Has Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), one of India’s best-known peoples’ movements, run out of steam? Or is it still relevant in its new avatar as a force to reckon with? After all, the NBA has failed to achieve its primary goal of blocking big dams on Narmada, including the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat. The short answer to the question of NBA’s achievement is that it has forced a paradigm...
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The republic on a banana peel by P Sainath
Media-corporate links are structural. But journalists, certainly entrenched ones, can choose whether they wish to be stenographers or not. It was gratifying to have the head of India's most reputed business house confirm the existence of crony capitalism in the country. True, others have believed this for 20 years but it carries more weight when Ratan Tata says so. As he put it in a television interview with admirable candour: “Yes,...
More »It ill behoves you to attend Lavasa event, NGO tells Cameron by Divya Gandhi
James Cameron, director of sci-fi blockbuster Avatar, finds himself embroiled in the controversy surrounding Lavasa, India's first “private hill city” that has been in the news for alleged environmental law violations. Mr. Cameron, who is slated to speak at the big-ticket ‘Innovation and Knowledge' (INK) conference being held in association with Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) between December 9 and 12 at Lavasa, has been urged to boycott the event. In a...
More »Vijay Mallya to support Karnataka tribals facing Displacement
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya will take up the cause of tribals living in Biligiri Ranga Hills in Karnataka who fear being displaced as there are plans to declare the forest as a tiger reserve. Mallya who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka said that it is the tribals who are guarding the tigers from poaching and other dangers. "If they are displaced, there will be no protection for them (tigers)," he...
More »‘Sangharsh' holds dharna against Displacement, land acquisition by Jiby Kattakayam
Activist Medha Patkar addressing a rally in New Delhi on Monday against the land acquisition policy of the UPA government. “Sangharsh,” a collective platform of social movements and people's organisations fighting Displacement and forcible land acquisition, began a five-day dharna at Jantar Mantar here on Monday. Representatives of people's movements from Assam to Tamil Nadu participated in the “Sansad Gherao” dharna. Among the struggles highlighted was the Assam-based Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti's...
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