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Dear Reader,
PIL - Public Interest Litigation - is perceived as a potent weapon where “any member of the public or social action group acting bonafide” can invoke the Writ jurisdictions of the High Courts or the Supreme Court seeking redressal against violation of legal or constitutional rights of persons, who due to social or economic or any other disability cannot afford to approach the Courts.
The recourse to PILs has been on the rise, year-on-year, reaching more than 1.13 lakh petitions to the apex court in 2021 alone. However, there is a growing perception that this facility for calling upon the highest judiciary to intervene in critical public causes has been reduced, more and more, to “politics and optics”. The Supreme Court Observer examines how far PILs have strayed from their original objective.
The Chenab Valley is a distinctive cultural and linguistic region within the greater Jammu division. However, in recent decades, the Valley’s linguistic traditions have been eroded, at once endangering its history, folklore and traditions. Kashmir Observer reports on the decline of the region’s uniqueness and its neglect; and emphasises the need for reviving the rich diversity and identity of languages.
The breakdown of another tradition, the natural cohabitation code in the human-animal-environment ecosystem, has seeded the rise of viruses like the Coronavirus and, now the Nipah virus. The current outbreak of Nipah in Kerala, the fourth instance of its kind since 2018, is worrying because, while not being as infectious as Corona, the severity of the symptoms and the risk of fatalities are far greater. Keraleeyam Masika explains the history and cause of the virus, and what needs to be done to combat it.
And, Article 14 reports from Lakhpadar in Odisha, a region that houses half of India's bauxite reserves, on the government’s crackdown on anti-mining protestors — with the arrest of more than two dozen, including a global environment-prize winner. It tells us about the longstanding standoff between Adivasis and the state’s efforts to acquire traditional lands for mining in this mineral-rich region of Odisha.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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