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Search to reach Nepal earthquake survivors resumes

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Rescuers try to reach remote mountain communities as death toll rises to 66 in latest disaster to hit Himalayan nation.

Nepal_earthquake

by Al Jazeera

Rescuers have continued efforts to reach survivors of a deadly new earthquake in Nepal that triggered landslides and brought down buildings, as the search resumed for a US military helicopter that went missing while delivering aid.

Thousands of traumatised survivors woke on Wednesday morning after spending the night outdoors, afraid to return to their houses after the 7.3-magnitude quake, which killed at least 66 people in Nepal and hit less than three weeks after the country was devastated by its deadliest quake in more than 80 years.

The latest disaster took the overall death toll over the past three weeks to more than 8,200 people, and has compounded the already monumental challenge of reaching far-flung mountain communities in desperate need of shelter, food and clean water.

Al Jazeera’s Annette Ekin in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, said that people pitched tents outside on Tuesday night because they were terrified that there would be another quake.

The latest major quake struck the town of Namche Bazaar near the Mount Everest base camp, Nepalese officials said.

Missing rescue helicopter

Nepal’s army resumed its aerial search on Wednesday for a US Marine Corps helicopter that went missing during a disaster relief operation in eastern Nepal, near where the latest quake hit.

The Pentagon has said there may have been a problem with fuel on the chopper, which was carrying six US Marines and two Nepali army soldiers when it disappeared.

“We have been informed that an American helicopter has gone missing, search operations have begun,” said Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, spokesman for the Nepal home ministry.

The Nepalese government said 66 people had been confirmed dead so far in the latest quake, which was centred 76km east of Kathmandu. The quake also killed 17 people in northern India.

“We had been focusing on relief distribution, but from yesterday our resources were deployed for rescue operations again,” he said.

Tuesday’s quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, and caused buildings to collapse in Tibet in neighbouring China, killing at least one person there.

A second tremor of 6.3-magnitude struck Nepal around half an hour later, followed by yet more aftershocks, according to the USGS.

The Nepalese government has acknowledged that it was overwhelmed by the scale of the April 25 disaster, which destroyed nearly 300,000 homes and left many more too dangerous to live in.

“At an hour of a natural disaster like this, we have to face it with courage and patience,” Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said after an emergency meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday.

Scientists said Tuesday’s quake was part of a chain reaction set off by the larger one that struck on April 25 in Lamjung district west of Kathmandu.

“Large earthquakes are often followed by other quakes, sometimes as large as the initial one,” said Carmen Solana, a volcanologist at Britain’s University of Portsmouth.

43 killed in attack on bus carrying Ismailis in Karachi

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A Pakistani security official displays cartridges he collected from the scene of an attack on a bus, in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Gunmen killed dozens of people on Wednesday aboard a bus in southern Pakistan bound for a Shiite community center, in the latest attack targeting the religious minority, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

A Pakistani security official displays cartridges he collected from the scene of an attack on a bus, in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Gunmen killed dozens of people on Wednesday aboard a bus in southern Pakistan bound for a Shiite community center, in the latest attack targeting the religious minority, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

by Imtiaz Ali, Dawn

Karachi: At least 43 people were killed and 13 others wounded on Wednesday when armed men opened fire inside a bus carrying members of the Ismaili community near Safoora Chowk in Karachi.

Sindh Police Inspector General Ghulam Haider Jamali said that 60 people were on board the bus when six gunmen entered and executed 43 passengers.

He added that the armed men used 9mm pistols in the massacre. The attackers managed to flee after the attack.

Hospital sources have so far confirmed that the dead include 25 men and 16 women. Police officials said that there were no children among the casualties.

All victims were shot from a close-range.

Rana M Razzaq, a security coordinator at the Memon Medical Center, told Dawn that, “One young girl hid and survived. Three or four others who were brought to the hospital have survived…the rest are all dead.”

Jundullah claims attack

Ahmed Marwat, a spokesman for Jundullah which is a splinter group of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), talking to Reuters claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Al Qaeda affiliated group that started off from South Waziristan has targetted Shia minorities and foreign tourists in the past as well. In November last year, the group had pledged support to Islamic State (IS).

In the past, the proscribed group has claimed several attacks including a blast near the Wagah border in November 2014 and the July 2013 attack on the compound of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in Sukkur. It has also claimed the several attacks on polio workers across the country.

Attackers entered bus and fired

A survivor of the attack recorded her statement before the police and said that the attackers entered the bus from the rear portion a few minutes after its departure.

She added that the occupants of the bus thought that robbers had embarked on the vehicle.

The assailants subdued the driver and separated (two) children from the others, the victims said and added that, “They told the passengers to keep their head low. One of the attackers situated in the rear side of the bus then ordered his associates to ‘shoot every one’ after which they indiscriminately targeted all passengers of the bus.”

All attackers were speaking fluent Urdu according to the survivor.

Secretary Al Azhar Garden said that the bus leaves daily at 9am and has been operating for the past 10 years. Today it was attacked around 9:30 am, he said.

A rescue official quoted a victim as saying that the attackers were dressed in police uniforms.

Investigation Officer Tariq Jadoon told Dawn that some blue caps, which are used by security guards, have also been recovered from the crime scene along with 9mm casings.

A plain-clothes police official holds up evidence collected from the scene of an attack by gunmen on a bus carrying Ismailis in Karachi on May 13, 2015.— AFP

Investigation Officer Tariq Jadoon told Dawn that some blue caps, which are used by security guards, have also been recovered from the crime scene along with 9mm casings.

A senior police official, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the media, told Dawn that the attackers entered the bus and shot the passengers in the head.

“The gunmen stopped the bus and first fired at it from outside,” a policeman told AFP. “Then they entered inside the bus and open fire indiscriminately. After that they checked to see if anyone was left uninjured.”

“The bus had a capacity of 52 passengers but it was overloaded and dozens of people were boarding it. Most of them were from (the) Ismaili community,” he added.

Ismaili community attacked: police

Pakistan has seen a rising tide of sectarian violence in recent years, particularly against Shias — of which the Ismaili community is a sub-sect — who make up around 20 per cent of the country’s predominantly Muslim population.

“The dead and injured have been shifted to the private Memon Medical Center nearby,” an official of the Ismaili National Council, a group which represents the community said.

The bus belongs to the Al-Azhar Garden Colony, which is an Ismaili community housing project in Karachi. It was on its regular route headed towards Federal B Area of Karachi.

CM Sindh, CCPO take notice

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah strongly condemned the firing incident and condoled with the victims.

He ordered immediate suspension of the area’s Station House Officer (SHO) and District Superintendent of Police (DSP).

“The SHO, DSP have been suspended, we will find out whether the bus had security, whether they had asked for it or not,” the provincial chief minister said. “If there is a security lapse, it will be investigated.”

He announced a compensation of Rs500,000 for the heirs of those killed in the massacre and a Rs200,000 compensation for those wounded in the attack.

Shah also announced that the government will bear all expenses incurred for the treatment of the victims.

Taking notice of the firing incident, Sindh IG Ghulam Haider Jamali directed Additional IG Ghulam Qadir Thebo to immediately submit a preliminary report in this regard, according to a press release.

He also directed security forces to facilitate emergency rescue services in shifting of injured to hospitals for treatment. He ordered the early arrest of criminals involved.

Condemnations pour in

Condemnations poured in soon after today’s deadly attack on the bus. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident. He sought a report into the incident and extended condolences over the loss of lives.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also strongly condemned the attack, according to a statement. Bilawal sympathised with the victims and urged for stern action against the terrorists.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan also strongly condemned the attack and expressed grief over the murder of citizens.

He added that this incident raises questions over the provincial government’s performance pertaining to peace in the province. The government must provide complete medical facilities to the injured and take strict action against those responsible for this attack, he said.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain expressed deep grief and sorrow over the attack. He said this attack is the worst form of terrorism and those behind the attack are savages. Others also took to Twitter to express their grief and condemn the brutal attack.

A community under threat

The Ismailis in Pakistan are a peaceful, progressive and largely apolitical community predominantly working in the health and education sectors.

Read: Pakistani Taliban threaten Kalash tribe, Ismailis in Chitral

In the past there has been anti-Ismaili violence in Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan, mostly in the form of communal flare-ups.

In 2013, a bomb attack at Karachi’s Aisha Manzil killed four and injured 42 others. The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the earlier attacks.

Today’s massacre was the worst anti-Shia attack since January 30, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque in the southern Shikarpur district, killing 61.

Anti-Shia attacks have been increasing in recent years in Karachi and also in Quetta, the northwestern area of Parachinar and the far northeastern town of Gilgit.

Around 1,000 Shias have been killed in the past two years in Pakistan, with many of the attacks claimed by the hardline Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) who view them as heretics.

Ismailis are known for their progressive Islamic views. Their spiritual leader Prince Karim Aga Khan is a globally renowned philanthropist and business magnate.

— Mateen Haider contributed to the reporting of this story

Former Chief Secretary of Gujarat takes over as new Election Commissioner

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achal-k-jyoti

New Delhi: Achal Kumar Jyoti, a former Chief Secretary of Gujarat, Wednesday took over as the new Election Commissioner, filling one of the two vacancies in the three-member body.

“Jyoti took over his charge today at the Election Commission of India here,” a senior official said.

Jyoti is a 1975-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who retired as state Gujarat Chief Secretary in January 2013.

He served in the top bureaucratic post of the state when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Chief Minister.

Jyoti (62) has also served as the state Vigilance Commissioner and worked in various capacities in his cadre including as Chairman of the Kandla Port Trust between 1999 and 2004 and Managing Director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL).

Born on January 23, 1953, Jyoti will have a tenure of nearly three years as ECs demit office at the age of 65.

An EC or a CEC has a tenure of six years in office or till he or she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

After V S Sampath demitted office in January, H S Brahma was elevated as CEC. But after Brahma demitted office, two posts of ECs in the three-member body have remained vacant.

Between April 19, when Nasim Zaidi took over as the CEC till Wednesday, he was the only member in the poll body.

The government is soon expected to appoint one more Election Commissioner to fill up the last vacancy.

Jyoti has also worked as Secretary in the Industry, Revenue and Water Supply Departments.

(PTI)

IPL: Daredevils register six-wicket win against CSK

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zaheer-khan

Raipur: An impressive bowling display from Delhi Daredevils earned them a six-wicket victory against league leaders Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium here on Tuesday.

Chasing 120, Delhi reached the target fairly comfortably in 16.4 overs with 20 balls to spare.

The win was Delhi’s fifth in what has been a disappointing campaign for them. They improved to 10 points after 13 matches but remained at the seventh spot in the standings. Chennai too retained their summit spot with 16 points from 13 matches.

Delhi floundered initially while chasing the modest target losing South African duo of Quinton de Kock (3) and skipper Jean Paul Duminy (6) in a space of 10 deliveries to be reduced to 24 for two in the fifth over.

But opener Shreyas Iyer (70 not out) and Yuvraj Sing (32) steadied the Daredevils innings, forging a 69-run third-wicket partnership to guide them towards the target.

By the time Yuvraj was dismissed in the 14th over, Delhi’s score swelled to 93, virtually confirming a rare victory for them.

Earlier, a stupendous bowling effort from Delhi Daredevils ensured they restricted Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a modest score of 119 for six.

Faf du Plesis top-scored for CSK with 29, with skipper M.S. Dhoni (27) being the other major contributor as the visitors set an asking run rate of 6 runs per over.

Zaheer Khan and Albie Morkel were the pick of the bowlers for the Daredevils claiming two scalps each.

The Daredevils opening bowlers, spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (4-1-18-0) and Zaheer (4-1-9-2) bowled an impeccable line and length in the first few overs and kept the CSK batsmen on a tight leash giving away just 16 runs in the first six overs, the lowest in this IPL.

Zaheer’s patience was eventually rewarded as swashbuckling opener Brendon McCullum (11) fell lobbing one straight to Duminy at mid-on.

McCullum’s opening partner Dwayne Smith (18) sent a few balls flyin g into the fence but then was adjudged leg-before wicket.

CSK added 30 more after the first six overs to be at 46 for three at the halfway stage as Suresh Raina (11) too spooned one to cover.

But South African middle order bat du Plesis and Dhoni then resurrected the innings running hard between the wickets and picking up the odd boundaries.

However, on a pitch that was keeping slow and low, Morne Morkel came back to castle his countryman, du Plesis (29) as he chopped one onto his stumps with score flashing 83 for four in 15.2 overs.

Dhoni then upped the ante belting Yuvraj Singh for 13 runs in the 17th over. Dwayne Bravo (8) hit another six to help his team get past the 100-run mark in the 18th over but was caught out a delivery later.

Zaheer in his first ball of the second spell got rid of the dangerous Dhoni (27) foxing him with a slower one that he skied into the hands of long-off.

(IANS)

SC prohibits politicians' photos on government ads

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Supreme Court India

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday prohibited the use of photographs of political leaders, including ministers, in advertisements issued by the government and its agencies, saying that it leads to promotion of personality cult.

The apex court bench, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in its judgment, however, permitted the use of photographs of the president, prime minister, Chief Justice of India and departed leaders, including Father of the Nation, in the advertisements issued by the government and its agencies.

The court said the use of photographs of an individual, leader or minister not only has a tendency to associate an individual with a project, but leads to a personality cult.

The court said this was a direct injustice to democracy.

(IANS)

Child labour law amended: Children below 14 can now work in family businesses

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child-labour

New Delhi: Government today gave its nod to a proposal allowing children below 14 years of age to work only in family enterprises or entertainment industry with certain conditions while completely banning their employment elsewhere.

The original child labour law banned employment of children below 14 in only 18 hazardous industries.

The amendments also make it clear that children between 14 and 18 years will also not be allowed to work in hazardous industries.

The changes in the labour law also provide for stricter punishment for employers for violation. While there is no penalty provision for parents for the first offence, the employer would be liable for punishment even for the first violation.

In case of parents, the repeat offenders may be penalised with a monetary fine up to Rs 10,000

In case of first offence, the penalty for employers has been increased up to two and half times from the existing up to Rs 20 thousand to up to Rs 50,000 now.

In case of a second or subsequent offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the law, the minimum imprisonment would be one year which may extend to three years.

Earlier, the penalty for second or subsequent offence of employing any child in contravention of the law was imprisonment for a minimum term of six months which may extend to two years.

After the Cabinet nod, Government will move official amendments to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 in Parliament.

While child rights activists were opposed to the dilution saying it will promote child labour, those involved in business maintained that children need to be trained in traditional arts at an early stage or they will not be able to acquire the required skills like weaving and stitching.

The age of prohibition of employment has been linked to age under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

Exceptions have, however, been made in case of works in which the child helps the family or family enterprises.

The condition is that such enterprises should not involved any hazardous occupation. Another condition set forth is that they should work after school hours or during vacations.

Moreover, exemption has also been given where the child works as an artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities except the circus.

This exemption is also conditional and stipulates taking up prescribed safety measures

An official statement said that while considering a total prohibition on employment of child, it would be prudent to also keep in mind the country’s social fabric and socio- economic conditions.

Justifying the amendments, it said, “In a large number of families, children help their parents in their occupations like agriculture, artisanship etc and while helping the parents, children also learn the basics of occupations.

“Therefore, striking a balance between the need for education for a child and the reality of the socio-economic condition and social fabric in the country, the Cabinet has approved that a child can help his family or family enterprise, which is other than any hazardous occupation or process, after his school hours or during vacation.”

Besides a new definition of adolescent has been introduced in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and employment of adolescents (14 to 18 years of age) has been prohibited in hazardous occupations and processes.

“These provisions would go a long way in protecting adolescents from the employment not suitable to their age,” it said.

The statement said that in case of first offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the law, penalty would be imprisonment for a term not less than six months but which may extend to two years.

Besides they could be fined an amount not less than Rs 20,000 which may extend to Rs 50,000. They could also be penalised with both imprisonment and monetary fine.

Earlier, penalty for employing any child in contravention of the law was imprisonment for a term not less than three months, which could extend to one year.

The monetary penalty for the same was a fine not less than Rs 10000, which could extend to Rs 20,000 either alone or with the imprisonment.

In case of a second or subsequent offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the law, the minimum imprisonment would be one year which may extend to three years now.

Earlier, penalty for second or subsequent offence of employing any child in contravention of the law was imprisonment for a minimum term of six months which may extend to two years.

Besides, the offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the law by an employer has been made cognisable which allows police to arrest without a warrant.

Government believes that this provision would act as a deterrent against the offence of employing a child or adolescent in contravention of the law.

In the principal Act, the same punishment was provided for parents or guardians for permitting a child to work in contravention of the Act, as prescribed for the employer of the child.

However, taking a “realistic view” of the socio-economic conditions of the parents, there would be no punishment in case of a first offence by them and in case of a second and subsequent offence, the penalty would be a fine which may extend to Rs 10,000, the statement said.

The proposal also provides for the setting up of a Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund for one or more districts for rehabilitation of children or adolescents rescued.

Thus, the Act itself will provide for a fund to carry out rehabilitation activities.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (CLPR Act) 1986 prohibits employment of a child in 18 occupations and 65 processes and regulates the conditions of working of children in other occupations/ processes.

As per this Act, a child means any person who has not completed 14 years of age. The Act provides punishment for the offence of employing or permitting employment of any child in contravention of the provisions of this Act.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 enjoins the state to ensure free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years.

A corollary to this would be that if a child is in the work place, he would miss school.

It was felt that thus, the CLPR Act is not aligned to the RTE Act as it permits employment of child below 14 years in occupations and processes not prohibited.

It was also felt that the CLPR Act is not in conformity with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 138 and 182, which provide for minimum age of entry into employment and prohibition of employment of persons below 18 years, in work which is likely to harm health, safety and morals.

The amendments being brought in the Act takes care of these anomalies, the government said.

(PTI)

Strong 6.8-magnitude quake hits northeastern Japan

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Japan Earthquake

Tokyo: A strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan this morning, the US Geological Survey said, but authorities did not issue a tsunami warning and there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake struck at 6:12 am (local time) off the east coast of Japan’s Honshu island in the Pacific Ocean, according to USGS, at a depth of 38.9 kilometres.

Japan’s meteorological agency said there was no immediate tsunami threat from the quake.

The quake hit 33 kilometres south east of the nearest city of Ofunato. Japan’s islands are situated at the conjuncture of several tectonic plates and experience a number of relatively violent quakes every year.

(AFP)

Modi government not much different from UPA: Govindacharya

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File photo

File photo

New Delhi: Days after Arun Shourie criticised Narendra Modi Government, BJP’s former ideologue KN Govindacharya on Tuesday too questioned its performance, saying it was not much different from the UPA dispensation and the PM has to come up with “Made for India” policies.

Govindacharya, founder of outfit Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan, said people continue to witness the “same partial” and “corrupt” dispensation at the central level.

“The government has completed a year. But at this moment, we can’t see a ground to list their achievements, which is a matter of concern. On one hand, it is directionless (on policy issues). On the other, there are internal differences amongst ministries.

“People feel even though Modiji looks different from others…People will have their own assessments…. But (I) can’t see much of a difference in the (two) Governments. Same partiality, corruption is there,” he told reporters.

On the Government’s policies over land acquisition bill and concepts of Smart Cities and Make in India, he cautioned the Prime Minister Modi over his advisors in these matters.

“I don’t know who are the advisors of Narendra Modi… who unnecessarily (have) brought into his head this type of a problem of Land Acquisition bill in which the basic norms could not be followed.

“Therefore, I think, that a clever person like Narendra Mod…I think he should beware of his advisors,” he said.

Govindacharya advised the government to properly supplement the “Make in India” concept with “Make for India” and “Made by India” policies.

“Otherwise, it will just be a signboard that ‘India on Sale’, which won’t do any good to people of Bharat,” he said.

Shourie, a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had earlier this month hit out at the Modi Government saying its economic policy was “directionless” while the social climate was causing “great anxiety” among the minorities.

(PTI)

FIR against IIPM founder Arindam Chaudhuri after UGC accuses him of misleading students

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Arindam Choudhari

New Delhi: Delhi Police have registered an FIR against Arindam Chaudhuri, founder of Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), on the basis of a complaint by the University Grants Commission of “misleading, cheating and fooling” its students as its courses were not acknowledged by any recognised authority.

“We have registered an FIR under Section 420 of IPC against IIPM Dean Arindam Choudhari and his father Malayendra Kisor Chaudhuri, who is a Director, based on the UGC complaint. We are probing the matter,” Joint CP (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said.

A notice has been sent to both of them to join the investigation, police said.

IIPM, however, has questioned the UGC complaint and said the institute was not cheating its students.

The UGC, in its complaint, has said that despite the fact its courses are not authorised, the institute was “fooling” the students by charging a hefty fee from them.

Chaudhari said in a statement it was sad that some sections of the media have decided to pick up a case that was 6 months old and wondered how this could amount to cheating.

“UGC and AICTE keep themselves in news by targeting IIPM with their lies because we have stayed consciously out of their purview and accused them of massive corruption”, he said.

“We have never claimed that the institute is recognised by any statutory body nor have we claimed we give degrees. We give certificates and write clearly everywhere that “students interested in de jure recognition of IIPM’s programmes need not apply to IIPM! Its written clearly since 1970s in our prospectus and in our websites since it came into effect,” the IIPM dean also said.

“We have been cooperating with the police ever since the first notice came and will continue to do so as law abiding citizens,” he added.

(PTI)

Passion for justice: Mukul Sinha’s pioneering work

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Following is the introductory chapter of a booklet on the life and works of Advocate Mukul Sinha, compiled and published by Friends of Mukul Sinha. It will be released today evening at a Convention on Reclaiming Democracy in Ahmedabad.

Mukul-Sinha

 

by Arvind Narrain and Saumya Uma

Mukul Sinha passed away on 12 May 2014. His death occurred just before the results of the national elections were declared on 16 May 2014. The general election of 2014 brought the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to power.

In the new political context, the dangers of forgetting what happened in Gujarat in 2002 are real.  The truly heroic efforts of Mukul Sinha and the small band of courageous, committed and persistent activists and lawyers resulted in the unprecedented conviction of over 100 persons for carnage-related cases. This now stands in danger not only of being forgotten but also overturned. Simultaneously, the threat and intimidation to civil society activists has increased.

It is in this defining moment, that we immensely feel the absence of Mukul Sinha. It is also in this context that we felt the necessity to attempt, through this publication, an understanding of what his work means to all of us, as a source of motivation and resolve to take forward his efforts towards justice and accountability.

Who was Mukul Sinha?  

As the range of tributes in this volume makes clear, Mukul Sinha was a trade union leader as well as a labour and service lawyer who shot to   national fame as the uncompromising and fearless legal spearhead who   sought to ensure accountability for what happened in Gujarat in 2002.

By their achievements in Gujarat, Mukul as well as the numerous   other activists from Gujarat have sent out a message that, justice is   indeed possible and creative lawyering and human rights lawyering lie   in goading the system to work even in the most difficult circumstances.   In doing the impossible, Mukul was an inspiration.

Why This Volume?  

This volume seeks to tell the story of the inspirational force that was Mukul Sinha from many facets. Mukul Sinha‘s own words, as reproduced   through a conversation with him in February 2013, highlight the varied aspects of his work, his strategic engagement with the law and his vision  of justice. His writings indicate a passionate commitment to working for labour rights, slum dwellers rights, environmental rights as well as the right to life and security of every person, immaterial of his or her religious or caste identity. What emerges in the course of this narrative is not only a political commitment but equally the skill, persistence and hard work which are the necessary concomitants to actualizing this vision of justice. Mukul Sinha‘s writings indicate the range of his concerns right from the politics of science to the issue of secularism and globalization to labour law issues such as the minimum wage.

A modest and self-effacing person, Mukul was not one to highlight   his own achievements. To get a sense of his enormous contribution   to nurturing a vision of democracy, one needs to understand and   assimilate his work through the people he worked with and the   people he inspired. The tributes paid to Mukul by fellow travellers   in the pursuit of justice emphasize the enormous importance of his   work. Fellow activists from Gujarat including Nirjhari Sinha, Fr. Cedric   Prakash, Pratik Sinha, and Gagan Sethi have penned heartfelt tributes   on the gap which Mukul‘s absence opens up in Gujarat as well as the   resolve to take Mukul‘s work forward.

The fact that Mukul‘s impact was not limited to Gujarat alone but has 9 had an impact at a national level emerges from the tributes by Upendra Baxi, Harsh Mander, Mihir Desai, Manisha Sethi, Mahtab Alam, Ajit Sahi, Saumya Uma and Arvind Narrain.

In addition to the public persona of Mukul Sinha, a personal side to him emerges from a range of tributes. Pravin Mishra, writes that he was ―an activist, scientist, lawyer, cook, poet, singer, lover, father, comrade and a great human who cared for every fellow human but cared very little when people misunderstood him.‖ He was also an atheist, communist, an advocate with legal acumen, grit and determination as well as a sense of humour.

The tributes also talk about the final days before his death when he continued working from his hospital bed in the Intensive Care Unit. He was dictating material to be uploaded on his website, discussing legal strategies with colleagues on important cases and asking for court documents to study and analyze. Highlighted by Mihir Desai, Harsh Mander and Gagan Sethi in their tributes to him, these are a poignant reminder of Mukul‘s passionate commitment to justice.

A running thread through the contributions is the thought—how does one remember someone who was so invaluable? The thought which echoes through all the tributes is that to remember Mukul Sinha is to remember our own humanity, as a gesture, not towards the past but towards the future.

The only genuine tribute one can pay Mukul is to bring the quality of both heart and head to human rights activism and redouble our efforts to ensure that the gains of the past are not lost as we face more difficult battles in the near future.  One also learns from Mukul that the defining quality of an activist is a stubborn will to fight for justice. Mukul‘s life also embodies the dictum that the more injustice there is, the stronger is the commitment to combat it. Mukul Sinha embodied the politics of a collective aspiration for a more just world and has contributed immeasurably to the nourishing of our utopias.

We hope that this volume functions as a spark of inspiration, reminding us of our rich histories of struggle and provides us the resources and the impetus to navigate the future with hope, commitment, resilience and humour–qualities which Mukul Sinha embodied.

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