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Curator Ranjit Hoskote Resigns from German Arts Panel Due to Row Over 2019 Statement Critical of Israel https://thewire.in/the-arts/curator-ranjit-hoskote-resigns-from-documentas-finding-committee-over-anti-semitism-allegations Hoskote’s resignation is the latest in a string of escalating scandals that have followed an anti-BDS resolution passed by the German parliament in 2019, with artists and curators increasingly finding themselves targeted by weaponised accusations of anti-Semitism.

my signature on a petition circulated by the Indian Cultural Forum and dated August 26, 2019, protesting a discussion hosted by the Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai, on “Leaders’ Idea of Nations: Zionism and Hindutva.” The invitation for this event presented a portrait of Theodor Herzl, the founding figure of Zionism, alongside a portrait of V. D. Savarkar, a founding figure of Hindutva.

My reason for signing this petition was because the event clearly posited an equivalence between Herzl and Savarkar, and was intended to develop intellectual respectability for an alliance between Zionism and Hindutva. I found this highly ironic, since Savarkar was known to be an admirer of Hitler and openly expressed his admiration for Nazi ideology and methods, which he proposed as a model for a Hindu-majoritarian India to follow, especially with regard to the treatment of the religious minorities.

No member of the German commentariat who denounced me has asked herself or himself why the Israeli Consulate General thought it appropriate to equate Zionism with Hindutva in the first place.

 Adani Group advisor’s presence on Environment Ministry’s expert committee flags conflict of interest
Janardan Choudhary, an advisor to Adani Green Energy Limited, was also reportedly part of a meeting in October when a project by the company came up for evaluation https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/opposition-parties-slam-government-over-reported-appointment-of-adani-energy-advisor-on-environment-ministrys-committee/article67531668.ece Mr. Choudhary clarified to the Press Trust of India (PTI) that while he had attended the October 17 meeting, he had refrained from participating in the session focusing on AGEL’s Tarali project. The minutes of the meeting, perused by The Hindu, show that he participated in the meeting on October 17 “via video-conferencing” but was absent on October 18. The records, however, do not suggest that he recused himself from the meeting.

.. A senior official in the Ministry, familiar with the procedures around EAC proceedings, told The Hindu on condition of anonymity that having members affiliated to industry in the EAC committees was not out of the ordinary and an accepted practice. This was because their practical experience was “invaluable” in ascertaining the impact of projects. However, all members had to declare their affiliations and recuse themselves from matters that could conflict with their position. Such recusals were expected to be noted in the minutes of the meeting, and this has been an established practice in the past. “It was possibly an oversight but this would require an explanation,” the official noted.

Priyanka C of Shiv Sena said: “If an ethics committee can hold an elected member of parliament guilty for sharing email by calling it a national security and conflict of interest issue, how is a person working as an advisor to a private company, a company that has pending approvals in MoEFs EAC be allowed a seat on the EAC itself?

Modi Has “Killed the Constitution By a 1000 Cuts”, Whilst Many Were Asleep, Others Complicit https://youtu.be/sLRO4qs6Q-Q?t=80 The Wire

One of the foremost scholars of India’s constitution and its democracy says the first Modi government (2014-2019) is guilty of “killing the constitution by a thousand cuts” whilst the second Modi government has taken the process insidiously further in significant ways. Prof. Tarunabh Khaitan adds that many of India’s political parties and institutions have “sleep walked into (Modi’s) authoritarianism” whilst others “are complicit” in Modi’s undermining of democracy. He says many people “didn’t realize it was happening” whilst “huge swathes of constitutional machinery” were aware but let it happen.

Killing a Constitution with a Thousand Cuts: Executive Aggrandizement and Party-State Fusion in India Law and Ethics of Human Rights https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID3646238_code1023159.pdf 

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