Indian Entertainer

Friday, 1 April 2016

After Journalists And Lawyers Bela Bhatia Intimidated To Leave Bastar, Know About Her

Image Source: OecumeneVideo

In February, 2016, Malini Subramaniam, a contributor to the website scroll.in and Jag-dal, an all-women legal aid group were forced to leave the naxal-hit area in Chhattisgarh. In the past weeks, Hindi language journalists Prabhat Singh and Dipak Jaiswal were arrested. The former had circulated a comment against a senior police official in Chhattisgarh on a WhatsApp group. We witnessed the smearing of Soni Sori’s face with a corrosive material with the object of intimidating her and her peers. And now comes the turn of Bela Bhatia who, in an open letter to the Chhattisgarh state administration, details the way she has been harassed and her determination to stay in Bastar to serve the people.

Who is Bela Bhatia?

Bela Bhatia is a social scientist who completed her graduation in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Thereafter, she pursued PhD at the University of Cambride. Apart from her academic work what makes her stand out is the way she has been publishing fact-finding reports, being a part of many human rights and civisl rights initiatives all over India. She covered the Narmada Bachao Andolan and Bathani Tola massacare. She was also a part of the international Gulf Peace team after the first war on Iraq where she met Jean Dreze, an extraordinary economist and activist, whom she later married. After completing her PhD she also worked for Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in Delhi. As a result she studied the Telangana Naxal movement and Salwa Judum campaign of Bastar from close quarters. Thus, she is one of those researchers who believe that it is not merely sufficient to study a phenomenon but also to contribute meaningfully to solve a problem.

Walking her talk, Bela became a member of a team of experts constituted by the Planning commission for 11th five-year plan. The current National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval was also a part of this team which was assigned the task of studying all areas suffering farmers’ distress in order to recommend corrective measures. The team unanimously reported in its finding that the country can be secure only if the fundamental rights of its citizens are protected.

Why is Bela Bhatia being intimidated?

“If somebody says you are a Naxal, does that make you one? Would you leave your place just because somebody wants you to?” This is the crux of the matter Bela has laid out in her open letter published in Catchnews.

On Saturday evening, a group of around 100 people with men, women and armed policemen in civilian clothes came to a hamlet on the outskirts of Jagdalpur area where Bela currently resides. The crowd interrogated her landlady as to why a “Naxalite terrorist”(aatankwaadi) had been given a room on rent. They told Bhatia’s landlady to “drive her out” (unko bhagaao). She has been labeled as a “Naxal stooge” and a “foreign stooge”, helping her husband to “break India”. It is to be noted that her husband was born in Belgium but later acquired Indian citizenship.

In November, 2015 and January, 2016, she had helped shed light on two instances of gang rapes and sexual assaults by security forces conducting anti-Maoist operations in remote villages, like Peddagalur village of Bijapur district. Three FIRs were lodged in two months and presented to the district collector. The accusations were followed by inquiry and investigations by Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS). Though no arrests have been made so far, the incidents can potentially hurt the interests of Chief Minister, Raman Singh. After all, this is the first time that security personnel have been booked under Criminal Law Amendment Act (2013).

For taking this daring step, Sori and Bhatia faced intimidation from the Samajik Ekta Manch who accused them of being Naxals, and of not raising issues of human rights abuses by Naxals. She had already been ousted from Parpa village when her landlord, a tailor for the CPRF, was boycotted.

Bela has been accused of fabricating the charges since she has been assisting the tribal groups with the legal processes, along with human rights activists. She admits that naxals are targeting innocent civilians which are to be clamped down upon. At the same time, her stand is that irrespective of the parties involved, it is unjust and criminal to assault women in the groups. “Democracy is not merely a system of governance. It is also a value system…. It means a society where everybody has freedom of speech,” she opines. She alleges that Samajik Ekta Manch wants a naxal-free Bastar but does not question the violence perpetrated on the Adivasis by the state administration.

She claims that she chose to study this topic because she wanted to understand what pushes citizens of a democratic nation to pick up arms against the state. The government has not been able to address the root cause behind the insurgency. Life for Adivasis is a daily struggle for survival in the hinterland where the benefits of democratic government do not percolate. Citing the 1967 rebellion of farmers in Siliguri, West-Bengal, she states that it was a fallout of centuries of poverty and exploitation – severe famine that year was the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back. Similarly, if the root cause of trouble for the Adivasis in Naxal-hit areas are not addressed then the problem will only be fuelled further.

Indian Entertainer community stands with Bela Bhatia in this hour of crisis. She is an epitome of simplicity and Gandhian principles who truly understands the meaning of democracy. It is undoubtedly correct that the state administration should nab and punish the Maoists who carry out nefarious activities, but to seal the area and intimidate journalists, legal-aid workers and social activists from the area is totally uncalled for. All those who help the innocents cannot be termed as Naxals, especially if there is evidence of what they have stated. Instead, the government would do well to study the report submitted by the committee constituted by the Planning Commission in its 11th five-year plan and execute the recommendations made so as to solve the root cause of all the trouble.

#BastarBattleground

Jawans Dying
Tortured tribals
Journalists Jailed
Doctors detained
Forests freed
Media muted
Resources robbed
Victims victimized
Mining mafia

What happens in Bastar remains in Bastar. And anyone who makes any attempt to break this is broken, quite literally. Our collective silence and indifference to the suffering of the tribal population in Bastar is also a reason for what is happening there unchecked today. Here is one way to lend your support and stand in solidarity with the people residing there. Join the #OneMillionPostCardCampaign for #SoniSori #Bastar and send a post card to the chief minister of Chattisgarh.

Got 2 seconds – send an e-card: http://tinyurl.com/OneMillionPostCardForSoni .Got an extra second – share it. Got a few more seconds – encourage your friends to join

It’s just a matter of a few seconds – a few seconds which can save precious lives.

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Tragic Death Of Teen Due To Manual Scavenging In Tamil Nadu

Disclaimer : We do not own and do not claim to own all the images appearing on our website/ Facebook page. The images belong to their respective owners, who have copyright over them. The images are taken from various different sources. If you feel that any image violates your copyright, please write to911@thelogicalindian.com to have it taken down.

Image Courtesy: newindianexpress

Tragedy In Tamil Nadu
A couple of days back, a 19 year old teen lost his life to manual scavenging while trying to unblock a sewer line in Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. It was the second such incident in the state within a week. Before that, four people lost their life due to being asphyxiated in a similar task. The police have arrested three people in connection with the latter incident.

In both the incidents, it was reported that the workers had no safety gear on. However, it is contested by the municipality officials and they further claim that these deaths were due to accidents and not due to non-adherence to procedures.

Despite the passing of THE PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT AS MANUAL SCAVENGERS AND THEIR REHABILITATION ACT, 2013, by the Indian Parliament more than two years back, the practice continues unabated in major cities across the country. It replaced an earlier act enacted in 1993, which had proved to be ineffective and had not seen a single conviction in 20 years.

The Key Provisions Of The New Act Included:

Prohibition of employment of people as manual scavengers, the manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment and the construction of insanitary latrines.
Rehabilitation of manual scavengers as well as their families and providing for their alternative employment.
Mandatory conversion or demolition of insanitary latrines by the owner himself. If he fails to do so, the local authority will convert it and recover the cost from the owner.
Offences under it to be cognizable and non-bailable and may be tried summarily. Moreover, it provides for harsher punishments (upto 5 years for repeat offences) and higher penalties as compared to the previous act.
No person, local authority or any agency shall engage or employ, either directly or indirectly, any person for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a septic tank. In fact, it will be their duty to use modern technology to clean sewers, septic tanks and other spaces within their control.

Fatal Employment

Take the case of Mumbai for example, which The Logical Indian also exemplified some months back. 30,000 people are employed as ‘conservancy workers’ by the Mumbai administration to unclog sewer lines with the use of their hands and some primitive tools. Due to the continuous exposure to poisonous gases, 20 sewer workers die each month and 80% die before they reach 60, a study by Tata institute of Social Sciences showed. The only thing they can do to safeguard themselves against these toxic gases is to lower a candle in the manhole to know if there is sufficient oxygen for them to enter it.

Appauling Numbers

The problem is far from being city-specific. The Socio-economic caste census released in 2015 shows that as many as 1, 80,657 households are engaged in this degrading work for a livelihood. Maharashtra (63,713) tops the list with the largest number of manual scavenger households, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Karnataka. A common feature is the denial of the existence of manual scavenging by the state and city administrations all across the country. The numbers are enormous, but have reduced when compared to the roughly 8 lakh people engaged in the activity as per the 1961 census. In 2014, Supreme Court noted that – “Of these (people employed as manual scavengers), over 95% are Dalits who are compelled to undertake this denigrating task under the garb of ‘traditional occupation’. The manual scavengers are considered as untouchables by other mainstream castes and are thrown into a vortex of severe social and economic exploitation”.

A Grim Situation For The Manual Scavengers

Despite the enactment of sever laws, to end it is not so easy. For instance, several women in villages who sought to leave manual scavenging told Human Rights Watch that local authorities failed to intervene when they faced threats from the households they served. As a punishment for leaving the job, they were denied access to community land and resources or threatened with eviction, sometimes even with the backing of village councils and other officials. Threats of violence are also a reality for people thinking of giving up the act. In cities, local government officials themselves employ people to work as manual scavengers. Those who carry out these jobs say they are resigned to their fate due to their lack of education. But a casteist society, an indifferent administration and political class also aid to the continuation of the dehumanization of the sewer workers.

A Welcome Step By The Ministry

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot said in July 2015 that 2500 manual scavenger families, who clean human excreta with bare hands, had been identified so far. He added, “The government has given these families Rs. 40,000 aid money and is also given them skills training so that they can pursue alternative jobs. The Safai Karmachari Vitt Vikas Nigam is also extending credit to them so they can go for permanent jobs. We have started intervention work in Lucknow, Haridwar and Varanasi, and will be extending intervention to other States.”

The Indian Entertainer appreciated the work initiated by the honourable minister in this regard, but also disappointingly notes that the effort is too little and too slow. As a National Advisory Council resolution in 2010 noted – “Manual scavenging is the worst surviving symbol of untouchability”. Clearly, more needs to be done in this regard to remove this blot.

-Gaurav Shukla

Video: ITBP’s 1st 500 Female Squad To Guard Our Indo China Border

Image Source: Defenceforumindia

• ITBP(The Indo-Tibetan Border Police) is ready with its first female squad of 500 trained personnel to be deployed on Indo China border.

• The women, in the rank of constable, were inducted in border-guarding force after 44-weeks of training.

• Female squad will now be sent to frontier areas for final acclimatization before being deployed at ITBP posts.

• ITBP has a total of 1,661 women personnel in its various ranks and branches of work with the maximum number of 1,033 being in the constabulary ranks.

Read the detailed coverage at Times Of India

First TRAI And Now Wikipedia At Loggerheads With Free Basics

 Image Courtesy:wikimedia huffpost

The whole Free Basics controversy have brought different stake holders of the Internet at loggerheads. With TRAI recently castigating Facebook over Free Basics, TRAI has proved they are not someone who could be brushed aside by popularity. Recently Wikipedia has also distanced itself from Free Basics much to the delight of the proponents of Net Neutrality. We spoke to one of the staunchest critics of Free Basics, Mr Udaya Prakash, founder of a startup based in Bangalore. We asked him about Free Basics, the actions taken by TRAI and Wikipedia.

■ What is Free Basics & Net Neutrality?Free Basics intends to provide it is an open platform that gives Indian developers the opportunity to make their services and websites available free of cost to those who cannot afford internet access. Not all websites and apps that will be made available for free, which goes against the principle of Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality in simple terms would mean access to internet without discrimination.

■ How could Free Basics go wrong?The new users grow up thinking free basics is actually Internet. It would kill competition and breed monopoly as competitors will not be allowed. No new social network or messenger service can come up to challenge Facebook if free basics is widely adopted. As no competing services are allowed in the platform. There will be two internet lanes. One for the poor people, another the regular internet. The poor internet unlike the regular internet will be heavily regulated by Facebook and will not be neutral. There by defeating the fundamental law of the web, where every data is treated equally.

■ TRAI has cracked the whip on Reliance over Free Basics, your thoughts?TRAI took the commendable step for hearing out people’s opinions on Free Basics, its merits for continuation and enforcement. Facebook had tried to gather support for Free Basics by requesting its users to send a mail to TRAI showing support. However TRAI has rebuked the whole process as the email’s in support did not talk about differential pricing. It had wittily said the emails in support were not the answers to the question TRAI and critics of Free Basics had raised. TRAI had asked Reliance to suspend Free Basics operations and issue a compliance report for the same. It shows TRAI is actually listening to activists and condemning Zuckerberg is proof that TRAI doesn’t treat policy decisions as a popularity contest.

■ On Wikimedia distancing itself from Free BasicsWikipedia have distanced themselves from Free Basics which comes as a shot in the arm for the critics of Free Basics. Free Basics have found the going getting tough by everyday on establishing Free Basics in India. For Zuckerberg’s next billion users, China is not an option whilst India is a necessity. And for Free Basics to spread to other developing countries, how India reacts or rejects will be pivotal.

The Indian Entertainer commends the activists for raising their voice and also lauds TRAI for their consultative approach and the bold stance they have taken. The Indian Entertainer is firm on their stance against Free Basics and are certain about the catastrophic consequences of the same.

Government Spending On Ads: How Much Is Enough?

 Image Courtesy: elections indianexpress

It is generally believed that there is no dearth of money with the government. If the resources are not guzzled down in corruption and are instead spent efficiently on deserving sectors like education and health, the results can be spectacular. One hideous form of corruption which doesn’t often come into the limelight is the outrageous spending by governments on advertisements. Successive governments at state and national level have spent huge amounts of money on policy publicity and showcasing their own achievements. Let us take a look at some numbers and think where the line should be drawn for such expenditure.

■ All Political Parties crave publicity
Recently data on advertisement spending have emerged from the states of Maharashtra and Delhi. The BJP-Shiv Sena led Maharashtra government spent Rs 6.61 crore on advertisement in the period between April and December of 2015. This was almost 50% more than what the previous Maharashtra government led by Congress-NCP had spent in three full years. The previous government had spent Rs 4.25 crore between 2011 and 2014.

The Finance Minister of the state, Mr. Sudhir Mungantiwar, has defended the expenditure and said that it should not be seen as advertising and should instead be looked at as the cost incurred on establishing a dialogue with the public. “Keeping the information within the four walls of Mantralaya (Secretariat) is of no use. We need to disseminate this information to people and create awareness about the various government schemes.”

While publicizing a policy or a govt scheme among people is desirable, the advertisements generally tend to glorify the government or an individual. This is evident from the fact that out of Rs. 6.61 crore spent, Rs. 3.28 crore were used to celebrate the first anniversary of the Devendra Fadnavis government. It would have been much more prudent to instead spend that money in instalments throughout the year as and when new schemes were launched.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led government in Delhi has been even more generous in its advertisement spending. In the 11 months from February 2014 to January 2015, it has spent Rs. 60 crore in various forms of advertisements. In its budget last year, the government had put aside a whopping Rs. 526 crore for advertisements. Although this is only 1.3% of the Rs. 40,000 crore budget of Delhi, the amount still looks way too much for a small state.

AAP leader Ashutosh defends this expenditure and says that the government needs to inform people about its policies and that is why there is a publicity budget for communicating with people. He also tells that for the first time a separate department for publicity and advertisement has been created in the Delhi govt, and that the expenditure may be less than what the individual departments used to spend earlier.

While the success of the anti-corruption helpline in the early months of the govt or the recent odd-even scheme of pollution control can be attributed to the massive advertisement blitzkrieg, other ads targeted at the Prime Minister or the Delhi Police are definitely not called for. Advertisement done from the taxpayers’ money should only be used to make them aware of the government’s schemes, not its achievements or propaganda.

The Central governments have also been extravagant when it comes to publicity and promotion. According to the response to RTI application filed by Factly, the UPA-I govt spent an average of Rs 312 crore per year during its five-year tenure. The amount more than doubled to Rs. 696 crore during UPA-II rule. The present NDA govt at Centre has spent Rs. 993 crore during its first year.

■ The Way Forward
Clearly there is a need for regulating such disproportionate spending on advertisements. There should be an upper cap on the amount a government can spend on publicity. Every year a small percentage of the annual budget of the state/Centre can be earmarked for promotional activities which should cover every form of advertisement a government can give: print, television, radio and outdoor.

The Judiciary can keep a watch on the expenditure and issue guidelines from time-to-time, like it did few months back when it restrained ruling parties from publishing photographs of political leaders or prominent persons in government-funded advertisements. Further, governments must explore other means of publicity like social media, which is cheaper than conventional platforms and has an ever-growing outreach.

The Indian Entertainer community encourages the governments to exercise self-scrutiny in their advertisement spending and look for smarter ways to reach out to people, to ensure that every penny of the taxpayer’s money is spent on things that really matter to him.

– Abhishek Mittal

Monday, 25 January 2016

[Watch/Read] Khabar Lahariya: First Newspaper Run Entirely By Women

https://youtu.be/C0o_SCKrbRM
Source: khabarlahariya,

Khabar Lahariya (News Waves) is an eight-page weekly newspaper in local languages, produced by a collective of rural women journalists in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It is the first multi-edition newspaper in the country run entirely by women. A team of over 40 women across eight districts sells 6,000 copies every week. The newspaper has more than 80,000 readers across 600 ‘media-dark’ villages in the two states.

This weekly rural newspaper is written, edited, illustrated, produced and marketed by a group of women – most of them from marginalised Dalit, Kol and Muslim communities. The publication began in 2002 in the Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh in North India. The newspaper has six active editions in Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Lucknow, Banaras, and Sitamarhi (Bihar). Each week, 6,000 copies of Khabar Lahariya are sold across 600 villages of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, reaching a readership of 80,000. In March 2004, Khabar Lahariya received the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award – an annual award for outstanding women journalists from Media Foundation, New Delhi. In 2009, it won international recognition by being awarded the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize, a prize honoring outstanding contribution to literacy.

Their website: khabarlahariya

In Pictures: Few Volunteers Gave A Stunning Makeover To The Borivali Railway Station

‘Maintenance of railway platforms is of primary importance not only for city dwellers but for those who come from outside,’ says Mona Shaw, an architect and a Make A Difference (MAD) volunteer as per a reprort published on DNA

Ticket windows, pillars, stairs and overhead bridges of Borivali Railway Station were painted with beautiful colours and representations.

The work of MAD at Borivali Station will be inaugurated by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

The Indian Entertainer community thanks and appreciates the concerned volunteers who stepped forward and did something remarkable. We hope the daily commuters would also sincerely play their roles in keeping the station and the city clean.