How the Attack on Rahul Gandhi For His US Remarks Exposes BJP's Own Dubious Relationship with Sikhs https://thewire.in/politics/how-the-attack-on-rahul-gandhi-for-his-us-remarks-exposes-bjps-own-dubious-relationship-with-sikhs/ Paramjeet Singh and Rajarshee Narayan Chowdhury 28/Sep/2024  Senior BJP leaders such as Hardeep Singh Puri (who is himself Sikh) pulled-no-punches, in a column for the Indian Express, Puri wrote: “The only time Sikhs have felt insecure and faced an existential threat in India was in the early 1980s.” 
 BJP’s national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, referred to Rahul Gandhi’s comments as supposed evidence of the latter having gone from making “childish comments” to “dangerous and mischievous activities”. ..Congress leader Pawan Khera, in responding to the BJP leaders’ attacks on Gandhi, pointed to how the saffron party often construes any criticism of its policies as attacks on India. Khera further reminded how the Prime Minister himself was not above-often in pejorative terms-referencing people’s clothing, most recently, the anti-hijab movement of the BJP, against the school-going girls of Karnataka, fanning communal flames in educational institutions; with members of the judiciary openly attending events by organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). 

Adani Pump Storage Dams: Defiling sacred pools and fish sanctuaries in the Western Ghats https://sandrp.in/2024/09/25/adani-energy-dams-defiling-sacred-pools-and-fish-sanctuaries-in-western-ghats/
September 25, 2024 SANDRP

Tekpowale Fish Sanctuary: This small, remote settlement protects a pool and fish dear to a particularly fierce forest deity, Vardayini (Bestower of Boons). The pool is surrounded by a dark sacred grove which is the open-to-sky shrine to the goddess... Forest-dwelling communities here do not cast a net on the pool even when the drought is bad, and food is scarce. Water is not drawn from the pool, there are no pumps and pipes dipping in the pool, otherwise ubiquitous all over.

Adani Green Energy: 1500 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pumped Storage Project: Adani Energy has proposed 1500 MW Warasgaon Warangi Pumped storage Project which consists of interbasin transfers of water from Krishna basin to the flood-prone, west flowing Savitri Basin and back. 

 How can such a project be proposed in a biodiversity-rich, highly dammed area with sacred space of worship, dense forests, a conservation reserve and a Wildlife Sanctuary?

Alternative analysis of the project locations done in the Pre-feasibility report is a purely desktop exercise which considers only the economic cost of the alternatives. The consultants (Tata Consultancy has worked on the PFR) simply put 4 options on paper and have paid zero attention to the siting and its impact on ecology of the Global Biodiversity Hotspot of Western Ghats. 

https://www.adaniwatch.org/pumped_hydro_adani_s_2_billion_pumped_hydro_projects_to_impact_biodiversity_hotspot  Campaigners,,, say these ‘pumped hydro storage’ projects will damage the biodiversity of the Western Ghat range. A tiger reserve and a wildlife sanctuary are adjacent to the proposed dams, which occur inside a sensitive seismic zone. Experts say that the environmental-impact study for parts of the project flagrantly ignores the environmental importance of this globally significant hotspot for biodiversity.

 Dharavi redevelopment: State proposes sending residents to Deonar dumping yard   https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/state-moots-rental-housing-for-dharavi-residents-at-deonar-dumping-yard-101726254505747.html  The move has raised concerns regarding exposure to toxic gases and spurred the opposition to redouble their pleas for rehabilitating residents within Dharavi 

“Sending Dharavi residents to Deonar is inhuman. No one must be displaced and everyone must be rehabilitated in-situ (at the spot),” said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP from south central Mumbai, Anil Desai. “Dharavi has enough land for everyone and the residents have been living there since decades,” he noted. 

 Modi will close NITI Aayog due to fear, evidence found red handed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnVhXhc7cUk  
The Public India  Sep 29, 2024  Anjali Bharadhdwaj says Modi will close NITI Aayog due to fear, evidence found red handed

Govt ignored Niti red flag that data protection law could weaken RTI  https://indianexpress.com/article/india/govt-ignored-niti-red-flag-that-data-protection-law-could-weaken-rti-9593569/
Niti’s concern: Disclosure of personal info of public officials may not be possible in larger public interest too. On Jan 16, 2023, the NITI Aayog formally wrote to the Ministry of Electronics and IT urging it not to pass the proposed law as it would weaken the RTI act... the suggestion had come as part of the then ongoing inter-miniterial consultation and hte law was still in the draft stage.. 

 How a US-Based PR Firm Is Profiling Activists, Scientists Opposing Pesticides and GMO
Sarasvati Thuppadolla, Margot Gibbs and Elena DeBre  https://thewire.in/agriculture/how-a-us-based-pr-firm-is-profiling-activists-scientists-opposing-pesticides-and-gmo The firm spearheading this work is Missouri-based v-Fluence Interactive, founded and run by a former Monsanto executive, Jay Byrne, who previously worked as a communications executive at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Since its creation in 2001, v-Fluence has provided a range of services including “in depth research, ongoing intelligence gathering, proprietary data-mining and analytics” to the global agrochemical and biotechnology industry.

v-Fluence also has links to corporate pesticide giants such as Syngenta which is currently facing a lawsuit in the US, with Byrne and v-Fluence as co-defendants. The lawsuit was filed by farmers with Parkinson’s disease who have alleged that their illness was caused by the company’s paraquat herbicide. They accuse Syngenta and v-Fluence of suppressing negative information on the dangers of paraquat, working to “neutralise” those who criticise it, and investigating the social media pages of people who reported injuries to Syngenta’s crisis hotline. 

 This Impending Disaster Can KILL 35 Lakh People | Mullaperiyar Dam Danger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQHPPdp0Cjg 
Gaurav Thakur   Sep 5, 2024 A major disaster could hit India, but we can prevent it. The 123-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam, located between Tamil Nadu and Kerala, is at risk of collapsing. If it bursts, it could flood five districts, affecting 3.5 million people. The dam, built in 1895, has shown cracks and leaks for decades, and experts, including the UN, IIT Roorkee, and Kerala's disaster management, recommend replacing it. If the dam fails, it could trigger a domino effect, breaking three nearby dams, including Asia's largest, Idukki Dam. But, despite the danger, Kerala and Tamil Nadu government are doing Blame Game Politics.

 How The Adani Fraud Actually Works (Allegedly)  How The Adani Fraud Actually Works (Allegedly) 
How Money Works Feb 17, 2023  From Description to YT: 

Hindenburg research is an investment research firm which specialises in short selling using a very simple four step process. 

Step 1, find a company with something going wrong that isn’t yet public knowledge, like a serious fault in their growth model, a significant market threat, or just plain old systemic fraud, as is the case with this Adani situation. 

 Step 2, short the companies stock. 

Step 3, make a public announcement in the firm of a research paper accompanied by a big marketing campaign to expose the problems with the company so that other investors also short sell the business which will push the price down.

Step 4, exit the short positions at the new low price with a healthy profit. 

Read more …

 Supreme Court | Supreme Court Slams RERA, Calls It "Rehab Centre" For Retired Bureaucrats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3yyXGWtchM
NDTV  Sep 28, 2024 The Supreme Court on Friday made evident its displeasure over the working of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) saying it had become a rehabilitation centre for retired bureaucrats who the court says "have undermined the entire purpose of the Act." The court was hearing an appeal to a Delhi High Court judgment which dismissed pleas seeking directions to banks and financial institutions to refrain from charging pre-EMIs or full EMIs from the petitioners and other similar home buyers, arguing that alternative remedies, including RERA, were available.

The Left Has Given Voice to the Voiceless, But Is it Politically Relevant? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TvYltig0V8 The Wire Sep 29, 2024
On September 12, 2024, India lost Sitaram Yechury – perhaps one of the tallest leaders of the Left movement in the country. Committed to his ideology, an avowed democrat, Yechury has been part of a movement that has been the voice of the voiceless. 

The Left has contributed significantly to the Indian democracy over the years. But they have remained stagnant in the Indian polity. Is the Left still relevant? Does it have to reinvent itself? Nilotpal Basu is a member of the CPI(M) politburo, Jairam Ramesh is Rajya Sabha MP and a veteran Congress leader, Siddharth Varadarajan