A society of morbid voyeurs https://www.allindiansmatter.in/a-society-of-morbid-voyeurs/ Tushar Gandhi July 13, 2023 With the advent and reach of social media, video streaming and apps with live streaming features, we see a flood of videos of all kinds. This seems to have turned a vast majority of Indians into morbid voyeurs. ... Why do we need to watch atrocities being committed to be moved before we are outraged? Why isn’t just hearing or reading about these horrible acts enough to horrify us? Why have a huge majority of us become such morbid voyeurs? Why has our collective compassion died? We need to question ourselves, find answers and detox to humanise ourselves. And we need to do it quickly....This is the worrying malice I see in India today – a malice that will turn us all into murderous demons, not because each one of us will kill or act brutally but because most of us will remain unmoved by such acts....

Comment: on Whatsapp.. more than lament the morbid voyeurs, we have to incorporate into our strategy which includes a method which valourises those who do respond..

https://youtu.be/MKyChPXNoqs?t=84  घुटनों पर आ गए मोदी, Agnipath-Agniveer Scheme Exposed, Jul 13, 2023 Desh neeti

https://www.freepressjournal.in/education/after-agniveers-leaving-training-midway-reports-claim-candidates-need-to-pay-expenses According to several reports, in the first batch of Agniveers (Indian Army Training), more than 50 candidates left the training midway. There is no provision to bind Agniveers to the training program, also there is no penalty for leaving the Agnipath training halfway. However, a report claims that centre might bring a change in the rules so that Agniveers cannot leave the training in the middle...
According to the military officer, the youths who left Agniveer’s training have given different reasons. Some left after being on medical leave for more than a month. Others left the training saying that they had found better opportunities.

The first batch of Agniveers will join the Army next month as the training is over and the training of the second batch is about to begin.

Compassion as a political emotion https://www.india-seminar.com/2020/736/736_rudolf_c_heredia.htm  RUDOLF C. HEREDIA

In 1941, Savarkar’s birthday wish was expressed to the Hindu Mahasabha in the slogan: ‘Hinduise all politics and militarise all Hindudom.’27 And again: ‘India must be a land reserved for the Hindus.’28 It should be evident that Hindutva as a political ideology cannot create an inclusive culture of compassion, whereas Hindu tradition and Indic culture have the resources to do so.

Gandhiji demonstrated this in the freedom movement against the colonial Raj. But those who never really participated in the movement, never learnt compassion and ahimsa, nor the meaning of satyagraha and swaraj. The traditional Hindu religious leaders could not accept Gandhi, in spite of the obfuscations of those who drew their inspiration from Mazzini and his Fascism.

act compassion is antithetical to our modern way of life, according to Karen Armstrong.29 Yet all the major religious traditions concede its importance. This she says must ‘reflect something essential to the structure of our humanity’, i.e. compassion is natural to humans, but so is cruelty. It’s how we are socialized that makes the difference for humans have a natural capacity for compassion – just as we do for cruelty.

Will India follow other South Asian nations in an ethno-religious nationalism that thrives on polarization and hate? As long as this yields returns at the polls, the violence of collective majoritarian politics will thrive. Only a critical and alert citizenry committed to the common good of all citizens can turn this tide. This is not peculiar to South Asia. Clifford points out that traditional societies, forming themselves into new states in their struggle to catch up with the developed world, readily fall back on an ethno-nationalism, which tends to be authoritarian and majoritarian.

The Indian Army has warned former soldiers of punitive action including non-payment of their pension and police cases if they make social media posts on issues which have been deemed “false” and have the potential to cause disharmony and tarnish the image of the forces, The Tribune has reported.

https://thewire.in/security/army-ex-soldiers-pensions-fir-social-media 

“In the recent past, several instances have come to light where the conduct of some ex-servicemen has tarnished the Army’s image,” the letter mentions. The instances include use of social media for creating propaganda and spreading canards about the Army, especially targeting the officer cadre…Some posts aim at inciting and converging public opinion on matters related to service life, conditions and privileges,” the letter says, according to the report.

The letter reminds former servicepersons of relevant Indian Penal Code’s provisions and Section 131 of the Army Act, 1950, which entails life imprisonment for anyone “abetting committing of mutiny by an officer or a soldier”. It also asks local military commanders to “keep an eye” on such posts and register first information reports with local police.

10/07/2023

Tahir Mahmood writes: The case for a Uniform Civil Code https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/uniform-civil-code-common-civil-code-article-37-narendra-modi-govt-8694942/ Kapil Sibal  July 4, 2023  Uniformity of laws by itself is no virtue. The rationale for UCC is to have family laws free of religion and gender-based discrimination..Many new laws of general application have been enacted over the years — to name a few, the Special Marriage Act 1954, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Foreign Marriage Act 1969, maintenance law under the Criminal Procedure Code 1973, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, and Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007. The totality of these laws, each overriding contrary provisions of all personal laws, partly answers the demand of the Constitution for uniformity in family laws. 

Kapil Sibal writes: PM Modi’s call for a Uniform Civil Code is a piece with BJP’s polarising politics https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-ruse-of-uniformity-8699562/ The visceral dislike for the ‘other’ is exploited for electoral benefits...In the past nine years, the government has not had the time or inclination to consult all stakeholders and undertake the necessary efforts to build a consensus on this issue. One gets the feeling that the PM’s statement is intended — to say the least — to embarrass his opponents and in the process, secure brownie points for him.

Before I delve into the motives behind the PM’s statement, some pertinent issues need to be highlighted. PM Modi must at least explain what he means by a “Uniform Civil Code” that will applicable throughout the territory of India. I don’t think any political party is required, or obliged, to respond to this call before they know what he actually means. In my view, he intends to start a fruitless debate before we are made aware of his understanding of the matter. Written by

Prof. H.S.Shylendra 'Regenerating Cooperatives as Institutions of the Future'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8_7SnfbCwA&t=59s .

Prof. H.S. Shylendra presented a paper titled, 'State versus peasants: The political-economy of farm laws and farmers agitation in India' at the International Conference on Globalization and Future of Rural-Agrarian in 21st Century India, held during February 23-24, 2023, at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
India recently witnessed a massive peasant rebellion against three farm laws brought to deepen market-oriented reforms. Using a political-economy perspective, the paper by Prof. Shylendra has tried to understand the true nature of the farm laws and the agitation, besides drawing implications for addressing the extant crisis. The government’s measures appeared desperate given its neoliberal compulsions, and the proclaimed strategy of resolving the crisis through institutional reforms. The farmers’ concerns emerged in the backdrop of agriculture’s overall deterioration and the lack of viable livelihood alternatives. While the disjuncture with social realities undid the farm laws; the attempted broadening of the class-orientation aided the farmers’ agitation.

Prof. Shylendra works in the area of Social Sciences at IRMA. His current areas of interest are Rural Development, Poverty, Rural Livelihood, Microfinance, Rural Finance, Development Theories, Governance and Development, Local Governance, and Cooperatives.

#IRMA #Facultyshowcase #agriculture #FarmersAgitation #FarmLaws #cooperatives #farmcooperatives
17w

 Greening Mother Earth: How Vanvadi In Maharashtra Is Reclaiming Forests For A Cause
By Uttara GangopadhyayonJ ul. 03, 2023 https://vikalpsangam.org/article/greening-mother-earth-how-vanvadi-in-maharashtra-is-reclaiming-forests-for-a-cause/ The 65 acres of clear-felled land was bought 28 years ago by a non-profit collective of over 24 people by pooling in their money,..The collective decided that the land should be allowed to regenerate naturally, and offered it protection from interference....

Vanvadi offers a range of participatory programmes and workshops. One of their popular events is the forest walks with experienced Adivasi elders to learn about traditionally useful plant species and forest foods. “Here people learn about special plants and foods, such as karvanda, mahua, the ‘shevli‘… ” said Mansata

For a more broad-based dissemination of knowledge, Vanvadi is working on a plan to build an organically evolving ‘eco-versity’ and learning alliance – a community where people can collaboratively live and learn, supporting each other in symbiotic harmony – “like the forest around us,” said Mansata.

Practical Radicalism: Community Wealth Building with Neil McInroy ByColin Bruce Anthes
June 29, 2023  One of the few working-class movements scoring victories, democratizing ownership, and gaining momentum is the method of economic development called Community Wealth Building (CWB).

Transcript: https://theanalysis.news/practical-radicalism-community-wealth-building-with-neil-mcinroy/?cmid=f9d7ffae-71d3-47d1-95e1-5b8b21d84a35 wealth controls the very nature of how many of us, where we work, what we do, and how we nurture the planet with that wealth.,,,community wealth building is a concept, but also a practical way of chipping away at neoliberalism and the questions of power and wealth.

community wealth building is a concept, but also a practical way of chipping away at neoliberalism and the questions of power and wealth.

What we need to do is democratize our economy. That doesn’t just mean the state controlled. It means control partly by the state. In certain instances, it might be fit for purpose; this could deal with railways or whatever it may be. But it’s also that wider democratization of ownership, that plural forms of democratization...

the individual who may have some spare capital in their bank account. Most people don’t give it a second thought. They just sit it in the bank and it incurs interest, be it an ethical bank or whatnot. Where is the opportunities for them to invest in community shares or a local project, which may also bring a return, perhaps an equal return, maybe even more of a return? So the options are not there. I think that the important thing about community wealth-building strategies and links to economic strategy is to raise the bar on how one uses the capital that is in a place, the finance that is in the place, and what we as individuals do in that locality.

Increasingly, certain sectors in different parts of the world, you can see it lend itself to particular forms of democratic ownership, either railways or perhaps state-owned railways. When it comes to things like childcare or some forms of everyday retail, this might lend itself to workers’ co-op or other forms of democratic ownership.

Colin Bruce Anthes

Modi का DU दौरा: लगे Jai Sri Ram के नारे, छात्रों और अध्यापकों ने दर्ज कराया विरोध | newslaundry Jul 1, 2023  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFyZlBtZGKI  pmmodi ने शुक्रवार को delhiuniversity के शताब्दी समारोह में शिरकत की. इसके लिए पीएम मोदी ने अपना सफर मेट्रो से तय किया. वे लोककल्याण मार्ग से विश्वविद्यालय स्टेशन तक मेट्रो से पहुंचे. इसके बाद पीएम मोदी मेट्रो स्टेशन के बाहर लगे गाड़ियों के काफिले से समारोह स्थल तक पहुंचे.

पीएम मोदी तो आराम से मेट्रो में सफर करते दिखाई दिए लेकिन प्रोटोकॉल के चलते किए गए सुरक्षा इंतजामों ने मेट्रो के अंदर और बाहर दोनों जगह आम जनता को खासा परेशान किया. मेट्रो स्टेशन के बाहर के इलाके को चारों ओर से बैरिकेड किया हुआ था तो वहीं मेट्रो स्टेशन के अंदर भी सुरक्षा के कड़े इंतजाम किए गए थे.

बता दें कि जब हम शताब्दी समारोह की कवरेज के लिए पहुंचे तो हमें विश्वविद्यालय मेट्रो स्टेशन के बाहर ही रोक दिया गया. पीएम मोदी के समारोह से जाने के बाद ही, रास्ते खोले गए और कैंपस एरिया में एंट्री मिली. हमने पीएम का संबोधन सुनने वाले छात्रों से बात की. प्रधानमंत्री ने शताब्दी समारोह में लंबा चौड़ा भाषण दिया. इस दौरान उन्होंने कंप्यूटर सेंटर, फैकल्टी ऑफ टेक्नोलॉजी और अकैडमिक ब्लोक की आधारशिला रखी.

जैसे ही मोदी के भाषण का समाप्त हुआ तो वहां मौजूद छात्रों ने जय श्री राम के नारे लगाए.