THE Rajya Sabha has passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill on December 24 in the name of safety of women in India while in fact this law if passed, will put safety of women in jeopardy as never before. We appeal to you to not sign this Bill and send it back to both houses of parliament for the reasons given below: CHILDREN SENT TO PRISONS WILL COME OUT AS HARDENED CRIMINALS The Bill provides for dealing with 16-18 years old children as adults to be subjected to adult punishment.
THOUSANDS of construction workers including large number of women from all over Haryana thronged the New Subzi Mandi in Fatehabad on January 6 and expressed anguish over the anti-labour policy of the Khattar government of BJP in Haryana.
THE Central Executive Committee of the Students’ Federation of India, in a statement issued on January 2, 2016 has strongly condemned the attack on Ramkrishna Chhimpa, district president of the SFI in Churu, Rajasthan by the RSS goons in the midnight on January 3. Around 50 hooligans belonging to the saffron brigade entered into the Kisan Mazdoor Bhavan at Sardar Shahar where Ramkrishna Chhimpa was sleeping and brutally beat him for being actively involved in the SFI activities.
SIKAR, a city whose art, architecture and culture bear the mark of a rich history of confluence and diversity, will host the 15th All India Conference of SFI from January 22 to 25. The rich legacy of spirited peasant agitations makes the choice of the city even more appropriate, as in a historic first, the All India Conference of SFI is taking place in the Northwest India. The conference is taking place at a time when the whole nation is witnessing an assault on the very idea of India as a secular and democratic republic.
WHAT do you do on an evening of dissent? You dance, you draw, you perform and yes, you sing. For as the vibrant banners, strung at the annual SAHMAT cultural event, reminded us of Bertolt Brecht’s iconic words, “Yes, there will be singing about the dark times.” But you also speak.
JANUARY 1, 2016 marked the 27th year of commemorating Safdar Hashmi’s life and works at the site of his attack, and subsequent death from injuries sustained, in Jhandapur by the CITU and the Jana Natya Manch (Janam). The interrupted Halla Bol show finished on January 4 that year, is marked with a new production by Janam each year, along with a roster of revolutionary songs and speeches. This year too the programme, with Badal Saroj as the chief guest, was a careful selection of acts in solidarity with the workers’ movement, with one major exception.
TWO BJP governments in Rajasthan and Haryana have amended their Panchayati Raj laws to expand the list of disqualifications with regard to who can stand for panchayat elections. These laws lay down the basic minimum educational criteria, two child norm and several other bizarre conditions for a candidate to be eligible for standing for elections. The changes within the Haryana law have been opposed by democratic women’s organisations and the AIDWA even challenged it in the Court.
FACEBOOK is running a high profile, misleading campaign, using full page advertisements, blocks of TV time, hoardings, and Facebook itself. This campaign, estimated to cost more than Rs 400 crore, is promoting Facebook's private, proprietary platform called “Free Basics” and calling its opponents as anti-poor. In India, Facebook has tied up with Reliance Telecommunications for offering this platform.
THE Narendra Modi government is winding up the National Development Council, an apex body consisting of the prime minister, the concerned central cabinet ministers, and all state chief ministers together with their concerned cabinet colleagues, which supervised the planning process in the country, gave final approval to the various five-year plans, and met periodically to take stock of issues and policy measures relating to economic development.
The 21st Congress Political-Tactical Line underlined the fact that the "CPI(M) must adopt flexible tactics to meet swift changes in the political situation". Could you elaborate on this?
N. S. Goswami I-1756 C R Park New Delhi