation to crimes committed against persons belonging to SCs / STs and making them liable for punishment in the case of neglect. So, if a public servant, who does not belong to SC / ST, refuses to file a First Information Report (FIR) or complaint, refuses to record statement of witnesses or victim, refuses to investigate or file a charge sheet can be imprisoned for a maximum of one year. Also to strengthen the judicial mechanism, the Bill makes it compulsory now for every State to establish Exclusive Special Courts in every district with

Special Courts in districts with low number of cases, directed the States to ensure that cases are disposed of within 2 months, an appeal which lies in high court gets disposed of within 3 months and Public Prosecutors and Exclusive Public Prosecutors are appointed.3 An interesting amendment stipulates that in case of any offence committed under this Act, the Courts shall now presume that the accused was aware of the caste or tribal identity of the victim if the accused had personal knowledge of the victim or his family and the burden shall be on the accused to prove otherwise. This means that now the accused cannot get away by saying that he did not know that the victim was a member of SC / ST if they lived in the same village, studied in the same college, worked in the same office and generally knew each other. This is likely to strengthen the judicial process in these cases. Another beneficial provision of the Bill is that it provides for rights of victims and witnesses. The definition of victim includes the victim as well as his/her dependents and state governments have been made responsible to provide for protection of victims, witnesses as well as for formulation of a scheme to provide for 4 their rights, relief and rehabilitation. The courts have been made responsible to ensure that they receive complete

3 The judicial structure provided for by the original Act called for Sessions Court at District level to be deemed as Special Court and made it discretionary for the States to establish Exclusive courts for trial of cases under this Act. 4 The onus for the implementation of the Act has always been on State Governments and the Rules formulated under the Act in 1995 and amended in 2011 provide for relief and rehabilitation of victims and make the State Governments responsible to provide for the same. The Rules have prescribed a Schedule which must be followed by State Governments while providing relief and rehabilitation money. The Central Government also runs a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to provide funds to States to fulfill their obligations under the Act.

The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

protection and socio-economic rehabilitation during investigation, inquiry and trial. Issues with the Implementation of the Act: The original Act mandates the Ministry of Social Justice to lay on the table of both Houses annual reports on implementation of the provisions of the Act. The very latest report available on the website of the Ministry pertains to the year 2013. Some of the important findings of this report which highlight the loopholes in the implementation of the Act and advocate for the amendments made to the Act by the Bill, are summarized below: § Only 11 states had established Exclusive Special Courts in some of their districts under the Act. These states include Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, which are some of the states with highest incidence of crimes against SCs / Sts. § The conviction rates have been consistently low and falling – from 30% in 2011, to 23.8% in 2012 and 22.8% in 2013. § The charge sheet rate is also low with charge sheet being filed in only 52% of the cases of crimes committed against SCs in 2012 and 51.3% cases in 2013. Similarly for STs, charge sheet rate was 54% in 2013 and 55.3% in 2012. § The data for relief and rehabilitation is not collated at a national level and

only provided individually for every state, but an analysis of relief and rehabilitation provided in states with highest incidence of crimes reported presents a sorry picture. In Rajasthan, for instance, 8126 cases of crimes were reported but only 1542 persons were provided relief and rehabilitation. Bihar fares even worse with just 866 persons provided relief in 2013 out of 6812 cases reported. Some states, even with high incidence of crimes, seemed to have done well at least in this regard like the state of Uttar Pradesh. All these facts point towards the shortcomings in the original act which needed to be curbed through the amendments brought. But even with the well-meaning amendments, the Bill does miss an opportunity to introduce some more much needed reforms. Avenues for Further Improvement: The Bill makes a specific mention of certain offences which are committed against persons belonging to SC / ST which are not committed under this Act but under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The provision simply says that for such offences, the punishment provided will be the one provided under IPC along with the possibility of an additional fine but by inclusion of such offences under the purview of this Act, other beneficial provisions of the Act will be applicable to them.5

5 The original Act provided that only those offences of IPC which attracted a punishment of 10 years or more were to be covered under this Act. The Bill extends this provision to certain other offences also like hurt, intimidation etc. which earlier got excluded.

Policy and Practices

At the time of introduction of the Bill in Rajya Sabha, Sh. Husain Dalwai, a Congress Party Member of Parliament (MP) had moved an amendment to include in this provision all offences of IPC which are committed against persons belonging to SC / ST. There didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem any intelligible basis for including only some offences and excluding others. As per the NCRB report referred to earlier, as many as 6511 cases of crimes committed under IPC alone against persons belonging to SC and 4522 cases against STs were reported in 2014. Because the House had decided that the Bill will be passed without an amendment, Sh. Dalwai could neither move nor argue for his amendment. This amendment would have been beneficial as for any offence committed under IPC against an SC or ST person, other beneficial provisions like speedy trial by an exclusive court, accountability of public servants and protection of the rights of victims and witnesses would also have applied. Another missed opportunity of improvement was that while making public servants responsible for willful neglect for their responsibilities, the Bill included only police and investigation authorities. Public prosecutors have been left out of the ambit despite the admission in the SORs that low conviction rates are plaguing the effective implementation of this Act. Certain states have recommended taking action against

public prosecutors who do not plead cases under this Act effectively or are responsible for delays and low conviction rates. Addition of this provision would have further strengthened the accountability mechanism under the Act. The Standing Committee of the Ministry of Social Justice which had reviewed this Bill had also made two pertinent recommendations for addition to the Bill. One was for criminalization of the act of using false SC / ST certificates for education or employment as it defeats the very purpose of protection given to SCs and STs. And another was for trial of offences committed against women belonging to SC / ST groups to be conducted before a woman judge and by a woman prosecutor. This would have gone a long way in ensuring that the justice delivery mechanism is not intimidating or uncomfortable for vulnerable women. Both these recommendations were, however, not accepted by the Ministry and do not make a part of the Bill. Overall, the Bill achieves the objective of advancing effective protection to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but could have made a more lasting impact. Nevertheless, as for any law, the true test lies in its implementation and that is a challenge yet to be overcome by any regime.

(Maansi Verma is a lawyer and policy analyst. maansi.verma31@gmail.com) The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

IN FOCUS A Promise of ‘Acche Din’? The Union Budget 2016-17 -Amit Kumar Government running away from responsibility: pushing farmers on edges Overlooking the need of majority of population, catering to few Political ‘jumlas’ continues, ditching farmers once again under the garb of corporate regime; reduced responsibilities of public sector In recent times, the announcement of the Union Budget seems to be becoming a futile exercise, even with all the publicity and hype associated with it. We say so, since the annual Union Budget has no more remained a final exercise of allocation of resources for various sectors and schemes, thus reflecting the priorities of the debates that may occur at the Legislature. The party which has majority at the Parliamentary forum pushes its agenda when more than 121 crore citizens remain on the periphery with neither any space nor a channel for participating in the Budget making process. The pre-budget consultations that have been part of the organized by the Finance Ministry during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government was more a dialogue in democratic decency than with due primacy granted to the People’s organizations and non-electoral representatives and their views. In the present case, current Government is all out for impingement on the spaces of the Civil Society and the movements critical of its corporate policies, there has been no scope provided for the organizations of farmers, labourers, dalits and adivasis who could press for their demands at the right point of time. 38

In Focus

Once again the present government slapped the democracy and participatory development keeping farmers at bay and running away from the responsibility by an image makeover through projecting the budget 2016-17 as a ‘pro-farmer’ budget, generous with words and stingy with funds. The majority of the Indian population expected a required support from this year’s budget; they needed this owing to the unprecedented consecutive years of drought which accelerated the farmer’s suicide in the absence of government immediate support. It was expected because of the Prime Minister’s consecutive three farmers’ rallies, announcing big support to them. But the budgetary allocation once again proved all the promises as ‘jumlas’ only, which the present government keeps spreading time to time for electoral benefits. The Budget speech promises ‘income security’ to the farming families, that the income of farming families will double in five years. But no mechanism has been announced to ensure this. Farmer’s organizations have called for a statutory, permanent Farmer’s Income Commission and Farmer’s Income Guarantee Act to assure the minimum living income to farming households.

Few Points to Expose the Priorities of Government and their Claims of Profarmer Budget: § When a majority of population almost 40-50% is reeling under drought, when thousands of farmers are committing suicide due to indebtedness, a major bailout package was expected from the government- which includes interest waiver, debt swapping of private loans with bank loans and disaster compensation; the government has shown no political will to come to their rescue. (When the corporate sector was under stress in 2008-09, they got a Rs. 300,000 crore bailout package.) § No allocation to ensure remunerative prices to farmers, in terms of higher Minimum Support Price (MSPs), Market Intervention Scheme or Market Stabilization Fund. § While farmers demand a disaster compensation of Rs. 10,000 per acre, no increase was announced from the current levels of Rs. 3000-4000 per acre. § While tenant farmers and sharecroppers are excluded from bank loans, insurance and subsidies, no measures were announced for their inclusion. There was no mention of Bhuminheen Kisan in the entire speech. § No special measures for rain fed agriculture which faces the brunt of the crisis. § Most of what the budget speech projects as big favors to the farming community is actually ‘business as usual’ with a sleight of hand. The outlay of Rs. 35, 984 crore to agriculture is

being projected as a major increase but in reality it is a pittance. In 2014-15, the outlay was Rs. 31,000 crore, which was drastically reduced to Rs. 24,910 crore in 2015-16, and now increased to Rs. 35, 985 crores. Less than 3.5% of the entire budget is going to agriculture when 55% of India’s populations depend on agriculture and in a year when farmers are facing their worst crisis. § The flagship crop insurance programme, Prime Minister FasalBimaYojana (PMFBY) is being projected as a panacea to farmers and that more than 50% of the farmers will be brought under insurance cover from the current levels of less than 20%. The allocation for insurance has been raised from Rs. 2600 crore to Rs. 5500 crore but this would not cover any additional farmers, because this would only go towards the insurance companies higher premium subsidy for the existing insured farmers and to the Information Technology (IT) companies for surveying the crop failure and other natural calamities to claim the insurance money, hence keeping out the Gram Panchayats in determining these facts at local level. The PMFBY also has many shortcomings which have been already pointed out by farmer organizations. § The target of bringing additional 28.5 lakh hectares under irrigation in 5 years is to be welcomed- but this amounts to less than 2% of the net cultivated area of 141 million hectares. The allocation from the centre is only Rs. 12,000 crore The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

towards the Prime Minister Krishi SinchaiYojana (PMKSY). In 2014-15, Rs. 13,492 crore was allocated for PMKSY but only Rs. 5630 crore were spent. Even after allocation and success of projects, the benefits have always remained in question, as in the past, the projects started for catering to the needs of irrigation converted for the industrial demand of water supply. It has been seen in the famous Sardar Sarovar Dam Project, where after 30 years, 6 lakh hectares is decommissioned from irrigation to industries where less than 20% of the target of irrigation is realized at ground. It is also important to think that it will be realized with centralized irrigation system which enforces displacement of a large population to realize the targets? Or the government will think about decentralized irrigation system which proved to be pro-people in the sense that it ensures that the benefits will not transfer to industries after it starts for the agricultural need. § When 40% of the nation is reeling under drought, a much higher allocation to MGNREGA was expected to the tune of Rs. 60,000 crore. The actual allocation is only Rs. 38,500 crore- which appears high only because of the drastic cuts in the past two years. This only brings it to the level of 2011-12 when the allocation was Rs. 39,000 crore. It is also important to note than when the seventh pay commission recommended the hike; there has been no attention to the hike of wages under MGNREGA and other social welfare schemes. There has been 40

In Focus

no attention to the 93% of workforce working in unorganized and informal sector. The government has denied the long standing demand of pension and other socio-economic securities of the larger workforce working in the unorganized and informal sector. § The allocation of Rs. 15,000 crore for interest subsidy is only a marginal increase over last year’s allocation of Rs. 13,000 crore. But there is no mechanism to ensure that this would go to small farmers and tenant farmers instead of corporate houses and absentee landlords. Other Budgetary Concerns: § 0.013% of the total budget has been allocated for farmers which is only Rs. 700 for each farmer if we look at the population of farmers. § There is no provision to bail out the indebted farmers living in distress because of droughts and crop failure. § It was expected to see the hike in Minimum Support Price of different crops but it has no mention in the budget. § There is no promotion for organic farming intending to attract the youth when a large population of youth is unemployed and the government miserably failed to provide opportunities to them. The Sikkim state has already showed the possible ways of achieving the organic farming throughout the state. § There is no scheme mentioned for storage of food grains and traditional

seed distribution centre at the Panchayat level. ยง There are no announcements to stop the invasion of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in our traditional crop system and stop further GM trials nationally, which proved to be a disaster for farming community worldwide. ยง Government overlooked the possible solution for establishing centre at Panchayat level to deal with agriculture waste and their burning which leads to pollution. It can be converted that into compost which can be made available to the farmers and reduce the dependability on chemical fertilizers. ยง The very essential aspect of health which consumes a large amount of money is also left dependent on health insurance schemes. The budget for this year for the National Health Mission is Rs. 19,037 crores, which is almost the same as last year. Along with the inadequate investments in health care, it is also disturbing that the entire strategy of this government for improving access to health care seems to be based on provision of insurance for a few rather than provision of universal and free health services. Such

an approach will only benefit the private sector (insurance companies as well as health care providers) and there are serious doubts as to how effective it can be in reducing the burden of health expenditure on people. The National Sample Survey (NSS) data shows that more than 70% of spells of ailment were treated in the private sector. This high dependence on the private sector has been mainly because of the poor access to public health services and policies that allowed the unregulated growth of private provision of health care since the 1980s. ยง India is amongst the countries that spend the least on health care with a public spending of about 1% of GDP on health care as compared to 3% in China and 8% in the UK. Successive governments and expert panels have recommended that at least 2.5-3% of the GDP must be devoted to public expenditure on health. Thus, in light of growing inequality, equity and justice, the budget is viewed as a mere image makeover which lacks the intention of addressing the real needs of farmers, labourers, adivaasis and other marginalized sections of our society.

(Amit Kumar is a researcherat NAPM and coordinates the research on land rights and environmentalissues. amit@napm-india.org.) The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

MOVEMENTS AND ALLIANCES Defining Democracy: Maha Rally of Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan -The MOI Team

Marking a year of historic coming together of the people’s movements, farmer’s organisations and left backed kisan sabhas, on February 24, 2016, a massive rally of farmers, workers and various movements was organized at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, where thousands of farmers, workers, fisherfolks, advisasis and projected affected people from ten states converged to protest against these issues. In response to the NDA government move to amend the Land Act, 2013, the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan, an umbrella network for many farmers unions, trade unions, social movements and other intellectual individuals and groups, was formed forcing the government to go on backfoot and finally withdraw the land ordinance. 5000 people gathered, despite road and rail blockades around Delhi due to ongoing Jat reservation agitations, asserted their land rights and sent a clear message to the government that the people of this country would oppose the loot of natural resources and the violation of human dignity, the forceful assertion is to resist the corporate 42

Movements and Alliances

land grab and claim land rights. The NDA government issued the Land Ordinance three times and each time they had to retreat. Addressing the gathering, representatives from different organizations spoke about the violations of constitutional rights. From making attempts at diluting progressive laws like the Forest Rights Act, 2006, increasing farmer suicides in different states to the shocking attacks in Chhattisgarh on adivasis and the increasing attack on educational spaces, the activists affirmed that there exists a nexus between the communal powers that preaches hate politics and corporate that plunder resources. The complete focus is on to breaking the solidarity of people who have taken a stand against their practices. On one hand, whistleblowers, human rights defenders, journalists and activists across the country are targeted, beaten up and portrayed as ‘anti-national’ elements while defaulting corporations are given tax exemptions to the tune of thousands of

crores. The contempt of environment laws and its portrayal as a ‘hurdle to development’ by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change makes it clear that the government is

ignorant towards the voices of the people. It is an attack on all fronts. Bhumi Adhikar Andolan vowed to continue its fight and not let the nefarious designs of the government to succeed.

Key Demands § Withdraw Land (Amendment) Bill 2015. Say no to forced land acquisition and demand land rights. § Implement the Land Act, 2013 and stop illegal changes to it and withdraw any sanctions given to State Acts violating the Central Act. § Stop forced land acquisitions in the name of land pooling and other means by various state governments. § Stop tampering with the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and ensure its effective and timely implementation. § Find effective ways to tackle the agrarian crisis immediately and ensure right support prices for the produce and compensate crop loss. § Complete the unfinished agenda of land reforms, implement land ceiling, provide housing rights for poor and stop forced evictions at any cost. § Stop attempting changes to the MGNREGA, rollback cuts in budget allocation and ensure 300 days work and Rs. 300 wages daily. § Stop implementing the T.S. Subramanian Committee recommendations and changes to environmental laws. § Say no to labor laws relaxations and ensure labor rights. § Take measures to stop violence against women and ensure their property rights. § Stop harassing people in the name of false nationalist hysteria and arrest the rise of fascist Hinduvta forces. The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

Eviction Without Rehabilitation? Gross Human Rights Violations Persist -GBGB Andolan The Mangrove Cell of the Maharashtra Forest Department has evicted more than 4000 families in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, in less than a year and without providing any rehabilitation. The Forest Department’s actions are rendering more and more families in Mumbai as homeless. Around 700 families will have been evicted as of April 23, 2016 in Cheeta Camp and 800 families in Bheemchhaya, Vikroli, Kannamwar Nagar by the first week of May. The Bombay High Court passed an order regarding the protection of mangroves in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai in 2005. The Court ordered to declare mangrove areas and the areas in the buffer zone of 50 meters as ‘protected forests’, thus disallowing all construction activities in such areas. The Maharashtra government decided to constitute all such lands as ‘reserved forests’ in the year 2013. Ten years after passing the order, the Forest Department

suddenly began evicting slums near the mangrove areas. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 contains a full procedure of law about the settlement of rights of people living in forest areas. The Act further stipulates that settlement must be completed prior to constituting any lands as ‘reserved forest’. This procedure, however, has not yet been completed. These evictions have caused serious deprivation to the lives of affected families. The education of school going children is severely affected and old persons find it difficult to find assistance during such times of crisis. Even the women have to compromise with their privacy. The eviction is further followed by serious diseases due to the unavailability of sanitation facilities, proper food and because people are coerced to live in the open without proper shelter. The act of eviction further

The Bhimachaya slum in Kannamwar Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra

Movements and Alliances

marginalizes poor people and thereby increases inequality within the society. The Supreme Court of India has on various occasions specified ‘adequate housing’ as a human right. The Government of India has also ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states under Article 25 that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” Additionally, the Government of India was also a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which further reinstates right to housing and other amenities. It must be noted that these slums have not been created to encroach upon a piece of land but are an outcome of the state’s failure to address these issues of livelihood, availability of equal opportunity, housing and so on. These slum dwellers are the same labourers who have helped the citizens of the same city and the government as well by providing their services through constructing roads, tall towers, providing services as taxi and auto rickshaw drivers, fruits and vegetable sellers, carpenter, electricians, painters, domestic helpers and numerous other services in various forms. While the Mangrove Cell’s objective to conserve and rejuvenate the depleting

cover of the mangrove areas along the coastline of Maharashtra State is appreciated and welcomes, the housing rights of the families under the threat of eviction by the Mangrove Cell must be considered. This eviction without rehabilitation is illegal because this leads to severe destitution for already poor citizens of the city. One resident of Bheemchhaya slum in Vikroli, Jaya Kharat is worried about her children’s education. “If the demolition happens, all my three children will not be able to attend school since we will be thrown on the road with no shelter and food” she says. Thus, the appeal is to both the Government of Maharashtra and the Government of India to save the slum dwellers of Mumbai and ensure them their human right to adequate housing in compliance with the various judgements of the Supreme Court of India, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966. An appeal is also made to the Prime Minister Modi to fulfil the promises contained in his ‘Housing For All by 2022’ campaigning by ensuring the protection of the already housed poor families. The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

River Health is Vital for People’s Survival -Matu Jan Sangathan The dam affected people of Vishnugaad Peepalkoti in the Alaknanda Valley of Uttarakhand sent a stern message to communities across the world on March 14, on occasion of River’s Day : the river’s health is vital for people’s survival. With people from over 20 affected villages opposing the construction of big dams to save the culture and ecology of the region, the message is clear. One of the affected persons from Salood Village (Bharat Singh) says, “Voices cannot be subverted; we don’t need energy at the cost of water, forests, rivers and land.” The region has faced immense problems owing to big dams such as climate change, decrease of biodiversity, shortage of water resources and increase in pollution levels. “The government and THDC have cheated us” says affected Jagdeesh Bhandari from Pokhini Village with another affected victim, Uma Devi from Dving Village adding, “There are 23 false cases filed against us but the struggle will

Movements and Alliances

continue.” In view of these struggles, convener of Matu Jan Sangatha, Vimal Bhai said, “It is people’s unity and organization which can solve the issues. Big dams have given only displacement and ecological destruction which is being repeated even after more than five thousand dams in the country. There are over 80 cases filed in the court against people due to the destructive alliance between THDC and the World Bank. The work on these dams is only going ahead with the help of terror and dictatorship. But we have fought until now and we will keep fighting for justice, people’s rights and legal struggles from land to water. We believe in the Gandhian principle and will continue with the nonviolent struggle.” The dream is towards “Ganga Chalegi Apni Chaal, Uncha Rahega Uska Bhaal” meaning “Ganga will continue to flow with its dignity intact!”

Sovereignty in Indian Education? The Fight Continues -NAPM In view of the restriction to basic necessities such as water and food and the also the lockout of students at the University of Hyderabad (HCU), Andhra Pradesh; 300 academics, activists and writers wrote an open letter condemning the state violence and unlawful detention of faculty and student protestors at HCU. The students and faculty members protested the reinstatement of Dr. Appa Rao as the Vice Chancellor (VC) in spite of the ongoing judicial enquiry against him related to the circumstances leading to the death of the dalit student Rohit Vemula on January 17th, 2016. While the students and faculty members of HCU remain concerned that this reinstatement would provide the VC the opportunity to tamper with evidence and

influence witnesses, suicides by dalit students have recurring in HCU and campuses across the country. The issue spiralled into a nationwide studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; protest with the death of Rohit Vemula. These protests have brought to the forefront of public discussion and debate the persistence of caste based discrimination in educational institutions and surveillance and suppression of dissent and intellectual debate in university spaces. Ever since Dr. Appa Rao returned to campus on March 22, the students and staff have been in a siege like situation. The peacefully protesting staff and students have been brutally lathi charged by the police and 27 persons were reported being ... continued on page 50

Joe Athialy

The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

NEWS AND NOTES January 25, Bihar: NAPM’s fact finding team investigating the violent conflict in Kaliachak of Malda on January 3, 2016 releases its preliminary findings. It concludes that the conflict was a handiwork of some anti-social elements present in the rally protesting against the police atrocities and not a communal riot as was being played out and an attempt at dividing communities in view of forthcmoing assembly elections.

February9, New Delhi: NAPM condemns the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar, President of Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) on charges of ‘sedition’. It question the Delhi Police high handedness and accuses the Centre of using the police as a political tool. It also questions continued repression of the dissenting vioices across the campuses and demands stopiing political interference in the academic institutions.

February 6, Delhi: Several public intellectuals and social activists write to the Hon’ble President, Prime Minister and concerned government representatives to stop the encroachment and destruction of Yamuna floodplains for the World Culutral Festival (March 11-13), marking 35th anniversary of the ‘Art of Living’ Foundation headed by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar scheduled in March, 2016.

February 13, Mumbai : NAPM, GBGB Andolan, Apnalaya, Stree Mukti and FORCE organize a meeting to discuss the issues related to waste management and rag pickers in the wake of the fire outbreak at Deonar dumping ground. The reasons of the fire and disaster management system at the dumping ground site are also raised.

February 9, Badwani, MP: Hundreds of farmers and workers from Narmada Valley (Badwani and Dhar Districts) occupy the office of the District Collector in Badwani protesting denial of optimum prices for farm produce, loot through corporatized crop insurance scheme, no compensation for crops affected by natural calamities and ongoing forcible land acquisition. The farmers also protest the move by the Collector to transfer the incomplete and inadequate established resettlement sites to the Village Panchayat without the latter having the legal mandate, capacity and funds to complete the task of rehabilitating thousands of families residing in their original villages and still awaiting entitlements. 48

News and Notes

February 21, Chhattisgarh: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and tribal activist, Soni Sori is attacked by an acid like substance by two motor bike borne persons in Bastanar area. She was returning after a meeting with the members of Jagdalpur Legal Aid group. February 24,New Delhi: A massive rally of farmers, workers and various movements is organized by Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan at Jantar Mantar, where thousands of farmers, workers, fisherfolks, adivasis and project affected persons from ten states converge. Rally protests the attempts at diluting the Land Acquisition Act, 2013; the Forest Rights Act, 2006; mining in ‘No-Go’ areas; the attack on Soni Sori in Bastar; the targeting of students in campuses like Jawaharlal

Nehru University (JNU); the high handedness of the police and administration in collision with goons and the hate politics propagated throughout the country. March 4, Uttarakhand: Project Affected People of Vishnugaad- Peepalkoti hydroelectricity project oppose the visit of the officials of the World Bank. The World Bank funded project has received several complaints from PAFs with regard to incomplete rehabilitation work but they have failed to take any action and reslve their greivances. March 8, New Delhi: On the occasion of International Women’s Day, hundreds of women from different sections rally along with students of Jawaharlal Nehru University at Jantar Mantar demanding ‘azadi’/ ‘freedom’ from patriarchal norms, hierarchal set up, and violence against women and children. Tribal activist, Soni Sori joins the rally and condemns the government and police for failing to protect tribal women and their rights. March 11, New Delhi: An 11 member delegation from different people’s movements in India join the Long March organized by the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Power starting from Dhaka, Bangladesh. The delegation reiterates their support to the movement to protect the Sunderbans and call upon the governments of India and Bangladesh to cancel the Rampal Thermal Power Project and seek decentralized and sustainable solutions to address the energy issues.

March 28, New Delhi: The Joint Action Committee for Social Justice in Delhi holds a press conference to condemn the brutal attack by the Telangana State machinery on the students and faculty of the Hyderabad Central University (HCU). On March 22, 2016, Vice Chancellor, Appa Rao, resumes his office in HCU (even when he is one the accused in the case of institutional murder of Rohit), students began protesting against the HCU administration following which police are called on campus. On the same night, 24 students, 2 faulty and 1 media person are arrested with more to follow in the coming days. The HCU Administration in nexus with the state machinery converts the university into a concentration camp over night and cuts the supply of food, water and electricity to the student community for two whole days. Muslim students are targeted and female students face sexual harassment at the hands of the Telangana Police, CRPF and RAF. NAPM condemns these moves as unprecedented, undemocratic and extremely heinous against students who were demanding justice to Rohit Vemula. April 3, Maharashtra: Atya Devji Padvi along with 300 other project affected persons take actual possession in survey no. 32 in Khedle Shiwar, Tehsil Taloda, District Nandurbar as part of the land allotted to them as their due resettlement benefit as per the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal Award. This move comes after three decades of struggle and battling administration’s apathy. Narmada Bachao Andolan hails its as victory to their struggle and persistence.

“Where freedom is menaced or justice threatened or where aggression takes place, we cannot be and shall not be neutral.” ~ Jawaharlal Nehru The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS § April 5, Mumbai: GBGB Andolan Morcha for Ensuring Housing Rights and Basic Amenities to Urban Poor and Scientific Solutions for Dumping Waste in the City § April 9, New Delhi: Release of the documentary film titled Tehri 2015- Ten Years of Injustice and booklet,Why Dams? § April 14-15, Araria, Bihar: Ambedkar Jayanti Celebrations and Meeting of Executive Committee of JSS § April 15,Mumbai: Western and Central Indian Consultation Meeting and Site Visit in Presence of Special Rapportuer on Adequate Housing from U.N § April 22 – 23, New Delhi: National Convention on Industrial Corridors § April 24, New Delhi: National and State Conveners Meeting of NAPM § April 27 – 29, Bhopal: ChetavaniUpwaas by Narmada Bachao Andolan in Bhopal and elsewhere in the country in support of the demands of NBA. § May 1, Araria, Bihar: May Day Celebrations and MazdoorMela § May 7-June 4, Araria & Katihar, Bihar: Youth Internship Programme organized by JJSS page 47 continued...

taken into custody. These detainees were untraceable for 48 hours wherein they were brutally tortured and denied legal access. Following this, the university itself has been locked down with no access to food, water, electricity and internet connectivity. Students were brutally assaulted when they opened community kitchens. Lawyers and members of human rights organizations along with ordinary citizens of the city were denied access to the students, while HCU remains one of India’s biggest public universities. There have been similar violent attacks and undemocratic crackdown on students of campuses across the country such as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Jadavpur University, University of Allahabad etc. These are all depictive of the highest administrative authorities allowing such a silencing of debate. This type of 50

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dissent is unfortunate and the pattern of the growing nexus between student vigilante groups, youth wings of the ruling party, state and university authorities in college and university campuses across the country are in order to mobilize the state machinery against vulnerable students is disturbing. This has only resulted in creating a climate of fear and oppression in the country and it continually violates fundamental human and constitutional rights of students. The solidarity support extended to the students, staff and faculty of HCU are the suspension of the VC Appa Rao, a judicial enquiry into the role of the HRD Minister, Bandaru Dattatrey and the HRD Ministry itself in inciting violence against dalits on campus, an enquiry into the incidents of violence on the campus including the role of the ABVP in vandalizing the VCs office and the passage of the ‘Rohit Act’ against caste discrimination in education.

OPEN SPACE Wails of Yamuna -Sanjay Parikh On the Cruel Destruction of the Yamuna Floodplains: What Yamuna Felt and Wanted to Say to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Remove the shrubs Cut the trees Level the ground Fill-up all the low lying areas We will make it aesthetic and beautiful We will erect huge structures representing our culture

With stoic silence And dreamy eyes He imagined the ocean of crowd Bending before him in obeisance Praises and praises everywhere And his words like a melody Putting the crowd in a hypnotic trance.

We will dance Sing songs We will call millions of people To celebrate and make them part of a family ‘Vasudhev Kutumbakam’ is our tradition!

He demolished Her home mercilessly Bruised and injured She wept and wept Cried for help But mindlessly to fulfil his dream He went on a rampage To see her complete ruin.

She cried: Please don’t do it This is my space I flow here These trees and shrubs Are my part I exist in them This place is my home I have built it by toiling for hundreds of years Don’t ruin it please!

He only saw the magnificent palace A mammoth structure colourful and decorated He smiled and His eyes showed a streak of victory.

But He was full of his own self Which had left no space For listening to the cries of Yamuna Who was standing before Him with Folded hands Tears rolling down her eyes.

“It is so aesthetic So beautiful So serene Does it not show: Unity in diversity!!” He said. “I am the world World is my home!” He proudly announced.

The Movement of India | Mar - Apr, 2016

Crowd of millions trampled her body Writhing in pain she cried But mesmerized in a frenzy They clapped and cheered On whatever he said. Hurt, injured, unable to speak She complained to the sky To the wind and clouds To the day and night To Her Creator: “Save me from this cruelty From the hands of brutal forces Who are wearing masks of innocence.” Where have they gone Who searched the mysteries of nature And found the presence of God in it. Who were those Who saw Krishna playing on Yamuna’s bank And wrote hymns of love and worship. Where do we find Those who saw the eternity flowing in rivers Found it in trees, birds, butterflies Ponds, lakes, water-falls And filled with joy Ran to the mountain top To celebrate the colours of spring Spread on the river bank! I gave whatever I had To you with both hands Your children grew in my lap

I nurtured your emotions, Caressed when you were in pain And kept your tender thoughts In the crevices of the sand. Before my eyes you learnt slowly to crawl and walk I know how desires, jealousies and ego Over-powered knowledge, love and compassion. Please don’t tell me what is our Culture and tradition It is woven on my plains and floats in my waves. I am today deeply hurt: More than your acts Your hollow words pierce me. How an ambitious mind Can ever understand the mystery of relationship And realize how selfish hands Have robbed the dreams of our own children Who wanted to play on the sand I still don’t curse you You are also my child But miles and miles away from me. Alas, had you known that the god-head Which flows In this eternal consciousness Manifests in nature And that truly Is our spiritual heritage!

(Sanjay Parikh is an advocate in New Delhi. Email: sanjayparikh.advocate@gmail.com) 52

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