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Indian Judiciary: Chalenges of Future

CJI: Executive’s tendency to ignore court orders a worry    Dhananjay Mahapatra / TNN / Dec 27, 2021,

unless there is cooperation and assistance from both the executive and legislature, justice to people cannot be ensured by the judiciary single-handedly.

 “A popular majority is not a defence for arbitrary actions taken by a government. Every action is mandatorily required to comply with the Constitution. If the judiciary does not have the power of judicial review, then the functioning of democracy in this country would be unthinkable.”

“Courts do not have the power of the purse or the sword. Court orders are only good when they get executed. The executive needs to assist and cooperate for the rule of law to prevail in the nation. However, there appears to be a growing tendency to disregard, and even disrespect court orders by the executive,” the CJI said.

“There is a need to liberate the institution of public prosecutors. Total independence must be granted to them and to make them answerable only to the courts. Historically, prosecutors in India have been under the control of the government. Hence it is not a surprise that they do not act independently. They do nothing to prevent frivolous and non-deserving cases from reaching the courts,” he said.

Full lecture: https://www.youtube.com/embed/5f15_-vtz4E?start=1565&end=3185 &

https://www.youtube.com/embed/5f15_-vtz4E?start=4058&end=17549  

Comment.

 

Farmers, Economists & Democracy

Farmers, Economists & Democracy ||| Parakala Prabhakar Dec 22, 2021

 

There is an insidious project underway with regard to the now repealed Farm Laws. The ruling party, an influential section of our economists, a large and vocal section of the urban middle class, and the mainstream media are stealthily, but effectively, pushing a narrative. In this Episode Dr Parakala interrogates this narrative and shows that the farm laws are merely aimed at accelerating market dynamics in the sector without addressing the core issues that plague the agriculture sector in the country. And shows how this narrative's understanding of agriculture merely as an economic sector, the peasant as only an economic actor and food as nothing but a tradable a commodity is completely flawed.

 

Auroville Protests

Protest Over Felling Of Trees In Puducherry Dec 9, 2021 
In Puducherry's Auroville, protests are being held against a road project. The protesters  want the plan altered. 

Agitators:  "one is a low lying area, which is at the head of a watershed..so  where we need to capture water, we need to have plantation that makes the water percolate.. 

The foundation says "four trees for every tree uprooted will be planted:  It says that " a feeling of entitlement which has slowly creeped up in the community.."  

Comment: Sound much like the "andolanjeevi jibe.  I thought entitlement, and participation in plantation and community affairs is a part of the ideals of such an alternative community.   

See this anonymous note:  6th Dec. 2021

We are writing to you with a great sense of urgency from Auroville to bring your attention to its current crisis. Auroville has been an inspiration for thousands of Ecovillages and ecological projects and practices across India and the world. But over the last few days it has descended into a spiral of violence. Forests, people's homes and community processes have been bulldozed.

Over the weekend there have been nightly raiders on youth housing and police aggression, today this was followed by bullying tactics involving a crowd of local villagers. Residents and government representatives used to operate in a delicate balance of power, enshrined in the Auroville Foundation Act. This balance is gone. The central government has appointed members who wish to fast track urban construction at the cost of people’s participation and ecology.

External communication has been forbidden by a gag order, but there is a website where residents are sharing updates: https://standforaurovilleunity.com/

Please read the press release below to get the context. Besides impacting the forests and water resources, this regressive step undermines the very Charter of Auroville, which gives power to the people to come together in a spirit of consultation and collaboration, and build ‘The City of Dawn’ based on unity and consensus.

7th Dec 2021

The police action a second time didn't happen as feared due to pressure from all sources. But the central govt is doing everything to take over Auroville with its puppets. 
Through its puppets and destroy the grassroots democracy the city is based on. All planning and implementation has become top-down now.

 On line petition https://www.change.org/sosauroville 

Post by Ranjan:  Wouldn't sign a misled petition that goes against the vision of Roger Anger and Mothers vision for a world city, misled by a group uninformed youth. It is sad to see that the place we have enjoyed bonhomie and pizzas was built in a zone that was not in the master plan of the city!!  Ensuring Roger Angers vision and Mothers dream, has not been an easy path, and it doesn't seem to going fwd either.
Hope it gets sorted soon

https://www.auroville.info/ACUR/masterplan/index.htm 

Post by Bharat: Having read both the petition and Ranjan's comments re Auroville's 'master plan', I have endorsed the petition, primarily to support the rights of the resident community at large to take its own decisions, without external coercion and the inexcusable, unilateral, 'midnight action'.

Post from GS: 15th Dec. 2021 .Freedom of expression, self-governance and rights of nature are under threat from authoritarian take-over in Auroville. Auroville has been a site for practical ground testing of non-violent systems for food, energy, education, health, architecture, economics and governance for decades. It has been a hub for various alternative movements in India and has inspired thousands of young Indians to walk the path less travelled, think out of the box and challenge the status quo. But it stands to be taken over by authoritarian forces aligned with a dogmatic approach to town planning.  .. We need your solidarity urgently. Auroville does not belong to anyone in particular. It belongs to you too 

Auroville Residents Continue Resistance Against Road Development | The Wire Explains https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tunPpWbvxCM  Dec 16, 2021 The experimental town of Auroville, Located in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu, along the Puducherry border, which is premised on the ideas of freedom, peace and tranquillity is in the midst of a crisis. The international township, Auroville, is a human experiment where people are supposed to shed their race, nationality, religion and caste and attempt to live in harmony.
But that harmony has been seriously disturbed. Currently, its residents are protesting against the crown road project