किसान आ रहे हैं | The Farmers are here Nov 28, 2023 While withdrawing the agricultural laws, Prime Minister Modi had said that his penance would be lacking. Two years after withdrawing the law, he did penance for the farmers. You might also be thinking that the movement is over, the talk of farmers is over, but it does not mean that farmers are not talking about their movement. Everyone had assumed that the Kisan movement was over, but the gathering of farmers in large numbers in Chandigarh on the third anniversary of the movement shows that they have not forgotten their demands nor their passion. Three years ago, more than 700 farmers lost their lives, but they stood on their front lines. At last the government had to retreat. Of course the public can forget the government but the farmers remember everything that happened then.

राफेल की गुप्त रिपोर्ट लीक , कोर्ट में सच छिपाए मोदी ? Rafale's secret report leaked  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd7oCRnVrLs

The Gupta Papers https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/gupta-papers-rafale-deal-agusta-westland-sushen-gupta How the Modi government is covering up two decades of defence corruption to save the Rafale deal Nileena MS 02 November 2023 The Italian police had been zeroing in on them in its investigation of bribery allegations in the Indian government’s 2010 purchase of 12 helicopters—worth Rs 3,727 crore—from AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of the state-controlled defence company Finmeccanica, now called Leonardo... a conversation, which was secretly recorded by the Italian police, indicated that Haschke and Gerosa had helped route payments from AgustaWestland, through a string of bogus consultancy contracts, to senior members of the Indian government and armed forces in order to influence the procurement of the helicopters.

The hidden story of how Ajit Doval and the Modi cabinet undermined Indian interests in the Rafale deal  https://caravanmagazine.in/government/hidden-story-doval-modi-cabinet-undermined-india-interests-rafale 16 December 2018

Why electricity tariff is going up? Who is the beneficiary?   https://www.cenfa.org/why-electricity-tariff-is-going-up-who-is-the-beneficiary/   The Centre, in its over-exuberance to privatise coal mining, put many greenfield coal blocks for auction to private companies, which in turn, apart from not having enough ability to develop coal, already stand heavily indebted to PSU financial institutions and are driven once again to borrow from them.

Peoples Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPS) in its Statement dated June 2nd 2022, attributed the coal shortage entirely on account of mismanagement of coal supplies on the part of the Central government. “Having created such a situation, instead of owning responsibility for it and offering to share the cost burden, it is unfortunate that the Centre should wash its hands off and transfer the resulting liability to the States”

The Union Ministry of Power issued several directives to the State power utilities to mandatorily import coal, 4 % by weight failing which the state would also lose entitlement to coal supplied by Coal India and other Indian sources. At the same time, there was no notice given to the states to prepare for the import of coal.

Writes Thomas Franco in #RandomReflections this week!

COP28: UAE planned to use climate talks to make oil deals  https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67508331

Leaked briefing documents reveal plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations. They included proposed "talking points", such as one for China which says Adnoc, the UAE's state oil company, is "willing to jointly evaluate international LNG [liquefied natural gas] opportunities" in Mozambique, Canada and Australia.

The documents suggest telling a Colombian minister that Adnoc "stands ready" to support Colombia to develop its fossil fuel resources.

There are talking points for 13 other countries, including Germany and Egypt, which suggest telling them Adnoc wants to work with their governments to develop fossil fuel projects.

 How a Congress leader is using ‘mohabbat’ and an app to woo Gwalior South https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion/story/madhya-pradesh-election-congress-nominee-praveen-pathak-using-app-to-woo-gwalior-south-2468355-2023-11-28
Such an experiment is taking place in a place where concerted attempts are being made to resurrect Gandhi's killer.

Faced with the BJP’s potent trifecta of hyper-nationalism, welfarist policies, and Narendra Modi’s personality cult, Praveen Pathak  embarked upon a circular formation, reaching out to each and every segment of society through pad yatras, personal visits, and an app, Pragaman, that mapped virtually every voter. By the time voting took place on November 17, 2023, Pathak, inspired by Rahul Gandhi’s “Mohabbat ki dukaan” could see and clock in real-time how his support base of nearly 1,06,000 voters, perhaps enough to see him through, were at their polling stations.

This is the story of Sarah tucker in whose name there was a school started in palayamkottai. - By Cynthia Stephen 

Her brother John tucker was an official working in the area and she lived in her home in England.. he used to write to her every week. He mentioned to her that the women of the area were hardly seen outside, and one day when he went to a village and felt thirsty he knocked on the door of a house to ask for water. A little girl opened the door and seeing him, fled from him in fear. He asked why, and was told that they were not allowed to move about and were kept only within their own houses, and were not allowed to study.

He wrote to Sarah about this and she was very dismayed, and collected as much money as she could - about 40 pounds - to send to him to start a school.for girls. Accordingly the brother started the school and somehow they ran it for 13 years with support that she raised and with other money he was able to manage. At last he confessed that they could no longer keep them open. Sarah who was in frail health began to pine away at the loss of her dream. One.day three of her friends came to visit her and asked why she was so sad...she related the story and said that she was heartbroken that her dream school had to be closed down, she felt her life was not worth living as a result. Shortly thereafter she passed away. Her three friends were determined to see that Sarah 's dream would not die, so they took up the challenge, raised over 300 pounds and sent it to revive the school. It still survives and in the districts of palayamkottai and Tirunelveli at last 10 lakh - one million girls have passed out of the school and college. What a legacy.

 About the  Dr Ashok Da. Ranade Memorial Trust  By Anjum Rajabali https://youtu.be/q58emTQwgoY  the trust has been created in the name of Dr. Ashoke Da Ranade  who barely needs an introduction. Large body of work that he has left behind. And yet it is very difficult to introduce such a multi-dimensional, multi-talented personality. He is primarily remembered as one of the finest minds in the field of musicology and music scholarship the world over, when he was regarded as one of the finest external musicologists of his time.

The range of subjects that he studied and excelled in as a scholar is unbelievably large --from music to dance to theater. Literature, criticism, mythology, Yoga, and several others which he which he found stimulating.
over and above that he was a composer and a musician himself a vocalist. He has 24 books to his credit. He has left behind a huge amount of knowledge for all of us to gain by. and yet there was so much more that he had planned to do could do before death stole him from us 3 abruptly 12 years ago.

Introducing Prof Pankaj Chandra:   https://youtu.be/BBSds1clnbU
Dr Aneesh Pradhan: Professor Pankaj Chandra is the Vice Chancellor of Ahmedabad University. He was the Director of the IIM Bangalore and Professor of Operations & Technology Management at IIM Ahmedabad. He has been a full time tenured faculty at McGill University and IIM Ahmedabad and a visiting professor at various universities overseas.  He has served on several committees of Government of India and currently serves on policy committees related to the New Education Policy as well on international Supply Chain Resilience.

Professor Chandra’s research and teaching interests include Manufacturing Management, Supply Chain Coordination, Building Technological Capabilities, and higher education policy. His recent book titled ‘Building Universities that Matter’ studies issues of Governance, Change & Institution Building in Indian Universities. He is involved in building a liberal arts driven research University and within it, a School of Performing and Visual Arts.

  12th ADR Memorial Lecture:  Integrating Arts: Building  Education towards Freedom  https://youtu.be/hRabhojJW5I 
 
Why does any society want its people to be educated? And what is the role of arts within it? In this day and age of technology, the big question that one grapples with is whether education is making you think and how does one learn to think. We believe that by integrating arts, one is able to view the world more comprehensively, bring extended emotion into education, and build skills that are more diverse to address complex questions. The talk will explore this world of how art is presented in a liberal arts framework and what stands in its way in today’s India.

Q & A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCJADGeLiLI

Questions raised in the chat box.
raginipasricha:    Artists across the world are protesting against multiple injustices and are being killed, incarcerated and banned for doing so by oppressive regimes. Their despair and oppression are very visible.  Is arts education or even interdisciplinary practice being promoted in India today and if freedom is to be taught as a cherished value, is the political system today supportive of it and financing it? Or are we talking at cross purposes? Social problem solving and pragmatism don’t go hand in hand. Academicians who work with sub altern movements are being called anti nationals and imprisoned
Stan Lobo:   Your words "if freedom is to be taught as a cherished value" is the question. Quoting our forefathers is the best way to  escape responsibility what we need to do 'NOW'.  We have some of the best thinkers on education in the form of Gandhi, Ambedkar, JK, Tagore.the question still remains : what have we done to Education system in India today inspite of having the best thoughts and intentions? What are the systemic changes, questioning those holding position of power in education, holding Educationists accountable for what needs to be done ?
 
At the end Chaitanya Kunte of the ADR Archives, Pune gave the vote of thanks

for Lectures upto now: Go to playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO579_0r1kCSHNo429aJWxOgci7LdRabX 

How The New Censors Muzzle A Million People!
   https://freespeechcollective.in/how-the-new-censors-muzzle-a-million-people/ November 27, 2023  NewsClick, a relatively small outfit, was somehow perceived to be a ‘problem’. Perhaps the problem was not so much NewsClick as the range of movements it covers. Just prior to the government’s unwelcome attention, NewsClick had covered the farmers’ movement quite thoroughly, coverage that drew significant viewership, and not just in India...

The Indian people are quite often mistaken to be passive. They do not rise up in revolt periodically against the terrible burden of oppression that they carry; this is a criticism commonly levelled against them. Yet, this mass of ‘passive’ people routed Mrs Gandhi in 1977 and asserted the primacy of Indian democracy...

Of course, the government and its cohorts are anxious to control the large number of individuals using social media; to do this, they have to come up with measures different from what sufficed during the earlier Emergency.

In other words, a technological change has taken place which makes the task of muzzling the press rather different from what it used to be. If you want to muzzle a million or more people, you cannot use the Emergency instrument, which was direct censorship...from “Keeping Up the Good Fight: From the Emergency to the Present Day” 

What are the new censors — official and unofficial —to do? They make an example of a few to create a chilling effect.

Kapil Sibal Writes : We Are Witnessing Undeclared Emergency & Courts Are Silent Kapil Sibal, Senior Advocate 27 Nov 2023 https://www.livelaw.in/articles/kapil-sibal-writes-we-are-witnessing-undeclared-emergency-courts-are-silent-243104  & https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2023/nov/26/courts-are-on-trial-in-undeclared-emergency-2636427.amp

We are watching in disbelief the way institutional independence is being jeopardised. Citizens who choose to oppose policies and diktats of this government are being targeted. ‘Jail not bail’ seems to have become the norm in certain ‘sensitive’ cases where individuals are critical of the government and its policies. They include journalists, students, academics and those working at the grassroots and espousing the cause of the underprivileged and the marginalised.

it is of great concern that basic principles of law are jettisoned to deny people liberty. How does a judge justify admitting evidence statements made to a police officer and using these to convict the accused? Students are languishing in jail under draconian provisions of law merely because they chose to stand up and be counted, opposing the government and its policies. Journalists and students are being prosecuted under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act through investigating processes which are clearly highly suspect. Provisions of the Gangsters Act are misused to exploit the victims.

Kapil Sibal ने लिखा लेखा, BJP और SC से भी पूछ लिए सवाल, जानें बड़ी बातें   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElM89ks9jOA