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Tributes to a Revolutionary Dreamer

ON a crisp sunny day as the world ushered in the first day of 2014, the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) organised a day long festival to remember the 25 years of Safdar Hashmi’s martyrdom. The Constitution Club Annexe was the venue of this memorable and important political and social event. The extravaganza like shows had artists from varied walks of life coming together on a common platform to remember an exceptional person whose life was cruelly cut short by those who were not comfortable with Safdar’s outspoken, non-conformist and radical methods.

Police Attack Students; Hurl Grenades on Campus

ON January 9, 2014, students in Thiruvananthapuram were brutally attacked by the police when they staged a protest against the UDF government’s move to commercialise education by granting autonomous powers to several educational institutions. Police lathicharged the students and used water cannons on them. They hurled grenades on University College campus, one of the premier educational institutions in the state, resulting in injuries to some student activists.

Safdar’s Red-hot Life

THE site of Safdar Hashmi’s killing is Jhandapur, a small settlement in the heart of the sprawling Site IV Industrial Area in Sahibabad on the outskirts of Delhi. Over the past decade or so, however, several factories and industrial units in the area have closed down, giving way to malls, cineplexes, hotels, office complexes, luxury car showrooms, educational institutions, and so on. The nearby interstate bus terminal, a new railway station and the Delhi metro have all contributed to this process and accelerated it.

New Disability Rights Bill Demanded

THE abrupt end of the winter session of parliament, two days ahead of the schedule, came as a big disappointment to the millions of disabled persons in the country. For the umpteenth time, the UPA’s government’s promise of tabling the Disability Rights Bill remained unfulfilled. This, despite the fact that the cabinet had cleared it, on December 12, 2013, after an inordinate and inexplicable delay. Opinion was divided over not just the intent and will of the government but also on whether in the given circumstances the bill could be tabled and passed.

WESTERN GHATS:On Gadgil-Kasturirangan Reports

THE consciousness that preservation of nature and environment is essential for the existence of human life is getting strengthened day by day the world over. However, the report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), popularly known as the Madhav Gadgil report, and that of the High Level Working Group (HLWG), known as Kasturirangan report, have evoked opposition from all sections of the people.

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