A port of no return: In Great Nicobar Island, a port was won, a wildlife sanctuary lost Pankaj Sekhsaria https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/wildlife-sanctuary-great-nicobar-island-9499941/
a category of land labelled by Indian law as coastal regulation zone ( CRZ)IA and second, the environmental clearance granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change ( MOEFCC) to a Rs 42,000 crore transshipment port in Great Nicobar Island's Galathea Bay. Coastal areas that are notified as protected areas ( wildlife sanctuary and national park), with mangroves, corals, turtle- nesting beaches, seagrass beds and nesting grounds of birds among others, are included in CRZ- IA . Significantly, they are out of bounds for large construction projects such as the port in question in Great Nicobar Island. The NCSCM, National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management ( NCSCM) hence, concluded that no part of the project area is falling under CRZ- IA.”
The turtles still nest here, the mangroves still stand, the megapodes still forage and breed here and 20,688 coral colonies still flourish in the adjoining waters. This is still CRZ- IA, but now that the port has been approved, this cannot be IA. It should never have been IA in the first place. The cart was unfortunately before the horse all along but this has been corrected now.
introduction to VS and its work:
1. Alternatives Transformation Format
https://vikalpsangam.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Alternatives-framework-7th-avatar-post-VSCG-for-public-circulation-17.11.2023.pdf
2. Search for Radical Alternatives
https://vikalpsangam.org/wp-content/uploads/migrate/Resources/alternetivesframeworkbookletrevisedfinal1512.pdf
3. People's Manifesto 2024
https://vikalpsangam.org/article/vikalp-sangam-general-assembly-to-release-peoples-manifesto-2024/
4. Reports on Sangams
https://vikalpsangam.org/article/vikalp-sangam-reports/
The aftermath of the political crisis in Bangladesh has once again made the Hindu community in the country a soft target. The student protest quickly became an excuse for Islamists to inflict violence against Hindus. The declining Hindu population, which was 7.95 per cent in 2022, is a clear indication of the tragic plight of the community. https://theprint.in/opinion/attacks-on-hindus-in-bangladesh-show-deep-hatred-india-must-provide-refuge/2225699/
As a Pasmanda Muslim from India, I often see exaggerated claims about the plight of Indian Muslims, suggesting that we are on the brink of genocide under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. This claim has persisted for the past decade, only to be proven as fear-mongering. This makes me wonder why the historical genocide and ongoing oppression of the Hindu population in Bangladesh receive so little acknowledgement. Despite more than 200 attacks on religious minorities, including Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, and damage to about 20 temples since 5 August, the intelligentsia and global news coverage have portrayed the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus as just another case of minority oppression. This oversimplification does a disservice to the victims.
Each act of oppression has its own root cause and deserves to be discussed on its own merits. There is an undeniable underlying hatred toward the community, and it is crucial to understand where this sentiment stems from.
by Amna Begam
16/08/2024