The Delhi Solidarity Group points to new railways policy affecting caterers. The policy has resulted in termination of employment and livelihoods for thousands of small caterers while monopolizing these services in favor of few businessmen.

Senior officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) came to the house of an RTI activist seeking information about illegal construction and threatened to have him murdered.

Despite Supreme Court orders, waste from the Union Carbide facility in Bhopal continues to go nowhere with incinerator not meeting environmental regulations.

Ashim Jain does a 007 maneuver to capture a senior government officer demanding bribe. The story from the hero's mouth.

With the government on the verge of a decision allowing Monsanto's btBrinjal, farmer groups, environmental groups and numerous civil society groups around the country is warning of major environmental, health and livelihoods crisis.

Political parties, civic society groups, NGOs and policy organizations gathered in Peshawar to put together a plan that could lead Pakistan out of the crisis of violence. This long note forwarded by members of that gathering recognizes the role of the establishment in aiding and abetting terrorist groups, provides insight into the communities affected and makes recommendations for the way out.

Satish Shetty - an RTI activist who had been actively using the law to bring to light numerous cases of corruption had requested police protection since he had been receiving threats. He was murdered. Commodore Lokesh Batra writes that whistleblower protection must become part of the law.

Participate in the Public Consultation on Bt Brinjal to be held by Shri. Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests (i/c) on Saturday, 23rd January 2010, 10.30 am - 2.00 pm at Good Shepherd Auditorium, Prof. Ashirvatham Circle, Residency Road - Museum Road Junction, Opposite St.Joseph's PU College, Bangalore 560 025

While few support groups continue to call for more democratic processes to prevail, the governments continue their offensive in Chattisgarh that have violated fundamental rights and derailed democratic processes. Within this context, perhaps a way out?

While Raj Thackeray and MNS manhandling Abu Azmi during the oath taking ceremony, there seems to be another growing divide. Tanveer Jafri writes.

A team of civic society leaders finds deteriorating democratic conditions in Manipur with increased state repression and human rights violations by state forces further alienating people of the state.

Zafar Iqbal writes about the implications of self-rule in Gilgit Baltistan. The enforcement of self rule regulations in Northern Areas and other current Pakistani measures are a visible sign that Kashmir and Kashmiri people are no more in Islamabad’s policies and priorities like the previous decades.

The Social Audit Padyatra (Foot March) in Bhilwara 2009 reached its last stage before the 11 special Social Audits in 11 panchayats of 11 blocks on Saturday, October 10, 2009.

S. P. Udayakumar reports from the 2 day rally in Delhi by the National Alliance of Anti-Nuclearization Movements.

Association for India's Development, in partnership with many other groups, is hosting events across the US and India to raise awareness about the crisis in Chhattisgarh

An interview with Anu Mohammad, Professor of Economics and Jahangirnagar University and member secretary of NGPOGMPP which has led Bangladeshi protests against contracts for oil drilling and exploration in Bangladesh to Irish and American companies.

On October 2nd, the National Alliance for Antii-Nuclear Movements plant to hold a rally in Delhi to protest aggressive nuclearization of India.

The two days convention on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), being held under the aegis of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI), concluded at Gandhi Bhawan, Lucknow on 10 September 2009.

Bangladeshi police attacked a large rally protesting the government's decision to to award three blocks to two IOCs with a provision allowing them to export up to 80 per cent of gas. Over 50 people were injured.

A Times of India interview of Shahvar Ali Khan. Khan talks about his Indo-Pak peace anthem as well as his sense of Pakistaniyat that does not depend on anti-India feelings.

Inspired by the dream of “One straw revolution” of Masanobu Fukuoka, G. Narendranath left his bank job to be a farmer in his native village in Venkatramapuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh.  Over the decades he along with his wife Uma Shankari have worked on Dalit issues and land struggles and led many padayatras working with others including Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vrutthidharula Union (APVVU). On his passing away, this article was posted by AID India.

Happy Birthday Madiba. You built the road to freedom. We need the courage to walk it. Shahidul Alam writes.

Goons of builders' lobby in Mumbai beat up Suresh Banjan - an activist who had been using legal processes and RTI to expose corruption in the builder groups as well as their nexus with policy makers.

The brutal eviction drive of Netaji Nagar a slum community situated in the near vicinity of Eastern Express Highway is on with Police personnel from Pant Nagar Police Station and builders unleashing terror on the innocent residents with the purpose of forcibly evicting the residents and handling the plot to the builder who has been leased 60 acres of land at throw away prices.

A national convention on the "Politics of Nuclear Energy and Resistance" is being organized in Kanyakumar, India (June 4-6, 200). S. P Udayakumar sends the concept note on this convention.

Jyothi and Raj write about the conference of electoral reforms recently held in Manipur and report on the formation of the Manipur chapter of the Campaign for Electoral Reforms in India.

Villagers who escaped the Maoist-Salwa Judum conflict return to their homes after three years - and still face unjust conditions. By Javed Iqbal.

Once again high drama ended with a whimper in Pakistan, our alter ego and bete noire. The Zardari-Nawaz Sharif duel camouflages yet another sordid deal between the US and  Pakistan's military top brass. The latter are on the way to brokering a deal between the new US regime and the Taliban, the "moderate" Taliban as Obama calls them to save his face. Dipanjan Rai Chaudhuri writes.

Thousands of Mumbaikars - including many who live in slums - registered their protest against Mumbai Metro Phase II, which threatens to be a land grab effort like Maytas project in Hyderabad.

The UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, in a statement to the UN Security Council stated that more than 50,000 people stuck in the crisis zone in the Sri Lanka conflict are having to bear well beyond what is expected from humans, with dire situation of food, medicine and constant threat from LTTE and the Government forces.

22800 members of tribal communities in 24 villages in Jalgaon district have not voted in election – boycotting the elections in protest of the systemic and government led violation of Forest Law, 2006.

In what looked like a road accident, an RTI activist was murdered in Bangalore. Post mortem studies indicate that Venkatesh mas murdered by assailants. Venkatesh had been instrumental in using RTI to save land from lank mafia in Bangalore.

Sandip Dasverma comments on reported statements by a Supreme Court Chief Justice of India that "terrorists have no human rights' - and the implications of this.

Amaresh Misra describes a new secular and inclusive front – including Muslims, Pasis, Chamars, Rajbhars, Musahars and Nonias, other Most Backward Hindu Castes and poorer sections from amongst the upper castes who had enough of the Mafia-Hindutva atrocities – that is rising from Azamgarh with the slogan: Azamgarh shuruaat karega, poora Bharat swarg banega.

The struggle for independence in India was primarily about access to democratic spaces for all who are citizens of the country. That democratic space is embodied by 'of the people, by the people, for the people'. And yet, it is access to that very space that governments in India – both central and state – have continued to erode.

The Daily News, a Sri Lankan paper, published an open letter from citizens of Pakistan following the attacks on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore.

The Jamia Teachers' Solidarity group present a report based on citizen investigation, public hearings and published reports on the 'encounter' at Batla House in Delhi, pointing to the number of unresolved questions.

The administration seems to harrass and oppress anyone who questions its actions or policies. The case of Shamim Modi is another example of such an attitude.

A milestone was achieved recently in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in Uttar Pradesh. The UP govt. approved payment of unemployment benefits of almost Rs. 15 Lakhs to 826 families in 20 villages of Mishrikh and Pisawa blocks of
Sitapur district.

Shahidul Alam portrays the hopes and the dreams of immigrants - leaving their homes for a chance to change their destiny. And the destiny of their families.

On 4th January, 2009, representatives of different sectors of Unorganized sector workers from slums of Mumbai including domestic workers, construction workers, skilled labourers, boot polish workers, and others assembled for a Panel Discussion on the recently introduced Unorganized Sector Worker's Social Security Bill 2008.

Police and the State in West Bengal are cracking down on all democratic dissent by labeling it as Maoist. Partho Sarathy Roy with Sanhati reports on state violence in Lalgarh.

One worker in Kolkata is standing up to the power of the Mall. Friends from Sanhati share with us details of the first phase of this conflict.

D. Bandyopadhyay revisits the bad policies surrounding the Singur Project and estimates the cost to the public for this communist misadventure. The author was the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministries of Finance (Revenue) and Rural Development, and the Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, Manila.

The campaign to save Chalakkudy River in Kerala and stop the proposal to build the Athirappilly Hydro Electric Plant has now passed 300 days. The proposed HEP and the dam will affect the biodiversity of the river valley as well as the lives and livelihoods of communities based on the River.

If someone, who stood by the oppressed, is ignored, even in death, the oppressed will treat that as their own humiliation. Kanchan Ialaiah on the death of former PM, Mr. V. P. Singh.

Arundhati Roy writes on the implications of the recent attacks in Mumbai and the policy choices that face us.

Dr Pugazhendi is a physician in Kalpakkam who has been working there for more than a dozen years. While treating people in villages around the nuclear facility, he has come to conclude that people are somehow affected by the processes inside the nuclear plant. After all, how else can he explain high incidence of cases among people in these communities with cancers, multiple myelomas, mutation in fingers, for example.  An Indian Express article.

Opinions after the attacks in Mumbai. Yogi Sikandar presents the "Lies of the Lashkar". A.M.Jamsheed Bahsa says that Indian Muslims stand in solidarity with the nation. Aijaz Zaka Syed asks "Will we allow mainstream Islam to turn into a moderate fringe, while extremists take centre-stage?"
 

M. Burhanuddin Qasmi describes his trauma as a citizen of Mumbai at the unfolding of the terrorist attacks.

Yogi Sikand describes LET and its motivation in bringing terror to Mumbai while also listing other groups with similar interests.

Dibyajyoti Ghosh writes that the struggles in Singur and Nandigram are not over. And that the country needs to evolve a more inclusive discussion on development, its impact and its gains.

Yogi Sikand translates this note by Maulana Waris Mazhari. 

On the 5^th of November I was in Khandwa, a town in central India, taking part in a rally organized by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), or Save the Narmada Movement. Dr. Rahul Pandey writes

Krishnaraj Rao supports conducting RTI inspection of files of public authorities arguing that it is the duty of citizens to ensure transparency and accountability of public institutions.

David Pugh reports on the state of lakhs of people in India displaced by reckless projects and inhumane governments as a result of his travels through numerous states in India specifically exploring these questions.

Human rights groups have acted with the support of the local courts to ensure the freedom of 188 more individuals enslaved by brick kiln owners in Sindh. The courts, however, did not press any charges against the kiln owners.

The Orissa government arrested Abhay Sahoo, president of a local group opposting POSCO's attempts to take over land in Orissa. He was arrested while undergoing treatment in ahospital in Paradeep.

While head of governments of South Asian nations met in Colombo to continue their usual discussions (which have little to show), non-government and people's organizations from across South Asia congregated to put together PeopleSAARC - South Asian cooperation built on interaction of the people.

Shahbaz Ahmed was arrested in connection with the blasts in Jaipur. A PUCH-PUHR team in Lucknow finds significant holes in police claims.

The Plachimada Struggle Solidarity Committee has sought greater role for Grama Sabhas in the management of groundwater resources of the State.

Sixteen-year- old Shahnaz knew nothing about the Right To Information (RTI) Act till a few months ago, but today she is grateful for the three-year-old law that helped her secure admission in a government school. An IANS article.

In an unprecedented move, last week thousands of Sunni and Shia Muslims gathered together in Lucknow to collectively offer prayers to mark the festival of Eid at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Two men were behind this monumental effort, both Lucknow-based Islamic clerics—the noted Sunni scholar Maulana Khalid Rashid Firanghi Mahali and the well-known Shia scholar and social activist, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq. Yogi Sikand writes.

‘Low-cost Housing’ for High Ranking IAS-IPS Officials: Affordable Housing, Mumbai Style.

Yogi Sikand translates sections of a book by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan pointing to the trends of violence within Islam and how they run counter to Islam's philosophy.

RTI-on-wheels - a mobile RTI awareness campaign and workshop format travels around Gujarat and Maharashtra, showing people how RTI could empower them

They sing in harmony. Rhythmic tunes with simple lyrics. The lilting songs and the dance-like-footsteps have a deceptive beauty. The metal sheets balanced on their shoulders may weigh tons. Bare feet on slippery clay weaving through scrap metal, is dangerous at the best of times. In pouring rain, and with the loads they carry, the smallest slip could spell disaster. They gently sway in careful steps singing to stay in synchrony. It is a song of death. Shahidul Alam writes.

Lok Sangharsh Morcha is holding a massive rally at Sagbara (Gujarat) on 1 september,08, opposing the nuclear deal, price hike in essential commodities, deteriorating system of basic amenities like education, employment and health facilities  in rural areas as well as for the rapid implementation of forest act, 2006, providing legal rights to tribal over forest land.

Local communities of fisherfolk, small and marginal farmers, dalit farm labourers and adivasis are opposing the set up of SEZs abd the development of the Coastal Industial Corridor in AP.

The story of policy redrafts in Bangladesh aimed to provide easy deals for foreign investors coming to mine. Tanim Ahmed writes for the NewAge.

A first hand look at implementation of government plans by an IT expert spending a month on Rural Information Centers in UP.

India Friends Association is organizing the US tour of Dr. Baba Adhav, a highly respected champion of workers rights based in Pune, India.

Many Kashmiri Muslims vociferously insist that the demand for independence of Kashmir has nothing to do with religion. Yogi Sikand critiques that position.

Yogi Sikand writes about Kishtwar and the strife that is tearing J&K. Whatever is left of it.

172 days of 'Walk Your Talk' campaign begun by Bhopalis affected by Union Carbide's accident (and the continuing mess within the plant site) on February 20th, 2008 finally yielded results with Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Chemicals, Fertilizers and Steel making a statement that action would be taken.

Mobilising Muslims - A man and a network with a mission. Yogi Sikand writes.

This Petition aims at stopping the unsustainable Proposed 300 million dollar Ski Village in Himachal.

A short film by Himali and Umang highlighting the impact of chemicals from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal on new borns in the neighborhood.

Medha Patkar anguishes about the horse trading and denigration of democracy we see leading to the vote on the nuclear deal and argues that it is time to truly bring back democracy of representation.

Jamaat-e-Islami organized a convention for Bangladeshi freedom fighters - under the guise of a newly formed organization. The only problem was that the freedom fighters who came quickly saw through it. Rahnuma Ahmed writes.

We are shocked to learn of the gruesome murder of senior activist and campaigner for prohibition of liquor, Mr. A.D. Babu, one of the state convenors of NAPM in Karnataka.

Many legal experts in Bangladesh are opposed to the anti-terror ordinance fearing that it will be used vindictively and victimize innocent people. Ashutosh Sarkar writes in the Daily Star.

I received an email from Jayne Bigelsen of the New York City Bar Association announcing that Aitzaz Ahsan, a prominent leader of the Pakistani lawyers who have played a significant role in ensuring the life of democratic institutions in the recent past, was to speak at the NYCBA.

The Indian Government is denying basic human rights to the children of Bhopal, the survivors of the world’s worst industrial disaster and among the worst of corporate crimes.

Yogi Sikand reports from a meeting held in Islamabad - on Democracy in South Asia, especially highlighting the vibrancy of intellectual debate and critique within Pakistan.

The Presidential Address of Hazrat Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri to the Annual Session of the Jamiat ul-Ulama-i Hind, Peshawar, 1927. Translated by Yoginder Sikand

A ten day fast has commenced to protest against draconian laws and demand release of Dr. Binayar Sen, Ajay TG and others. More than 60 organizations from more than 25 states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UK, USA, and other nations have endorsed the campaign. Some of these organizations are listed below:

The killing of activist Lalit Mehta in Jharkhand was a diabolical warning to those who question, write ARUNA ROY and NIKHIL DEY. (Indian Express, June 14, 2008)

The Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners has called for immediate repatriation of sick and mentally disabled prisoners on humanitarian grounds.

Human Rights Organization Masum under attack for coordinating "People's Tribunal on Torture" - a report from Sanhati

The popular Indian tourist city Jaipur was hit with a series of bomb blasts on Tuesday resulting in over 80 people dead. Outside of the troubled regions of Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East, this is the tenth terror bombing in India targeting civilians since 2005. A note by Kashif-ul-Huda.

As Prof. Agrawal takes on his fast-unto-death to protest the destruction of River Ganga by badly thought out projects undertaken by the central and state governments, we present a vignette of the man and his mission.

Manas Ghosh writes in the Doinik Statesman, revisiting the massacre of 8 in Shuchpur by CPI(M) cadre and the continued intervention by the CPI(M) led government that has continued to subvert and slow down the process of justice, despite orders from the courts.

Family secrets can be state secrets. Our mothers and fathers need to tell us stories. We need to discover ways of talking about silenced histories. And about the silenced present. Rahnuma Ahmed writes.

Rape and abduction of women in the east go unnoticed. ........Just before Batti MC election over 20 women were raped by STF in Akkaraipattu. Below incident happened on day of the PC election.  Election monitoring bodies have not considered these as election related violence leave alone any other action by the civil society groups.  By JamilaNajimuddin

When I packed my sleeping bag that early morning before sunrise for this long journey, I placed a white (khatak) scarf at the alter of His Holiness and said I have decided, whatever happens, I will make my way through.

“We have broken the backbone of the inhabitants of Nandigram. There will be no further resistance there”: Lakshman Seth, CPI(M) member of parliament, to the Chief Minister of West Bengal  as reported in Doinik Satesman, Kolkata, of 27 April 2008

The lawyers begin their protest movement against emergency laws and the Supreme Court judgment on the issue of bail

A conference on release of political prisoners was organized in Delhi - families of political prisoners presented their stories and the plight of these prisoners, often held without legal processes was discussed.

A coalition of Indian organizations is calling citizens and groups to join in protest against The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 2007 and The Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill, 2007 which will affect the rights of those displaced by adhoc non-democratic government processes.

Manshi Asher and Kanchi Kohli provide the perspective of those who will be thrown out of their land and their livelihoods by the Giant POSCO project. First published by Infochange .

POSCO not driven by philanthropy but shrewd planning to compensate displaced farmers. Authors believe that an economic scam in the making

Futures trading in wheat, rice and pulses like tur and urad has been suspended by the Forward Markets Commission as it caused market manipulation, leading to a rise in prices. But, still, futures trading is
being carried out in a number of agricultural commodities. Note by Krishan Bir Chaudhary (published in Indian Express, Business Week and numerous Indian Vernacular Dailies)

Violence erupted afresh in Nandigram since Friday after CPM workers allegedly attacked villagers in Gokulnagar area and gangraped a 50-year-old woman. Three persons, including the woman, were shifted to the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata on Saturday.

Truth is not just there, it is made real and ratified by action, but although to realize it and bring about a more just order one needs power, the truth cannot be allowed to be ensnared by power in the process. This is the role of public intellectual: to point out truths that are not convenient from the point of view of one's politics. A speech by Walden Bello

Civil society groups have stepped forward to end the quagmire in Manipur, wrest the initiative for future policies from armed actors (belonging to the State and other groups) by increase democratic participation as well as creation of awareness of the situation across India. An invitation.

As the Olympics torch makes its way through South Asia, Tibetans plan to protest Chinese torture of Tibetans in their homeland.

Angered by government support for the POSCO steel plant, hundreds of protestors stormed police barricades in Orissa’s Dhinkia. An eye-witness account by MANSHI ASHER. First published in Tehelka.

A photographic exhibition and film season that focuses on one of South Asia’s most significant political events: the foundation of Bangladesh as an independent state.

While the UPA government in India declared an end to the Prevention of Terrorism Act(POTA), it has used draconian amendments of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (ULAPA) to crack down on dissent within civic society, arresting judges, social activitists and political dissenters.

In a major victory for the rights of people and human rights movements, Asian Development Bank has decided to pull out of its funding for the Phulbari mining effort being driven by UK based MNC namely GCM Resources.

Why did students write on blank answer- scripts "Save BESU from becoming a Nandigram"? Students complain that CPM cadre and goons are targetting students inside the campus to join the student wing of CPM, or else.

Report from the first two days of the National Water Conference in Varanasi presents a broad range of discussions by members of local communities near Varanasi and representatives from communities affected by water from across India.

Over 1500 people marched to the Mehdiganj bottling plant that is operating without environmental authorization and demanded it shut down.

The campaign to stop funding hate (CFSH) presents an analysis concluding that chapters of Hindu Student Council in the USA are connected to the Sangh even though many members of the chapters may not be cognizant of this connection.

Visiting those who have suffered the burtalities of Hindu communalism in Ram Lal ka Kadda, Karthik Ramanathan concludes that the hope for Indian democracy can only arise from the oppressed sections.

Human rights is the last resort of the hopeless. Its liberal advocates don’t see it that way. They find it heroic, the foundation of a new international order that will, when established universally, guarantee secure lives for everyone, everywhere – from Tibet to Timbuktu. But would the subaltern, the oppressed – the target of human rights – necessarily agree?

A huge open cast coal mining project by a quoted British firm, that would displace up to 130,000 people in Bangladesh, is at the centre of an international row. GCM, a fast growing Aim-listed company, is behind plans to a dig up to 572 million tonnes of coal in a project that will displace people from Phulbari, in north-west Bangladesh, divert a river from its course, and destroy a mangrove forest that is a world heritage site. From The Guardian.

The mammoth 'Anti-Terrorism Convention' organised at Deoband late last month, which brought together ulema from all over the country, has received wide media coverage. Yogi Sikand reports.

In a community meeting in California, Ayesha Siddiqa Agha, author of the Military Inc., talks about the impact of the role of the army in Pakistan, and the recent elections. This was published by PakistanLink.com

A peasants' conference was organized in Sindh to focus on the problems of bonded labour.

Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan in exile in India, along with a few other Tibetans plan a march to China from India, arriving during the Olympics to draw attention to the cause of Tibetans and the oppression in Tibet

interview with Radio Gwank Balochistan - Advocate Shaker Bibi Baloch - Chairman of Baloch Women Panel - has demanded to Pakistani Government and the whole world community, that coming election in Balochistanon should be held on the basis of " right of self-determination".... as to enable Balochs to decide their own future destiny.

Asian Center for Human Rights analyzes the land acquisition and rehabilitation laws and its impact on communities in India.

Maharashtra Legislative Assemble passes bill on people's participation through formation of Area Sabhas

The Cheetas and the Kathats (also known as Merats or Mehrats) are two related clans. Most of them follow a mix of both Hindu and Muslim customs and many identify themselves as both Hindu and Muslim at the same time. Yogi Sikand describes how these communities are reacting to presence of religious insularity.

All over the world, groups who are fighting for local water rights are championing an international instrument on the right to water. Due to over-development and climate change, fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce. In addition, in many communities across the globe, people cannot get access to whatever clean water does exist without paying private corporations. The global water crisis is evident. We need a global solution in form of a United Nation Covenant on water.

It was a medieval idea that pain had to be inflicted on the body for truth to pour out. The purpose of modern torture is different. To instil fear. To crush political dissent. To wreak havoc and destroy lives. Often performed out of sheer habit. To assert supremacy. To possess nations. To build empires anew, writes Rahnuma Ahmed, NewAge, February 18, 2008. www.newagebd.com

A national conference on Right to Water is planned in Mehdiganj in UP, India from March 28th-20th, 2008. The venue is the site of an ongoing protest against the activities of the local Coca Cola plant and its adverse impact on the local water table.

Subhranshu Choudhury says that more than 4 farmers are committing suicide in Chattisgarh everyday.

Yogi Sikand writes about the community of Cheeta-Merat, in Rajasthan, that follows Hindu and Muslim traditions.

The people of Pakistan generally perceive the military to be the ruler of Pakistan. The perception is only partially true. Nonetheless, this perception damages the image of the armed forces. An article by Dr. Mubashir Hasan (Dawn, Jan 15).

The Maitreya project claims to by a multi-million dollar project to embody peace and raise awareness of peace. It is being built by displacing communities from over 200 villages.

'If you eats these dinners and don't cook 'em, if you wears these clothes and don't buy or iron them, then you might start thinking that the good fairy or some spirit did all that... Black folks don't have no time to be thinking like that... But when you don't have anything else to do, you can think like that. It's bad for your mind, though."

We celebrated the 59th Indian Republic Day with great patriotism and fervour. At moments, I am sure our eyes must have moistened with pride, while watching the parade and tableau showcasing our achievements. Even days later, the congratulatory mood is still on. An article by Pinky Pradhan.

While on a recent visit to Delhi, I chanced upon an Urdu book whose title, Tehrik-i-Islami Ko Darpesh Siyasi Challenge ('The Political Challenges Before  the  Islamic Movement'), immediately attracted my attention. Yogi Sikand presents a summary of this book.

Yogi Sikand explores the changing representation and voices of gender, caste, class and region within the Indian Mulsim community in the context of the Sachar report

Shahidul Alam describes the journey of a unique adventure in learning photography at Pathshala.

A joint statement by a large number of south asian groups working on human rights and justice have called to boycott a consultation initiated by the Asian Development Bank to mitigate advers impacts of its investments on people.

Separate madrasas for Muslim girls are a relatively recent phenomenon in India. Although the number of such madrasas is still small, there is a distinct trend towards setting up more such institutions, both
that provide only religious education, as well as those that combine both Islamic and modern subjects.An article by Yogi Sikand.

Black was the colour of pathos, and I was submerged in it. Women dressed in black sarees and salwar kameez were beating their chests to the chant of ‘Ya Hussain’. The chorus rose to a fevered pitch followed by a sudden silence. In that momentary silence was crystallized generations of mourning. The place – a Shia Muslim neighbourhood in Lucknow; the time – the tenth of Moharrum. If grief has different shades, on can see it during Moharrum.

Riazuddin Ahmed lost his parents and a sister in  the ghastly Nellie Massacre. But he has fought against all odds to revive the spirit to live. He has set up COMTI, a one man mission to compile biographies of Indian Muslim personalities whose contributions need to be remembered by the society. Nigar Ataulla writes.

A two part video from Phulbari titled "The Blood Soaked Banner of Bhulbari" describing the impact of the mines on people and the opposition  to the mines - now on You Tube.

Writers and artists gathered to protest West Bengal Government's treatment of Taslima Nasreen, despite a High Court Order that her novel was breaking no laws, in what reeks of communal appeasement and male chauvinism. More importantly, the state decided to prosecute the fundamental right to expression.

Community leaders from Uttar Pradesh write to the National Human Rights Commission to act against the recent violence against Christians in Orissa and are asking citizens and community groups from around India to join in.

Pressure has been mounting against the detention of Dr Binayak Sen in Chattisgarh with swelling number of people demanding unconditional and immediate release of Sen.

Shahidul Alam writes about the assasination of Benazir Bhutto and the political trajectory of Pakistan.

Tridip Suhrud writes about the changing landscape of Gujarati language, the increasing voice of machismo and the dying categories of compassion and love. This article was first published in Tehelka

The National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy of 2007 notified on 31 October 2007 fails to address the key issues relating to the booming of conflicts: forcible acquisition of lands. An Asian Center for Human Rights Report.

The Phulbari coal mine, proposed by GCM Resources Plc, is set to cause major social and environmental upheavals in the region, displacing upwards of 50 000 residents. Despite strong local opposition, investors UBS, RAB Capital and Barclays continue to back GCM with significant shareholdings.

Continued awareness efforts and Right to Information Camps in Kanpur have helped increase citizen awareness of government roles and have helped increase accountability of government officials.

The ironies that separate those interested in development and the lives of the poor - Shahidul Alam writes.

Nasiruddin Haider Khan writes that perhaps in the minds of many Gujaratis who idolize Modi, Muslims do not have a place in Gujarat

Chengara speaks to India through the Chengara Pledge (given below), which thousands of people, in struggle for the last 120 days in Chengara Harrison Malayalam Estate, (also called as Laha Estate) seeking ownership of cultivable land to all 5,000 struggling families. Land struggle in Chengara, Pathnamtitta district, Kerala by landless Dalits and Adviasis (as well as scores of families from OBC communities, Muslims etc) from all parts of Kerala, started on 4 August 2007.

Reports coming from Orissa tell us of police and goons of the state government attacking a non-violent demostration against POSCO takeover with bombs and further intimidation of the demosntrators.

While the Prime Minister very honourably lost sleep over the case of Dr Mohammed Haneef, a Bangalore doctor, who was framed in Australia during the month of July 2007 as having been involved in the blast case at Glasgow Airport, we have not heard of him losing sleep over Dr Binayak Sen (an acclaimed doctor and general secretary of PUCL who is being framed and is under arrest since summer of 07).

With the caretaker government in Bangladesh making new rules for voter registration, there is fear among the paharis in the Chittagong Hill Tracts that they will be left without voting rights. A review from Bangla Word Press.

Medha Patkar sends an update on the situation in Nandigram following the November 14th killings.

As CPI(M) would have liked, a petition (perhaps initiated by Prof Vijay Prashad) has signatories such as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Walden Bello and Tariq Ali asking Bengal and India to not make an issue of the atrocities of the CPI(M) government in Bengal so that the left unity is not broken. Prof. Dipanjan Raichaudhuri and Kunal Chattopadhyay respond as also a broad community of other Indians identifying with the left.

The official death toll from a savage cyclone that wreaked havoc on southwest Bangladesh reached 1,723 Saturday — the deadliest storm to hit the country in a decade.

The Pakistani community in the USA has vocally opposed the emergency imposed by General Musharraf in Pakistan, deploring the suspension of fundamental rights, the arrest and detention of thousands of lawyers, human rights activists, judges, students and journalists.

Friends of Tibet organizes a workshop with ideas from 'Theatre of the Oppressed' in Dharamsala.

Citizen's groups have been apalled by Brinda Karat's call for more violence against political adversaries. Other groups have called for expression of support for people of Nandigram from civic society across India.

Farooq Tariq. general secretary of the Labour Party Pakistan has been in hiding since the emergency began. On the 14th day of his hiding, he attended a meeting when Ms Bhutto met with other leaders of civil society. A report from Farooq Tariq.

In an article that first appeared in counterpunch, B. R. Gowani writes a letter to Bhutto asking questions about her credentials to lead Pakistan to democracy.

Shri Jugal Kishore Raybir, the National President of Samajwadi Jan Parishad and a leader of autonomy movement in North Bengal passed away in teh morning of 6 November at Jalpaiguri. A bachelor and full time political activist, he was 61 and was suffering from Lukemia for the last three months.

Indian lawyers, advocates and judges are endorsing support for Pakistani lawyers in their fight against the power grab by General Musharraf.

The former Pakistani captain and now political leader, Imran Khan, goes on the offensive against General Musharraf's obvious attempt to hang on to power and urging Pakistanis to demand democracy for themselves.

Following imposition of emergency of Pakistan, members of various civic society groups and political opponents have been arrested. In many cases, no charges have been filed. Groups around the world have expressed solidarity with community groups opposing the emergency.

Academics, economists, politicians and activists jointly announced the formation of a people's tribunal against the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank on Sunday.

On October 25^th, 2007, over 600 people marched and rallied against the Coca-Cola bottling plant in the village of Sinhachawar in Ballia district (Uttar Pradesh) in India yesterday, demanding that the plant be shut down permanently.

Another Coca Cola plant in Sinhachavar, in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh has become the center for protests as the local government body has demanded that government revoke its license to the plant.

A group of college students,  Americans of Indian origin, visited Coke's India headquarters in Delhi and Mehdiganj where local communities say they are affected by Coke's activities. A report.

The four days of Durga Puja signify carnival time in West Bengal. On the main Saptami Puja day, Thursday the 18th of October, a few of us witnessed a tiny act of defiance by the small traders of Nonachandanpukur Bazaar, in Barrackpore, within the area loosely called Greater Calcutta.

There has been never any other better time in history of Pakistan for a greater Left unity than the present time. There is great urge among all the Left and progressive forces to unite on one platform.

Along with local organizations, Asha Ashram co-organized RTI Camps in Kanpur in UP and Tamulpur, Baksa, in Assam.

Revisiting the protests against Sonia Gandhi outside the UN, Sandip Dasverma writes: A question often bothers my mind: Are we are becoming a shallow and mean people? Or we are just allowing such people to represent us by default?

Various groups in Burma are asking neighbours - especially China, India and Thailand - to stop business as usual with the military regime in Burma.

Local groups across the world plan a candle light vigil in support of farmers in India and the agricultural crisis that is driving thousands to commit suicide.

With the 4th day of the People's Tribunal on World Bank coming to an end, officials of the World Bank decided to stay away saying that they were not accountable to this forum.

Responding to a request under RTI, the GoI Hydrology department has shown that water levels in 9 out of 13 stations in Varanasi district have fallen below drought conditions; yet, the Coca Cola plant continues to pump water out of the ground.

The Independent Peoples Tribunal on the World Bank Group in India got underway at New Delhi today at a packed auditorium at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Rights activists across the world today kicked off a five-day demonstration in support of the movement in Manipur for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers Act) and hunger striker Irom Sharmila - The Telegraph reported.

On 21 September 2007, hundreds of people will assemble in New Delhi to put the World Bank on trial. In four days of parallel sessions in front of more than a dozen judges, people from all walks of life will air their grievances against one of the world's most powerful institutions.

Over a hundred people from across the country will present testimony at the Independent People's Tribunal on the World Bank in India this month. From 21-24 September intellectuals, grassroots activists, and those willing to come forward to speak about the impact of World Bank projects and policies on their communities will convene at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

Ram Krishnan, an NRI living in the USA writes about his learnings as he travels through India.

26 August 2007 will mark the first anniversary of the memorable mass  resistance waged collectively by all people, - young and old, men and women, Bangalees and aboriginals against the infamous Phulbari Coal Project characterized by fraudulence and rule-bashing designed to plunder natural resources under people's ownership, simultaneously causing devastation of human life and environment.

It has been a year of violence in Sri Lanka after the failed peace efforts. Here are some stories of people affected by the violence - not stories of the government or the factions of LTTE.

India continues to support the military junta in Burma with hopes of business contracts and resolution of border issues - none of these have materialized. An ACHR report.

It is now almost five months since Irom Sharmila returned to Imphal on 5th March 2007, to continue her hunger fast against the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The situation continues to be grim - both for Sharmila as well for all those suffering under the prolonged implication of AFSPA.

A bridge collapses in Minneapolis. A dam collapses in Rajasthan. How two democracies react gives us an insight to these democracies.

The National Alliance of People’s Movements, a network of over two hundred people’s movements in India working for social and economic justice, believes that the India-US nuclear deal has grave consequences for India’s national security and sovereignty, for India’s relations with its neighbours, for India’s economy, for the health of its people and for the state of its environment.

University of Illinois is the third university this summer -- following Smith College in the U.S. and the Banaras Hindu University in India -- to have terminated its beverage contract with Coca-Cola.

Noted Pakistani human rights activist Asma Jahangir Monday urged India and other democracies to support the lawyers' movement for the restoration of democracy in the neighbouring country.

Local communities are opposing a set of hydel projects planned in Sikkim that threatens homes, livelihoods and the local economies. Not surprisingly, though, the government continues without taking into account people's concerns. We are requesting readers to to ask the government to change its re-evaluate its processes.

Photographers from the Global South - from artists in Bhutan to a small studio in Bolivia and from Kathmandu to Dili - put together a photo-essay on the struggles of human rights and justice from their homes.

In the more than one year of its existence, the commission found 96 cases where PIO had illegally denied information. Despite pompous pronouncements of Rs 25,000 penalties against errant PIOs, not one errant PIO has been fined till date. A Hindustan Times article.

Seventeen farmers and activists from twenty four villages in Raigad District of Maharashtra have gone on indefinite fast since 19 July 2007. This is a symbolic non-violent struggle against the unabated land acquisition by the Reliance group for their 10,000-hectare-plus Maha-Mumbai SEZ (special economic zone).

A number of civil society groups are organizing an Indian Civil Society Summit in Bangalore on 25th and 26th of August to mark 60 years of independence. The event hopes to be an open forum for an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of our people and opportunities as we go forward.

Ayesha Siddiqa’s book “Military Incorporated: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy” is not only a brave work that provides a first in depth look at the monopolization of sectors of Pakistani economy by the military but also presents us with much learning regarding scenarios in South Asia and the impact of eroding civic society participation.

Three citizens of New Delhi plan to present a Public Interest Litigation demanding that the government act to proactively increase transparency and engender a greater environment of participative democracy by changing nomenclature of public functioning.

Madhulika has written about an ongoing struggle where government and contractors on government projects were not paying laborers minimum wage. After months of struggle, now, the laborers have finally received minimum wages.

In a shocking finding, another Coca-Cola bottling plant in India has been found to be operating in complete violation of environmental laws and regulations in India. Communities around this plant have begun protests at this discovery.

Indefinite Hunger Strike demanding rehabilitation of those displaced by the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar projects has entered the 5th day. The plight of displaced people worsens due to blatant flouting of Supreme Court orders. Displaced people argue that the price of thousands of lives is larger than the State's fiscal loss.

On Sunday June 3rd, 2007, Pakistani Americans and their friends will hold a rally for the democracy and justice in Pakistan. The rally is planned outside the White House.

As India celebrates the 150^th Anniversary of the 1^st War of Independence (1857), we refer to Aflatoon’s presentation of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s speech on 11^th July 1944 to the Azad Hind Fauj and his reference to this First War of Independence. It is especially poignant to listen to Netaji’s reference to Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Dr. Binayak Sen was produced today in the court of the Additional CJM at Raipur along with the co-accused, Mr. Pyush Guha. Dr. Sen was sent on judicial remand to Raipur Central Jail until 5^th June, 2007.

Two key organizations representing the fishermen community have condemned the appointment of a retired army officer as general manager of Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) and termed it illegal and in violation of bylaws of the society.

Association for Democratic Reforms, in collaboration with numerous NGOs and civic society groups in UP undertook a massive effort for greater electoral awareness and transparency during these elections - a report.

Singur in India showed clearly that Communism provides no alternative to the violence of free market Capitalism. We must look elsewhere.

Feryal Gauher's speech at the fourth Punjab Development Forum, April 23-24, 2007 in Lahore questions the model of development in Pakistan and suggests a more human sensitive process of development.

"India has developed an installed capacity of 5,340 MW from wind power just over the last decade compared to 3580 MW from nuclear power developed over the last five decades." Dr Sandeep Pandey writes about the ironies of nuclear power after a visit to Koodankulam.

In Orissa and in Madhya Pradesh, state forces are being used to perpetrate violence against communities opposing government policies. Is this becoming a norm? Its time to call and ask the governments what they are thinking!

Two members of Friends of Tibet were arrested while attempted to storm the Chinese embassy to demand the release of Panchen Lama - one tried to self-immolate himself. They were then taken to Tihar where they went on a hunger strike for over 3 days. After being moved to Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital, New Delhi, we now learn that they have been released.

Group presenting DVDs with a wide range of social issues.

Madhulika writes about a protest in rural Rajasthan against corruption by government agencies and contractors implementing the Prime Ministers Village Road Program and the National Right to Employment Guarantee Act where rural workers are not being paid minimum wages and numerous clauses are being flouted. A follow up to earlier events.

Workers, farmers, fisherfolk, women, representatives of tribal and dalit communities and displaced people came to Delhi in mid March to hold the "People's Parliament" and to present to the members of the Indian Parliament their concerns and grievances. They were beaten up by police while policy makers ignored them. Now they present their note vis-a-vis the direction that India should take.

Peasant and Workers gathered in Hyderabad to demand pro-people policies from their government

While the Indian and Pakistani governments talk about confidence building measures and increased people to people interactions, the relaity has not changed. Nine young cyclists from Maharashtra, having carried the message of peace through 2000 KM in India, on their way to Islamabad were denied visas by the Pakistani government.

Democracy is about the ability to expressing dissenting opinions. Yet, the government of the largest democracy, yet again, beats up non-violent dissenters seeking to present their opinions to the planning commission. Ask the government to respect democratic processes.

A growing community is opposing the government's plans to build another nuclear plant. With the government continuing with its plans, without acknowledging local concerns, things seem to be moving to a head.

"Nandigram did not surprise me. I was anguished and angry but not surprised. I had heard the story of Alipurduar from Jugal Kishore Raybir." This article by Yogendra Yadav first appeared in the Indian Express.

Nine cycling enthusiasts from various walks of life are bicycling from near Mumbai to Islamabad. A diary from their fourth week as they approach Delhi.

"We do not buy seeds from the market because we suspect they may be contaminated with genetically engineered or terminator seeds," says Pavamma, a Dalit woman in village Palarum, near the town of Zaheerabad, about 110 kms north-west of the high-tech city of Hyderabad. Women of Zaheerabad take on Monsanto and show the way to food security.

Nine cycling enthusiasts from various walks of life are bicycling from near Mumbai to Islamabad. A diary from their third week.

World Sindhi Institute in Washington DC is organizing a discussion forum on Lahore Resoution Day (March 23rd) to talk about oppression by the Pakistani State.

Friends of Tibet recently announced chapters in Pakistan and Nepal. While providing our readers with a short note on the organization, we also encourage our readers in Nepal and Pakistan to support the organization.

Nine cycling enthusiasts from various walks of life have joined hands to undertake a unique mission. They are going to cycle all the way from Panvel, near Mumbai to Islamabad, through Wagah, Lahore, and Rawalpindi  - spreading the message of peace between India and Pakistan on their way.

Madhulika writes about a protest in rural Rajasthan against corruption by government agencies and contractors implementing the Prime Ministers Village Road Program and the National Right to Employment Guarantee Act where rural workers are not being paid minimum wages and numerous clauses are being flouted.

Nasir Aziz, Therese Caouette and Ethan Casey travel to IslandWood (http://www.islandwood.org/) on Bainbridge Island near Seattle to interview Edith Mirante, human rights advocate and author of the travel books Burmese Looking Glass and Down the Rat Hole. The conversation ranges from the plight of Rohingya Muslim refugees from Burma in Bangladesh and as far afield as Karachi, to the political crisis in Bangladesh, to the role of Burma's huge army, which has ruled the country since 1962. For more Pakcast discussions, click here.
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While farmers continue to commit suicide owing to crop failure and debts, the government refuses to take an action against Dow even while it is discovered by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the company made improper payments to regulatory officials in India, introducing numerous pesticides that fall outside Indian regulations.

In an article in Outlook India, Sandeep Pandey writes: The country's deeply-flawed development plans can be rejected by the poor

This is a story of change among tribal communities in Jharkhand - a story of economic empowerment, of government accountability and revival of a dying tradition. It is a story of revived cultural identity for tribal communities. It is a story not about change driven by money but by a motivation and commitment.

A study of water samples in the vicinity of the Coke plant in Mehndiganj conducted by People’s Science Institute, Dehradoon, and Hazard Center, Delhi, finds Coke responsible dangerous levels of toxic metals of Cadmium and Chromium in the groundwater.

In an earlier article we had described the deceitful ways of the government in hoodwinking people in Koodankulam about the proposed Nuclear plant. As more deceit unfolds, the people of the area have started a rights based people's campaign.

When World Bank loans earmarked for local labor and livelihoods are being siphoned off by corrupt bureaucrats and contractors, for example with the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the people of Chittoragarh have decided that perhaps Gandhigiri may be the way to address their concerns.

During the weekend of January 13^th and 14^th, a film festival for peace in South Asia was held across 5 cities in India and Pakistan.

Members of the Environment Impact Assessment Task Force, charged with making changes to EIA by the Planning Commission resigned over the unwillingness by the task force to hold public hearings. These members have now presented a public document for discussion.

While many projects for 'development' are displacing communities, the attitude of callousness for people being affected transcends the bureaucracy. An example from Himachal on the abuse of communities and environments around project sites.

On 10^th January, activists including Medha Patkar, were arrested in the most undemocratic fashion and, were detained at the Salt Lake Stadium of Kolkata as they were about to leave the place where she was staying and proceed towards Singur.

The Pakcast crew of Nasir Aziz and Ethan Casey join Human rights advocate Therese Caouette, who has worked with refugees in Thailand and Pakistan, for a lively discussion of refugee issues, including their impact on host societies. Ambreen Ali contributes a podlumn on Domestic Violence in South Asian Communities. For more Pakcast discussions, click here.
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What is it like to be a modern-day Indian prince? Devinder Sharma and Bhaskar Goswami explain how the laws of the land are being redefined to bring in the reality of the royal tag for the rich and beautiful. This article was published on ZNet.

Addressing a press conference today leaders of four organizations of survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal strongly condemned Chairman Tata Group Ratan Tata's offer to clear the path for Dow-Union Carbide's investments in India by leading an effort to pay for and clean up Union Carbide's toxic waste in Bhopal.

The 2nd January 2007 marked the first anniversary of the Kalinganagar massacre in Orissa. Kalinganagar is one of the clearest examples of brutal abuse of power by the State agencies. After one year, justice, compensation and a sound policy on rehabilitation elude the displaced in Orissa as it does in The Displaced India. The  Asian Center for Human Rights remembers.

A report released by a committee of Singur-based organisations investigating the Singur unrest in West Bengal over a land deal between the government and Tata Motors has revealed that the government's claim of most of the land being waste was utterly false.

Coming to the run up to the elections - and the ensuing violence and chaos, a letter from Bangladesh demands better governance and public accountability of its politicians.

In the summer of 2005, some visionary Indians and Pakistanis decided to jointly march from New Delhi to Karachi, meeting with communities along the way and talking about peace. This is a short film on that march following it for a week through the plains of Punjab, India.

Police fired on protesters rallying against the setting up of the Karcham Wangtu hydro electric project in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. We are requesting your expression of solidarity with the Karcham Wangtu Sangharsh Samiti and the Himalayan Policy Campaign Committee, demanding justice from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Members of the Indigeneous People's Center for Policy and Human Rights in the North East write about violations of public hearing and other democratic processes and state violence against peaceful opposition of the Tipaimukh Project on the Barak River.

Medha Patkar writes about Singur, about the half lies and cover-up of the Left government, about CPI(M) cadre intimidating villagers, all to help develop people of Bengal.

Police fired on protesters rallying against the setting up of the Karcham Wangtu hydro electric project in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. Same action, another location.

A report from the audit of NREGA work in Gosani block of Gajapati district in Orissa is presented. The workshop was conducted by AID Rural Technology Center, Orissa.

A fast track court of Judge Brijmohan Gupta has dropped all charges filed against Nandlal, Shivlal, Rajesh Gupta and Laxman Rathore – members of Lok Samiti and residents of Mehndiganj – that were filed by the government and Coke after the mass rally outside the Mehndiganj plant in 2004.

"Gandhigiri" brings together the country for the cause of farmers. Candlelight vigils being organised across the country.

The NREGA Act 2005 guarantees “legal right of a hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to adult members of a rural household who demand employment & are willing to do unskilled manual work”. This is a report from the 4th people's audit on NREGA organized in India. One key finding - only 7 women were employed!

The Indian Government has gone on offensive against Tibetan groups in India, fearful of Tibetan protests against Chinese repression in Tibet during  Chinese President Hu Jintao's India visit.

A candlelight vigil at Jantar Mantar to protest government policies that have resulted in the death of over 150,000 farmers in India has been largely ignored by the national media.

Privatising pensions is about expanding stock markets, liberalizing financial markets and changing the role of the state – and not about pensions. A. Ercelan and K. Ali with Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research present a critique of changing pension policies and support structures for the elderly in Pakistan.

Times of India published an article by Sandeep Pandey on what he sees as hopeful changes on the coming together of people and the evolving reality that another world is possible.

Support Sharmila Irom, Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Restore Right to Life

The Coalition of Tamils and Muslims for Peace and Coexistence describes the state of civilians in Muttur, and while pointing out that the state as well as the rebel forces have failed the people, request the world to listen to their stories.

Somnath’s article on the question of development (in the context of another landgrab in Singur) that remains undebated in the media was published in The Statesman

Maryam, a Pakistani student at Boston University, talks to us about a youth event in Lahore earlier this year and her experiences in helping organize the event. This audio interview is part of an evolving effort of Radio South Asia.

The Ministry of Rural Development has introduced a draft rehab policy (NRP) 2006 on their website for comments while providing seven days for comments on such a critical policy and that too by only making it accessible on the website. This is incompetence at best, gross negligence and manipulation at its worst.

In a rare case, the Information Commission has slapped the wrists of the Tamil Nadu Public Authority Department for failing to provide information about Public Information Officers.

Despite widespread protest, a fraudulent public hearing organized by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board took place at Tikri on Tuesday, Oct 17, which addressed the expansion of the illegal mining and refinery project owned by Utkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL), a joint venture of Hindalco (Aditya Birla group) and Alcan (Canadian aluminium giant), in the 5th Schedule areas of Baphlimali and Doragurha in Rayagada district, Orissa.

iFaqeer writes on Benazir Bhutto's visit to the Bay Area, on Imran Khan's politics and political processes and on other Pakistani idols.

“I am a pagan. Like Nehru was. I think it has to do with the roots. All is one and Islam finally achieved the unity of God. It is irrelevant to discuss His existence, form and shape. It doesn’t actually matter. We now need to achieve the unity of humankind. A just, egalitarian and peace loving human society.”

Communities in Koodankulam, the site of a proposed nuclear power plant, are confused over source of water for the power plant, especially given the drought like conditions in the last year. A farce of a public hearing organized by the government has not helped.

An estimated 20,000 small farmers and other food producers in Singur (West Bengal, India) will be evicted on September 27, 2006 by the Left Front West Bengal government. In the name of "development", their 1,253 fertile lands will be given to Tata Motors, a giant Indian company. We urge you to support the struggle of Singur people to keep their land. Please sign on to the petition letter online: http://www.foodsov.org/html/takeaction05.htm

The SouthAsian spoke with Hasil Bizenjo, a leader of the Balochistan Nationalist Movement, on the situation in Balochistan, the events leading to the murder of Nawab Bugti by the Pakistani government and the lack of international solidarity.

Irom Sharmila, a Manipuri woman fasting in Delhi has brought focus on to the heniousness and the implications of this Act that has allowed soliders perpetrate excesses under the guise of protection of  national interests.

Arvind Kejriwal, 2006 Magsasay Awardee for "activating the right to information movement at the grassroots" speaks about various aspects of clean governance via Right to Information.

A fiasco was arranged by the authorities in the name of a public hearing - a necessary component of setting up a new plant - for the proposed nuclear plants in Koodankulam, leading to the question whether the government is truly honest and sincere about the needs of the people.

Atul Deulgaonkar writes about his trip to Pakistan for the South Asian Conference On Sanitation and describes a serious thrust for peace and humanity within Pakistan

Anna Hazare now has undertaken a march through rural Maharashtra from 14^th September 2006 to 9^th November 2006 to present to people the context of the Right to Information Act and how it can empower our citizens. His message is presented for our readers.

The march for Rights to Water has discovered more examples of effluent dumping by the Colas in Hathras and in Mathura.

50000 farmers challenge Maharashtra Government, and corporations against proposed establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near Mumbai even as Pune trade unions oppose this plan.

Hyderabad district has been facing havoc of rain since last one & half month but on 7 September, with heavy rains, there have been flood like situations. It has been the heaviest rain in the history of Hyderabad.

The second visa-free and peaceful South Asia convention held in Lahore – widely covered in the Pakistani Press – was a forum for much discussion by various members of Indian and Pakistani citizen groups.

As the Right to Water March goes through its third week, there has been huge support in the heartland of Northern India. The march has already passed through 7 communities in the neighborhood of bottling plants and these communities - schools and colleges, village sabhas, small town meetings - have expressed solidarity through signature campaigns and return invitations to the marchers. Under pressure from these communities, CPCB has agreed to investigate pollution dumping by Coke at its Mehdiganj plant.

Citizen groups protest the violence against Muslims in the ongoing civil strife in Sri Lanka. And yet, the international peace monitors and media have largely ignored this aspect of the violence in Sri Lanka - not that other aspects of violence are being resolved either.

The SouthAsian spoke with Ashoka Fellow Lenin Raghuvanshi about the problem and he speaks at length about the effect of WTO and the collapse of the weaving and handloom industry, the feudal system of contracting labor, of their efforts to build a democratic capitalist model and of preventing communalization. You can listen to the interview here.

This government came to power with a mandate to be more sensitive to people’s needs after the ironic India Shining campaign by BJP. The ironies continue with some of the most anti-people policies being promulgated by them.

University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), Sri Lanka (UTHR(J)), present a report on The wider implications of the Human Rights and Humanitarian crisis in Jaffna. The entire report, released on 14^th September 2006, is carried here.

Jal Adhikar Yatra (March for Right to Water) began in Mehdiganj, Varanasi, on September 10, 2006, and shall conclude in Delhi on October 5, 2006. This is led by people directly ill-effected by Coca Cola Plant in Mehdiganj who are demanding access to water and protection from indiscriminate siphoning of water by large companies.

As part of the second gathering of Indians and Pakistanis for a Visa free and Peaceful South Asia, visiting Indian citizens join in a fast in Lahore with their Pakistani hosts. Leading up to the event, Pakistani youth had organized a program where they pledged to work for Indo-Pak peace.

Hingoli, one of the most backward districts in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, is witnessing a great step forward as people are holding the inefficient and corrupt local government accountable during last four months.

In an interview with Nandlal on the first day of the Jal Adhikar (Right to Water) Yatra, we learn about the goals of the yatra, the importance to right to water and evidence of Coke's role in the rapidly dropping water levels in Mehdiganj.

"I have lost a son, maybe I'll lose another, but I won't let them setup a coalmine here." To Tahmina Begum who had lost her son Toriqul to police bullets, her land was also her family.

• Environmental Laws Changed to Suit Industry; People Not Consulted 
• Disastrous EIA Notification Likely to be Announced Soon 
• Call Environment Minister A. Raja (91 11 23010468, 23010764)
• Mail MoEF at envisect@nic.in asap and express your strong concerns about this secretive and fastrack move
• Sign the Petition opposing this ad hoc amendment

The Jal Adhikar (Right to Water) Yatra that makes its way through communities in UP, MP and Rajasthan that are demanding respite from privatization of water, its indiscriminate overuse by for profit agencies and falling of water tables.

The Anticocacola struggle commitee staged a Dharna in front of Kerala Pollution Control Board DisrtictOffice Palghat 0n Sept 2. More than three hunderd people including women from Plachimada took part in the Dharna.

Pakistani government reported that tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti has been killed in a battle between tribal militants and government forces in Balochistan province.

A review of three different articles on the importance of complete access to files vis-a-vis RTI by Arvind Kejriwal in The Stateman, Aruna Roy and Nikhil De in The Kashmir Times and Maja Daruwala and Venkatesh Nayak in The Daily Tribue.

Habib ur Rehman, of the Association of Indian Minorities explores methods of minority representation in other democracies around the world and makes a case for such representation in India.

Faisal Mamsa, a medico in USA presents a question. Do we have any answers?

It is not surprising that the US government has stepped in to try and protect the interests of Coke and Pepsi in India.

Under pressure from citizens all over the country, the UPA government has decided not to introduce any amendment to RTI during this session.

Requesting financial contributions to support civic society led national awareness campaign against the amendment to constrain our Right to Information. Please click here to donate. 6% of our target has been raised at this point.

In Pakistan 800-1000 people belonging to different sections 'are disappeared by various state apparatus'.

Communities around the nation have joined hands in opposing the amendment to the Right to Information. We are asking you to take small steps that can strengthen the freedom of India.

Visting Hardoi, Sitapur, Unnao, Chandauli, Varanasi and Sultanpur during the ongoing 1^st to 15^th July, 2006, RTI campaign, which has now become popular as ‘Use RTI : Don’t Pay Bribe’ national campaign, one finds that the officials are quite reluctant to see the Right to Information Act, 2005, implemented in its true spirit. Sandeep Pandey reports from UP.

Do you remember being filled with pride when people praise India for being the largest functioning democracy in the world?
Do you remember hanging your head in shame when people ridicule India's reputation as one of the most corrupt nations?

If you answered yes to one or both of the above questions, then you should ACT NOW.

The Pakistani government cracked down on Power Loom workers and unions in Toba Tek Singh who were striking to demand raises in pays so that their pays were the same as workers in Faisabad. 27 workers were arrested.

Bhaskar Save - from Kalpavruksh - writes to M. S. Swaminathan, the 'father' of the Green Revolution in India and the current chairman of the National Commission ON Farmers regarding the severe implications of the ongoing policies on agriculture.

Indian social thinkers and activists speak with peaceniks in Pakistan. Virtually.

Various citizen groups and civic society leaders have expressed disappointment at the attempted amendment to limit file notings from RTI disclosures.

The government – and the Supreme Court case vis-à-vis foreign funds of NBA – has raised an important issue. What are the implications of foreign funds and how does the Indian State see this?

In April this year, Four Directions UK announced its intention to concentrate solely on the continuing struggle of the Tibetan people for freedom in their own land.

While the Pakistani President talks about peace with India on one hand, peace activists working on Indo-Pak peace are under threat. One activist – Asif Baladi – has been kidnapped by ISI.

At a recent panel discussion organized by Association of Pakistani Physicians in North America (APPNA), the audience booed Dr. Farooq Sattar a stalwart of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for undemocratic processes in Pakistan and within the party. Dr. Manzur Ejaz analyzes this urge for democracy coming from Pakistani expats.

Dr. GN Devy, A Sahitya Akademi Award winner, and founder-director of the Tribal Academy in Tejgarh, Gujarat speaks with Sankarshan Thakur. This was first published in Tehelka on May 20, 2006

Adivasis of the Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh have been fighting for their right to a dignified life. This struggle has now reached a critical juncture where your support is required.

Prof. Ramneek Mohan presents his thoughts on concrete steps that the Visa Free and Nuclear Free South Asia Conference should consider.

Sandip Dasverma presents a satire on Narendra Modi's bid to fish in the troubled waters of Mumbai bomb blasts.

Brunda Kattekola presents an overview of the campaigns against Coke in India.

Student parliaments at four universities in Germany: the University of Cologne, University of Bonn, University of Wuppertal and the University of Arts have vowed to wage campaigns to ban the sale and marketing of Coca-Cola products from their campuses.

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), The Southasian, and other south asian peace organizations utterly deplores the bomb blasts in Mumbai on July 11 that killed some 200 people and injured more than 700. We express our deepest condolences for all the bereaved families and extend our sincere wishes for the early recovery of all who are injured.

While the Supreme Court has asked NBA to respond to allegations of foreign funding, some other organizations have also been carrying on a vilification campaign via the media. NBA has chosen to respond to this campaign.

A National Consultation on Development and Displacement – Priorities and Strategy’ was held at Gandhi Bhavan, Bhopal on July 7-8^th, 2006.  About 75 participants from all over the country participated in the event.

R. Ajayan, convener of Plachimada Solidarity Committee, reported that Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has supported the people’s concerns and their protest of the protests of Coke and Pepsi in Kerala.

A 15-day (from July 1st - 15th) 'Drive Against Bribe Campaign' aimed at eliminating the scourge from various government departments and creating awareness about the Right to Information (RTI) Act among the public was launched on Saturday.

Central Pollution Control Board orders state board to investigate Coke; National awareness drive of unethical Coke policies to begin.

The right to information campaign in India began with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan ( MKSS) movement to bring in transparency in village accounts via the demand for minimum wages in rural India. Ghost entries in muster rolls were a sign of rampant corruption in the system, which prompted MKSS to demand official information recorded in government files.

Medha Patkar, today, addressed the press for a conference on the cases of malnutrition found among the displaced people of Mandala, Mankhurd.

On 19 June 2006 law-enforcing agencies used force in Karachi against the fisher folk community, demanding the abolishment of contract system in fisheries.

There has been increasing support of protests against the Colas in USA. In Europe, Coca-Cola's regional subsidiary 8.66 million euros for discriminating against retailers

Villagers in Mehdiganj, 20 km from Varanasi are sitting on an indefinite dharna outside and Coca Cola bottling plant since March 23^rd, 2006 demanding the closure of the plant. Bollywood director, Mahesh Bhatt, presents support to the dharna.

Amir Mir on why he refused to take the All Pakistan Newspapers Society award for the Best Investigative Report from the Pakistani President.

A civic society group finds that law and ordered in Dantewara district of Chhattisgarh State, in the midst of Maoist attacks, has been outsourced to local criminal elements called 'Salwa Judum' which is not accountable to any democratic process or bureaucracy.

Tibetan organizations remember repression of the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square by Chinese forces, seeing similarities with the repression of Tibet.

Following the burning and demolition of the Mandala slums, National Alliance of People’s Movements, India, at a press release on 26th May, challenged the Government of Maharastra to prove its changing statistics.

Empower, a civic society group based in TN, is using a rule from 1961 to ask more voters to go to the election booth, even if they just want to reject all candidates.

The Mehdiganj dharna against the continued withdrawal of water by Coke continues past its 50th day even as the local administration has announced that water table has dropped past critical levels. On the other hand, Coca Cola company continues to spin as Times of India reports that Coke pays money to retailers to suppress reports of dirt and insects in the drinks.

About a 1000 people from 20 panchayats came to Varanasi in carts, in tractors and in trucks � to publicly present their stories to the Food Commission set up by the Supreme Court and demand justice. They were stories of pain, of deception, of a callous corrupt oppressive system. But this was also a story of democracy.

With Magsasay awardee Rajendra Singh adding his voice to the protests against Pepsi and Coke and their exploitative water policies, the strike in Mehndiganj received another boost.

With bugs, a condom and iron being found in beverages sold by Pepsi and Coke, not just in India but also in Japan, one has to ask whether these companies focused on cost cutting have no eye for their processes?

This question of alternative comes up with every discussion - on dams, on the recent nuclear energy discussions, on interlinking of rivers. It is an important question and must be addressed. Here is one opinion.

The Pol Kholo Yatara was an attempt to unravel the truth about the status of rehabilitation of lakhs of people, adivasis, non adivasis, farmers, fishermen etc. affected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The yatra was a tour of 12 villages in Dhar, Khargone, Barwani, Jhabua districts in Madhya Pradesh and Nandurbar district in Maharashtra, where the participants met with thousands of villagers from almost 100 villages. It began from Indore on the 25th of April 06 and concluded on the night of 28th April 06.

On the 4th anniversary of the Plachimada People�s Struggle, a community seminar including the adivasis of the affected areas came up with a water policy that would address the needs of people. Ajayan, the convener of Plachimada Solidarity Committee presents the resolution.

Coca Cola spends about 70% of its profits on media, image building and publicity. And yet, at the share holders meeting in Delaware, under pressure from a large number of global communities for its unethical practices, its wheels seemed to be coming off.

To commemorate the 17th birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama and to protest his ongoing detention in the Chinese custody, Friends of Tibet (India) Calcutta chapter is organising a bike ride from Calcutta, West Bengal to Phuntsokling Tibetan Settlement, Chandragiri, Orissa on April 22, 2006.

Kanak Mani Dixit, Editor Himal South Asian and Publisher Himalmedia, has been detained since April 8th in Kathmandu with a host of other professionals for defying curfew to press for democratic rights in Nepal. He remains in detention still. This column was smuggled out of jail.

It was a shining night when a huge gathering of peoples from different regions of the world attended the opening WSF ceremony launched at Sports complex on Kashmir Road. Javed Soz Halai reports on WSF2006, Karachi

With the number of visitors dropping in to express solidarity with the Mehdiganj anti-Coke movement on hunger strike, the movement decided to have a special gathering on the 16th day of the strike.

Yes Men planning another set of exposes of Dow and Monsanto. Here's an update on some recent Yes Men activities. But first, two appeals:

The Sun Temple in Orissa along the East Coast of India has been an enigma. Built over 12 years with more than 1200 artisans with incredible architectural ideas and artistic conception, as a temple to honor the Sun God, completed in approximately 1280, it was never consecrated.

After having argued that there was no people�s movement against Coke in Mehdiganj, it was ironic that Kalyan Ranjan, P. R. Manager of Hindustan Coca Cola Ltd., was quite eager to meet with the Mehdiganj community on the first day of their indefinite hunger strike on 23rd of March. But that was not the only irony

While His Holiness, the Dalai Lama is recommending no protests during the visit of the Chinese president Hu Jintao to US, Canada and India, Tenzin Tsundue and other friends respectfully argue otherwise.

Living in a large metropolis in the US, I have often wondered what the point of a ‘Women’s Day’ is all about.

Moving back to the USA after 13 years, columnist and author Ethan Casey revisits the concept of America. This column is reproduced with his permission from his blog.

When we think of India, we do not think of slaves – imprisoned in small enclosures behind barbed wires, made to work long hours for minimal food, kept in conditions that would make animals ill.
And if we were told that such situations exist in India, we would probably consider Bihar, maybe UP or Rajasthan. But certainly not Tamil Nadu?

The local Mehdiganj community has called for a local protest against Coca Cola to begin on 23rd March.

The 2 day old hunger strike has now been called off after the district officials started processes to meet some of the demands of the local communities.

Siddamma is a grassroots activist and an educator working with the marginalized Irula Tribals for the last 12 years.

The Cola giants are under fire around the world for unethical corporate practices. Community groups are increasingly demanding that Coke and Pepsi stop externalizing their costs and exploiting communities.

While I did not always appreciate mathematics as I do now, my appreciation today transcends the preciseness or richness of its language, elegance of solutions, and the breadth of its logic.

Villagers of Hardoi District who have been staging a sit-in at Sandila since February 7th, 2006 have decided to now convert it into a hunger strike.

The article on textbook edits received numerous comments – with different perspectives but all very thoughtful. And one thing they made clear – some form of editing of the current textbooks is needed and the edits have to be sensitive to our communities.

Ashish Tripathi wrote about his experiences while volunteering in rural Uttar Pradesh, asking why the growing economic development in India is so different from the grim realities of Bharat

Ankita, a reader of thesouthasian, wrote to our comments page with a note to the President of India. We felt we needed to carry it verbatim.

Protesters want to do a plant visit, with police protection.

I am an atheist, a Hindu. I am not a Marxist, do not think that Marxism or Communism is the alternative to the crisis our world faces. I oppose the textbook edits being presented for the 6th grade in California as Hindu or South Asian history.

Pervez Hoodbhoy writes about their relief effort in areas in Pakistan affected by the massive Earthquake.

One Year after the Royal Coup in Nepal, Nepalese expatriates plan and pro democracy groups plan a Global Action for Nepal on Feb 1

Externalities have been viewed as a necessary evil in the path of economic development. Friends, in response to an earlier article, have said so with a caveat that we need to be mindful of the externalities.

Another round of violence has been unleashed by royal forces in Nepal against pro-democracy Nepalis. Canadian Network for Democratic Nepal (www.pdfnepal.com) – made of many Nepali expatriates – condemns this crackdown.

California state textbooks come up for review every six years. This year, the sixth grade texts relating to Ancient Indian history are under review.

On 12th January, 2006, more than 200 residents, primarily women, from Gummidipoondi and neighbouring areas physically entered and stopped work at the project site of Tamilnadu Waste Management Ltd (TNWML)’s hazardous waste landfill and incinerator.

Arundhati Dhuru, advisor from UP to Commissioners appointed by the Supreme Court in matters related to Right to Food, writes about the state of nutrition and the PDS in rural UP and reports from the Public Hearing at Gorakhpur.

Students across Universities in UK are joining together to protest killings of tribals by state police in Orissa. WorldOrissa carried this report.

The illusion that planners, policy makers and donors have perpetuated over the last ten years is that Bharat (rural) needs India(urban). Bharat has given subsidised water, food, labour, raw materials to India. At the expense of Bharat, India has developed enormously. This article first appeared in DNAIndia and is written by the founder of barefoot college.

We, 200 members of people's organizations, faith-based communities and social movements, representing all continents of the world from 29 countries, who have met in Hong Kong from December 9 to 11, 2005, to assess and protest the impact of the policies of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the world's poor and to make recommendations to address the hardships that the WTO has created, offer this statement.

We, 200 participants from 29 countries and different religious faiths, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, who have met at Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong, from 9-10 December 2005 to protest the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and to work towards a vision on “Globalising Economic Justice and Social Sustainability”, address the following message to the faith communities of the world:

After more than a year of student campaigning by the University of Michigan’s Coalition to Cut the Contract with Coca-Cola, the University of Michigan has temporarily suspended University purchasing of Coca-Cola products effective January 1, 2006.

The local self government (panchayat) in Ballia, in the state of U.P., led by headwoman Chinta Devi, passed a resolution to take back village land that the local Coca Cola plant has illegally occupied.

With the upcoming WTO meeting in Hong-Kong, civic society groups are increasingly demanding public debates on the official position, democratic processes and rejection of WTO.

Communities around bottling plants are becoming increasingly affected by and reacting to unethical practices by Coke in India.

The Seattle City Council http://www.thesouthasian.org/blog/archives/2005/images/bhopal_proclamation.pdf > proclaimed today that December 3, 2005 will be observed as Bhopal Remembrance Day. The date marks the 21 st anniversary of the world's worst industrial disaster: a chemical leak at a Union Carbide facility in Bhopal , India.

In the silent evening of the port city Kolkota, yesterday the city memory seemed to have lapsed into deja-vue when after many years yaks, snow-lions, Relpa- the Tibetan gypsy dancers resurfaced on a stage of the city's more popular public hall "Sujata Sadan".

Coca Cola has been making claims that �their production process follows zero discharge� meaning that all their waste water was reused; �a rainwater harvesting system has been implemented that recharges ground water with more than what the company extracted� and that the waste is not hazardous. With the declaration of Perumatty Panchayat as a �notified area� by the government, once again it indicts Coca Cola for making patently false claims and promoting untruths.

On 24th November, 2004, over 400 citizens from local communities around the Raja Talab Coke bottling plant were beaten up and carted away in police vans for protesting against Coke policies. On 24th November, 2005, a rally of about 800 people protested outside the plant to mark the anniversary of the protests.

On 14th October, a (rally) dharna was organized by Bunkar Dastkar Adhikar Manch (weavers and artisans forum) before District Magistrate Varanasi to protest the policies of WTO, IMF and World Bank.

Following his visit to Sevagram, Arun Sripati reflects on what Gandhi and Gandhian values and ideology means to our lives, our society, our policies and our worlds.

Pakistani peace activists decided to join in paying respects to Nehru and the celebrations of Children’s Day in India by organizing and participating in a teleconference with a group of children in Jaipur, Rajasthan. This picture is from the site in Hyderabad.

A team consisting of Faisal Khan, Noorodin and Satish (Lok Kala Manch, Jind) that left for Kashmir to carry out relief work on behalf of Asha Parivar on 12th October, 2005 reports.

Samalochana is organising a padayatra (march) urging people to stop consuming soft drinks and also mobilse peoples opinion against government accepting WTO norms in the wake of Hongkong conference in December2005.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has proposed an Amendment to the Environmental Impact Assessment that does away with all reasonable checks by which communities could hold industrial units accountable for their impact on the local community.

China announced last month that their dearest "development" project for the Golmud-Lhasa railway tracks has been complete and by next year trains would ply on this 1,000 km railway track and would connect Tibetan capital Lhasa with Beijing.

The story of Nandlal Prasad, born into a weaver’s family near Varanasi, now leads a people’s movement in Varanasi.

‘We give them 65 million in aid and they give us bombs. How can we support a peace process with them?’ This has been the essence of much anguish since the blasts in Delhi recently, especially when ‘we were doing so much to forward peace’.

The Delhi blasts, claiming 60 lives as of the last count, and occurring just before the festivities of Diwali and Eid, has shaken the India. Already, reports in India are pointing fingers at ISI or other Pakistan-based organizations though official reports have not made any accusations.

On October 17 2005, twelve countries in Asia launched the Peoples' Caravan for Justice and Sovereignty in protest against the December 14-18, WTO Hong Kong Ministerial 2005.

GRDO, an organization that has been working for rescue and rehabilitation of bonded labourers in Sindh, after having rescued over 30000 slaves, now talks about their rehabilitation plans and calls for additional support.

Peace activist Saeeda Diep writes from Balakot reporting the disarray in relief efforts while commending President Musharraf’s decision to open the LOC for people-to-people exchange and to facilitate relief from India and Indians.

Following the discussion on Jinnah, his role in the Indian Independence struggle and the formation of Pakistan, Tenzin Rigzin points to two articles by Noorani.

The Asha Parivar team led by Faisal has been through interior villages of Kashmir including Dainyadiji, Sheri, Kawahar, Kalpepan, Salambad, Urri and Kalgi which is a village nestled high up in the mountains.

Despite all claims to enhanced peace in the region, during times of crisis, the government of Pakistan has not been able to transcend the usual language of diplomatese and the disease of suspicion. Lalita Ramdas points out the ridiculous of this all.

Groups working on the Indian side of the LOC in Kashmir are beginning to report back. They all share one opinion – the situation is bad.

An expatriate Nepali organization, Canadian Network for Democratic Nepal, has given a call to Nepali expatriates living abroad to stop sending money to Nepal for a year. “Let us not allow the brutal royal regime to survive on our hard earned money”, it pleads.

While Rashtra Swayamsevak Sangh has been openly anti-Muslim, its front organizations like IDRF claim to be collecting funds for relief in ‘South Asia’. Ra Ravishankar explores this contradiction.

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, peace activist and professor at Qaid-e-Azam University describes Balakot 4 days after the quake.

About Dr. Sandeep Pandey , Itinerary Details , Issues and Topics , Tour Updates

With the entry of Puthiya Thamizhagam, a powerful dalit political party, villagers in Tirunelveli district have gained an ally in their battle against a controversial Coca-Cola bottling plant that, they say, will divert scarce river water to the multinational. This article first appeared in InfoExchange India

Highlighting the bonded labor issue Green Rural Development Organization had planned a 12 day (1st March to 12th March 2005) long march from Jhudo to Hyderabad Press club. A gathering of more than 20,000 people from different districts of Sindh, Pakistan joined in the final phase of long march from Fateh Chowk to press club Hyderabad.

This article highlights the activities of the marchers from 1st March to 6th March.

Communities around India, most specifically in the vicinity of bottling plants, are using democratic processes through boycotts and campaigns to demand transparency of operations of Coca Cola and to demand that it stop operations if the company cannot end processes that are affecting lives and livelihoods of people in the vicinity of these plants.

In an article in the Indian Express, Maja Daruwala argues that the fate of the new Right to Information Act, 2005, may turn out to be much like that of many a girl child in India — damned at birth. Hardly has the law been born than the government who parented it is working hard to strangle its unwanted child.

Sandeep Pandey said that he went through some anxious moments during a 2 hour interrogation by US Immigration at San Francisco Airport. He adds, “I must commend the understanding behavior of the US Security Personnel who gave me a patient hearing and appreciated my critique of the position of the US government.”

Dr. K. Krishmasamy, MD, is one of the leaders of the anti-Coca Cola movement in Gangaikondan. In an interview on 18th September, at the conclusion of a 1000 cycle rally opposing the plant, he spoke about the reasons for this opposition.

People's assemblies in Pakistani villages, organized by Action Aid Pakistan, serve as an important forum for people to gather and discuss their problems within the community and with government stake holders and find ways and means to resolve these issues. Javed Soz Halai from Green Rural Development Organization (Action Aid partner) reports about one such people's assembly organized in September 2005, at Khairpur district in Sindh.

Can a Chinese diplomat call a citizen of India demanding that he not organize a public discussion on Buddhism? And can he get away with it?

According to Agriculture survey of Pakistan and (International Labour Organization) ILO’s World labour report there are approximately 1.7 million bonded labourers in Pakistan. While bonded labour is present in several different sectors, it is especially bad in the agricultural sector. Pakistan is also amongst the list of countries where there is the worst form of bonded labour. Several export contracts of agricultural products are cancelled due to bonded labour in Pakistan.

Another teleconference between children from Rohtak (India) and Hyderabad (Pakistan) is an effort to further decentralize this peace movement. Will the people of Pakistan and India not bet on peace once they get to know each other? Prof. Ramneek Mohan describes this effort.

On the 24th of August, a group of teachers from Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan had come to Delhi and then visited a school in Faridabad (Eicher school). The reception of the visitors and the response to the visit exemplifies the promise of peace driven by continuing people to people interactions.

The season for peace seems to be catching. Indians and Pakistanis around North America have held joint programs to celebrate the independence of their respective countries as well as urge their governments for bolder steps for sustained peace in that region.

Saeeda Diep shares stories from her recent trip with the Pakistani delegation to India. The delegation participated with their Indian counterparts in a variety of events urging greater peace and less bureaucracy.

Indians and Pakistanis in various parts of North America, including Toronto, Washington DC, and San Francisco celebrated the anniversaries of their Independence Day together, pledging to work for peace between the two countries.

Over the last week, peace activists from India and Pakistan have joined together to remember the victims of the bombs in Japan, create greater awareness within South Asia and urge people’s representatives in India and Pakistan for greater efforts for lasting peace in South Asia.

The South Asian Regional Cooperation Council of Canada and Asian Canadian Support Centre will mark the 58th Anniversary of Independence Day of India and Pakistan on Friday August 12.

There is new trouble brewing for Coca Cola in Tamil Nadu. A bottling plant planned in Gangaikondan SIPCOT Industrial Estate is to withdraw about 5 lakh liters of water from the Thamirabarani River, is drawing opposition from political leaders, community members and activists.

Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan writer and activist presents vignettes of Tibetan experiences in India.

Tenzin Tsundue describes the world of a new generation of Tibetan youth growing up in exile.

In line with its own philosophy of transparency in public efforts, the peace march has placed its accounts in the public domain.

Dr Durga Pokhrel talks about the current state of Nepal pointing at the frustration of choices where none of the conflicting parties represents a large section of the country’s population.

For the last two years, Sinaltrainal has marked 22nd July as its day of campaign against Coke. It commemorates the anniversary of the day one of the leaders of this union that works with beverage, hotel and service workers in Colombia was gunned down, allegedly at the behest of Coca Cola.

While the peace process, vis-à-vis Indo-Pak relations, has picked up momentum over the past couple of years, it is still largely defined by elitism. For sustained, viable peace, it is imperative that the peace movement create completely decentralized processes.

IOC recently communicated to Dow that the technology purchase deal has been cancelled after IOC found that critical submissions made by Dow as part of contract negotiations were false. In their response to IOC, Dow officials have alleged that the cancellation of the deal has caused a loss of 1.5 million US dollars. The Indian government is yet to communicate its final decision on this matter.

The speech by the Indian Prime Minister at a function in Oxford told us much about him. About his economics, his politics and his understanding of Swaraj.

Allahabad, 25 June: The "Rozgar Adhikar Yatra" launched from Delhi on 13 May, reached Allahabad today after a hectic journey of more than 4,000 kms through ten states. The Right to Employment Campaign files this report.

During the recently concluded India Pakistan Peace March from Delhi to Multan when we got a chance to interact with a number of common people of both sides of the border in meetings as well as on road, we were overwhelmed by the popular yearning of citizens of both countries for a more transparent border between the two countries.

The right to information movement which began in December 2002 with active support of Asha Ashram in Hardoi District and was initially dismissed by politicians and administration has now acquired legitimacy with the administration deciding that it will require all Village Panchayats to get their accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant.

In the last couple of weeks, the Rozgar Adhikar Yatra travelled through Bihar and U. P., using public debates and conversations with various sections of our communities to discuss the need for minimum wage employment programs for the economic sustenance of India.

Author Ethan Casey shares his experiences while living in Pakistan, his travels, and his book during a Pakistan event to benefit The Citizens Foundation, Royal Geographical Society, London, 28 April 2005

This is the story of women who were widowed and others who also lost their near and dear ones in the Naroda-Patiya (Ahmedabad) carnage in 2002, and who have since gotten together to form a collective effort that would revitalize their livelihoods and maybe rejuvenate their lives.

On 14th June there was an altercation between a civic society group – Indian People’s Tribunal – and members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Orissa. Members of the IPT have issued a statement that they were threatened with physical violence and molestation.

Over a dozen communities have been directly affected by the activities of bottling plants owned by Coca Cola India. Water quality has degraded, toxic waste has been dumped, land has been illegally occupied, people protesting these activities in a non-violent fashion in public spaces have been beaten up and allegedly bribes have been paid.

Police attacked the Rozgar Adhikar Yatra at Balrampur, Madhya Pradesh, severely injuring numerous citizens of local communities as well as members of the campaign. This eyewitness account by Reetika Khera, a PhD student at the Delhi School of Economics, was first published at www.righttofoodindia.org

Under the banner of Peoples� Action for Employment Guarantee � a coalition of around 100 organizations and movements � a national �Rozgar Adhikar Yatra� was launched from New Delhi on 13 May 2005.
Reported by Mumbai.indymedia.org

On 1st June, the High Court of Kerala passed a ruling that the Coca Cola plant in India could begin operation without a license from the local Panchayat as well as without approval of the State Pollution Board – a ruling that raises more questions.

The first of this three part series places the NGO in the landscape of development politics and demands rethinking of roles and responsibilities.

In an unprecedented move, a division bench of the High Court of Kerala on June 1, 2005 has directed the Perumatty panchayat (village council) to renew Coca-Cola's license to re-open its bottling plant in Plachimada, Kerala, in southern India. India Resource Center says that the struggle will intensify.

A “Coastal Yatra” made up of Tsunami affected communities and representatives finishes it progress through these regions protesting corruption in the process, specifically asking why Tsunami victims have yet to receive longer term aid, why they are being moved away from where they lived (under rehabilitation) while those areas are being earmarked for big businesses, resorts, etc.

Last night, on 20th May, I was once again called by the
superintendent of Police of Lahore. He told me not to attend the
Lahore Marathon as this violates the law. I told him that you should
not violate our right to assemble and that we and most of the Labour
Party Pakistan (LPP) activists in Lahore will be there. He threatened
me of dire consequences and that I still should not participate. I
refused.

The No! No! Campaign!! Asking India and Pakistan to reject fighter planes from the USA was launched successfully on 11th May 2005 in India and Pakistan during the South Asian Peace Conference in Multan in which over 800 delegates from across Pakistan participated. Admiral Ramdas launched the Campaign at a Public Meeting in Hyderabad, India

A Coastal Yatra to protest the lack of people’s voices and recognition of their concerns, as well as corruption during rehabilitation, is being organized starting from Vedaranyam on May 21,2005 and ending with a demonstration in Chennai on May 30,2005.

Government relief programs continue to be tied by corruption and lack of democracy while international agencies and governments are meeting to sneak in their selfish agenda. Meanwhile, the voices and concerns of those affected are do not inform the rehabilitation plans. This is a report from India.

Shah Mehmood Qureish, Member of the National Assembly from Multan, former minister with the PPP and the trustee of the Shrine of Sufi saint Bahauddin Zakaria, welcoming the Indian and Pakistani delegates of the peace march at a function in Multan said that the arms race must end, that the nuclearization of South Asia must be curtailed. If the Berlin Wall could crumble, surely the barriers between Indians and Pakistanis can end too, he argued.

The peace march has taken a different flavor in Pakistan. While only meetings and gatherings have been allowed, these meetings have been very warm and positive. And usually quite large.

Peace marchers from India crossed the border into Pakistan on 7th May, 2005, to carry on the march to Multan.

There are enough reasons for establishing peace between India and Pakistan. But the building blocks for this process are constantly being questioned. Does Kashmir need to be solved? Are more confidence building measures necessary? What?

Perhaps the biggest reasons for the peace march were validated by people we met, people who stopped us, people who would not let us go, did not want us to sleep, who wanted to talk to us, ask us questions. Nodding at us when we explained why we were marching. Applauding us. Giving us water, food, Rooh Afza, sherbet. Sometimes asking whether they could come along.

In this article from The Hindu, Arti Dhar examines a new problem in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India - a divide between the local tribal population and the mainland settlers.

There are roughly a million landless waged labourers in Nepal. A significant fraction of them work as permanent labourers under a wide varieties of terms and conditions

The High Court of Kerala, in a ruling that surprised many, said that Coca-Cola can extract up to 500,000 (5 lakhs) liters of water per day. The High Court has ruled that the Perumatty panchayat (which denied Coke the license) has 15 days to reconsider the application. This means that Coca-Cola has to apply again to the Perumatty panchayat for a license to operate.

Peace events are being planned by South Asian communities across the USA in solidarity with the peace march that threads its way across India and Pakistan.

The Peace March has now crossed into Punjab, and into the second part of the Indian leg. The enthusiasm of people along the route continues to inspire the marchers.

The Indo -Pakistan Peace March that began from Delhi
on March 23 is now approaching Ambala, the last major "port of call"
in Haryana on the route of the March.

It has been one week since the peace march started from Nizamuddin and so far the Government of India has yet to give visas to Pakistanis wanting to join the march. On 28th, the embassy in Pakistan said that visas would be granted – however, it continues to tarry claiming every day that visas would be given ‘tomorrow’.

Martin Espada, who teaches poetry at the University of
Massachuesetts at Amherst and is the author of several books talks to CounterPunch about why he refused money from Coca Cola for his poetry reading at Kansas University.

An article in The Nation profiles a campaign that is growing rapidly in Universities across North America and even Europe demanding Coca Cola be held responsible for its human right violations.

The march is now on its fifth day and for the marchers and organizers it has been five days of energizing public participation.

The march made its way from Nizammudin to Kingsway Camp stopping at Rajghat, on the way. The response from Delhi has been overwhelming.

Tiruvallur district collectorate today witnessed democracy in action, when more than 350 villagers attended a public hearing to voice their opposition to a hazardous waste facility that was proposed to be set up near their village in Gummidipoondi in North Tamilnadu. This report was filed with the permission of Toxics Link.

The Peace March from Delhi to Multan started off today from the tombs of Sufi poets and thinkers Amir Khusro and Nizamuddin Aulia. One of the organizers – Sandeep Pandey – along with movie director Mahesh Bhatt offered their respects at the tombs.

In the last couple of weeks, I have read a few articles on Christian Evangelism in India, and I took them seriously simply because they were not part of the rhetoric of certain groups that lean towards religious fanaticism.

A delegation of the organizers of the Pakistan-India Peace March met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, on March 12, 2005, at Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Islamabad.

Student groups across universities and college campuses in the USA and Europe are beginning to recognize the unethical actions of Coca Cola and passing resolutions to keep Coca Cola off their campuses.

SAPAC has organized a reception in Chicago for the group of expatriates that visited India and Pakistan on a peace mission.

In a state with large number of landless people and very low indices of literacy, health, or gender equality, it is noteworthy that large scale land grabbing by the local land mafia has gone virtually unchallenged by the state government. Magsasay Award winner, Sandeep Pandey, describes the situation.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. This eighth piece of the series presents the problems with revolutions.

"Do Desis reserve special treatment for other desis? Is it perhaps based on how we see other desis versus how we see the rest of the American world?", wonders Ranjana Ghosh.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. This seventh piece of the series presents the problems with the trickle down theory and the efficiency of free markets.

Indian organizers of the Peace March met in Delhi to take stock of the current state. This is a brief report on their discussions and resolutions.

Indian and Pakistani leaders are working to develop programs for increased interaction between Indian and Pakistani youth.

Below is a thought-provoking report by Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy of his impressions of India, while there on a month-long lecture tour, in connection with his UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize in 2003.

The Hindustan Times reported that in a tribute to the friendship of Mahatma Gandhi and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a group from Pakistan is expected to join an event marking 75 years of the historic Dandi march.

Numerous Nepalis around the world have been dismayed by another attempt to scuttle democracy in Nepal. The South Asian reports on protests from Nepalis in Vancouver and presents their perspective.

The Joint India-Pakistan Peace and Goodwill Mission ended on the afternoon of Saturday, January 8, 2005, following a Press Conference, at the Press Club, Mumbai, India. The delegation had started its visit at Karachi, Pakistan, on the evening of December 27, 2004.

This is a call to South Asians living outside South Asia to organize peace events in your local communities in solidarity with the march.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. This fifth piece of the series questions the broadly held assumptions of development.

It is usually assumed that the minority communities are at risk of being targeted by religious fundamentalists. In fact, majority communities are as much at risk and must proactively resist religious fundamentalist groups and their policies, argues Sanat Mohanty

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. This fourth piece of the series briefly describes Capitalism, Communism and their relationship to Free Markets in a broad fashion.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. In this third piece of the series, we analyze the concept of ‘Survival of the Fittest’ and its application to evolving societies.

A Peace Mela was organized in Jalandhar from November 23rd to 26th, 2004.

On January 15th, organizations from India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal convened to create a People’s SAARC that would bring together people and organizations from South Asia that would focus on the needs of people of the region and influence policies to that end. This is a note from their gathering.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. In this second piece of the series, the focus is on understanding fundamentalism.

In a series of discussions,questions of alternatives are placed before the readers of The South Asian. The first part of this series asks why this discussion is even relevant.

There seems to be much enthusiasm regarding Track II initiatives (or people to people’s contact) between India and Pakistan and the effect it has had. Indeed, in 2004, the volume of such contact was significantly higher than in the years past.

Sitara Shreen has been a grassroots worker and organizer in Sri Lanka for many years. She was living in Minneapolis in 2004 but rushed back to Sri Lanka after the Tsunami. We will put up some of her notes about the situation on the ground.

Many have argued that nonviolence works only in low conflict, low stress situations. S P Arun relates the unfolding of nonviolent solutions in a high crime neighborhood.

This is the first part of an interview by Yogi Sikand with Asrhan Amanullah on madrasas and their role in Islamic education.

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy, The South Asian as well as various other groups in Bangladesh and around the world have condemned the assassination of Professor Muhammad Yunus of the Department of Economics at Rajshahi University in Bangladesh on December 24, 2004.

An Appeal for funds to help the peace march from India to Pakistan. If you cannot be part of the march, you can participate by helping organize the march.

S. P. Udayakumar writes with pain and anguish at the non-performance of the government and the bureaucracy.

Mahangu, a freelance journalist based in Sri Lanka writes that although the private sector, churches, temples, media organisations and individual citizens have risen to meet the needs of the day, the Government seems to be sleeping.

The civil unrest and ongoing war between LTTE and the Sri Lankan government has affected relief efforts in Sri Lanka. Reports from Sri Lanka are largely about damages in the South and South East. It is only after four days of the calamity that we have received our first reports from the East and North East. Images show stark emptiness, an absence of people.

Relief efforts continue to seek help for the victims of the tsunami.

Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) presented a study showing that over 11000 lives have been claimed by nine years of insurgency in Nepal.

Some thoughts that our readers shared.

The story of a South Asian's involvement with a community center exploring spaces for non-violence.

There has been a spate of allegations against multinationals in the last few months, numerous protests against their practices, in the last few months. Is this the case of overactive NGOs?

Corporate Accountability International, along with numerous other local organizations cited Coke for its unethical practices in India

Sixteen tribals, mostly women, critically injured. Massive lathicharge on adivasis.
Tense standoff between agitated tribals and police in Kashipur.

Events are being organized around the world to remember those tens of thousands who have died owing to the gas disaster in Bhopal caused by negligence by Union Carbide on the night of December 3rd, 2004 as well as in solidarity with thousands whose life has been living hell since.

Abdul Hamid Khan, Chairman of Balawaristan National Front presents a peace proposal for J&K to the heads of India and Pakistan from Gilgit Baltistan

On the morning of 23rd November, 2004, at the city hall, Minneapolis, Corporate Accountability International (CAI) held a press conference highlighting the unethical behavior of the Atlanta based Coca Cola. It cited numerous instances where Coke has been draining out the water table in communities that are having trouble accessing clean drinking water.

In response to increasing demonstrations against Coca Cola, and specifically in response to march planned from November 15-24, 2004, the company put out advertisements in newspapers raising various questions.

On the 12th of June, 2004, the Action Group of Physicians of South Asia (APSA) organized and sponsored a seminar on the “Prospects of Democracy in Pakistan”.

“Kisanon ne machaya shor, Coca-cola paani chor, Doodh-dahi ke desh mein Pepsi-Coke nahin chalega.”

This is one of the slogans being used by people’s movements in Uttar Pradesh which are organizing a march and a rally to close down 2 Coca-Cola bottling plants in the state.

Various Pakistani groups met to discuss and organize the Indo-Pak Peace March on October 25, 2004.

South Asian American students across the country are coordinating a massive 'get out the vote" campaign to turn out South Asian voters to the polls on November 2. In effort to increase political participation in their community, South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY) hired eight SAAVY Fellows in NY, MI, GA and NY. These college students were recruited to register, educate and mobilize Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis on their campuses and in their communities.

A man looks for drinking water in western Gujarat - and this is what he can find. Photograph from Utthaan archives.

2004 is the twentieth anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster. Twenty years is a very long time. For the victims of the disaster, twenty years has also been a very hard time. But, for the rest of the world, it is time to start asking hard and difficult questions: questions not only about Union Carbide and Corporations, but also about our own lives.

Mr. Kishen Pattnayak was an eminent activist and one of the most original thinker within the socialist movement in India. He died on 27th September, with nary a squeak from the mainstream press. Here is a note first published in www.goodnewsindia.org.

Asha for Education, Ashoka and Association for India’s Development, Seva Foundation have all won four star ratings (the highest possible rating) in a review of American charity organizations by Charity Navigator.

Dr. Syed Ehtisham writes about the politics and the history of Bangladesh and its relationship to the stateless people in Bangladesh.

Preparatory efforts for the peace march from New Delhi to Multan have begun in earnest.

The second article in this series explores the labor movement during the 70s and 80s when Z. Bhutto and Ziaul Haq held defined the direction of Pakistan's future.

The last part of this 3-part series looks at labor policies of the Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharief governments.

In the first part of this series, B M Kutty presents a summary of the political forces that affected the labour movement in Pakistan in the first two decades after its independence.

The Right Livelihood Award Foundation for 2004 has chosen Muslim scholar and reformer and peace worker Asghar Ali Engineer as well as social worker and Indian Parliamentarian Swami Agnivesh for the honorary `Right Livelihood Award'.

The Second Annual Indo-Pak Independence Day Peace Celebration, in Houston, organized by Indian and Pakistani Communities and by local South Asian physicians in collaboration with community volunteers was held at the Holiday Inn Select in Houston on September 4th 2004.

For 2004, the Magsaysay award was presented to Mr. Laxminarayan Ramdas, chairperson of the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy, and Ibn Abdur Rehman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan for "their reaching across a hostile border to nurture a citizen-based consensus for peace between Pakistan and India.

South Asian American students arrived at college campuses across the country this week to kick-off an initiative to mobilize hundreds of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to vote this November.

A seventy member delegation of the Pakistan India People's Forum for
Peace and Democracy crossed over to Pakistan at the Attari-Wahga
border today to participate in the three day joint celebration of
the Forum's 10th Anniversary, being organised in Lahore.

A peace march is being planned by PIPFPD (Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy) starting from Delhi, on 23rd March and will make its way to Multan, on 11th May, 2005.

People of Indian and Pakistani origin living in the Washington area gathered around the statue of Gandhi to celebrate their respective Independence day and bring focus to peace in that region.

Check dam in Rajasthan
Ram Krishanan writes about his explorations of problems and solutions of the disempowered.

Do I defend the right of Indian nationals to fake any accent they want? No. The truth is that my issues stay the same.

Festivities in Bhutan

Orlando Project Indicates Significant Change in Desi Politics

Democracy, Politics & Minority Rights in India

The breadth and scope of the issues discussed at the WSF, along with the seeming lack of coherence, was breathtaking, but only to be expected, since the WSF is first and foremost a platform for all groups of civil society to make their voice heard.

South Asian American Voting Youth, a new national non-profit, aims to change those statistics

In Madison, Indians and Pakistani students joined in to sing the national anthems of India and Pakistan.

The philosophy of Sarvodaya is a simple yet effective one that has enabled innumerable villagers to start on the path towards creating a better life for themselves

An e-mail interview of Sarjit Bains, co-host with Mukhtar Thakur of the weekly radio program, Sangam.

Is there a solution to help India’s 700,000 villages? YES

The view of a parched Fateh Sagar continually tugged at the minds and the hearts of the seventy people who gathered for the Unfolding Learning Societies conference in Udaipur. Even those who had become numb to the dry lake beds examined the landscape with fresh eyes. Why had this happened? Local people, many of whom would be considered illiterate and ignorant, constructed the lakes two hundred years ago, without the aid of large engineering companies. After centuries of abundance how had the lakes now run dry? What human activities contributed to the current situation? The issue of what had happened and what was to be done was talked about from time to time. Fresh thoughts, ideas, energies and a desire to act, to make changes sprang from the sight of the dust outside.

Exploring roles and responsibilities of the Pravasi community

While, the news media would have us believe that Americans are itching for war against Iraq, evidence suggests otherwise.

JMGSS is the distribution wing that handles procurement and supply of household needs. It is the executive arm of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) formed in 1981. Consumers save between 15 and 20% as the JMGSS works within a ceiling of 6% over wholesale prices. Call it consumer response to business cartels.

This piece is presented with permission from www.goodnewsindia.com

The following letter was written by Nishrin - a daughter - to her deceased father. He was one of the victims of the violence in Gujarat this year and was burnt alive while he was trying to protect and shelter others .The letter has been reproduced by many listservers and we have obtained it through the Peace Vigil Newsletter