Monday, January 13, 2014

परमाणु विध्वंस को दस्तक तेज,भारत अमेरिका परमाणु संधि भी लागू और इसी से नजर घूमाने राजनय तमाशा

परमाणु विध्वंस को दस्तक तेज,भारत अमेरिका परमाणु संधि भी लागू और इसी से नजर घूमाने राजनय तमाशा

Nannygate: Humiliation versus Exploitation

By Anand Teltumbde


सरकार और सारी पार्टियाँ

सुनते-सुनते तंग आ गई हैं

कि उन्होंने जनता का विश्वास खो दिया है

कि ऐसे में उनके लिए क्या यह ज़्यादा आसान नहीं होगा

कि वे इस शक्की, उत्पाती और नामुराद जनता को ही भंग कर दें

और अपने लिए एक दूसरी, सीधी-सादी, भली-सी जनता चुन लें…


(बेर्टोल्ट ब्रेष्ट की कविता के आधार पर)

पलाश विश्वास

आज का संवाद

सरकार और सारी पार्टियाँ

सुनते-सुनते तंग आ गई हैं

कि उन्होंने जनता का विश्वास खो दिया है

कि ऐसे में उनके लिए क्या यह ज़्यादा आसान नहीं होगा

कि वे इस शक्की, उत्पाती और नामुराद जनता को ही भंग कर दें

और अपने लिए एक दूसरी, सीधी-सादी, भली-सी जनता चुन लें…


(बेर्टोल्ट ब्रेष्ट की कविता के आधार पर)

परमाणु विध्वंस को दस्तक तेज,भारत अमेरिका परमाणु संधि भी लागू और इसी से नजर घूमाने राजनय तमाशा

U.S.India Civil Nuclear Agreement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  1. en.wikipedia.org/.../U.S.–India_Civil_...

  2. इस पृष्ठ का अनुवाद करें

  3. The 123 Agreement signed between the United States of America and the Republic of India is known as the U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement or Indo-US ...

  4. Overview - ‎Background - ‎Rationale behind the agreement - ‎Passing of Agreement

Nuclear power in India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  1. en.wikipedia.org/.../Nuclear_power_in...

  2. इस पृष्ठ का अनुवाद करें

  3. The agreement for India's first nuclear power plant at Rajasthan, RAPP-1, was signed in ..... "Bush signs India-US nuclear deal into law - Home". livemint.com.

  4. आपने इस पृष्ठ पर कई बार विज़िट किया है. पिछला विज़िट: 18/10/12

India-US nuclear deal: All that you wanted to know - Hindustan Times

  1. www.hindustantimes.com/India.../India...

  2. इस पृष्ठ का अनुवाद करें

  3. 27-09-2013 - India and the US will announce a contract during a meeting betweenUS President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on ...


भारत अमेरिका परमाणु संधि पर दस्तखत से पहले भारत सरकार के लिए अनास्था प्रस्ताव तक हो गया और वामदलों का कांग्रेस के साश मधुचंद्रउत्सव सहकर्म सहधर्म का औपचारिक पटाक्षेप भी हो गया। अब जबकि यह समझौता परमाणु उत्तरदायित्व कानून के तहत भारतीय जनता को रेडियोएक्टिव बनाने के चमत्कार के साथ लागू हो गया है और इस पर न मीडिया में,न सोशल मीडिया में और न राजनीति में कोई बहस हो रही है।


अमेरिकी ईरान परमाणु संधि भी 20 जनवरी से लागू हो जाने के बाद संपूर्ण एशिया में परमाणु वृत्त का निर्माण हो गया है और एक मुकम्मल परमाणु युद्धस्थल के बीचोंबीच हम खड़े हैं।


भारतीय महामनाओं के अमेरिका और भारत में अमेरिका तंत्र के हाथों निरंतर नंगा होते रहने के बावजूद प्रतिवाद तक न करने वाले भारतीय सत्तावर्ग के देवयानी प्रकरण को तुल देने का मसला इसीलिए जाहिर है कि महज कोई वोट बैंक समीकरण नहीं है। मध्यपूर्व के तेल खजाना को हथियाने से पहले जो तमाम सनसनीखेज किस्सों के जरिये विश्व जनमत को नयी वैश्विक एकध्रूवीय जायनवादी कारपोरेट धर्मोन्मादी व्यवस्था के लिए साम्यवादी विकल्प के विरुद्ध संगठित किया था अमेरिका ने,उस इतिहास की पृष्ठभूमि में अब भारत अमेरिकी छाया राजनय युद्ध के देखें तो हम परमाणु विध्वंस के कगार पर खुद को खड़ा पायेंगे।


कुड़नकुलम के बाद जैतापुर तक का परमाणु सफर और इस भारत पाक परमाणु संधि के बिना प्रतिरोध लागू हो जाने के तात्पर्य पर  ईरान अमेरिकी संधि के परिप्रेक्ष्य में कुछ तो विचार मंथन होना चाहिए।


आइये,इस सिरे से भूले मुद्दे पर हम तनिक संवाद करें।बेखटके अपनी राय लिख धें कहीं भी।फेसबुक पर या गुगल प्लस पर या चाहे तो मुझे सीधे मेल कर दें।


आज दिल्ली से एचएल दुसाधजी.वे ही डाइवर्सिटी मिशन वाले लेखक मित्र जिन्होंने अपनी हालिया पुस्तक मुझे समर्पित की है,अरविंद केजरीवाल को रोकने के लिए पटना में सभा करके राजनीतिक संगठन बनाकर कलकाता को कूच कर चुके हैं।कल रात को उन्होंने ट्रेन में बैठकर फोन किया है कि वे सुबह मेरे यहां पहुंचेंगे।उनका भले जो मिशन हो,हमारा कोई पक्ष विपक्ष नहीं है,हम किसी को रोककर या किसी को लाकर इस परमाणु विध्वंस का तोड़ जोड़ नहीं रहे हैं।उनसे भी बात होगी।वे आदरणीय मित्र हैं।मुद्दों पर हमारी लड़ाई जनपक्षधर मोर्चे की लड़ाई है और हमारी अंतिम मंजिल इस राज्यतंत्र में बुनियादी परिवर्तन है,चेहरे बदलने की कारपोरेट कवायद नहीं।


बहरहाल दुसाध जी से आमने सामने संवाद होने की वजह से शायद आज दिनभर कंप्यूटर बैठना असंभव हो जाये। आपसे विनम्र राय है कि अपनी राय आप लिख भेजें ताकि सहमति असहमति के साथ इस परमाणु संकट के खतरे पर हम थोड़ी बहुत सूचना परिदृश्य का निर्माण कर सकें जो भारत के और भारतीय जनता,प्रकृति,पर्यावरण और मनुष्यता के अस्तित्व के लिए निहायत अनिवार्य है।


इसी बीच ताजा खबर यह है कि  वीजा धोखाधड़ी के आरोपों के चलते भारत की वरिष्ठ राजनयिक देवयानी खोबरागड़े की गिरफ्तारी और कपड़े उतरवाकर तलाशी लिए जाने के कारण व्याप्त रोष के बीच अमेरिका में भारत के नए राजदूत एस. जयशंकर कल वाशिंगटन पदभार संभालने पहुंचेंगे। अभी तक जयशंकर चीन में भारत के राजदूत थे। जयशंकर ऐसे समय में अमेरिका पहुंच रहे हैं, जब खोबरागड़े की गिरफ्तारी की वजह से द्विपक्षीय संबंधों में गिरावट पिछले एक दशक से ज्यादा समय में सबसे निम्नतम स्तर पर जाने की आशंका है।


खोबरागड़े की गिरफ्तारी और अमेरिकी मार्शलों द्वारा खराब व्यवहार के खिलाफ भारत ने सार्वजनिक माफी और 39 वर्षीय उप महावाणिज्यदूत के खिलाफ आरोपों को वापस लेने की मांग उठाई। अपनी पीढ़ी में भारतीय विदेश सेवा के सबसे उज्ज्वल अधिकारियों में गिने जाने वाले जयशंकर भारतीय-अमेरिकी असैन्य परमाणु संधि में एक अहम भूमिका निभा चुके हैं। जयशंकर का पहला काम होगा कि वह दोनों देश के संबंधों को पटरी न उतरने दें।


वाशिंगटन पहुंचने के बाद व्हाइट हाउस में अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा के सामने अपने राजनयिक परिचय पत्र को औपचारिक रूप से पेश करने से पहले उन्हें कुछ सप्ताह तक इंतजार करना होगा। फिलहाल ओबामा अपने परिवार के साथ हवाई में साल के अंत की छुट्टियां मना रहे हैं और वे 5 जनवरी को ही लौटेंगे। व्हाइट हाउस की ओर से ऐसा कोई कार्यक्रम जारी नहीं किया गया है, जिसमें राष्ट्रपति विदेशी राजनयिकों को प्रमाणित करेंगे। ऐसा सामान्यत: सामूहिक रूप से किया जाता है।


दूसरी ओर,समाचारपत्र द हिन्दू की 7 जनवरी की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार भारत की यात्रा कर रहे जापानी रक्षा मंत्री ओनोटेरा इत्सुनोरी ने 6 जनवरी को भारतीय रक्षा मंत्री ए.के. एंटनी के साथ वार्ता की। दोनों ने परमाणु हथियार के अप्रसार पर संधि, परमाणु ऊर्जा और जापानी प्रधानमंत्री शिन्ज़ो अबे के प्रतिनिधिमंडल सहित भारत के गणतंत्र दिवस समारोह में भाग लेने पर विचार-विमर्श किया।


वार्ता के बाद ओनोटेरा के साथ भारत की यात्रा पर आये जापान की न्यू कोमेईटो पार्टी के अध्यक्ष यामाकुची नात्सुओ ने स्पष्ट किया कि इस महीने शिनज़ो अबे अपने प्रतिनिधिमंडल के साथ भारत का दौरा करेंगे और मुख्य अतिथि के रुप में 26 जनवरी को भारत के गणतंत्र दिवस में हिस्सा लेंगे। यामाकुची के अनुसार अबे जापान-भारत के बीच राजनीतिक आवाजाही और रक्षा, हाई-टेक व क्षेत्रीय सहयोग बढ़ाने के मकसद से भारत की यात्रा करेंगे। यामाकुची ने बल देते हुए कहा कि अबे की आगामी यात्रा जापान, भारत और अमेरिका तीनों देशों के बीच संबंध बढ़ाने के लिहाज़ से अहम होगी।


द हिन्दू के मुताबिक हालांकि जापान की तरफ़ से अबे की यात्रा की खबर जारी की गयी है, लेकिन आगे का रास्ता समतल रहेगा या नहीं देखना बाकी है।



जयशंकर को रूसी, जापानी और हंगरी की भाषा का ज्ञान है और वे निरूपमा राव के बाद यह पद संभाल रहे हैं। वर्ष 1955 में नई दिल्ली में जन्मे जयशंकर प्रतिष्ठित भारतीय रणनीतिक कार्यों के विश्लेषक, टिप्पणीकार और जनसेवक के.सुब्रमण्यम के बेटे और इतिहासकार संजय सुब्रमण्यम के भाई हैं।


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16-17 जनवरी को दिल्ली में चर्चा 'आप' के पदाधिकारियों से फिर ठोस भूमिका व् कदम |

पिछले कई दशकों से जनशक्ति के साथ सशक्त जनांदोलनों के द्वारा देश में आर्थिकसामाजिक राजनीति बदलाव के लिए हम जूझ रहे है | संवैधानिक मूल्यजनता के अधिकार तथा मार्गदर्शक सिद्धांतो के साथमानवी अधिकार हमारे लिए सर्वोच्च मंजिल रही है और जनतांत्रिक प्रक्रियाएअहिंसक संघर्ष के साथहमारे आधार जन संगठनो और जन आन्दोलनों से उभरे सिद्धांत और मुद्दे से कई बदलावकई कानूनआजतक बने है फिर सत्ता और जनता के बीच के रिश्ते भी समता और न्याय के रहने में योगदान हुआ है | फिर भी देश के मुख्यधारा केसत्ता में बैठे राज नेताओं से चलती रही लूटदेश की  आर्थिक –प्राकृतिक सम्पदा का अपव्यय और जनता की अवमानना रोकने के लिए जन आन्दोलनों ने अपनी अथक परिश्रम और संघर्ष के द्वारा एक प्रभावी असरकार – कम दिखाई है | सूचना का अधिकारवनअधिकारया भू-अर्जन कानून में बदलाव तथा आदर्शलावासा और अन्य भ्रष्टाचार/घोटाले हमारी नीति – राजनीति से सामने लाये गए है | देश के दलितोंआदिवासियोंकिसानों – मजदूरों के ही नहींदेश कीपूरी जनताशिक्षितव्यावसायिकविधार्थी – युवाओं के साथ मध्यम वर्गीय और हर नागरिकों की बुनियाद जरूरत और अधिकार को हासिल करने की हमारी जंग आज भी जारी है और रहेगी |

आज भ्रष्टाचार विरोधी आन्दोलनों से उभरी आम आदमी पार्टी ने भी यही ठान ली है और अरविन्द केजरीवाल और उनके युवा साथियों के साथआज देश की जनता को दुखदर्दवंचना और पीड़ा पहुचाने वालीदलीय राजनिति में जो हस्तक्षेप किया हैउनका हम स्वागत करते है | हम मानते है की देश में आप लोंगो को महसूस हो रही उद्दिग्नता और विकल्प की जरुरत को पूरा करने में ये जनआन्दोलनों के साथीयोंने बीड़ा उठाया है और जातपात धर्म या शराब – पैसा साधन बांटकर नहीं तो राजनितिक – आर्थिक विकेन्द्रीकरणजनसत्ता से ही जनतंत्रशिक्षा और सभी क्षेत्रो में समताभ्रष्टाचार से मुक्ति और हर वंचिततबके को न्याय दिलाने की अपनी भूमिका जहीर की है | दिल्ली में सफलता के बाद शहरी गरीब मध्यमवर्गीयग्रामीण की समस्याए सुलझाने की और कदम बढ़ाये है | राजनीति में सादगी और जनवादी फिरसे लेन की उनकी कोशिश शुरू हुई है | जनउभार है और जनता चाहती है कि जन आंदोलनों से जुड़कर आब दलीय राजनीति में भी हस्तक्षेप हो और वह भी सक्रिय |

देश भर के कई सारे जन आन्दोलनों  के साथ एक लम्बी चर्चाओंसवालजवाबोंआम आदमी पार्टी की क्रिया – प्रक्रियाओं का अध्ययन और हमारी भूमिका पर मंथन के बादइस नतीजे पर पहुंचे है कि समय आया है कि इस वैकल्पिक चुनावी राजनीति में भी हमारे जन आन्दोलन एक विशेष समर्थन की भूमिका निभाये और इस क्रांतिकारी बदलाव की संभावना को आगे बढ़ाये |

इसीलिए आसाम से केरल और ओड़िसा से मध्य प्रदेश तक महाराष्ट्र के भी ग्रामीण और शहरी कई आन्दोलनों अपने साथीसहयोगीयों के साथ यह तय किया है की हम आप आदमी पार्टी को जो एकआन्दोलनं का ही हिस्सा हैपूरा सक्रिय समर्थन डदें | हमारे वोट डालने के अलावा घोषणा-पत्र में भी उनकी पूरी भूमिका निभाये |

जन आन्दोलनों को समर्पित  करते हुएउनकी विशेषता और व्यापक नज़रिया बने रहकर भी हम 'आपको एक चुनावीसंसदिये राजनीति में अवकाश बनाने की और उसका चरित्र बदलने कीसमाज कोभी ऐलान की प्रक्रिया मानकर यह समर्थन देंगे | इस सहयोग  के ठोस कदमकई प्रक्रियों और सरचना जन आन्दोलनों और 'आपके बीच दिल्ली में 16,17जनवरी के रोज चर्चा विचार होकरयोगेन्द्र यादव,प्रशांत भूषणआनद कुमारअजित झा तथा राष्ट्रीय समिति के साथियों के साथ बैठकर होगी और फिर हमारा अगला अजेंडा और भूमिका भी जहीर होगी |

हमारे लिए यह एक महत्व का निर्णय है और हमारा ऐलान है देश के विभिन जन आन्दोलनोंसामाजिक संस्थानों कोसंगठनों को की वे भी इस प्रक्रिया जुड़ जाए |

मेधा पाटकर, कैलाश अवस्या, मीरां – नर्मदा बचाओ आन्दोलन

प्रफुल सामंतरा – लोकशक्ति अभियान ओड़िसा

गीता रामाक्रिशानन –   Unorganised Sector Worker's Federation

 पशारुल आलम- आदिवासी जमीन रक्षा समिति- वेस्ट बंगाल

रामकृष्णन राजू – यूनाइटेड फोरम ऑफ़ राईट टू इन्फोर्मेशन- आंध्र प्रदेश

गुरवंत सिंह – स्माल स्केल इन्द्त्रिय एंड ट्रेडर्स अस्सोसिसन पंजाब

सिम्प्रीत सिंह, सुमित वाजले , संतोष थोरात , पूनम कनोजिया – घर बचाओ घर बनाओ आन्दोलन – महाराष्ट्र

राजेंद्र रवि, संजय म.जी, राम्देस भटकल, चन्द्रसेखर अर्केटेक्ट, मधुरेश कुमार, सीला म- ज.न.आ.र.स. महाराष्ट्र एंड दिल्ली

महेंद्र यादव एंड कामायनी स्वामी – ज.न.आ.र.स., बिहार

भूपेन्द्र सिंह रावत – जन संघर्ष वाहिनी , न्यू दिल्ली

गौतम बंधउपाध्याय- नदी घाटी मोर्चा – छतीसगढ़

राजकुमार सिन्हा बरगी, बांध विस्थापित संघर्ष समिति- मध्य प्रदेश

सी . आर. नीलकंदन, जिओ जोस, हुसैन मास्टर – ज.न.आ.र.स., केरला  



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Nannygate: Humiliation versus Exploitation

By Anand Teltumbde

10 January, 2014

Countercurrents.org

It has been over a week after Devyani Khobragade, Deputy Consul General (DCG) for Political, Economic, Commercial and Women's Affairs was arrested and humiliated in New York on 12 December but the uproar in media is refusing to die. It is surely not the first time that the US authorities humiliated Indian note-worthies that included even our ex-president APJ Abdul Kalam, but the amount of public outrage and the angry reaction from the government over this episode has been unprecedented. As any sensible person could guess, the only factor that explains its exceptionality is the times in which it took place. Yes, these are the election times! The results of the recent elections in four states has bolstered the confidence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and has caused grave anxieties to the ruling Congress Party. The opportunities for playing the great post-election coalition game during the regime change activated all other parties too to maximize their prospects. This episode served them all to exhibit their jingoistic nationalism. There has been another aside to the episode. Devyani happens to be a dalit, a daughter of ex-IAS officer, and in that perfectly represents the vocal dalit middle class. Right or wrong, taking cudgel for her exceptionally serves two important electioneering objectives, viz., appealing to larger masses by invoking patriotic sentiments and appealing to dalits in particular by showing concern for their honour.

Devyani is a daughter of my long standing friend and personally I would sympathize with her. But the episode threw up too many important issues in public to be blinded by personal feeling. The main thrust of the argument in her favour is that she was humiliated by being handcuffed, allegedly strip-searched, and made to stay with ordinary criminals for nearly four hours before she was released on bail against the bond of $ 250,000. In the 'socialist democratic republic' called India, we are conditioned to see institutions treating people differentially and hence we cannot stomach the idea of equality of all before law. It is not to say that US has completely shunned racial profiling. But by far its law enforcement machinery treats people equally and operates uninfluenced by any pressure. US is also the biggest imperialist bully right since the World War II, exploiting people world over and even killing those whom she does not like with impunity. But the Indian ruling class parties and the government displaying their defiance in this episode have never raised even a whisper against its exploitative role. On the contrary, they have always bent backwards to curry her favour. This episode embeds many such duplicities and doublespeak behind the jingoistic noises for Devyani.

Messy Affair

As it happens with any media exposition, the facts become first victim of interpretations and worst, opinions. The case relates with the employment of one Sangeeta Richard, a Keralite Christian lady from Delhi by Devyani as a nanny cum domestic servant in November 2012. She got her A-3 US visa on the basis of false declaration of her salary of $ 4500 per month so as to meet the visa requirement. While Devyani's side accuses Sangeeta of falsification, it could not be without her knowledge as the A-3 visa itself is based on diplomat's proposal of taking a domestic servant. It has come into the public domain moreover that the Indian diplomats have followed this 'standard template' for securing A-3 visas for their domestic servants. Sangeeta was actually paid $ 537 per month by Devyani, which works out to $ 3.31 per hour as against the stipulated minimum wage of $ 9.75 per hour. Sangeeta happily works for Devyani but on 23 June suddenly goes missing. Devyani gets a call from Sangeeta's lawyer on 1 July making certain unreasonable demands on behalf of Sangeeta. A complaint of cheating gets filed with Delhi Police against Sangeeta on behalf of Devyani the next day. During the next six months Sangeeta's passport is revoked, she is restrained by the Delhi High Court from taking legal action against Devyani outside India, an arrest warrant is issued against her by the Metropolitan magistrate, Devyani and Indian authorities follow up with the US authorities but receive no response. Mysteriously, Sangeeta's husband and children fly to US just two days prior to Devyani's arrest. Whatever may be the crime of Sangeeta, the core charges of lying in visa form and paying less than the minimum wage against Devyani may not be disputed.

What is disputed is the ill treatment meted out to Devyani by the US Marshals. She was arrested by the state department's diplomatic security bureau and handed over to US Marshals Service. The US marshals had handcuffed and strip-searched her according to their "standard arrestee intake procedures". The entire complaint about ill treatment ignores this fact and imagines that Devyani was entitled for a better deal than what she received. The tacit assumption behind it is her stature as DCG. But the facts reveal that DCG did not have any diplomatic immunity; she did have consular immunity but it was confined to her consular duties only. Another argument raised against the alleged maltreatment is that the crime was not serious so as to deserve handcuffing or strip searches. True, it may not be so in India but we are speaking about the US law which, apart from the normal procedure to handcuff and search, considers it serious enough to provide for a sentence of 15 years (10 years for visa fraud and five years for making a false declaration). Lastly, it is also insinuated that what Devyani followed was a standard template used by the Indian diplomatic staff. It might point to the necessity of change in government policy but how can it be the argument for condoning the crime once caught?

Defiance Drama

The Indian government's reaction to the episode has been amusing. While the Indian embassy had been warned in September that there were suspicions the diplomat has been underpaying minimum wage and that action could be imminent (As U.S. assistant secretary of state Nisha Desai Biswal disclosed to a paper), it failed to take corrective steps. It persisted with the mistaken assumption that Devyani had diplomatic immunity. Under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, consular officials could be arrested for acts committed outside on official job functions. The government woke up only after the things precipitated and transferred Devyani to the country's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, ensuring her complete immunity from US prosecution. But obviously, this would be short-lived protection as procedurally she would have to apply for a fresh diplomatic card through the UN Secretariat – a process that must ultimately go for clearance to the US State Department. In an unprecedented show of defiance, the government has taken a slew of measures withdrawing special privileges extended to the US Embassy in New Delhi. They included removal of barricades erected as a safety measure outside the U.S. Embassy, asking back the passes issued to Embassy staff to access airport lounges, withdrawing their import permits for liquors, and asking for the details of their employees, etc. It might assuage the sentiments of gullible masses overcharged with patriotism but does not explain why it had extended them unilaterally in the first place. Where was the honour or sovereignty of the country all these years when it succumbed to every other pressure from the US?

The least said about the politicians, better it would be! The rightist BJP, during its own NDA reign from 1999-2004 had pleaded to include India into a Triad Against Terrorism comprising US-Israel-India, overturning decades of Indian foreign policy that had favoured the Palestinian cause. Its Yashwant Sinha wanted India to arrest the embassy staff with same sex partners under Article 377. Mayawati did not forget her patented caste card accusing the government of delay because Devyani was a dalit. Many of them, including Meira Kumar, Sushilkumar Shinde, Rahul Gandhi, and not to exclude Narendra Modi refused to meet the US Congressional delegation that was visiting India at that time. Samajwadi party went overboard making a comic offer of Lok Sabha seat to Devyani in the forthcoming elections. Did they not know that the US presided over the post-War imperialist system for subjugation of nations and their people? Did they not know that the US maintains 1,000 military bases overseas for the purpose? But never before did they utter a word against the US. They rather picked up every of its signals subserviently and bent themselves backward in carrying them through against their own people. The show of defiance in this case is just meant for the electoral gallery!

The Class Matters

The entire drama is focused on humiliation. It is a curious term that tends to undermine objective exploitation of masses and tends to valorize subjective feeling of ignominy by an individual of stature. With the rise of dalit middle class it is becoming quite popular, some academics theorizing it as a key issue. It is amusing to note that the perceived humiliation of a Foreign Service official provokes nationwide outrage and creates a foreign relation crisis for the country in which a vast majority of people live ignominious lives. Many examples crowd in my mind but a single case of Soni Sori, a tribal school teacher in Chhattisgarh should be enough to bring home the point. This lady, on mere suspicion of Maoist link was arrested, stripped naked, raped and her vagina was filled with stones; not allowed to visit funeral of her husband who died of police torture and make arrangements for her children in teens who were rendered parentless. Was that not humiliation? How many of those demonstrators who shouted for Devyani had felt even a cringe of consciousness for Sori? I bet all those dalits actively protesting against humiliation of Devyani through e-mail and social media campaigns would not know even her name. Does she not belong to them?

Sangeeta Richard may well be a rogue but she will surely be in jail, her family devastated by this episode and nothing will happen to our dear Devyani! After all, she is not the class of ordinary mortals. Her humiliation therefore is more important than exploitation of millions of Soris around!

Dr Anand Teltumbde is a writer, columnist, civil rights activist and a professor of management at IIT, Kharagpur




Himanshu Kumar

अमरीका में भारतीय दूतावास अधिकारियों के घरों में चौदह और घरेलू नौकर कम मजदूरी में काम कर रहे हैं .


इस तरह गैरकानूनी तरीके से कम तनख्वाह पर नौकर रखने पर दूतावास के इन अफसरों पर भी अमरीकी अदालतें कार्यवाही कर सकती हैं .


हम भारतीय लोग बिना नौकर के नहीं रह सकते क्या ?


अमरीका में घरों में कोई नौकर नहीं रखता . और अगर किसी काम के लिएय आपको किसी की सेवाओं की ज़रूरत है तो उसे आप घंटों के हिसाब से पैसा देकर काम ले सकते हैं जैसे नर्स इत्यादी .


हम भारतीयों की आदतों और सोच में अभी सुधार की बहुत ज़रूरत है .


दिल्ली में आदिवासी इलाकों से लड़कियों को लाकर दिल्ली में घरों में नौकरानी बना कर रखा जा रहा है .


इन लड़कियों को भूखा रखना मारना पीटना इनका यौन शोषण खुले आम चल रहा है .


मैं खुद ऐसी कई लड़कियों से मिल चूका हूँ और उन्हें प्रतारणा से मुक्त करवा चूका हूँ .


ये हमारे वख्त में चल रही गुलाम प्रथा है .


भारतीय कानून के मुताबिक यदि किसी मजदूर या नौकर को कम मजदूरी पर रखा गया है तो उसे बंधुआ मजदूर माना जाएगा .


लेकिन आज तक किसी भी घरेलू नौकर को इस कानून का लाभ नहीं दिया गया . किसी भी अमीर के खिलाफ इस कानून के तहत कार्यवाही नहीं करी गयी .


और आप चिलाते रहिये श्रम विभाग आपकी बात सुनेगा ही नहीं .


भारत में आजादी के बाद से आज तक कम मजदूरी देने पर कार्यवाही न करने पर किसी भी श्रम अधिकारी के विरुद्ध कोई कार्यवाही नहीं हुई है .


हम अपने महीने के खर्च के लिए जितने पैसों की ज़रूरत है हमारे नौकर का खर्च उससे पचास गुना कम में कैसे चलेगा ?


क्या हमारे नौकर को दवाई , बच्चों के स्कूल की ज़रूरत नहीं है ?


देवयानी के मामले में सरकार ने उसकी नौकरानी को कोई संरक्षण नहीं दिया वो आज भी इन्साफ के लिए भटक रही है .


हम भारतीय खुद को बहुत धार्मिक कहते हैं लेकिन शायद हम से ज़्यादा अधार्मिक क्रूर और ढोंगी समाज दुनिया में कोई और नहीं है .


हर मनुष्य बराबर है और सबको न्याय का पूरा अधिकार है . अगर आप इस सच्चाई से मुंह मोडेंगे तो आप बर्बर और पिछड़े कहलायेंगे .


आगे आपकी मर्जी .

14 more maids in US, threat of Devyani rerun looms - The Times of India

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

There are 14 domestic servants employed by Indian diplomats in the US. All of them have the same quasi-legal status that Khobragade's maid, Sangeeta Richard, had.

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  • Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Shamshad Elahee Shams, Musafir D. Baitha and 73 others like this.

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  • Shamshad Elahee Shams और सिर्फ अमेरिका में ही क्यों ? इन बाबुओ के साथ दुनिया भर में कितने नौकर है यह बताया जाए आखिर इन्हें देश की सीमा से बाहर जाते ही डालर में वेतन मिलता है कि नही ?

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  • Muhammad Mohsin Khan हम भारतीय खुद को बहुत धार्मिक कहते हैं लेकिन शायद हम से ज़्यादा अधार्मिक क्रूर और ढोंगी समाज दुनिया में कोई और नहीं है ... Very true..

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  • Meherzaman Khan बेटा--- पापा कालू(नौकर) मर गया................ पापा----- कमबख्त मेने सोचा मेरा कुत्ता मर गया... डरा दिया तूने

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  • Mukti Tirkey Indian diplomat Devyani was arrested in US for under-payment of minimum wages for domestic helpers inUS fixed by US. But in India ,particlarly in the Capital of Delhi the government have not yet notified the minimum wages of domestic workers.More than...See More

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Himanshu Kumar commented on a link you shared.

Himanshu wrote: "अमरीका में भारतीय दूतावास अधिकारियों के घरों में चौदह और घरेलू नौकर कम मजदूरी में काम कर रहे हैं . इस तरह गैरकानूनी तरीके से कम तनख्वाह पर नौकर रखने पर दूतावास के इन अफसरों पर भी अमरीकी अदालतें कार्यवाही कर सकती हैं . हम भारतीय लोग बिना नौकर के नहीं रह सकते क्या ? अमरीका में घरों में कोई नौकर नहीं रखता . और अगर किसी काम के लिएय आपको किसी की सेवाओं की ज़रूरत है तो उसे आप घंटों के हिसाब से पैसा देकर काम ले सकते हैं जैसे नर्स इत्यादी . हम भारतीयों की आदतों और सोच में अभी सुधार की बहुत ज़रूरत है . दिल्ली में आदिवासी इलाकों से लड़कियों को लाकर दिल्ली में घरों में नौकरानी बना कर रखा जा रहा है . इन लड़कियों को भूखा रखना मारना पीटना इनका यौन शोषण खुले आम चल रहा है . मैं खुद ऐसी कई लड़कियों से मिल चूका हूँ और उन्हें प्रतारणा से मुक्त करवा चूका हूँ . ये हमारे वख्त में चल रही गुलाम प्रथा है . भारतीय कानून के मुताबिक यदि किसी मजदूर या नौकर को कम मजदूरी पर रखा गया है तो उसे बंधुआ मजदूर माना जाएगा . लेकिन आज तक किसी भी घरेलू नौकर को इस कानून का लाभ नहीं दिया गया . किसी भी अमीर के खिलाफ इस कानून के तहत कार्यवाही नहीं करी गयी . और आप चिलाते रहिये श्रम विभाग आपकी बात सुनेगा ही नहीं . भारत में आजादी के बाद से आज तक कम मजदूरी देने पर कार्यवाही न करने पर किसी भी श्रम अधिकारी के विरुद्ध कोई कार्यवाही नहीं हुई है . हम अपने महीने के खर्च के लिए जितने पैसों की ज़रूरत है हमारे नौकर का खर्च उससे पचास गुना कम में कैसे चलेगा ? क्या हमारे नौकर को दवाई , बच्चों के स्कूल की ज़रूरत नहीं है ? देवयानी के मामले में सरकार ने उसकी नौकरानी को कोई संरक्षण नहीं दिया वो आज भी इन्साफ के लिए भटक रही है . हम भारतीय खुद को बहुत धार्मिक कहते हैं लेकिन शायद हम से ज़्यादा अधार्मिक क्रूर और ढोंगी समाज दुनिया में कोई और नहीं है . हर मनुष्य बराबर है और सबको न्याय का पूरा अधिकार है . अगर आप इस सच्चाई से मुंह मोडेंगे तो आप बर्बर और पिछड़े कहलायेंगे . आगे आपकी मर्जी ."


संघर्ष संवाद posted in All India Secular Forum

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प्रधानमंत्री जी : यह परमाणु प्लांट का नहीं लोगों की मौत का उदघाटन है !


यशवीर आर्य ने प्रधानमंत्री मनमोंहन सिंह को नाकाम प्रधानमंत्री बताते हुए कहा की जिसने अपनी योजनाओं तक को नामकाम मानलिया वो इस नाकाम प्रोजक्ट का शिलान्यास कैसे कर सकता है। गोरखपुर गांव के आस-पास के गांव जिसमें धागड़, बड़ोपल,खजुरी जाटो, काजल हेड़ी, खारा खेडी, जांडली में स्थानीय लोगों ने जमकर प्रदर्शन करतें हुए पुतला फूका। दीवार लेखन व विरोध के चिन्हो को प्रशासन ने मिटाने का पुरा प्रयास किया।

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India achieved nothing from Indo-U.S. Nuclear deal: Sitaram Yechury

Business Standard-03-01-2014

On Dr. Singh describing the civil nuclear cooperation deal betweenIndia and US as the best moment of his tenure as Prime Minister, Yechury ...

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Signing of Indo-US nuke deal worst moment for country: Left


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    परमाणु अप्रसार संधि - विकिपीडिया

    1. hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/परमाणु_अप्रसार_संधि

    2. जिसमें पांच के पास आण्विक हथियार हैं। ये देश हैं- अमेरिका, ब्रिटेन, फांस, रूस और चीन। सिर्फ चार संप्रभुता संपन्न देश इसके सदस्य नहीं हैं। ये हैं- भारत, इजरायल, पाकिस्तान और उत्तरी कोरिया। एनपीटी के तहत भारत को परमाणु संपन्न देश की मान्यता ...

    'भारत के साथ परमाणु संधि अमेरिका के लिए सही ...

    1. navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/-/...8534...ms.../1316697.cms

    2. 02-12-2005 - बुश प्रशासन ने कहा है कि भारत के साथ होने वाली नागरिक परमाणु संधि अमेरिका के लिए सही और परमाणु अप्रसार के क्षेत्र में एक प्रभावी कदम है। पूर्व अमेरिकीअधिकारियों और परमाणु अप्रसार विशेषज्ञों द्वारा जताई गई.

    भारत-अमेरिका परमाणु समझौता बनाम परमाणु उर्जा

    1. indousdeal123.blogspot.com/

    2. 29-09-2013 - भारत और अमेरिका के बीच असैन्य परमाणु समझौता के करीब पांच साल बाद दोनों देशों के बीच असैन्य परमाणु ऊर्जा ... परमाणु आपूर्तिकर्ता समूह अर्थात एनएसजी से मिली छूट का अभिप्राय भारत को अंतरराष्ट्रीय परमाणु अप्रसार संधि के ...

    भारत-अमेरिका परमाणु करार से जुड़ी कुछ बुनियादी ...

    1. www.himanshushekhar.in/भारत-अमेरिका-परमाणु-करार/

    2. ये हैं- भारत, इजरायल, पाकिस्तान और उत्तरी कोरिया। एनपीटी के तहत भारत को परमाणु संपन्न देश की मान्यता नहीं दी गई है। जो इसके दोहरे मापदंड को प्रदर्शित करती है। इस संधि का प्रस्ताव आयरलैंड ने रखा था और सबसे पहले हस्ताक्षर करने वाला राष्ट्र ...

    भारत अमेरिकी परमाणु संधि पर इस पाखंड का क्या कहना

    1. janokti.com/29346/भारत-अमेरिकी-परमाणु-संधि/

    2. 15-06-2012 - मजे की बात है कि भारत अमेरिकी परमाणु संधि के विरोध​ ​ में ही यूपीए की सरकार से समर्थन वापस लिया था वामपंथियों ने , लेकिन परमाणु करार क्रियान्वन पर निःशब्द हो जाने के दिन ही वाम समर्थन से प्रणव का राष्ट्रपति बनना तय हो गया।

    परमाणु अप्रसार समीक्षा सम्मेलन - Jagranjosh.com

    1. www.jagranjosh.com/.../परमाणु-अप्रसार-समीक्षा-सम्मेलन-...

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    2. Pramod Ranjan द्वारा - 330 Google+ मंडलियों में

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    1. hindi.business-standard.com/storypage.php?autono=69418

    2. 19-02-2013 - सिंह ने कहा, 'हमने एक द्विपक्षीय असैन्य परमाणु समझौते पर बातचीत शुरू करने का भी फैसला किया है।' भारत, अमेरिका, फ्रांस, कजाखस्तान, दक्षिण कोरिया, मंगोलिया और कनाडा समेत कई देशों के साथ असैन्य परमाणु संधिया कर चुका है।

    भारत अमेरिका परमाणु करार: यदि आप जानना चाहते थे कि सभी - हिन्दुस्तान दैनिक

    1. www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/...us.../article1-1127975.aspx

    2. Indo-US nuclear treaty के लिए खोजे गए अंग्रेज़ी दस्तावेज़ का अनुदित परिणाम

    3. भारत और अमेरिका शुक्रवार कि इच्छा पर अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा और प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह के बीच एक बैठक के दौरान एक अनुबंध की घोषणा करेंगे...

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    1. www.dw.de/p/DVYZ

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    Iranian N-deal to be effective from Jan 20

    US President Barack Obama welcomed the news but added that more work was required to strike a long-term deal and warned of new sanctions in case there was a breach

    Reuters

    Geneva: An interim agreement about freezing of Iranian nuclear programme will come into force Jan 20, BBC reported Sunday. The deal, which was agreed last November in talks with world powers, envisages easing of some international sanctions on Tehran.

    In an announcement, the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, representing the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — US, Russia, China, France and Britain — plus Germany in the talks with Iran, said that the world powers would now ask the IAEA or, the UN's nuclear watchdog to verify the deal is implemented.

    "We will ask the IAEA to undertake the necessary nuclear-related monitoring and verification activities," she said.

    Meanwhile, welcoming the news, US President Barack Obama said more work was required to strike a long-term deal and warned of new sanctions in case there was a breach.

    "Beginning 20 January, Iran will for the first time start eliminating its stockpile of higher levels of enriched uranium and dismantling some of the infrastructure that makes such enrichment possible."

    In return, Obama said, over the next six months the US and the other five powers would begin to implement "modest relief" so long as Iran fulfilled its obligations.

    While curtailing its nuclear programme, Iran will now permit more intrusive inspections beginning Jan 20 under the terms of an agreement reached with world powers.

    Tehran, under the terms of the deal, has agreed to halt its enrichment of uranium above 5 percent purity, "neutralise" its stockpile of near-20 percent-enriched uranium while offering daily access to inspectors.

    In return, the world powers agreed to suspend certain trade related sanctions in gold and precious metals, Iran's automotive sector, and its petrochemical exports.

    On Nov 24, Iran and the six world powers had reached an initial accord in Geneva that had not taken effect.

    The West accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, but the Islamic republic has consistently denied that.

    India ranks near bottom of nuclear material security index

    This is due to a number of factors, including weak regulations; increasing quantities of weapons-usable nuclear and gaps in regulatory structure such as a lack of an independent regulatory agency  

    Reuters

    Washington: India has been ranked below its two nuclear-armed neighbours — Pakistan and China — in the list of countries with a weak nuclear material security in the world, according to a US-based think-tank. In the 2014 Nuclear Threat Initiative's Nuclear Materials Security Index released yesterday, India has been ranked 23rd out of 25 countries with weapons-usable nuclear materials.

    India received 41 out of 100 points, which is improvement by one point from the 2012 score. For comparison, China received 64 points and has been ranked at 20th spot, while Pakistan with 46 points stands at 22nd place.

    India and these countries are included in the list of 25 countries with one kilogram or more of these materials, which also includes all other nuclear-armed states.

    FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO INDIA'S SCORE

    The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) said this improvement reflects India's first contribution to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund. "Overall, however, India's score remains low."

    This is due to a number of factors, including weak regulations that are written as guidance rather than as requirements; increasing quantities of weapons-usable nuclear materials for both civilian and military use and gaps in its regulatory structure such as a lack of an independent regulatory agency.

    External risk factors, such as high levels of corruption, which undermine confidence in implementation or enforcement of security measures and also increase the risk that officials may contribute (even unwittingly) to the theft of nuclear material are also among the factors, it added.

    Both India and China improved their scores since 2012 by one point by contributing to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund, which supports the implementation of nuclear security activities, the report said.

    IN COMPARISON WITH CHINA, PAKISTAN

    In comparing both countries, India scored higher than China on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 related to nuclear security issues.

    China, however, scored higher in a number of areas, including: the existence of an independent regulatory agency; having invited a peer review of its nuclear security arrangements; and having strong regulations for control and accounting of materials.

    Pakistan received 46 out of 100 possible points compared to India's 41, the report said, adding that both countries improved their scores since 2012.

    Pakistan improved its score by publishing new regulations for the physical protection of nuclear facilities.

    In comparing both countries, India scored higher than Pakistan on international legal commitments because India has adopted all of the relevant treaties whereas Pakistan has not.

    Pakistan, however, scored higher in a number of areas, including: the existence of an independent regulatory agency; having invited peer review of its nuclear security arrangements; and having security and other personnel with access to nuclear materials subjected to additional vetting.

    In addition, Pakistan has an operational Center of Excellence (COE), whereas the foundation stone for India's COE, the Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership, was laid on January 3, 2014, it said.

    In its report, NTI said India was briefed on the Index, along with other countries.

    "Unfortunately, India did not use the opportunity to review and confirm the data, a process through which governments can choose to provide responses to one, some, or all questions depending on their sensitivities and help ensure the accuracy of the data," it said.

    "Out of the 25 countries with weapons usable nuclear materials, 17 (more than two-thirds) responded to the data review and confirmation request (including nuclear-weapons states such as France, the UK, and the US)," the report said.

    NTI said India scored at the top for international legal commitments, having signed and ratified the Conventional on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials and its 2005 Amendment, as well as the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

    India also received the highest possible score for implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540.

    NEED TO IMPROVE LAWS, REGULATIONS

    NTI recommended that India's nuclear materials security conditions could be improved by strengthening its laws and regulations for mitigating the insider threat, for the control and accounting of nuclear materials, and for the physical security of materials during transport.

    "India's existing regulations could be strengthened by taking a more prescriptive approach to security measures, as most countries already do, rather than simply recommending security measures," it said.

    India's nuclear materials security conditions could also be improved by completing the establishment of an independent nuclear regulatory agency, in fulfilment of a commitment made at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, it said.

    Establishing and maintaining a regulatory agency that is independent of influence from those being regulated is necessary to ensure meaningful and unbiased oversight. The importance of an independent regulatory agency has been highlighted in a recent Indian parliamentary panel report.

    "Because the potential for theft increases with higher quantities of materials, the NTI Index report recommends that states commit to no net increases of weapons-usable materials and to using existing materials before producing new materials. India's continuing production of weapons-usable nuclear materials means that it is increasing, not decreasing, its stocks," it said.

    India insists US drop charges against diplomat

    External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid says Devyani Khobragade is not guilty of any wrongdoing; the Indian diplomat returned home on Friday after she was indicted by a US court

    Reuters

    New Delhi: India on Saturday insisted that the US should drop the charges of visa fraud against its diplomat Devyani Khobragade, who has returned here after being expelled by the American authorities.

    Khobragade, who was arrested in New York on December 12 and returned home on Friday, was not guilty of any wrongdoing, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said.

    Meanwhile, Khobragade met Khurshid and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh here and told them about her ordeal. She also thanked them for their support.

    American diplomat Wayne May, Chief of the embassy's diplomatic security contingent, who was expelled by India in a tit-for-tat action, was readying to leave. He had been given about 48 hours on Friday by Indian government to do so.

    All you want to know about Devyani saga

    Defending India's stand on the issue, Khurshid told Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate that India will continue pressing for dropping of visa fraud charges against Khobragade and made it clear that there was no rethink on restoring extra privileges to American diplomats here.

    Asserting that Khobragade was not guilty of wrongdoings as charged by the US authorities, Khurshid said efforts would be on to "clean up things completely" to the satisfaction of both the sides.

    Describing Khobragade episode as a "mini crisis", the minister also defended India's decision to ask the US Embassy here to stop commercial activities from within its premises and withdrawal of the extra privileges, saying "No, there wasn't retaliation. I think it was an appropriate response not a retaliation."

    Asserting that India should not be seen extending more privileges to one country and less to others, he said, "We did what really is the formal procedures that apply to everybody.

    "If they were friends, taking extra concessions, those extra concessions may have been discretionary given to them from time to time.

    "But when you take stock of what are our entitlements and what are your obligations then it becomes important that you put everything in line."

    Khobragade refused to comment on the episode involving her. "No comments. I am really thankful for all your support.... I cannot make any comment. The government will speak for me. My lawyer will speak for me," she said.

    Khobragade returned after she was indicted in a visa fraud case by a grand jury in New York, where she was arrested and later released on a bail of USD 250,000.

    "We want it to be resolved as soon as possible. Certainly, that's our goal, but we're only part of this process," Harf said.

    She said the US does not want India-US ties to be affected by the arrest of the Indian diplomat in New York.

    Asked if the US was hopeful that the issue would be resolved, Harf said, "absolutely".

    The US and Indian officials are believed to be working on both the diplomatic and judicial front to arrive at an amicable resolution of the issue, with American officials insisting that law would take its own course.

    "We're the diplomatic part that focuses on the relationship and all the issues we work together on. There is a separate judicial and legal process that is working its way through right now," Harf said.

    "There is a reason we have these processes, and hopefully that will work itself out soon as well, but I don't want to get ahead of that process, and certainly don't want to speak for it," she noted.

    India has sought an US apology and withdrawal of charges against Khobragade. The US, however, insists that this is an isolated incident.

    Harf said that the US is "letting it (this entire episode) run its course" and was focused on "where to go from here because, as we've always said, the relationship with India is incredibly important."

    A 1999-batch IFS officer, Khobragade was arrested on charges of making false declarations in a visa application for her maid Sangeeta Richard. She was released on a USD 250,000 bond.

    India retaliated by downgrading privileges of a certain category of US diplomats among other steps last month.







    बर्बर पूँजीवादी लूट को छिपाने के लिये भ्रष्टाचार के मुद्दे का इस्तेमाल

    'आप' के उभार के मायने-3

    अभिनव सिन्हा

    'आप' पूरी पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था को कभी कठघरे में खड़ा नहीं करती। केजरीवाल ने एक कॉरपोरेट घराने के 'काम करने के तरीकों' पर सवाल उठाना शुरू किया था, लेकिन इस मुद्दे पर जल्द ही वह चुप्पी साध गये। बाकी कॉरपोरेट घरानों पर केजरीवाल ने कभी मुँह तक नहीं खोला। उल्टे पूँजीपति वर्ग को भी वह 'विक्टिम' और पीड़ित के रूप में दिखलाते हैं! अपने घोषणापत्र में केजरीवाल लिखते हैं कि काँग्रेस और भाजपा जैसी भ्रष्ट पार्टियों के कारण मजबूर होकर पूँजीपतियों को भ्रष्टाचार करना पड़ता है! यह दोगलेपन की इन्तहाँ नहीं तो क्या है? आप देख सकते हैं कि भ्रष्टाचार के मुद्दे को किस प्रकार नंगी और बर्बर पूँजीवादी लूट को छिपाने के लिये इस्तेमाल किया गया है। पूँजीपति जो श्रम कानूनों का उल्लंघन करते हैं क्या वह मजबूरी के कारण करते हैं? ठेकाकरण क्या वह भ्रष्टाचार से मजबूर होकर करते हैं? यह तो पूरी तस्वीर को ही सिर के बल खड़ा करना है। वास्तव में, सरकार (चाहे किसी की भी हो!) और पूँजीपति वर्ग मिलकर मज़दूरों के विरुद्ध लूट और हिंसा को अंजाम देते हैं! केजरीवाल की इस महानौटंकी के पहले अध्याय के लिखे जाते समय ही दिल्ली के पड़ोस में मारुति सुजुकी के मज़दूरों का संघर्ष चल रहा था लेकिन केजरीवाल ने इस पर एक शब्द नहीं कहा; दिल्ली में ही मेट्रो के रेल मज़दूरों को न्यूनतम मज़दूरी और ठेका प्रथा ख़त्म करने के लिये संघर्ष चल रहा था, इस पर भी केजरीवाल ने एक बयान तक नहीं दिया! क्या केजरीवाल को यह सारी चीज़ें पता नहीं है? ऐसा नहीं है! यह एक सोची-समझी चुप्पी है! मज़दूरों के लिये कुछ कल्याणकारी कदमों जैसे कि पक्के मकान देना आदि की बात करना एक बात है, और मज़दूरों के सभी श्रम अधिकारों के संघर्षों को समर्थन देना एक दूसरी बात। केजरीवाल कहीं भी पूरी पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था और पूँजीपति वर्ग पर हमला नहीं करते। उनके लिये पूँजीपति वर्ग शासक वर्ग नहीं है; मेहनतकश जनता तो ख़ैर शासक वर्ग है ही नहीं! तो फिर शासक वर्ग है कौन? यह एक भ्रष्ट राजनीतिक व नौकरशाह वर्ग है जो किसी वर्ग की नुमाइन्दगी नहीं करता, बल्कि अपनी ही सेवा में संलग्न है! और पूँजीपति वर्ग और मज़दूर वर्ग एक दूसरे के दुश्मन नहीं है, बल्कि वे दोनों ही पीड़ित वर्ग है; भ्रष्टाचारियों से पीड़ित! यहाँ भी आप देख सकते हैं कि असली सवाल को ढाँपने के लिये भ्रष्टाचार के जुमले का कैसे इस्तेमाल किया गया है। केजरीवाल के लिये इस पूरी व्यवस्था में कोई दिक्कत नहीं है! बस इसमें से भ्रष्टाचार के सफ़ाये की ज़रूरत है! अगर ग़रीबों को रोटी और रोज़गार नहीं मिलता तो यह पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था की समस्या नहीं है; पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था तो उन्हें रोटी और रोज़गार देती है, लेकिन वह भ्रष्टाचारियों के कारण उन तक पहुँच नहीं पाता! इसलिये समस्या आपूर्ति की है! केजरीवाल इस समस्या को कैसे दूर करेंगे? एक साक्षात्कार में वह कहते हैं कि पटेल जैसी राजनीति करके; शास्त्री जैसी राजनीति करके! नेहरू का नाम सोचे-समझे तौर पर इस सूची से ग़ायब है। समझने वाले समझ सकते हैं कि क्यों!

    इस समूचे आदर्शवादी भ्रष्टाचार-विरोध का मिश्रण किया जाता है अन्धराष्ट्रवादी जुमलों के साथ। 'आप' का एक चुनाव उम्मीदवार एक सैनिक था, जो कि सीमा पर झड़प में विकलाँग हो गया था। उससे केजरीवाल ने कहा कि आप अब तक देश के बाहर के आतंकवादियों से लड़ रहे थे, अब आप 'आप' की ओर से चुनाव लड़कर देश के भीतर के आतंकवादियों के विरुद्ध लड़िये। यह पूरी जुमलेबाज़ी और भाषा एक दक्षिणपंथी अन्धराष्ट्रवाद की है। इसमें वास्तविक मुद्दों और सच्चाइयों को आदर्शवादी, अन्धराष्ट्रवादी और प्रतिक्रियावादी जुमलों के तहत छिपा दिया गया है।

    'आप' तृणमूल और भागीदारीपूर्ण जनवाद की बात करती है। 'आप' का कहना है कि वह सत्ता में आयेगी तो स्थानीय विकास कार्यों आदि को लेकर मोहल्ला सभाओं को सारे अधिकार दे देगी। यह एक राजनीतिक जनवाद की बात है। लेकिन अगर मौजूदा सम्पत्ति सम्बन्धों, असमानतापूर्ण सामाजिक-आर्थिक सम्बन्धों को और उत्पादन के साधन पर मालिकाने और नियन्त्रण तक पहुँच के सम्बन्धों को छेड़े बग़ैर मोहल्लों में सभाएँ बनाकर उन्हें नियन्त्रण सौंप भी दिया जाये, तो अन्ततः उसमें किन लोगों की चलेगी? ज़ाहिर सी बात है, मोहल्लों में रहने वाले ठेकेदारों, दल्लों, छुटभैया मालिकों, पैसे वालों, और अमीरों की ही चलेगी! आम ग़रीब और निम्न मध्यवर्गीय आबादी उनके पीछे-पीछे चलेगी। ऐसे में, यह राजनीतिक जनवाद का अधिकार भी अपने आप में कोई अर्थ नहीं रखता जब तक कि आर्थिक सम्बन्धों को भी आमूल-चूल रूप में न बदला जाये! लेकिन 'आप' तो इन सम्बन्धों को किसी भी तरह से बहस और चर्चा से दूर रखना चाहती है!

    'आप' की पूरी राजनीति वास्तव में देश की आम मेहनतकश आबादी की ज़िन्दगी की समस्याओं के मूल कारणों को छिपाने और ढँकने का काम ज़्यादा करती है। इसके लिये जिस उपकरण का इस्तेमाल किया जाता है वह है भ्रष्टाचार-विरोध, देश-सेवा आदि के नाम पर की जाने वाली प्रतिक्रियावादी, दक्षिणपंथी राजनीति। 'आप' एक ऐसी पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था की हिमायत करती है जिसमें कोई भ्रष्टाचार न हो, सभी नागरिक सम्भावित उद्यमी हों, मुक्त व्यापार और मुक्त प्रतिस्पर्द्धा हो, उपयुक्ततम की उत्तरजीविता हो, और यह सारा क्रिया-व्यापार अपनी सैद्धान्तिक शुद्धता में चले! यह एजेण्डा आज के दौर में एक तकनोशाहाना कुशलता वाले उद्यमी पूँजीवाद का सपना दिखाता है जो कि उद्यमी बनने की आकाँक्षा रखने वाले टुटपुँजिया वर्गों को आकृष्ट करता है। ज़ाहिर है, यह एक शेखचिल्लीवादी सपना है जो कभी पूरा नहीं हो सकता। लेकिन इसी रूप में इस राजनीति का चल पाना बहुत मुश्किल है। इसके कारणों की चर्चा हम 'आप' के घोषणापत्र के मुद्दों के चरित्र और उसके सामाजिक आधार के चरित्र के द्वारा कर सकते हैं।

    'आप' का क्या होगा, जनाबे-आली!

    'आप' आज भारतीय पूँजीवाद की ज़रूरत है। लेकिन 'आप' का पूरा राजनीतिक घोषणापत्र, माँगपत्रक और यहाँ तक कि उसका सामाजिक आधार मूलतः योगात्मक (एग्रीगेटिव) है; यानी कि उनमें कोई जैविक एकता नहीं है। 'आप' ने उच्च मध्यवर्गीय प्रतिक्रियावाद के वर्चस्व को निम्न मध्यवर्गीय आदर्शवाद पर स्थापित किया और एक ऐसा माँगपत्रक तैयार किया है जो कि प्रकृति से ही एक योगात्मक समुच्चय है और उसके पीछे कोई एक सुसंगत विचारधारात्मक दृष्टि नहीं है। अगर 'आप' पार्टी इनमें से कुछ मुद्दों और वायदों पर ही अमल शुरू करती है, तो एक ओर 'आप' पार्टी के भीतर ही टूट-फूट और बिखराव की प्रक्रिया शुरू हो जायेगी, वहीं उसके सामाजिक आधार में भी बिखराव शुरू हो जायेगा। मिसाल के तौर पर, 'आप' ने छोटे मालिकों और व्यापारियों को 'सरकार द्वारा वसूली' और भ्रष्टाचार से छूट दिलाने का वायदा किया है; यही कारण है कि छोटे मालिकों और व्यापारियों के वोट बड़े पैमाने पर 'आप' को मिले। लेकिन साथ ही, 'आप' ने ठेका प्रथा समाप्त करने और दिल्ली के साढ़े तीन लाख ठेका कर्मचारियों को स्थायी करने का वायदा भी किया है। लेकिन इन साढ़े तीन लाख ठेका कर्मचारियों की मेहनत को ही लूटने का काम तो ये छोटे मालिक और ठेकेदार सबसे ज़्यादा करते हैं। ठेका प्रथा का अगर कोई सबसे बड़ा लाभप्राप्तकर्ता है, तो वह छोटा मालिक और ठेकेदार वर्ग है। स्पष्ट है कि ये दोनों वायदे अन्तर्विरोधी हैं और इन पर अमल के साथ ही छोटा मालिक वर्ग 'आप' का साथ छोड़कर निरंकुश तरीके से भूमण्डलीकरण, निजीकरण, ठेकाकरण की नीतियोंको लागू करने वाली फासीवादी ताक़तों के पक्ष में जा खड़ा होगा।

    उसी प्रकार 'आप' का यह वायदा कि वह बिजली के बिल आधे कर देगी एक ही सूरत में सम्भव है। वह यह है कि विद्युत वितरण का निजीकरण समाप्त किया जाय और उसके बाद भी सरकारी ख़ज़ाने से पर्याप्त सब्सिडी दी जाय। उसी प्रकार हर दिन हर नागरिक को 700 लीटर मुफ़्त पानी भी तभी दिया जा सकता है, जब सब्सिडी दी जाय। ऐसी सब्सिडी देने के लिये राजस्व सिर्फ़ भ्रष्टाचार ख़त्म करने से आ ही नहीं सकता है। यह केवल कर का बोझ दिल्ली के अमीरज़ादों पर डालकर ही सम्भव है, क्योंकि मेहनतकश आबादी पर प्रत्यक्ष करों का बोझ डाला ही नहीं जा सकता है और अप्रत्यक्ष कर पहले से ही काफ़ी ज़्यादा हैं। ऊपर से, 'आप' वैट को भी ख़त्म करने की बात कर रही है। अगर कराधान का बोझ दिल्ली के उच्च मध्यवर्ग पर बढ़ता है, तो वह भी जल्द ही 'आप' से छिटक जायेगा।

    स्पष्ट है, अगर 'आप' अपने वायदों के 20 प्रतिशत पर भी अमल करती है, तो उसके संगठन और सामाजिक आधार का बिखराव शुरू हो जायेगा। ऐसे में, या तो 'आप' खुलकर पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था और खुली उदारवादी नीतियों के समर्थन में खड़ी होगी, जिस सूरत में वह अप्रासंगिक हो जायेगी क्योंकि यह काम करने वाली मुख्य धारा की पूँजीवादी पार्टियाँ पहले से मौजूद हैं; या फिर, उसका हश्र वही होगा जो जनता पार्टी का हुआ थाः वह खण्ड-खण्ड हो जायेगी और उसके ज़्यादातर धड़े अन्ततः मोदी के फासीवादी उभार के साथ जा खड़े होंगे। 'आप' का भविष्य फिलहाल इसी रूप में दिख रहा है, बशर्ते कि वह अपने मुख्य राजनीतिक मुद्दे भ्रष्टाचार को छोड़कर काँग्रेस, भाजपा जैसी ही एक चुनावी पार्टी न बन जाये। मौजूदा राजनीतिक माँगपत्रक और घोषणापत्र के साथ इसी रूप में यह पार्टी बनी नहीं रह सकती है क्योंकि उसका योगात्मक चरित्र इस बात ही इजाज़त ही नहीं देता है।

    लेकिन इसका यह अर्थ कतई नहीं है कि आज भारतीय पूँजीपति वर्ग के लिये 'आप' की प्रासंगिकता नहीं है। वास्तव में, पूँजीवादी राजनीति और अर्थव्यवस्था जिस संकट से गुज़र रही है और विश्वसनीयता का संकट जिस हद तक जा पहुँचा है, उसमें 'आप' की सख़्त ज़रूरत है। यह पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था को कठघरे में खड़ा किये बग़ैर जनता के गुस्से को निकलने का एक सुरक्षित 'आउटलेट' देती है। इस रूप में 'आप' आज एक नये अर्थ और रूप में वही भूमिका निभा रही है जो एक दौर में जेपी आन्दोलन और फिर जनता पार्टी ने निभायी थी।

    जैसा कि हम पहले इंगित कर आये हैं, 'आप' के उभार में योगेन्द्र यादव और आनन्द कुमार जैसे समाजवादी मदारी जो भूमिका निभा रहे हैं, वह वास्तव में वही भूमिका है, जो कि पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था को संकट के दौर में बचाने के लिये सभी समाजवादी (हर ब्राण्ड के!), सुधारवादी और संशोधनवादी निभाते हैं। लेकिन यह भी सच है कि 'आप' जैसी किसी भी परिघटना की प्रासंगिकता उसी रूप में दीर्घकालिक नहीं हो सकती है। या तो वह अपना रूप बदलकर पारम्परिक चुनावी पूँजीवादी पार्टी बनकर किसी हद तक कायम रख सकती है, या फिर उसकी नियति में बिखराव होता है। ऐसे बिखराव के बाद कुल मिलाकर फायदा फासीवादी राजनीति को ही पहुँचता है। जैसा कि जनता पार्टी के बिखराव के बाद हुआ था। भारत में चुनावी राजनीति के दायरे में सही मायने में दक्षिणपंथी उभार के लिये तो जयप्रकाश नारायण और उसके लग्गू-भग्गुओं को ही दोषी ठहराया जाना चाहिए, जिसने 'सम्पूर्ण क्रान्ति' का भ्रामक नारा देकर जनता की क्रान्तिकारी ऊर्जा को सुरक्षित चैनलों में दिशा-निर्देशित कर दिया और अन्ततः यह सबकुछ दक्षिणपंथी फासीवादी राजनीति के पक्ष में जा खड़ा हुआ।

    इसलिये 'आप' की पूरी परिघटना में कुछ भी अनोखा और नया नहीं है। आज के पूँजीवादी संकट के दौर में आदर्शवादी, प्रतिक्रियावादी मध्यवर्गीय राजनीति का पूँजीपति वर्ग द्वारा इस्तेमाल किया जाना लाज़िमी है। पूँजीवादी संकट विद्रोह की तरफ़ न जा सके, इसके लिये पूँजीपति वर्ग हमेशा ही टुटपुँजिया वर्ग के आत्मिक व रूमानी उभारों का इस्तेमाल करता रहा है। कभी यह खुले फासीवादी उभार के रूप में होता है, तो कभी 'आप' जैसे प्रच्छन्न, लोकरंजकतावादी प्रतिक्रियावाद के रूप में। और अन्त में उसकी नियति भी वही होती है जिसकी हमने चर्चा की है।

    अब यह देखना काफ़ी मनोरंजक और दिलचस्प होगा कि यह पूरी प्रक्रिया कैसे घटित होगी।

    (समाप्त)

    'आप' यहाँ आये किसलिये?

    मौजूदा पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था की एक ज़रूरत है 'आप' का उभार

    About The Author

    इन्हें भी पढ़ना न भूलें

    'आप' के लिये भी वोट बैंक बनेंगे मुसलमान?

    12 hours ago

    पार्टी पर नहीं जनता की ताकत पर भरोसा करने का समय

    3 days ago

    'आप' यहाँ आये किसलिये?

    12 days ago

    मौजूदा पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था की एक ज़रूरत है 'आप' का उभार

    14 days ago

    आप द्वारा सरकार बनाने से देश की राजनीतिक सोच में परिवर्तन आयेगा

    20 days ago

    कांग्रेस का हाथ आप के साथ,पटाक्षेप दिल्ली की नौटंकी का

    21 days ago





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    Ecstasy And Surrealism In Bangladesh

    By Fazal M. Kamal

    The level of surrealism has been lifted to a wondrous degree. After having successfully isolated itself from the people as well as the international community (both of which were dealt with sheer disdain) the government of Bangladesh, led by the always-effervescent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is experiencing the joys of self-congratulations---in the midst of one of the worst crises in the country's history

    Why The Military Intervened In Bangladesh Politics?

    By M Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury

    Corruption is an issue which instigates army to take over power. However, these military motivations go against them when their people involve themselves into it. Sometimes, military thinks that it is 'saving' democracy by intervening into politics. Military coup of 1982 and 2007-08 military backed rule reinforced this concept

    Imminent Forced Eviction By Kenya Threatens Indigenous Communities'

    Human Rights And Ancestral Forests

    By Forest Peoples Programme

    The Kenyan government has sent police troops to Embobut forest area (in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Western Kenya) to forcefully evict thousands of the indigenous inhabitants of the Sengwer and Cherangany communities from their ancestral forestlands. Reports from community members in Embobut tell of a chaotic situation, as people are threatened and are fleeing their homes with their children and belongings in fear of their safety. 150 police and forest guards including also 30 General Service Unit riot police are massing to carry out the evictions from the three locations of Tangul, Kipsitono and Maron near the forest. More troops may join

    Muzaffarnagar: The Continuing Violence Of A Communal-Fascist State!

    By Democratic Students Union

    A preliminary report on the solidarity visit to Muzaffarnagar 'relief' camps

    Nannygate: Humiliation versus Exploitation

    By Anand Teltumbde

    Sangeeta Richard may well be a rogue but she will surely be in jail, her family devastated by this episode and nothing will happen to our dear Devyani! After all, she is not the class of ordinary mortals. Her humiliation therefore is more important than exploitation of millions of Soni Soris around

    Koodankulam: An Unfettered Struggle

    By Anitha S

    Yes, our fight and struggle is unfettered. As days pass, our determination to continue voicing our demands are getting firmer and clearer. For we know that this is the fight for truth and justice, for life and health, for pure air, water and soil

    Book Review: The Indian Ideology

    By Abdul Majid Zargar

    According to Anderson, Indian democracy is a farce which is severely compromised by its origins in an anti-colonial struggle led by the "monolithically Hindu" Congress party, which Anderson holds largely responsible for the bloodiness of the partition of the British-ruled subcontinent in 1947.The Book also criticizes India's relations with neighboring Countries that many Indians would take not with a pinch but a large dollop of salt

    Total Sanitation Campaign: Still Miles To Go in Assam

    By Sazzad Hussain

    As the world observed the inaugural World Toilet Day on 19th November, India missed the bus of nations enjoying the status of having sanitation facilities by most of its citizens. Even our neighbour Bangladesh has the envious record of having 93% of the population having access to toilets. But in India about 638 million people, or more than half of those residing in the second-most populous nation on Earth, defecate in the open

    Defend Freedom Of Expression, Oppose Politics Of Hurt Sentiments

    By New Socialist Initiative

    New Socialist Initiative condemns the attack on the headquarters of AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) office at Kaushambi, Ghaziabad by vigilantes of the Hindutva Brigade and demands stern action against the culprits. Given the inordinate delay by the police in reaching the place and nabbing the hooligans in the case of an emergent political party and high-profile politicians, one can only imagine the safety and security of common citizen under such dispensation

    08 January, 2014

    Death Toll Rises From North American "Polar Vortex"

    By Matthew MacEgan

    The "polar vortex" which has assaulted North America over the past several days has left hundreds of thousands of people without major utilities, and reports of deaths are trickling in to news outlets across both the United States and Canada. The lack of adequate infrastructure that has exacerbated the weather's impact has proved the most devastating for ever-growing homeless populations

    Discovering A Legal Tool To Curb Climate Change

    By Jeremy Brecher

    On Mother's Day, 2011 a legal campaign was launched in fifty states and in Federal court arguing that global warming violated the rights of the plaintiffs — young people and their posterity. The actions were based on an innovative application of an ancient legal principle known in the US as the "public trust doctrine." They asserted that, under the public trust doctrine, governments serve as trustees of the atmosphere for the true beneficiaries, current and future generations, and that they are violating their most compelling duties by failing to protect it from devastating climate change. Successful or not, these cases may transform public discourse on the role of government in protecting the environment. The ideas underlying them, which go far beyond these climate cases per se, have now been laid out in a new book by Mary Christina Wood called Nature's Trust: Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age

    Edge-Dwelling: A Social Ecology For Our Time

    By Dianne Monroe

    First in a series about inhabiting and acting in the edge-places of our civilization as crucial for humanity's passage through these challenging times – and inviting you to share your personal edge-dwelling experiences

    In Memoriam As We Await Ariel Sharon's Decent Into Death

    By William A. Cook

    As this man confronts in his final days the ultimate dark night, it might be instructive to look at his life through fiction; his tale is after all beyond the pale of human behavior. Chris Cook, editor of the Pacific Free Press, penned this Introduction for the novella. It will serve to introduce the reader to the story that tells the tale of the Prime Minister of the State of Wickedness

    UN Has Failed To Bring Israel To Justice For 65 Years: Prof. William Cook

    Interview By Kourosh Ziabari

    It is today a bit of a stretch to point to what should be done with the reality that the seizure of virtually all of the Palestinian land has made so impossible. But if the world communities forced the UN to act, then the starting point has to be what that body has determined and not changed

    The Saudi Bull In Arab China Shop

    By Nicola Nasser

    Obsessed with the "Iran threat," which leads to its warmongering in Syria, Saudi Arabia is acting like a bull in a china shop, wreaking regional havoc in an already Arab fragile political environment and creating what George Joffe' of Cambridge University's Centre of International Studies, on last December 30, called the "second Arab cold war," the first being the Saudi-led cold war with the Pan-Arab Egypt of Gamal Abdul Nasser since the 1960s

    Africa's New Struggle Against Financial Imperialism

    By Garikai Chengu

    Financial imperialism is the system through which a dictatorship of Western capital exercises authoritarian control over African economies in order to perpetuate the exploitation of Africa, for the benefit of the West's capitalist class

    When Will They Ever Learn? The American People And Support For War

    By Lawrence Wittner

    The shifting force in U.S. public opinion is the large number of people who rally 'round the flag at the beginning of a war and, then, gradually, become fed up with the conflict

    The Ongoing Assault On Ordinary Working Class People In Britain

    By Colin Todhunter

    British Chancellor George Osborne this week announced massive cuts of £25 billion after 2015. This included further welfare cuts of £12bn. Osbourne said that 2014 would be a year of hard truths. He claimed that his economic policies were working, but admitted that the bad news is there's still a long way to go

    Fundamentalism: A Psychological Problem

    By Robert J. Burrowes

    Fundamentalism is a widespread problem. It often manifests in a religious context - making it highly visible - but there are plenty of secular fundamentalists too. If we are to understand fundamentalism we should not view it as a religious problem: It is a psychological one

    Dancing For Trees

    By Anitha.S

    The dancers Madhu and Sajeev came on stage holding a tree sapling. Madhu Uncle then announced that for all their programs and performances in 2014,wherever in the world it be, they plan to plant a tree. It could be in Kerala, other parts of India, Australia or the U.S.A,- they have decided to motivate the organizers to plant a tree either in the venue or in a place suitable for them. They would also want assurance that the tree would be taken care of. We all clapped when they said this

    Stop Forced Eviction Of Riot Victims Of Muzaffarnagar

    By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights

    Following the unprecedented outbreak of riots in the rural areas of Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut and Saharanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh in the first week of September, tens of thousands of Muslim families have been living in relief camps for the last four months. However, over the past week, the Uttar Pradesh Government has been following a policy of forced closure and eviction of people from such camps. As a consequence, the situation created has resulted in increasing the vulnerabilities and insecurities of persons affected by the riots

    India-UAE Investment Agreement: Why Such Desperate Haste?

    By Kavaljit Singh

    As per the official release, the text of the BIPA was finalized during October 30-31, 2013 at Abu Dhabi. After finalization, the agreement was signed by both countries in just a matter of six weeks. However, for some inexplicable reasons, the text of the signed agreement has not yet been made available at the official website of Ministry of Finance

    07 January, 2014

    US, Iran Say They Will Not Send Troops To Iraq

    By Bill Van Auken

    The US and Iran have declared their backing for the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Monday, while both governments felt compelled to rule out sending troops to support regime forces in the escalating battle in Iraq's western Anbar province. Fighting continued to rage in and around Ramadi, the provincial capital, and Fallujah, the scene of the bloody US military siege to crush resistance to American occupation in 2004

    Is 'Polar Vortex' Attributable To Climate Change? Yes.

    By Jon Queally

    Weather isn't climate and the climate isn't weather, but if someone asks whether the 'polar vortex' now being experience by tens of millions of people across Noth America is driven by climate change, you don't have to wait for the next wave of scientific research to come out. The answer is 'Yes.'

    Beyond The Farcical Elections: The Black Swans Of Bangladesh

    By Taj Hashmi

    The collective impact of these Black Swan Moments of our history is going to bring about the Black Swan Era of Bangladesh, which is likely to draw the country into a long-drawn civil war for decades, very similar to Iraq, Afghanistan and what Sri Lanka went through in the recent past for twenty-six years. Unless the Government annuls the results of the so-called elections; restores the provision of the Caretaker Government in the Constitution; releases all political detainees; stops judicial murder through compliant judiciary; and last but not least, disbands death squads by the RAB, police and party cadres to destroy political rivals and to smear their image, Bangladesh is not going to remain a functional democracy, even in the most limited sense of the expression

    Sham Election Deepens Bangladesh Political Crisis

    By K. Ratnayake

    The Bangladesh election held on Sunday was a political farce marked by a very low voter turnout and unprecedented violence. At least 16 people died on Sunday alone due to police shootings and bloody clashes between the two main bourgeois parties, the ruling Awami League (AL) and the opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) that boycotted the poll. The election has set the stage for a worsening political crisis

    Why Do I Hate America?

    By Mickey Z.

    For starters, I hate America for the near-extermination and ongoing oppression of this continent's indigenous population. I hate it for its role in the African slave trade and for targeting civilians with atomic bombs. I could go on for pages but I'll sum up with this: I hate America for being a white supremacist capitalist patriarchal ableist sexist racist ageist homophobic transphobic classist speciesist hypocrisy

    America's Black-Ops Blackout: Unraveling The Secrets Of The Military's Secret Military

    By Nick Turse

    Today, Special Operations Command finds itself at a crossroads. It is attempting to influence populations overseas, while at home trying to keep Americans in the dark about its activities; expanding its reach, impact, and influence, while working to remain deep in the shadows; conducting operations all over the globe, while professing only to be operating in "a number of locations"; claiming worldwide deployments have markedly dropped in the last year, when evidence suggests otherwise

    Voluntary Simplicity And The Steady-State Economy

    By Mark Burch

    Voluntary simplicity is most basically characterized by the practices of mindfulness and material sufficiency. Through bringing mindfulness to our daily lives, we seek the maximum of well-being achievable through the minimum of material consumption. Well-being applies to all life forms on Earth, not just people

    Why The U.S Seeks To Stay In Afghanistan

    By Jack A. Smith

    The U.S. is supposed to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this new year. But despite public opinion polls to the contrary, President Obama is seeking to leave several thousand Special Forces troops, military trainers, CIA personnel, "contractors" and surveillance listening posts for 10 more years in Afghanistan until the end of 2024

    Postcard From The End Of America : Vineland

    By Linh Dinh

    On a drowsy, sputtering bus into Vineland , I glimpsed a 9/11 Memorial by the side of the road. Next to a flag pole, there was the Twin Towers at the height of a middling crotch. Fleetingly I thought of getting off at the next stop to scrutinize, but decided no, for it was clear I was only on the outskirts of town, and Vineland is vast, despite its modest population of only 60,000 souls

    Laudable Efforts To Combat Illegal Ivory Trade By China

    By Marianne de Nazareth

    Six tonnes of confiscated ivory were destroyed at a landmark event by the authorities in China, in an effort to combat the illegal trade in elephant tusks. The seized ivory was fed into crushing machines in the southern city of Dongguan, in what was described as the first public destruction of ivory in China. Much of the illegally obtained ivory ends up in China, the world's biggest market for the smuggled-in material. And although authorities here have stepped up anti-trafficking efforts in recent years, they have failed to turn the tide

    Ethiopian Hand In South Sudan

    By Thomas C. Mountain

    Ethiopia has been active in destabilizing South Sudan and has been repeatedly caught providing arms to "rebels" in the Jonglei and Unity States in the north of the country during the past year. Some of these arms are reported to being used against UN peacekeepers on top of the general ethnic based slaughter that the rebels have been committing across South Sudan

    Open Letter To Narendra Modi: Bring Expeditious Justice To 2002 Riot Victims

    By R.B. Sreekumar

    An appeal for initiation of concrete measures for expeditious justice delivery and genuine relief and rehabilitation of 2002 communal riot victims in Gujarat state

    06 January, 2014

    Egyptian Junta Launches Deadliest Crackdown In Months

    By Johannes Stern

    Approaching the third anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution on January 25 and a referendum on Egypt's new constitution in for mid-January, Egypt's military junta is intensifying its crackdown on all opposition to its rule. On Friday, security forces cracked down on demonstrations called by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB)-led Anti-Coup Alliance, killing at least 14 protesters and injuring 62

    The Last Gasp Of American Democracy

    By Chris Hedges

    This is our last gasp as a democracy. The state's wholesale intrusion into our lives and obliteration of privacy are now facts. And the challenge to us—one of the final ones, I suspect—is to rise up in outrage and halt this seizure of our rights to liberty and free expression. If we do not do so we will see ourselves become a nation of captives

    American Jihad 2014: The New Fundamentalists

    By Tom Engelhardt

    In a 1950s civics textbook of mine, I can remember a Martian landing on Main Street, U.S.A., to be instructed in the glories of our political system. You know, our tripartite government, checks and balances, miraculous set of rights, and vibrant democracy. There was, Americans then thought, much to be proud of, and so for that generation of children, many Martians were instructed in the American way of life. These days, I suspect, not so many. Still, I wondered just what lessons might be offered to such a Martian crash-landing in Washington as 2014 begins

    The Tasks Of The People-Powered Movement For 2014

    By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers

    Build Broad National Consensus for Paradigm Shifting Change

    Locked In Winter In Kabul

    By Kathy Kelly

    We are right to work and to hope, but faced with the spectacle of winter in Chaman e Babrak I can't help remembering Barbara Deming's lines: "Locked in winter, summer lies; gather your bones together. Rise!"

    Are We Being Driven Like Cattle?

    By John Scales Avery

    Let us stop being driven like cattle by invented threats. Let us instead look at the very real dangers that threaten human civilization, and do our utmost to avoid them

    Talkin' 'bout A Global Revolution

    By Adam Parsons

    As the global financial crisis now enters its seventh year, it is time to start asking difficult questions about the right priorities for popular protest if we want to realise a truly united voice of the world's people. There can be no revolution in a truly moral or global sense until the critical needs of the extreme poor are prioritised and upheld, which will require mass mobilisations in the streets like we have never seen before

    The Left After The Failure Of Obamacare

    By Shamus Cooke

    It's satisfying to watch rats flee a sinking ship. This is because onlookers knew the ship was doomed long ago, and swimming rats signify that the drawn-out tragedy is nearing an end. A collective sense of relief is a natural response. The rats who propped up the broken boat of Obamacare are a collection of liberal and labor groups who frittered away their group's resources—and integrity— to sell a crappy product to the American people

    Sopore Masscre : And They Call Themselves Humans

    By Abdul Majid Zargar

    Jannuary 6th is one of the blackest day in the human rights history of the world. It was on this day in 1993 that Indian soldiers killed nearly fifty five people in Kashmir's Apple town, Sopore in a manner which even today sends jitters up one's spine & puts to shame the wildest beast in a jungle

    The Gruesome Incident Of Cutting Off Of Right Hands Of

    Two Bonded Labourers In Odisha

    By Kiran Kamal Prasad

    On 15 December 2013, right hands of two bonded labourers, Dialu Nial (30), an SC, and Nilambar Dhangda Majhi (28), an ST, were chopped off by a labour contractor and his accomplishes in Odisha. The two labourers who belong to Kalahandi district of Odisha, are now struggling for life at the Burla Medical College and Hospital at Sambalpur

    Power Problem And Missing Records

    By Abdul Majid Zargar

    Power crisis continues to disrupt normal life in the Valley. The long & unscheduled power cuts have become a way of life. And the fresh snowfall has come as a double whammy for the people of Kashmir. Besides darkness they have been cut off from the rest of the world too, due to closure of roads

    Kabir Kala Manch: Living To Tell The Tale

    By Neerja Dasani

    The art of irony is something that the members of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), who identify themselves not as a cultural troupe but as a political movement, are well-versed in. This could be because life for them has been a series of curious contradictions. Emerging from mohallas and bastis, their voices reverberated through the corridors of power, disturbing the slumber of those within. Finding democracy's din too unsettling, its elected guardians branded KKM as anti-national. The resultant time spent either in jail or underground, strengthened their resolve instead of silencing them into submission

    Youth Can Move The World, Won't They?

    By Dr. A. K. Merchant

    For, today's youngsters can surely move civilization, as we know it, away from materialism, violence and domination to a higher level--non-materialistic, just, eco-friendly, and peaceful. Ceaseless endeavour, a powerful quality in the young, is required

    Fabricated Case Planted Against Teesta Setalvad

    By Citizens for Justice and Peace

    In the latest round of vindictive actions against human rights defender Teesta Setalvad secretary of Citizen's for Justice and Peace the Gujarat police Crime Branch has registered a false FIR on malicious grounds of cheating etc. This time the vindictiveness of the Gujarat police has extended to also implicating two Survivors Salimbhai Sandhi who lost five family members including his son Mohammed and Firoz Gulzar Pathan who also lost five from his family in the vicious attack on Gulberg Society on 28.2.2002. Javed Anand also a human rights defender has also been roped in as a co-accused in this malicious and motivated case

    05 January, 2014

    Violence Overshadows Bangladesh National Poll

    By Al Jazeera

    Violence has marred controversial general elections in Bangladesh, leaving at least 19 people dead in clashes between opposition supporters and police. Thousands of protesters firebombed polling stations and stole ballot papers as deadly violence flared across the South Asian nation during Sunday's elections, which was boycotted by the BNP, the main opposition party, and its allies

    'Polar Vortex' Threatens US With Bone Chilling Temps

    By Andrea Germanos

    Residents across a wide stretch of the U.S. are bracing for dangerously cold and potentially record-breaking temperatures as another wave of Arctic air brings frigid conditions and a 'polar vortex.' The National Weather Service warned on Saturday of possible near record lows, with the Northern Plains/Upper Midwest being threatened with wind chills as low as -60 Sunday night

    Will There Be Another Deadly Assault On Fallujah?

    By Kieran Kelly

    By citing Al Qaeda and linking it to the brutal terrorist mass-murder campaign as well as alleged ambitions to create an entire state, the Iraqi government may be working towards justifying unleashing high levels of military violence on Fallujah, but who really is controlling Fallujah?

    #Priorities2014

    By Mickey Z.

    As Gandhi sez: "Action expresses priorities."

    Lust For Material Acquisitions Not Just A Problem For The Subcontinent's Politicians

    By Dr. Arshad M Khan

    Instead of rampaging powers around the globe, the world needs communities of sharing, of preserving and protecting, not just the resources but us in a future climate-ravaged planet. It requires cooperation to limit emissions, and a radical shift in mind-set to curtail useless consumption

    Andy Lopez Memorial Burned Down, Mothers In White To Demonstrate January 7

    By Shepherd Bliss

    In the dark, early hours of January 2, a fire destroyed the Andy Lopez Memorial. By that afternoon over two-dozen people were already rebuilding the Memorial, including neighbors and youth at the one-acre vacant lot where the 13-year-old Lopez was killed October 22 by sheriff's deputy Erick Gelhaus

    Topi Pahno Na Pahno

    (Wear the Cap or Not)

    By Braj Ranjan Mani

    Whether you wear the cap or not, keep the mind open.

    High in the sky or low on the ground, keep the heart open.

    If you're good and truthful, why don't you go all the way.

    Against every wrong keep the revolution alive

    Kashmir: Still A Nuclear Flash Point

    By Ishaq Begh

    Sufferings of innocent Kashmiris must be kept in view for a permanent and humanitarian resolution of Kashmir dispute, so that the whole population of sub continent may breathe easy and no threat to humanity may find a way to proceed. Its vulnerability and a threat for the whole humanity has been acknowledged by many leaders of the world, especially US President Bill Clinton, who named Kashmir as a nuclear flash point between two nuclear powers. India as well as Pakistan has to estimate the importance for a peaceful negotiation on Kashmir, then this battle field may act as a bridge of friendship between them

    Open Letter To Markanday Katju, Chairperson, Press Council of India :

    Non-Publication of A News-Item - Workers March To Parliament

    By Some Members of Catalyst Study Circle

    It is with dismay we, readers from Tamil Nadu of esteemed English Daily Newspapers (print version) like The Hindu, The Times of India, New Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle etc., from Tamil Nadu want to bring to your notice the lack of coverage of a news , which we have come to know through social networking sites, about 2 Lakh workers 'March to Parliament' by 11 central trade unions on 12.12.13 that has not been given any coverage on 13.12.13 in Tamil Nadu at least in Chennai based print version Edition. This seems to be also true with all mainstream English TV media Channel

    04 January, 2014

    2013: Another Year Of Slaughter In Iraq Claims

    The Lives Of At Least 21 Media Professionals  

    By Dirk Adriaensens

    In Iraq , at least 404 media professionals have been killed since the US invasion in 2003, among them 374 Iraqis, according to The B Russell s Tribunal statistics. The impunity in Iraq is far worse than anywhere else in the world. None of the journalist murders recorded in Iraq in the past decade has been solved. Not a single case of journalists' killings has been investigated to identify and punish the killers

    Will Lebanon Survive 2014? Should It?

    By Franklin Lamb

    Another week, another terrorist bombing. It's beginning to look a lot like that here in Lebanon these days. Another apparent suicide bomber detonated a car rigged with explosives in the southern suburbs yesterday killing at least five people and injuring at least 77. The health ministry released a statement just a short while ago reporting that an additional 67 people were treated in hospitals for wounds and released, while 10 people remained hospitalized with more severe injuries

    Top 10 Proofs People Can Be Completely Manipulated Without Hypnosis

    By David Swanson

    People have been dying since before recorded history, and yet only those who pretend to believe nobody dies can be considered serious, honest, upstanding folk. That there's another longer life helps us not worry so much about getting screwed during this one. Perhaps it also helps us in allowing our "representatives" to routinely end the lives of so many foreign, and thus ignorant, people

    The Ambani Car And The Immunity For The Privileged

    By Vidyadhar Date

    The fact is that the rich and arrogant are playing havoc on our roads. But a concerted effort is made by the car lobby to blame pedestrians. A short film shown by a prominent TV channel during the current safety week showed a pedestrian coming under the wheels of a car allegedly because of his own fault

    Child Abuse At The Vavuniya Children's Home And The Lack Of

    Prudent And Independent Action By Governmental Institutions

    By Women's Action Network

    At a time when the Sri Lankan government claims to be on a path of peace and development post war and calls Sri Lanka the wonder of Asia in international forums, it is imperative that the violence that is taking place against women and children is stopped, especially violence against women and children from minority communities

    Weeding A Field: The Importance Of Self-Examination

    By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

    This weeding of a field is what every individual should do with regard to his own self. In the terminology of the Islamic law or shariah, this is called muhasabah. As in a field where crops grow along with weeds, whenever one obtains something good, along with it a 'weed' begins to grow, all on its own, from inside. It is important to be aware of the presence of this 'weed' and to remove it from inside oneself and throw it away. If you do not do this, you will face the same predicament as a field that is left without being weeded

    03 January, 2014

    Iraq Slides Toward Civil War

    By Bill Van Auken

    Heavy fighting erupted Thursday between Iraqi government troops and Sunni militants who seized large parts of Fallujah and Ramadi, two cities in Iraq's western Anbar province that were at the center of the armed resistance to the US occupation a decade ago. The renewed fighting came as figures released by the United Nations and other agencies indicated that the 2013 death toll in Iraq has risen to its highest level since the US military "surge" of 2007-2008

    'The Country You Destroyed': A Letter To George W. Bush

    By Ralph Nader

    Did you mean the "timeless principles" that drove you and Mr. Cheney to invade the country of Iraq which, contrary to your fabrications, deceptions and cover-ups, never threatened the United States? Nor could Iraq [under its dictator and his dilapidated military] threaten its far more powerful neighbors, even if the Iraqi regime wanted to do so

    Civil Liberties Lawyer Lynne Stewart Wins "Compassionate Release" After Four Years In Prison

    By Fred Mazelis

    Lynne Stewart, the 74-year-old veteran civil liberties lawyer serving a ten-year term on trumped up charges of aiding terrorism, was granted "compassionate release" this week and returned to her home in New York City

    Building Creative Commons: The Five Pillars Of Open Source Finance

    By Brett Scott

    This is an article about Open Source Finance. It's an idea I first sketched out at a talk I gave at the Open Data Institute in London. By 'Open Source Finance', I don't just mean open source software programmes. Rather, I'm referring to something much deeper and broader. It's a way of framing an overall change we might want to see in the financial system. To illustrate this, I set up an analogy between computer systems and economic systems, and I then explore what financial 'code' might be. I then sketch out the five pillars that could underpin an open finance movement

    Seedbombing: Applying The Principles Of Permaculture To Finance

    By Brett Scott

    We need to constantly create portfolios of alternatives and throw them into society, learning from what works and what doesn't. That's how great institutions like Ecology Building Society got started - a group of people with an idea went ahead and just did it. These solutions are often small, but that's the point. We don't want to replace one monoculture with another monoculture. The ideal is to create a rich, responsive jungle of creative and resilient services, rooted into the reality of their local context

    A Legal Call To Arms To Remedy Environmental And Climate Ills

    By Fen Montaigne

    You cannot look a child in the eyes and ignore their climate future. And whatever you think may be the disagreement in science about the pace of change, the consequences, and so forth, the warnings are so grave that we have to acknowledge our children's future is at stake

    The Story Of Gaza

    By David Swanson

    Young authors of fiction from Gaza, some of whom say they are finding Palestine on the internet while unable to see it exist in reality, have just published a collection of stories, written in English, marking the five-year anniversary of the 23 days from December 27, 2008, until Obama's inauguration, during which Israel bombed the people of Gaza far more heavily than usual

    Kashmir: Article 370 And Hermeneutic Violence

    By Prof. Hameedah Nayeem

    The last nail in the coffin of integrationists is not that it could be dissolved only by a constituent Assembly which does not exist any longer but that Article 1 of the Indian constitution which defines the territory of Indian Union, is subservient to Article 370 in case of Kashmir besides other articles like 253, read with 246etc which provide for Kashmir's secession from Indian Union. Once Article 370 is taken away from the constitution, Article 1 will cease to be applicable to J&K state!

    Need for Legislation Against Human Surveillance Growing

    By Syed Ali Mujtaba

    The order by the Union Cabinet to probe into the alleged snooping on a young woman by Gujarat Police in 2009 at the behest of former state home minister Amit Shah has triggered a debate over surveillance of individual and has also raised moral, ethical and legal questions surrounding it

    The Ban On Alcohol Advertisements Is Futile As Long As This Hypocrisy Exists

    By Sukant Khurana

    In India there is a ban on alcohol advertisements in mass media. Whether there should be a ban on alcohol products or not, involves nuances missed by people on either side of the argument. Here, I am not arguing about the utility of the ban. I am urging an immediate removal of the hypocrisy surrounding the current incarnation of the ban. I am urging to make the ban effective, if the ban has to be kept in place

    02 January, 2014

    Over 10,000 Killed In Iraq In 2013

    By Jason Ditz

    2013 ended with well over 10,000 dead, and 1,180 killed in the month of December alone. The toll is the worst since 2007. If something isn't done to calm the tensions, 2014 is going to be the same, only more so

    2014: Failure Of Palestinian Authority, BDS Success To Continue

    By Ramzy Baroud

    2013 was a year in which the so-called peace process charade was allowed to continue, leading Palestinians on yet another futile journey of broken promises. Meanwhile, the Israeli colonial project in the West Bank and East Jerusalem carried on unabated. But it was not entirely a year of doom and gloom either, for the global boycott campaign (BDS) has taken off like never before, surpassing the capricious Palestinian leadership and its confined political platforms

    Israel "Tried To Brainwash Us,"Says Druze Pioneer Who Refused Army Service

    By Patrick O. Strickland

    Several Palestinian citizens of Israel from the Druze religious community are in prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli military

    Observations From Occupied Palestine: Gaza

    By Eva Bartlett

    The manufactured layers of crisis rendering life in Gaza utterly unbearable, and dangerous, have continued to escalate while at the same time, the media black-out on Gaza continues. From my experiences in the Strip, including meetings with the different water, sanitation, health and agriculture officials, I learned that the current 80% dependence on food aid could be reversed, unemployment rates lowered, and a decent quality of life possible if, and only if, the blockade is lifted, exports and freedom of movement allowed, and Israeli attacks on farmers and fishers halted

    Capitalism In Crisis: Who Are The REAL "Takers"?

    By Bernard Weiner

    Capitalism is in crisis across the globe. When both the President of the United States and the Pope take out after its worst manifestations within days of each other, you know there's an internal time-bomb inside this dysfunctional economic system

    US-Beholden Australian Government Banned & Australian Media Censored

    US Whistleblower Philip Agee

    By Dr Gideon Polya

    The New Year release of formerly secret Australian Government documents sheds light on the US , Australia , UK and French persecution of American whistleblower Philip Agee whose book "Inside the Company. CIA Diary" exposed US CIA involvement in corruption, political subversion, torture and deadly terrorism in Latin America

    Mothers In White In January 7 Direct Action

    By Shepherd Bliss

    Mothers in White plan to converge on the regular meeting of the governing Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for a peaceful, dignified action on January 7, Tuesday, at 1 p.m. They demand justice for 13-year-old Andy Lopez killed October 22 by sheriff's deputy Erick Gelhaus, who claims he thought the boy's toy rifle was a real gun

    2013: Another Hard Year For American Muslims

    By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

    Like the previous years since 9/11/2001, life was not so pleasant for the American Muslim community which genuinely gains strength from the principles of freedom, liberty and equality on which this great nation was founded

    AAP Has Come: aap ne bulaya kis liye

    By Willy

    Watch out 2014 national elections, the ground has been prepared by AAP. They are here to put a spanner in the bi-polar joke being played on the Indian citizens for long by the Congress and BJP. The communal-secular cards will blow off. Don't be surprised if AAP takes strong positions on other issues plaguing the nation like nuclear power, mining, land displacement and Armed forces special powers

    01 January, 2014

    Biggest Threat To World Peace: The United States

    By Sarah Lazare

    Over 12 years into the so-called "Global War on Terror," the United States appears to be striking terror into the hearts of the rest of the world. In their annual End of Year survey, Win/Gallup International found that the United States is considered the number one "greatest threat to peace in the world today" by people across the globe

    'Worst' Of Climate Predictions AreThe Most Likely

    By Jon Queally

    Groundbreaking research on cloud behavior and global warming says 'catastrophic' increase of 4°C or more by 2100 should be expected

    From Egypt To Afghanistan : Who Is My Enemy?

    By Hakim & Sherif

    Who is my enemy? Satan? Terrorists? 'The other person' of 'another' faith or ethnicity?

    Why Activism Needs The Sacred

    By Carolyn Baker

    Cherishing the sacred in our activism and in our visions of revolutionized communities and cultures increases the likelihood that we will resist from our hearts and not simply from our heads. As a result, the new paradigms out of which our visions are realized will engender authentic transformations with more enduring resilience as opposed to reinventions of formerly oppressive systems

    Every Person Has A Name

    By Neve Gordon

    In Israel illegal immigrants from Africa are not given even the basic human right of a name

    http://www.countercurrents.org/


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