Indian civil society was dismayed and horror-struck when human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, who has spent over three decades caring for the poor in tribal areas of central India, was sentenced to life imprisonment for ‘sedition’ along with two others, Piyush Guha and Narayan Sanyal by a Raipur Sessions Court judge. Protests are taking place everywhere in the country and the members of India’s vibrant civil society, peoples’ movements,...
More »SEARCH RESULT
‘Killer dust' threat looms over Marwan despite protests by Shoumojit Banerjee
Proposed asbestos project could lead to a ‘Turner & Newall' epidemic There is a spectre over the verdant fields of Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, hitherto suppressed by the clamour and euphoria of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's massive electoral mandate. Its cause is asbestos — the magic mineral, paradoxically known by its more sinister monikers of the “killer dust” and “the silent time-bomb.” In November last, the Kolkata-headquartered Balmukund Cement & Roofing Ltd. (BCRL) proposed...
More »It's a travesty of truth and justice, says CPI
The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Saturday termed the conviction of human rights activist Binayak Sen by a Raipur court a “travesty of justice” and pointed out that genuine activists and even its party workers were being targeted by the Chhattisgarh police. “All genuine activists like Dr. Sen and even CPI cadres are being targeted by the security forces in the State and false cases are being foisted on them....
More »Clashes Continue Between Elephant Vs Humans by Manipadma Jena
Returning home from work recently, farmer Baidhar Singh was aghast to find his thatched hut in Balasore district, Orissa trampled to the ground. Just a few hundred metres away stood the culprits, huge and grey against the darkening sky: a herd of 65 wild elephants. That was a few weeks ago. Up till now, Singh and his wife are still calling a polythene-covered lean-to home. Singh’s experience has become quite common in...
More »Laws violated in Ratnagiri, says ecology panel report by Amruta Byatnal
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil has decided to walk the untrodden path. In the summary report which raises environmental concerns in the Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri regions of Maharashtra and emphatically supports the rights of its people, while strongly criticising the government's role, the WGEEP gave voice to the years of protests witnessed by the regions. The report seeks to answer various questions related to...
More »