The eleven volume report has submitted recently by the official language Committee headed by Home Minister to President Droupadi Murmu. The report has recommended to replace English with Hindi as India’s official national language. Union home minister Amit Shah has supported this recommendation by urging people from different state to communicate with each other in Hindi instead of English. This has sparked a fresh controversy across India and many states shown to their strong reaction to Union home minister Amit Shah. South Indian states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu has described the report is an attempt of ruling BJP to impose Hindi language over the non-Hindi speaking states. In the last week, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K Stalin wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi by giving his strong reaction on center’s plan to impose Hindi language in all possible ways. On the other side, BJP ruled central government has been continuously trying in all possible ways to impose Hindi as India’s national language. This move of central government is a part of one nation, one language, one religion and one culture project, which is against the India’s rich linguistic diversity and liberal ethos of Indian constitution. India’s linguistic diversity, in this case, is one of the fundamental to unite with different social and cultural identities.

https://countercurrents.org/2022/10/imposition-of-either-english-or-hindi-is-against-indias-rich-linguistic-diversity/ 

The issue of linguistic diversity  

India is one of the forth linguistically divers country in the world and its strong linguistic diversity unite the whole population with different identities. The people’s Linguistic survey of India has found that there are 780 languages spoken and 66 scripts are used in India. These all languages are popular in different part of the country and have been a rich source of knowledge about different societies. Similarly, Ethnologue language catalogue of the world has also ranked India into 4^th in terms of number of languages spoken after Indonesia and Nigeria. But due to the domination of English language, government of India has not supported to regional languages since independence. On the other side, debate on English vs. Hindi has been created by the Indian ruling class and it has been against the regional language. Since independence, Government’s approach has been to suppress regional languages and it has led many problems and challenged to India’s rich linguistic diversity. According to Ganesh N Devy, Founder-director of the Bhasa Research and Publication Centre, today’s situation in India is alarming and India may lost 220 languages since 1961 and another 150 language could vanish in the next 50 years. Devy has documented 780 living languages and claims that 400 of them are at risk of dying. Besides, this approach of India has greatly affected tribal languages and created a significant challenge against tribal’s linguistic identity. According to People’s linguistic survey of India, there are five tribal languages in India which are on the verge of extinction. Majhi language in Sikkim is one of them and it is spoken by only four people of one family. Similarly, Dimasa in Asam, Mahali language in Estern India, Koro in Arunanchal Pradesh sidi in Gujarat are facing existential crisis. Another significant aspect of English vs. Hindi debate is that the imposition of Hindi as national language is totally based on suppression of other regional language and. In north Indian regions, the hegemonic project of Hindi is also threatening to subsume languages such as Bhojpuri and Magadhi.

Market is not supporting

Since independence, India’s modern economic policy has been centered on market and it never supported India’s rich linguistic diversity. Domination of English is global phenomenon and it is closely linked with the global market economy. India’s modern economy in this case has been linked with the global economy and it cannot sustain without domination of English language. Therefore, continues increasing domination of modern economy has created many challenges against India’s linguistic diversity. Firstly it has destroyed regional economy which has been very much supportive of regional languages. But due to increasing domination of modern economy, it has gradually replaced the rural economy with industrial economy. Continuous growth of industrial economy in various part of India has created a new class that has promoted both- English and Hindi as dominant language. In today society, growing technological innovation is the key to the modern economy and it is providing lots of content and data only in English language. Another important aspect that the modern economy has reproduced is migration which has been an important problem of Indian society. Increasing problem of migration has also supported both languages- English and Hindi on the one hand and suppressed regional languages on the other hand. According to a government report every year 34 percent rural population have to migrate from rural to urban area and it has promoted only two languages either English or Hindi.

Vices for linguistic diversity

India has been witness of several linguistic movements in different parts of the county since independency. But most of the movements have emerged due to imposition English and Hindi language and these were demanding to recognize the regional language. During the colonial period, several linguistic movement were started which had key objective to protect their language, culture and Identity such as Bengali language movement in Bengal, Urdu language movement in different parts, Tamil movement in Tamil Nadu and Kannad movement in Karnataka. All these Linguistic movements have provided a base for growing nationalist movement in during the colonial period. Anti-English movement was very strong and it had helped in mobilization of different communities against colonial power. Besides anti- English movement has also played significant role in developing a strong nationalist movement in India. But even after independence, all these movement continued and protesting against the domination of one language. The anti- Hindi movement was started after independence and it has been very strong in south Indian states. This movement is still going on against the imposition of Hindi as National language and strongly support to India’s rich linguistic diversity. Although, the demand to make Hindi as national language has been politically motivated and BJP has been promoting it to deny the existence of other language and other social and cultural identities. In opposition to this project, anti- Hindi movement is still going on rejecting this agenda of ruling BJP.

After India’s independency, the debate on English vs. Hindi has been a politically manipulated debate and it has been politically propagated by the ruling elites. The basic reason behind this debate is just to delegitimize India’s linguistic diversity by challenging different social and cultural identities.

by Omprakash Kushwaha

28/10/2022

The government had promised to help medical students from the Ukraine after they were evacuated from that war-torn country, but that has not happened.

https://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/afsha-khan-medical-student-ukraine-we-have-lost-10-months-of-our-lives/20221031.htm 

Has the Indian government intervened to help? What is the Medical Council of India's response?

Initially, the government told us they will give us admission in India, but the Medical Council of India said if they gave admissions to Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), then it would be unfair for those appearing for NEET and other exams.

We have cracked NEET, that is why we got admission at a medical university. We went to Ukraine only because we didn't want to pay capitation fees.

Many students here pay and get a management seat. We have got more marks, but we couldn't get a government seat and we don't pay (a capitation fee) that's why we left to study abroad.

Now they are asking us to appear for NEET again, go through the old stress and trauma.

NEET is of 720 marks. We are from the open category.

So we FMGs wrote to the MCI saying give exams on our MBBS course because the syllabus is the same worldwide.

The human body is the same, we study the same thing. If I've got 90 percent, then we are very much eligible.

For them it is only NEET, else you are good for nothing.

They kept dilly-dallying, saying 15 days more, and now we have lost 10 months of our lives.

Our course is of six years, then we do specialisation. When will we finish studying? When will we start earning? When will we become professional practitioners?

I called MCI, but they don't answer their phones. After 100 e-mails they replied to one.

They told me, I have two options: Either take a transfer (to another university abroad) or stay back in India and give NEET again.

You can't tell a student who is already in a medical course to give the entrance exam all over again. What is wrong with them?

by Neeta Kolhatkar

31/10/2022

The Future of Work | Oct 19, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcFMRRilmhQ
 To understand the Future of Work, we interviewed some of the worlds foremost experts in where business is headed. Learning from these global leaders we can understand where the future of work is headed.

The Future of Work Debunked documentary captures insights from experts worldwide to help understand the state of the future of work. In a post pandemic world. The entire state of "work has changed" and gone digital. Learn from various perspectives collected, where we are headed and what the global economy could look like.

India’s official audit body slams approval of Adani port expansion at Dahej | Ayaskant Das (Adani Watch, Oct 27, 2022) http://sacw.net/article15044.html 
27 October In a report tabled in the Parliament of India on 8 August 2022, CAG has stated that the Adani Group failed to enunciate any mitigation measures for endangered coastal ecology while it expanded the capacity of the Dahej Port in Gujarat in a joint venture with the government-owned oil and gas company Petronet LNG.

https://www.adaniwatch.org/audit_body_headed_by_modi_confidante_slams_approval_of_adani_port_expansion_at_dahej

https://cag.gov.in/en/audit-report/download/116707  Extract from Annexure :

Name of Project: Gujarat Expansion of Adani Petronet (Dahej) Port, Bharuch District by M/s Adani Petronet (Dahej) Port Pvt Ltd
Risk to marine flora and fauna, ecologically vulnerable areas:  The EIA Report envisaged generation of wastewater during concrete casting, cleaning of construction equipment, vehicle garage workshop, oil spills from the operation of construction equipment and Diesel Generating set and the same was stated to affect the marine water quality near the shoreline.

Mitigation measures not envisaged in the EIA: Despite the identification of the impacts, no mitigation measures were enunciated in the EIA report.

Risk to marine flora and fauna, ecologically vulnerable areas:  The population of the intertidal macro benthos indicated relatively high standing stock of macro benthos with moderate group diversity. The EIA further stated that the reclamation would impact nearly 23 ha. of benthic habitat and no recovery of benthic organisms was possible as the habitat would be permanently lost due to reclamation.

Mitigation measures not envisaged in the EIA: No mitigation measures were envisaged for the protection of benthic organisms in the project area.

India needs legal framework for closing mines and power plants by Kundan Pandey on 25 October 2022 https://india.mongabay.com/2022/10/india-needs-legal-framework-for-closing-mines-and-power-plants/  India is on the way to decommissioning thermal power plants (TPP) and disposing of coal mines at a large scale in the coming few years. However, the country has no legal framework on how this transition will take place. Estimates say that due to these measures, millions of people will lose their livelihood, a large amount of land would need closure or repurposing and several toxic materials need to be taken care of... 

The report underlines that the power plant land area is estimated to be equally split between centre, state and private sector power generation companies (GENCOs), at 33% each. As laws and regulations in India do not firmly establish the clean-up and remediation requirements, there is a risk of plant sites being left abandoned. This is especially true if GENCOs are financially stressed and do not have adequate resources to remediate or repurpose/redevelop, says lead author Mandvi Singh from iForest.

There is another catch with the land issues. Forest land is often diverted for TPP development. (see https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/violation-of-development-control-rules-at-mill-land-to-be-probed-cm-fadnavis/)

a two-part study, done by iForest, a Delhi-based, non-profit environmental research organisation. https://iforest.global/research/just-transition-of-coal-based-power-plants-in-india/  Its first part “Just transition of coal-based power plants in India: A policy and regulatory review”.. the second study “Just Transition of Unprofitable and End-of-life mines: A Legal Assessment”

Current laws scant to deal with decommissioning of power plants:  12 Oct 2022,  Paurush Omar CEO of iFOREST Chandra Bhushan said, “If the Ministry of Power's advisory to retire coal-based generation units of over 25 years of age is implemented, then as much as 50,000-60,000 MW capacity will have to retire by 2030."

A just transition entails the complete remediation of the plant site, wage replacement or compensation for the workforce, compensation for the economic loss suffered by dependent communities, and the creation of new economic opportunities and environmental outcomes that will benefit the communities.

"However, our current laws do not ensure a just transition.

This is the book review  by Atul Sood - "Where is India Headed?  An historical critique " by Dr. Vinod Mubayi  And where lies the Inspiration for Change? 
21/02/2022

Partition Split Us Up: Can We Live in Peace as Neighbors? – 
24/10/2022 subhash gatade Leave a comment

– Dr Vinod Mubayi

The Partition of India: Three Outstanding Questions – Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy
03/10/2022 https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0 

How, when, and why did the two-nation theory emerge? 100 years ago India was never a unified whole. no monolithis set of belief. Hindu comes from the River Sindu. Al hind. Also no sense of muslimsness then.. .. https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=420 why difference in the first plae..https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=1390

once Pak was achieved, Jina realised it was a disaster to play this divide..time to junk the two nation theory.. 

Why is Pakistan a praetorian state but India is not? https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=1823 when Jinah was trying to drum up support for two nation theory, the main muslim league, including jinnah was mainly feudal landlord.in 1947 ML was intellectually weak, in that vacuum only one institution was strong that was the Army.. Jinnah did not have a vision for Pakistan.  No thinking on how do mustlims live together  India had a thick layer of institutions..

Was Partition preventable and had it not happened what might have been the consequences? https://youtube.com/embed/BH_61s2fbr0?start=2623&end=3145  Some in Pak feel that the current situation in India proved that the two nation was sound.    On the other hand Could we have had a depolitization of religion? Unionist party, faced a new communal drive by Jinnah.. 

https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=3448  Q what about the future?  Uniting does not mean extinguish nation state..  Is there another narrative of unity .. https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=3674 Hoodbhoy Undoing partition is impossible now three states as there would be massive blood letting.. Think of healthy relations, trade etc.. Patnaik.. can we have a common market, freedom of movement..  Hoodboy, Kashmir needs a soft border.. Ketkar: Cold war created situation where this division coudl be sustained.. With the fall of Afghanistan , pakistan's rental value came down.   1979 events..cut off points.. 

Sukla Sen https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=4535  https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=4564 Congress and its advocacy for the centralised state.. Congress wanted to construct a notion of nation.. India however has been able to keep the state together.. 

https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=4837 Ashraf Muslims upper echelons of muslims..  dominant in UP, but they are now aware of the fat that they have been taken for a ride..  SAvarkar first wrote of two nationa theory in 1923 before Jinnah

https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=5185 going forward faith has to be on the people.. people to people contact.. 

Gauhar Raza https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=5320 the generation that had commonality has now goine.. need a stakeholders like culture could be a new entry point ..  just let tourist go freely.. 

Satya Pal https://youtu.be/BH_61s2fbr0?t=5613  why is Bangladesh not prominent in the discussion of unity.. Even though young minds have been poisoned with hate.. there is a group of young people are seeing this..

- वैश्विक एजेंसियों ने खोली विश्वगुरु के फ़क़ीरी की पोल दुनियाभर से पढ़ रहे modi को जूते Prasun Bajpai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jutNh3ziJ8g  The following International indexes down:
- Economic Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index.
- UNDP Human Development Index.
- Lawrie's Choot Asia's Power index.
- Freedom House's Freedom in the World
- Brand Power's Global soft power index.
- World Competitiveness Ranking.
- Reporters Without Borders.
- Wordl Justice's Rule of Law.
- UN happiness Report.
- Prosperity Index.
- Women's peace & Secuirty index,
- Joe Institute Global Economic Freedom Index
- Cato Human Freedom index.
- WEF global gender gap index,
- World Bank. Woman Business and Law Index.
- US chanber of Commerce, Global Innovation Policy centre International Interlectual Property Index,
- Global Hunger Index
- Child index Technology Data science. Migrant Integration policy index,
- Oxfam Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index
- Economic and POsitive peace index
- Bloomberg quality of life

Panel Discussion on 'Comics and Resistance' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UepJiZrqJo 
Oct 15, 2022 Graphic Artists of India come together to talk about their work, hopes and aspirations. Venue was the Gang of 20 comic book launch at New Delhi