Aaron Swartz and His Legacy of Internet Activism
As Swartz fought for, what we ideally need is government information in the public domain and people’s personal data being secret.
https://thewire.in/tech/aaron-swartz-and-his-legacy-of-internet-activism
Aaron Swartz died 10 years ago, driven to suicide by prosecutorial overreach of US attorneys trying to convict him for 35 years in jail for downloading scientific journals in bulk at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Swartz was a technology genius, who championed the cause of open knowledge and open internet. He helped create Rich Simple Site and Creative Commons, and was the co-founder of reddit and digital rights organisation Demand Progress. Beyond the technology contributions, Swartz helped liberate tons of information from government databases and create open access libraries and projects.
In Swartz’s words:
“Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world’s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitised and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You’ll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier.”
Across the world, at present, tech companies have taken over control of the information and internet infrastructure. They have co-opted words of internet communities to suit their narratives. In the name of openness and building Digital India, personal information has been commodified. This commodification of information is what Swartz was warning against, how the powerful are taking control of information that should belong to the people. People who understood this fought back against this very idea of gatekeepers of knowledge and information.
read more
HILLE LE JHAKJOR DUNIYA at WALK OF HOPE 2015 -16 from KK to J&K
SONG : HILLE LE JHAKJOR DUNIYA at WALK OF HOPE 2015 -16 https://youtu.be/RHCiocHGHvY?t=120 - Manav Ekta Mission Aug 11, 2016
MUSIC OF HOPE, a music concert by the INDIAN OCEAN BAND which took place on the 27th of February 2016, to promote the Walk of Hope - A padayatra led by Sri M from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, which commenced in Jan 2015 and concluded in April 2016, with the purpose of promoting oneness, peace and harmony amongst the people of India
Walk of Hope: Step by step, humanity brings people together March 19, 2016 https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/sri-m-walk-of-hope-step-by-step-humanity-brings-people-together/ Sri M’s Walk of Hope began in Kanyakumari on January 12, 2015, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, and will conclude in Srinagar in May, reaching out to 10 million people en route.
Sri M's 'Walk of Hope' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir reaches Delhi https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sri-ms-walk-of-hope-from-kanyakumari-to-kashmir-reaches-delhi/articleshow/51147205.cms
spreading the message of interfaith harmony, sustainable living, community health, equality, women’s empowerment and education. After having walked more than 5,600 km and having traversed six states, since setting out from India’s southernmost point on January 12, 2015, the walkers have reached Delhi.
Scrap Nanar oil refinery project in Konkan coast- Right to Protest
Scrap Nanar oil refinery project in Konkan coast https://act.jhatkaa.org/campaigns/scrap-nanar-oil-refinery-project-in-konkan-coast
The gram panchayats of 14 demarcated villages adopted a resolution together demanding the refinery project to be stalled while localities took to the streets to protest the development project in favor of Konkan coast's environment. The oil refinery project was scrapped in 2019 following vehement opposition from local leaders, farmers, fishermen, environmentalists and residents.
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/standing-firm-state-govt-to-go-ahead-with-oil-refinery-in-ratnagiri-protesters-served-notices-8241586/ Standing firm: State govt to go ahead with oil refinery in Ratnagiri, protesters served notices.. November 9, 2022. It is going to be the single-most biggest investment project in the state. D Phadnavis, Dy CM
Six leaders of anti-refinery project movement, namely Satyajit Chavan, Narendra Joshi, Amol Bole, Nitin Jathar, Deepak Joshi and Satish Bane have been served externment notice by Ratnagiri police and they have been asked to present their side in next three days.
“We have a right to protest. People do not want an oil refinery in this area and we are only voicing their concerns. How can we be served these notices?” asked Chavan.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/konkan-locals-protest-against-proposed-mega-oil-refinery-project/article65274842.ece “We came to know that the Maharashtra Chief Minister has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving his approval for the new location at Barsu-Solgaon instead of the originally planned Nanar. Our opposition to the project is on a bigger issues concerning the environment and the possible damage this project would do to the Konkan coastline. We will not let the project move forward,” Satyajit Chavan of the Konkan Vinashkari Prakalp Virodhi Samiti said. March 30, 2022
https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/oil-refinery-sparks-protests-over-livelihood-concerns-in-ratnagiri/ Coming together under the banner of the , an opposition committee, Rajapur taluka’s residents have raised several concerns over the project, one of which they claim is that this is a highly polluting ‘red category’ project which the government claims is ‘green’.
Apart from health-related issues caused by the project, villagers are concerned that the polluting gases can harm the mango cultivation in the region which witnesses (Rs. 22 billion) for the district. They also claim that the project will be a threat to the 30,000-year-old prehistoric geoglyphs, which are art or motifs on stones, gravel, earth and other elements of the landscape.
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nanar-refinery-maharashtra
Page 21 of 51