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Manipuri student beaten in Bangalore for not knowing Kannada

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(Sudipto Mondal/HT Photo)

Michael Lamjathang Haokip after being beaten, in an apparent racist attack. (Photo: Sudipto Mondal, HT )

Bangalore: In an apparent incident of hate crime, a 24-year old engineering student from Manipur was beaten by a gang of three men in Bangalore for not knowing Kannada.

The attack took place past midnight in Indiranagar, a part of the city which has a high density of student population, particularly from North East states and Africa.

The victim of the latest attack Michael Lamjathang Haokip, president of the Thadou (Manipuri tribe) Students’ Association of Bangalore, sustained injuries to his head and back.

In his complaint, Micheal alleged that he was asked to leave the state, if he doesn’t know how to speak Kannada, and was said that this is India and not China. Reportedly, his friends had faced similar attacks in the same area in the past.

Haokip further alleged that the people who gathered at the scene took the side of the attackers, instead helping him. The mob scattered only after the police patrol car arrived to the spot.

Additional commissioner of police Alok Kumar said, “Three persons have been arrested and investigations are on to ascertain if this was a hate crime.”

Open letter to the Prime Minister on NREGA from Development Economists

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Photo: Ranjeet Kumar, The Hindu

The central government’s moves to dilute or restrict the provisions of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has serious implications on employment of about 50 million households, who benefit from the programme every year, say concerned economists. Photo: Ranjeet Kumar, The Hindu

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing to express our deep concern about the future of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

The NREGA was enacted in 2005 with unanimous support from all political parties. It is a far-reaching attempt to bring some much-needed economic security to the lives of millions of people who are on the margin of subsistence.

Despite numerous hurdles, the NREGA has achieved significant results. At a relatively small cost (currently 0.3% of India’s GDP), about 50 million households are getting some employment at NREGA worksites every year. A majority of NREGA workers are women, and close to half are Dalits or Adivasis. A large body of research shows that the NREGA has wide-ranging social benefits, including the creation of productive assets.

Recent research also shows that corruption levels have steadily declined over time. For instance, official estimates of NREGA employment generation are very close to independent estimates from the second India Human Development Survey. While corruption remains a concern, experience shows that it can be curbed, and the battle against corruption in NREGA has helped to establish new standards of transparency in other social programmes as well.

No doubt, the programme could and should do even better. But the gains that have been achieved are substantial and amply justify further efforts to make it a success.

Against this background, it is alarming to hear of multiple moves (some of them going back to the preceding government) to dilute or restrict the provisions of the Act. Wages have been frozen in real terms, and long delays in wage payments have further reduced their real value. The Act’s initial provisions for compensation in the event of delayed payments have been removed. The labour-material ratio is sought to be reduced from 60:40 to 51:49 without any evidence that this would raise the productivity of NREGA works. For the first time, the Central Government is imposing caps on NREGA expenditure on state governments, undermining the principle of work on demand.

Last but not least, the Central Government appears to be considering an amendment aimed at restricting the NREGA to the country’s poorest 200 districts. This runs against a fundamental premise of the Act: gainful employment that affords basic economic security is a human right. Even India’s relatively prosperous districts are unlikely to be free from unemployment or poverty in the foreseeable future.

The message seems to be that the new government is not committed to the NREGA and hopes to restrict it as much as possible. We urge you to reverse this trend and ensure that the programme receives all the support it requires to survive and thrive.

Yours sincerely,

Dilip Abreu (Professor of Economics, Princeton University)

Pranab Bardhan (Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of California Berkeley)

V. Bhaskar (Professor of Economics, University of Texas at Austin)

Ashwini Deshpande (Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics)

Jean Drèze (Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, Ranchi University)

Maitreesh Ghatak (Professor of Economics, London School of Economics)

Jayati Ghosh (Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Deepti Goel (Assistant Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics)

Himanshu (Assistant Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Raji Jayaraman (Associate Professor of Economics, European School of Management and Technology)

K.P. Kannan (former Director, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum)

Anirban Kar (Associate Professor, Delhi School of Economics)

Reetika Khera (Associate Professor, IIT Delhi)

Ashok Kotwal (Professor of Economics, University of British Columbia)

S. Mahendra Dev (Director, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Srijit Mishra (Associate Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Dilip Mookherjee (Professor of Economics, Boston University)

R. Nagaraj (Professor of Economics, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Sudha Narayanan (Assistant Professor of Economics, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Pulin Nayak (Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics)

Nalini Nayak (Reader in Economics, Delhi University)

Bharat Ramaswami (Professor of Economics, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi)

Debraj Ray (Professor of Economics, New York University)

Atul Sarma (former Vice-Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University)

Abhijit Sen (former Member, Planning Commission)

Jeemol Unni (Director, Institute of Rural Management, Anand)

Sujata Visaria (Assistant Professor of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

Vijay Vyas (former Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister)

10 percent of Maharashtra polling stations 'hyper-sensitive'

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FEATURES

Mumbai: With barely 24 hours left for polling in the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Election Commission has identified over 9,900 or nearly 10 percent of the 91,376 polling stations in the state as “hyper-sensitive”, officials said here Tuesday.

Adequate police and paramilitary forces will be deployed in the vicinity of these polling stations to prevent any incidents of violence or threats.

The security would include over 35,000 state police personnel, 12 companies of State Reserve Police Force, 17 companies of Central Industrial Security Force, 11,500 Home Guards, Quick Response Teams, Flying Squads and others at the polling stations.

The Election Commission, in its standard directives, has also banned use of mobile phones within 100 metres from the polling stations. Political parties can set up their tables outside 200 metres with two chairs to help the voters.

Even the media will be kept out of polling stations and any surveys or exit polls would be allowed to be released only after the polling hours end.

Around 8.35 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise from 7 am to 6 pm Wednesday (Oct 15) to elect 288 representatives from among 4,119 candidates in the state.

The bitter month-long campaign ended here Monday evening by the main contenders – Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, and Shiv Sena – besides other parties like the Bahujan Saman Party, Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI-M, and other regional and local parties and 1,699 Independents.

Of the 288 seats, 29 are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 25 for the Scheduled Tribes candidates, with a majority of the constituencies having five- or six-cornered contests.

(IANS)

Cyclone Hudhud: Modi visits Vizag, announces Rs. 1000 cr relief for Andhra Pradesh

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Fishermen making efforts to salvage a submerged fishing boat due the impact of Hudhud cyclone in Visakhapatnam on Monday. Photo: K.R. Deepak, The Hindu

Fishermen making efforts to salvage a submerged fishing boat due the impact of Hudhud cyclone in Visakhapatnam on Monday. Photo: K.R. Deepak, The Hindu

Visakhapatnam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here Tuesday afternoon to cyclone-hit north coastal Andhra, and announced an interim relief of Rs. 1000 crore to the state for the devastation caused by Cyclone Hudhud in Vishakapatnam and other coastal areas.

“The Centre is fully with the people of Andhra pradesh. Both governments are working hand in hand,” Modi told reporters at Vishakapatnam.

Modi made the announcement after visiting parts of the worst-affected port city and a review meeting with chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and top officials.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had already written to Modi to declare Hudhud a national calamity and provide Rs.2,000 crore as interim relief. He expressed concern that the cyclone caused huge losses at a time when he was planning to develop Visakhapatnam into a smart city. He, however, exuded confidence that the central and state government will work together to overcome the challenge.

The Prime Minister said that the Central government officials from various ministries would soon tour the region to assess damage and start work to restore normalcy, Modi told reporters. He said restoring the basic needs of life like water and electricity were the government’s immediate priorities.

Modi, who made an aerial survey of the affected areas of both north coastal Andhra and Odisha, also declared Rs. 2 lakh from Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for families of each of those killed and Rs. 50,000 to every injured.

The local bodies, he said, also rose up to the task.”It is important to note that a crisis of any magnitude can be overcome if the state and Centre work should-to-shoulder,” he said.

Karnataka to help AP restore power supply

The State government has agreed to provide manpower support to Andhra Pradesh to restore electricity supply in its cyclone-hit areas.

About 2,000 workers of the Karnataka Energy Department will head to Andhra Pradesh to help restore power in 5,000 villages over the next 10 days.

Reportedly the AP CM informed Mr. Siddaramaiah of the magnitude of destruction the cyclone had caused to electric poles and transformers and sought assistance in restoring them. Mr. Siddaramaiah responded immediately and agreed to send engineers and technical staff from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. and other power supply companies to assist in restoration work, an official note said.

Meerut women says family got money from Hindu leaders and forced her to make false accusations

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Vineet Aggarwal a BJP leader caught in camera while giving money to victim’s mother.

Vineet Aggarwal a BJP leader caught in camera while giving money to victim’s mother.

Lucknow: In a fresh and dramatic twist to the ‘Love Jihad’ case involving a girl in Meerut, the victim Monday alleged that she was forced by her family to make false accusations that she was first gang raped by Muslim men and then forcibly converted to Islam.

The girl from Khakhrauda made the statement before a magistrate, making it a legally binding document.

Officials said she had approached the Senior Superintendent of Police of Meerut Saturday claiming that her parents were beating her after money stopped coming from certain Hindu leaders.

This, she told the district police chief, had been happening over the past one month until she fled the house for fear of being killed. She has also lodged a complaint with the police alleging a threat to her life from her family.

A teacher by profession, she had earlier alleged that she was gang raped by Muslim youth and then forced to convert to Islam. In a U-turn now she has denied this and has in the written statement claimed that certain Hindu groups and leaders had coerced her family into making these allegations.

Reacting to the developments, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which had raked up the Love Jihad issue during the state assembly by-polls, said the whole issue was now turning murkier and demanded a CBI probe.

“A CBI probe will clear the matter,” Laxmikant Bajpayi, state BJP president, told IANS.

Other political parties, including the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP), however slammed the BJP for raking up a non-issue and alleged the party’s complicity in the whole matter. “The BJP owes an explanation to the people on why it raked up the matter which was unsubstantiated,” said Rajendra Chowdhary, state cabinet minister and party spokesman.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari has sought a detailed probe into the whole episode and said the role of everyone should be scrutinised.

(IANS)

Note: The Nasheman Urdu Weekly, in its 17th August issue, had stated that the women’s contradictory statements, proves that her alleged forceful conversion to Islam, and her alleged gangrape by Muslim men, are erroneous. Our Weekly had also quoted a local Moulana, who had said that the women had converted to Islam on her own will, and had also produced a document to the local magistrate.

Shashi Tharoor sacked as Congress spokesperson for praising Narendra Modi

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Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi: Congress MP and former Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor has been sacked as party spokesperson on the charge that he has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi once too often.

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) had wanted action against Tharoor for his praise of Narendra Modi and accepting the Prime Minister’s invite to him to participate in ‘Swachh Bharat-Abhiyaan’ campaign.

KPCC president V M Sudheeran said praises lavished on Modi repeatedly by Tharoor had hurt Congress and UDF workers who worked sincerely and tirelessly for his victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency for a second time.

Party president Sonia Gandhi has reportedly agreed with those in the Congress who allege that Mr. Tharoor has embarrassed and hurt the party with his “unnecessary adulation of PM Modi” in columns on news media.

He had consistently rejected suggestions that he was moving closer to the BJP by asserting that he was a “proud Congressman” and never endorsed the “Hindutva agenda” of the BJP.

“As a loyal worker of the Congress, I accept the decision of the party president,” said Shashi Tharoor.

The action against Tharoor comes at a time questions connected to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar at her hotel room in January have resurfaced. The Delhi Police are yet to pinpoint how she died; a team of doctors from AIIMS has said the 52-year-old died of poisoning, and not from an overdose of Alprax anti-depressant pills as another report had claimed previously.

Walls instead of Bridges: Kashmir's chance destroyed by Media

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Kashmir-flood

– by Special Correspondent, Nasheman

Srinagar: On 7th September, 2014 Kashmir witnessed the worst disaster of the century when the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir got submerged. Rajbagh, Shivpura, Indra Nagar, Jawahar Nagar and Bemina were the worst hit. Water levels rose upto 18 feet in these areas. People were shocked and unable to understand how to save their life. But as we say life has its own ways, people started marching towards these areas and tried to rescue people and bring them out of these submerged houses.

In the state government, except the Chief Minister & DGP everyone else was trying to save himself and his family. I reached Srinagar airport on 5th September and on the same day on directions of Home Ministry two NDRF teams had reached Srinagar airport. Mubashir Bukhari, Dy. SP JK police was briefing them about the situation. NDRF was clueless about the topography of the area and in Kashmir we still don’t have Google maps updated so you can understand how tough it would have been for this police officer to brief them. But anyhow NDRF teams were sent to the destination.

On 7th September when water started entering Srinagar city, locals, NDRF teams and some J&K policemen started rescue operation. On the morning of 8th September, we saw big fleet of helicopters of IAF pressed in the rescue operation. Whenever there is any natural calamity, I have never seen that rescue operations are done by government only, in most of the cases, during rescue operation locals do more work than government machinery and same happened in Kashmir..

Air Force, Army did tremendous job in rescuing people. I Saw army without any hesitation taking people in their vehicles and people also getting into these vehicles without any hesitation. This was the Kashmir which I had seen in my childhood when army and public were friends, though after 1990 everything changed. Till 9th of September everything was going on peacefully but on 10th I again saw anti army voices raising especially in non flood hit areas. I was wondering what happened suddenly, why are people against the army? Why are people saying army is rescuing only non-Kashmiris? Then I realised the battery of journalists who had come with IAF fleet were just showing rescue operation of army and not of the locals. Unfortunately, these reporters were just showing the interviews of only those people who were from outside, this reporting gave the impression that government is only trying to rescue non Kashmiris which was not true. Though few channels did commendable job by taking messages of people stranded in the flood to their families but all these efforts were wasted by some editors for reasons well known to them. This was the time when media could have played the constructive role and tried to narrow down the gap between localities and Army.

Worst was when few channels started playing visuals of stone pelting on security forces in 2010 and rescue operation. I didn’t understand what they were trying to tell people of Kashmir by showing these pictures. Didn’t the media spoil the work done by army and IAF and didn’t this reportage allow people to raise questions.

There were lot of stories which these journalists could have done. Boat owners taking thousands for few kilometers. Thieves trying to sneak in these submerged houses and some heroic jobs of local people.

I am a journalist and fortunately or unfortunately i was in Kashmir during these floods and witnessed as how some media reportage not only spoilt the work done by government but widened the gap between Kashmiris and the government.

Janwadi Lekhak Sangh condemns police raid on FORWARD Press

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New Delhi: The Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, the city based writer’s forum, the Forum for Freedom of Expression and other organisations came in support of the ‘Bahujan- Shraman’ issue of FORWARD Press, and condemned the police raids against it today.

On the evening of October 9, the special branch of the Delhi police had raided the office of FORWARD Press on the basis of a complaint made in the Vasant Kunj police station which claims that FORWARD Press had published objectionable material about the Hindu deity Durga, on the basis of which students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were organising ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’.

Terming the raid by Delhi police as a “matter of deep concern”, the forum said that the police took these actions without order of any court or competent authority and said it deserves outright condemnation.

The latest issue of FORWARD Press, an independent Delhi based anti-caste magazine is focussed on Bahujan-Shraman tradition. The issue carries articles that interpret the Puranic story of the killing of Mahishasur by Durga as a struggle between the Aryans and the non-Aryans. “This may have angered the Hindutvadis, who have been routinely indulging in vandalism in the name of hurting religious sentiments,” the forum claimed.

The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press. Photo: FORWARD Press

The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press. Photo: FORWARD Press

“The Janwadi Lekhak Sangh strongly condemns the action against the magazine without any proper court order and views it as a violation of the fundamental right of freedom of expression. We also condemn the violence indulged in by the ABVP activists during the observance of ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’ at JNU.”

“The Delhi police action and the ABVP vandalism are closely interlinked and manifest the growing assertiveness of the reactionary, communal-fascist forces since the Modi government coming to power and the aid being extended to them by the government machinery,” alleged the Forum in its press address.

The Forum demanded that action should be taken against police officials who ordered and conducted the illegal raid on FORWARD Press. It also called for “action” against those who do not “believe in expression of dissent while sticking to democratic norms.”

“VHP leader Praveen Togadia’s recent statement that history books written by Romila Thapar and Bipin Chandra should be burnt is an example of such tendencies.”

Om Sudha, the Convenor of ‘Forum for Freedom of Expression’,  has asked the Home Ministry to immediately withdraw the FIR lodged against FORWARD Press.

Delhi Police raids Dalit magazine FORWARD Press for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments

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Photo: Forward Press

Photo: FORWARD Press

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday raided the offices of FORWARD Press, the independent city based anti-caste magazine focusing on issues concerning the Dalit and other ‘backward class’ communities and reportedly confiscated copies of its October issue on grounds that it carried objectionable material about Hindu deity Durga.

Pramod Ranjan, the Consulting Editor of FORWARD Press said, “We strongly condemn the vandalism indulged in at the Nehru Place, New Delhi office of FORWARD Press on Oct 9 by Delhi Police. He said that the Delhi police illegally detained four staffers of the magazine on Thursday and now it is confiscating copies of the magazine from stalls in Delhi without any order of any court or competent authority. He claimed that the action was being taken ‘at the instance of fundamentalist forces, which is not only a blatant violation of the Freedom of Expression granted by the Constitution but also an attempt to stifle any logical-intellectual discourse”.

It may be mentioned here that two groups of students had clashed on Thursday on JNU campus over the observance of ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’. Earlier, the police had raided the office of FORWARD Press on the basis of a complaint made in the Vasant Kunj police station of East Delhi. In the complaint, it has been claimed that FORWARD Press had published objectionable material about Goddess Durga, on the basis of which students of the JNU were organising ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’.

Ranjan said in this regard that “The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press was a special number devoted to ‘Bahujan-Shraman tradition’ and carries well-researched articles of leading writers and professors of prestigious universities. The Bahujan rendition of the story of ‘Mahishasur and Durga’ has been presented in words and through sketches and paintings.

“There is absolutely nothing in the issue that can be described as objectionable under the Indian Constitution. Our objective was not to humiliate or hurt the sentiments of any community or group. We are only trying to identify and rejuvenate the symbols of Bahujan culture and civilization. Anyway, Bahujan renditions of popular texts have a long tradition, starting from Jotiba Phule and going up to Ambedkar and Periyar.”

While condemning the raid as an attack on freedom of expression the magazine issued a press release claiming, “the action has been taken at the behest of the Brahamanical forces in the BJP,” the press note said. “Forward Press – a magazine of Dalits, OBCs and Tribals – has always been an eyesore for these forces. In the last couple of years, Forward Press has faced many attacks from these forces. The attacks have only strengthened our moral force. We are hopeful that we will be able to emerge with our head held high from this latest crisis too.”

Both the Editor-in-Chief and Consulting Editor of the magazine, have reportedly gone underground since the raid.

AFSPA needs to be be repealed immediately, says former police officer

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Members of Save Democracy stage a protest demonstration demanding the repeal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) even as activist Irom Sharmila's fast against the Act in Manipur entered 12th year today, at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi. Photo: V. Sudershan, The Hindu

A protest demonstration demanding the repeal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi. Photo: V. Sudershan, The Hindu

Imphal Free Press: The debate over Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA is no longer needed; it should be repealed at the soonest. It is inhuman and as well as redundant as a law.

This was stated by Potsangbam Sonamani, former senior superintendent of police, Kohima, who is also the president of Manipuri Association North East India.

Sonamani was speaking in the North East Consultation on Human Rights, today at the Tribal Research Center hall, Imphal.

The consultation was jointly organised by North East Students’ Organisation, NESO and All Manipur Students’ Union.

Sonamani further said that though the Act has been enacted by the establishment, the greater onus lies with the human right activists and the people.

He also lamented the lukewarm turnout of public during such an important consultative meeting.

Former Chief Minister, Radhabinod Koijam, speaking as the chief guest recounted his experiences with the then Prime Minister, during his short stint as the State Chief Minister regarding the ramification of the Act.

Yambem Laba, human right activist and journalist, recalled how the human right movement took a definitive shape in the State.

He also recollected how he during his college days petitioned against the Act before the Supreme Court of India, along with some of his friends.

He appealed the members of NESO and AMSU to be firm with their convictions.

Samuel Jyrwa, Chairman NESO, termed AFSPA a manifestation of racial discrimination against the North East people and emphasised on the need to repeal such a draconian law. He also pointed out that such consultation will be held in all the seven sister States of the NE before the next Parliament session.

After a thread bare discussion on the genesis and politics of AFSPA, adverse gender impact of the armed conflict and the increasing ‘securitisation of development’ in the Northeast region, the consultation unanimously decided to pressurise the MPs from the Northeast to push for the repeal of AFSPA in Parliament.

Sinam Prakash secretary general NESO in his keynote address pointed out that despite of internal and external democratic pressure to repeal AFSPA the government of India is turning a blind eye to the issue for too long.

The technical session was a chaired by Lokendra Arambam, senior citizen. Seram Rojesh, Anjulika Samon and Homen Thagjam presented papers on the Act.

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