Milk farmers across Maharashtra have launched an agitation with the main demand of giving Rs 40 per litre for cow milk, along with other important demands. Demonstrations, rasta roko, and other forms of struggle are being used by thousands of milk farmers . Farmers in Maharashtra are currently getting as low as Rs 24-27 per litre for cow milk, which is being sold in the market for Rs 56-60 per litre. The low price to farmers is because of faulty state government policies, adulteration of milk, and the brand war in the state. While Gujarat has only one milk brand Amul, and Karnataka has only one brand Nandini, Maharashtra has over 350 brands of milk, leading to cut-throat competition and subsequent loot of both farmers and consumers. In addition, while 3.5 lakh tonnes of milk powder is lying unsold in the country, the Modi government has recently given permission for the import of 10,000 tonnes, to please its foreign masters. AIKS Leaders Meet New MPs of MVA-INDIA from Maharashtra to Enlist their Support in Milk Farmers Struggle. On 2 July 2024, after the AIKS Central Office Bearers meeting in Delhi, AIKS National President Dr Ashok Dhawale and AIKS Maharashtra General Secretary Dr Ajit Nawale met three newly-elected MPs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-INDIA) from the milk belt of Maharashtra. They were Dr Amol Kolhe (NCP), Bhausaheb Wakchaure (SS), and Nilesh Lanke (NCP). ... the AIKS leaders apprised them of the milk farmers struggle which is intensifying in the state under the leadership of the AIKS and the Milk Farmers Joint Struggle Committee, and requested them to support it. All three MPs agreed not only to support, but also to take the initiative in this struggle.

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has held The PM and Home Minster Responsible for Growing Hate Crimes. They have demanded Compensation of Rs 1 Crore and One Job for each Victim’s Famil y of the Three Cattle Transport Workers killed in Chhattisgarh/ They have also demanded a Law Against Mob Lynching and Hate Crimes with Fast Track Courts and thatGovernment must Purchase Cattle at Market Rates from Farmers For Full text of Press Release: On 5 July 2024, an All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)-All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) delegation visited the families of the three victims of the planned killings of Muslim youth transporting cattle, on 7 June near the Mahanadi Bridge on the Mahasamund-Raipur border in Chhattisgarh by BJP-RSS criminals posing as cow vigilantes. The delegation visited Lakhnauti village in Saharanpur district and Banat town in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, and handed over cheques of one lakh rupees each to the three families of the victims. The planned murders took place just three days after the declaration of the results of the Lok Sabha elections on 4 June, in which Narendra Modi and the BJP-NDA came to power for the third time, although with a much-reduced majority. This has been followed by similar attacks on Muslims by Sangh Parivar criminals in several states. The AIKS-AIAWU delegation visited the bereaved families of Tehsim Qureshi at Banat town, and Chand Mian and Saddam Qureshi in Lakhnauti village, in Uttar Pradesh. The delegation comprised V Sivadasan, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and treasurer of AIAWU, AIKS president Dr Ashok Dhawale, general secretary Vijoo Krishnan, finance secretary P Krishnaprasad, AIAWU general secretary B Venkat, joint secretary Vikram Singh and AIKS CKC members Pushpendra Tyagi and Manoj Kumar. They were accompanied by AIKS leaders from Uttar Pradesh Daud Khan, Sushil Kumar Rana, Dharmendra Singh and Virender Singh. So far no government officials have visited the family of Tehsim Qureshi while the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) had visited the two families in Lakhnauti village. No compensation or treatment expenditure was provided to these families by either the state government of Chhattisgarh or Uttar Pradesh, both led by the BJP. AIKS demands compensation of Rs one crore, and one permanent job to each victim’s family by the Chhattisgarh state government. It may be recalled that the BJP-led state government of Haryana did not pay any compensation to the family of Pehlu Khan, a cattle farmer of Mewat who was lynched by Bajrang Dal goons on 1 April 2017 in Alwar, Rajasthan. Then also farmers across India had collected money and AIKS gave a sum of Rs 10 lakh to assist the family of Pehlu Khan. The Chhattisgarh incident happened between 2-3 am on 7 June when a gang of 11-12 people followed the truck loaded with cattle - all buffaloes, not a single cow - and stopped the truck at the Mahanadi bridge and attacked the workers. It is a case of premeditated murder and hate crime and not mob lynching. The state police registered FIR under section 304 and 307 of IPC for attempt to murder and culpable homicide that attracts punishment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with a fine or with both. There is no section 302 of IPC for murder. This reveals the rabidly communal bias of the Chhattisgarh State Police. Among the four belatedly arrested in this case is Raja Agrawal, who is district propaganda chief of the BJYM. The BJP MP Brijmohan Aggarwal of Raipur has publicly stated that the workers were not murdered, but they have committed suicide by jumping from the bridge. This is nothing but an attempt to protect the murderers and is hence a serious crime. The BJP-led state government has done nothing in this matter. AIKS again strongly demands a judicial enquiry, strong action against the top police officers involved in the conspiracy to protect the murderers, and prosecution of the BJP MP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are directly responsible for the current wave of widespread increase of hate crimes against Muslims all over India in the post poll scenario. The RSS and its outfits constantly instigate hatred against the minorities. This fosters alienation and insecurity among the minorities, which breeds fundamentalist trends, weakens the secular foundation of India and endangers national unity. Defence of minority rights is a crucial aspect of the struggle to strengthen democracy and secularism. The cattle economy is part of agriculture contributing 27% of the income of farmer households. India is the second largest country in beef export. The attack on traders and workers in the cattle industry severely affects the cattle farmers, who are unable to sell their animals or get remunerative prices since there is no cattle trade market. AIKS strongly demands that the NDA Union Government and Parliament enact a stringent law against mob lynching and hate crimes, establish fast track courts to expedite the trial and conviction of the lawbreakers, and protect the interests of cattle farmers, traders and workers in the cattle trade and meat industry. The government must purchase cattle at market rate from the farmers and protect their livelihood. AIKS calls upon all its village and tehsil units to observe 24 July 2024 as Protest Day against the RSS-driven hate crimes against cattle farmers and cattle transport workers, demand enactment of a law against mob lynching and hate crimes, and collect funds to support the bereaved families of 3 workers murdered in Chhattisgarh. All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)

Chapter 13 in the Economic Survey of India, which purports to offer an Indian lens to the problem of climate change, is a joke in bad taste, and an insult to millions of Indian dealing with climate induced disasters. https://thewire.in/environment/man-nature-are-indestructible-entities-gems-from-chapter-on-climate-change-in-economic-survey  in its latest Economic Survey of India, the chapter dedicated to responding to climate change says, “Man, and Nature (gross forms of Purush and Prakriti in the Samkhya Tradition) are indestructible entities that interact to provide meaning to consciousness in the form of reality as we know it. Hence, any strategy that aims to alter things far beyond the comprehension or control of man, such as ensuring that the planet’s temperature doesn’t cross 2 degrees Celsius, must travel the journey inwards and not outwards.” What, you may ask, does this mean? How will this help drowning children, or make sure our infrastructure is built to sustain increasing climate-related disasters? That, apparently, is the wrong question because the unknown author of this chapter is far more concerned about why people watch things on mobile phones rather than together. by Omair Ahmad 25/07/2024