|
Dear Reader,
Nothing reinforces the fact that caste remains one of the defining identities in India as much as the advent of elections when all possible cleavages are sought to be taken advantage of. Mojo Story travels to Gujarat, on the eve of assembly polls, to find that caste, 75 years after India’s freedom, continues to rule. As a tool for power, discrimination, atrocities, and even restricting public services. Even the gods have not been spared - separate entrances and sanctum sanctorums for different communities in the same temple.
The unseemly sight of legislators switching sides, political horse-trading and defections, have become so much of a norm that not even an eyebrow is raised to contemplate the consequences. This almost blatant lack of ethics and the even more inexplicable acceptance of these shenanigans by the citizens, The India Forum says, cuts at the core of Indian democracy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to look at the role of political parties and “how they are organised and re-examine their working”.
The Citizen reports on the Tharu Adivasis from the core areas of the Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh, on how the tribal communities live as the “friend of the forest”, with no man-animal conflict reported for many years now, and how their aspirations and spirits are dampened by the attitude and scorn of the forest department.
And, almost a month ago, The Probe reported how nearly 500 farmer families have not been compensated for the land acquired nearly eight years ago by the Defence Estates Department (DED) in Karewa Damodar, near Srinagar Airport. Following the publication, the army leadership in Kashmir met the families and assured them that their rights will be respected and the compensation paid.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
|
