A whats app message Another good decision of Modi Government on the suggestion of Superstar Akshay Kumar: ........
Payment of only one rupee per day and that too for Indian Army. In the cabinet meeting yesterday, Modi Government opened a bank account for the modernization of Indian Army and for the soldiers who get injured or martyred in the war zone. In which every Indian can donate any amount as per his/her wish. Which starts from 1 rupee and is unlimited.

This money will also be used to buy weapons for the army and paramilitary forces. On the suggestion of people on Mann Ki Baat and Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Modi Government has finally taken a decision on today's burning situation and opened Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualty Fund Account in New Delhi, *Canara Bank.

This is a master stroke of Film Star Akshay Kumar. From where no one can stop India from becoming a super power. If even 70% of India's 130 crore population puts only one rupee in this fund daily, then that 1 rupee will become 100 crore in a day. 3000 crores in 30 days and 36000 crores in a year. 36,000 crores is not even Pakistan's annual defense budget. We spend 100 or 1000 rupees every day on useless things, but if we give one rupee for the army, then India will definitely become a super power.

This money of yours will be deposited directly in the Army Assistance and War Casualty Fund of the Ministry of Defense. Which will be used for military equipment and army soldiers.

So join this campaign of Modiji and help the army directly.

Nothing will be achieved by shouting slogans against Pakistan, blocking roads and making statements. Implement the thinking of Modi and the people of the country and strengthen the army of your country. So that countries like Pakistan and China can be shown their place without the help of any country. Bank details are given below.

Solidarity with Ladakh’s ‘Delhi Chalo’ Yatra, Demanding  Constitutional Safeguards
By Vikalp Sangam General Assembly https://vikalpsangam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Ladakh-Padayatra-Solidarity-Statement-by-VSGA-final-4.9.2024.pdf   We are shocked at how the BJP, having promised 6th Schedule status when Ladakh was converted into a Union Territory in 2019, has gone back on this.  The primary demands by the citizens of  Ladakh are inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, statehood, separate Parliamentary seats for Kargil and Leh, and a public service commission for Ladakh enabling its youth to get jobs. Such steps are crucial to safeguard Ladakh’s ecologically and culturally unique and fragile status, especially against unrestricted and inappropriate land use, commercialisation, and excessive tourism. Protecting Ladakh’s ecological integrity is also vital for the climatic and water security of South Asia as a whole.

Whose city? by Amit Singh on Whatsapp (ohotos https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNF_m11Vy-wfvUguuTE9-_3Xzi3R3poGXaDFrgzxEOr2hwjGD2psID0OOD2_k6zcA?pli=1&key=NG1EN3B4algwaGtZbmRlMnRacDFqNlhlNF9TakRR)

Whose city is it anyway? Of real estate sharks like Hiranandani who have displaced so many people off the lands in Powai and deforested the area? Or of many workers who were living till this Wednesday in Jai Bhim Nagar, a slum surrounded by Hiranandani owned huge residential towers, and whose jhuggis and homes were demolished by the BMC under the directives of powers that rule Mumbai and Powai?

After their homes and memories were shattered on Thursday afternoon, many of them are forced to live now on the nearby roads. The footpath near the Powai plaza towards the Galleria shopping mall has been the most kind so far to give shelter to hundreds of people.

Read more …

Transformational Solidarity: A Dalit Feminist Viewpoint Priyanka Samy   https://thewire.in/caste/transformational-solidarity-a-dalit-feminist-viewpoint  We live in times where struggles for social justice and equity converge, revealing inherent similarities between issues.... we must transition from our binary understanding of systems and power. This mandates the social justice movement to rise to a new level of consciousness and action. It is an urgent call – to move from performative politics to progressive politics, from tokenistic solidarities towards transformational solidarities.

Transformational solidarity goes beyond the superficial allyship often displayed by those who remain ensnared in the webs of white and Brahminical supremacy. It demands of us a deep, introspective commitment to understanding the diverse ways in which people are systematically oppressed.

Recalibrating our politics to embody transformational solidarity is not a one-time action but a continuous process of unlearning, learning, strategising and re-strategising. Moreover, as the civil society space is increasingly shrinking across the globe, the time for surface-level solidarities has long passed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx-zYD4hZus 

Ladakh Solidarity- PUCL-NAPM-VS 

webinar on Ladakh: https://www.youtube.com/live/xx-zYD4hZus?si=aGj7bkd-m9616g4_

Ashish Kothsri hISTORICAL Context   https://youtu.be/xx-zYD4hZus?t=441  end=861 Land issue.. for tourist, miining, Vision from outside... - commwercial industrial profit making, security zone, religious,  the narrative itself..  Ecological crisis in terms of water, people from outside ladakh are also dependent on this as a source of water.. https://youtu.be/xx-zYD4hZus?t=861

https://youtu.be/xx-zYD4hZus?t=921 Kavita welcome Sonam...

Sonam Wangchuk,

Read more …

For 2024, Opposition is still in the game https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/yogendra-yadav-writes-for-2024-opposition-is-still-in-the-game-9058961/

.. the BJP has not received a massive popular endorsement in the latest round.

Suppose the citizens of these states vote exactly the same way next year as they did in the recent assembly elections, the net gainer will
be Congress, not the BJP.

If we add up assembly-wise votes for each parliamentary seat, the tally will be

24 for BJP and 5 for the Congress in Madhya Pradesh (compared to 28-1 in 2019),

8 for BJP and 3 for the Congress in Chhattisgarh (9-2 in 2019),

14 for BJP and 11 for Congress in Rajasthan (24-0 in 2019) and

0 for the BJP and 9 for the Congress in Telangana (4-3 in 2019). In all, it would mean

46 seats for the BJP (loss of 19) and 28 seats for the Congress (gain of 22)

Look at the big picture.

In 2019, the BJP won 303 seats, just 30 seats above the majority mark.

The BJP faces significant depletions in Bengal, Karnataka  Maharashtra) and Uttar Pradesh

Add to it near-certain but minor losses in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana and Assam.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/understanding-rat-hole-mining-explained/article67588357.ece   the hazards of rat-hole mining — asphyxiation because of poor ventilation, collapse of mines due to lack of structural support, and flooding — to earn thrice or four times as much as working in farms or construction sites. Apart from issues of safety and health, unregulated mining led to land degradation, deforestation, and water with high concentrations of sulphates, iron, and toxic heavy metals, low dissolved oxygen, and high biochemical oxygen demand. At least two rivers, Lukha and Myntdu, became too acidic to sustain aquatic life.    In May 2023, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said the Coal Ministry approved mining leases for four of the 17 prospective licence applicants. This would lead to the commencement of ‘scientific’ mining ensuring minimal environmental impact through sustainable and legally compliant extraction procedures. Anti-mining activists, who are assaulted by miners off and on, said that ‘scientific’ would eventually be a fancy tag in a State where profit has driven coal mining.

An Introduction to Rat-hole Mining https://environicsindia.in/2019/02/20/an-introduction-to-rat-hole-mining/

On December 2018, the collapse of coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills, trapping at least 15 workers who were still missing and are feared dead, has thrown the spotlight on the “rat-hole mining.” Although banned, it remains the only procedure of coal mining in Meghalaya.

Few private players and some people who do invest in such mining are taking the help of Constitution to right their wrongs. They say, “Constitution’s 6th Schedule intends to protect the communities’ ownership over its land and autonomy and consent over its nature of use.” The ongoing coal mining in Meghalaya was a corruption of this Constitutional Provision. Private individuals with interests in earning monetary benefits from minerals under the land are engaged in coal mining. They are attempting to legitimize this act by claiming immunity through tribal autonomy over land ownership. In coming days, controversy over rat-hole mining in Meghalaya will increase and Central and State Government must work together in an amicable manner to stop such pathetic dehumanizing practice.

 https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/rat-hole-mining-1

Why was Rat-Hole Mining Banned?
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned rat-hole mining in 2014 for being unscientific, but the practice continues to be rampant.
Several accidents have resulted in deaths of rat-hole miners in the Northeastern state.
In 2018, 15 men involved in illegal mining were trapped inside a flooded mine. Only two bodies could be recovered in the course of the rescue operation that lasted for more than two months.
Another such accident took place in 2021 when five miners were trapped in a flooded mine. Three bodies were found before rescue teams called off the operation after a month. Add to this the environmental pollution caused by this method.
Mining, however, is a key source of revenue for the state government. The Manipur government has challenged the NGT ban, arguing that there is no other feasible mining option for the region.
A panel appointed by Meghalaya High Court in 2022 found rat-hole mining continues unabated in Meghalaya.

Environment body calls for a rethink on River Front Development https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/environment-body-calls-for-a-rethink-on-river-front-development-9044988/lite/
 November 28, 2023

The India Rivers Forum, is calling for a suspension of the River Front Development (RFD) project and a proper review with the participation of everybody. “RFDs have been promoted in a big way by the central and state governments across the country in the name of rejuvenating and beautifying the rivers. Some of the prominent sites for RFD projects across India are Varanasi, Bhagalpur, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Hyderabad, Jammu, Kota, Bilaspur, Patna, Guwahati and Pune. Though RFD aims to revitalise the riverfront areas, in reality these projects are less about river restoration and more about the encroachment of floodplains and riverbeds characterised by heavily concretised embankments and other structures like barrages and also reclaiming floodplains and riverbeds for real estate development. The Pune RFD project follows the same trajectory”.

“With more than 20 per cent of the floodplains already encroached, breaching both the 25-year and 100-year flood lines across the city, construction of embankments and barrages on the prohibitive zone under the RFD project would further constrict the rivers, reducing their carrying capacity leading to an increase in the flood risk. There is no room for the rivers to absorb floods under this project, especially considering that the Pune region is going to experience an increase in rainfall due to climate change and existing encroachments”.

“We are not saying that the river should be left as it is. The river, seriously, needs rejuvenation but the way it is being done is killing the river.

Decolonize to Decarbonize: Our Call to Action for Climate Justice at COP28  https://www.climatejusticehub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/D2D-Campaign-Briefer-for-COP28.pdf   imperialist countries in the global North and their corporations are using the climate crisis to co-opt peoples’ demands to transition away from fossil fuels to further colonise global South frontiers for resource grabbing and exploitation.... Apart from being unscientific or too resource-intensive to deploy at the scale and pace required, these ‘solutions’ are mere ploys to continue burning fossil fuels and profit off of the climate crisis. Worse, these result in what some would refer to as “green grabbing” or “green colonialism” since they historically led to restrictions on people's access to rights, services, and natural resources, including labour rights, healthcare, education, and the Indigenous Peoples' rights to free, prior, and informed consent.

https://www.climatejusticehub.org/2023/11/21/decolonize-to-decarbonize-our-call-to-action-for-climate-justice-at-cop28/ What are our demands at COP28?

Phase out all forms of fossil fuels

No to false ‘solutions’ to climate change. Market-based mechanisms cannot be presented as solutions

Uphold a people-led energy transition: it should be publicly-owned, wherein the people are allowed to exercise democratic control over the overhauling of existing energy systems

Global North countries must fulfil their financial obligations.Funding mechanisms and facilities must channel finance in the form of grants as compensatory funding and not as loans or for-profit investments

Polluters out  People in. deconstructing the existing power structures that favour global North countries and corporations. In practical terms, this amounts to institutionalising measures that will withhold the ability of corporations to access and influence climate policymaking and governance.