As Swartz fought for, what we ideally need is government information in the public domain and people’s personal data being secret.

https://thewire.in/tech/aaron-swartz-and-his-legacy-of-internet-activism 

Aaron Swartz died 10 years ago, driven to suicide by prosecutorial overreach of US attorneys trying to convict him for 35 years in jail for downloading scientific journals in bulk at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Swartz was a technology genius, who championed the cause of open knowledge and open internet. He helped create Rich Simple Site and Creative Commons, and was the co-founder of reddit and digital rights organisation Demand Progress. Beyond the technology contributions, Swartz helped liberate tons of information from government databases and create open access libraries and projects.

In Swartz’s words:

“Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world’s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitised and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You’ll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier.”

Across the world, at present, tech companies have taken over control of the information and internet infrastructure. They have co-opted words of internet communities to suit their narratives. In the name of openness and building Digital India, personal information has been commodified. This commodification of information is what Swartz was warning against, how the powerful are taking control of information that should belong to the people. People who understood this fought back against this very idea of gatekeepers of knowledge and information.

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by  Srinivas Kodali

SONG : HILLE LE JHAKJOR DUNIYA at WALK OF HOPE 2015 -16  https://youtu.be/RHCiocHGHvY?t=120 - Manav Ekta Mission Aug 11, 2016

MUSIC OF HOPE, a music concert by the INDIAN OCEAN BAND which took place on the 27th of February 2016, to promote the Walk of Hope - A padayatra led by Sri M from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, which commenced in Jan 2015 and concluded in April 2016, with the purpose of promoting oneness, peace and harmony amongst the people of India

 Walk of Hope: Step by step, humanity brings people together March 19, 2016 https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/sri-m-walk-of-hope-step-by-step-humanity-brings-people-together/ Sri M’s Walk of Hope began in Kanyakumari on January 12, 2015, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, and will conclude in Srinagar in May, reaching out to 10 million people en route. 

Sri M's 'Walk of Hope' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir reaches Delhi https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sri-ms-walk-of-hope-from-kanyakumari-to-kashmir-reaches-delhi/articleshow/51147205.cms 

spreading the message of interfaith harmony, sustainable living, community health, equality, women’s empowerment and education. After having walked more than 5,600 km and having traversed six states, since setting out from India’s southernmost point on January 12, 2015, the walkers have reached Delhi.

https://walkofhope.in/

Gautam Adani's Mega Port Project Stalled As A Fishing Community Protests  https://www.ndtv.com/business/gautam-adanis-mega-port-project-in-trouble-as-a-fishing-community-protests-3545347 
The Adani conglomerate plans to send heavy vehicles to the port on Friday after the court this week said vehicle movement should not be blocked.  November 23, 2022 On the main road to billionaire Gautam Adani's planned Vizhinjam mega port on the southern tip of India, a shelter built by the coastal region's Christian fishing community blocks the entrance, preventing further construction.

Across the street, supporters of the port including members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party and Hindu groups have set up their own shelters.

 Each day, the protesters and port supporters blare music from loudspeakers and chant slogans. Prakash R describes the situation as a standoff between "people of the sea", who are mostly Christian and make their living from fishing and "people of the land" who are predominantly Hindu.

Comment: 

This article reads more of a religious war than one that has pointed merits and demerits of the Adani Mega Port. This kind of news further polarises citizens rather than bringing them together to protect the landscape  .  There must be one voice against such a project/s. Divided voice may not get desired results. Adani port has already acquired huge land in the surroundings area with the help of both the government. A state wide solidarity and non violent protest should be planned.

The church is now in the forefront of the agitation. But there are other people who have been protesting for years. Coastal erosion has increased significantly since the construction began. Apart from environmental and social issues, the CAG itself has found the project to be economically unviable.
The agreement is a complete sell off to Adani.
Of this 7000+ crore project, Adani will be investing just above 2000 crores(obviously, that will be funded by our banks for him). And Adani will have 100 percent revenue from the project for 15 years. On 16th year, the state will get 1%, on 17th, 2% and so on upto 40th year when the state will get 25%
More importantly, the port will need huge quantities of boulders that will be mined from the Western Ghats.

Scrap Nanar oil refinery project in Konkan coast  https://act.jhatkaa.org/campaigns/scrap-nanar-oil-refinery-project-in-konkan-coast 

The gram panchayats of 14 demarcated villages adopted a resolution together demanding the refinery project to be stalled while localities took to the streets to protest the development project in favor of Konkan coast's environment. The oil refinery project was scrapped in 2019 following vehement opposition from local leaders, farmers, fishermen, environmentalists and residents.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/standing-firm-state-govt-to-go-ahead-with-oil-refinery-in-ratnagiri-protesters-served-notices-8241586/  Standing firm: State govt to go ahead with oil refinery in Ratnagiri, protesters served notices..  November 9, 2022. It is going to be the single-most biggest investment project in the state. D Phadnavis, Dy CM 

Six leaders of anti-refinery project movement, namely Satyajit Chavan, Narendra Joshi, Amol Bole, Nitin Jathar, Deepak Joshi and Satish Bane have been served externment notice by Ratnagiri police and they have been asked to present their side in next three days.

“We have a right to protest. People do not want an oil refinery in this area and we are only voicing their concerns. How can we be served these notices?” asked Chavan.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/konkan-locals-protest-against-proposed-mega-oil-refinery-project/article65274842.ece “We came to know that the Maharashtra Chief Minister has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving his approval for the new location at Barsu-Solgaon instead of the originally planned Nanar. Our opposition to the project is on a bigger issues concerning the environment and the possible damage this project would do to the Konkan coastline. We will not let the project move forward,” Satyajit Chavan of the Konkan Vinashkari Prakalp Virodhi Samiti said. March 30, 2022

https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/oil-refinery-sparks-protests-over-livelihood-concerns-in-ratnagiri/   Coming together under the banner of the , an opposition committee, Rajapur taluka’s residents have raised several concerns over the project, one of which they claim is that this is a highly polluting ‘red category’ project which the government claims is ‘green’.

Apart from health-related issues caused by the project, villagers are concerned that the polluting gases can harm the mango cultivation in the region which witnesses (Rs. 22 billion) for the district. They also claim that the project will be a threat to the 30,000-year-old prehistoric geoglyphs, which are art or motifs on stones, gravel, earth and other elements of the landscape.

https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nanar-refinery-maharashtra

Minimum government? Yes, of course. Minimum and limited to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, both who had taken the Constitutional oath, plus the PMO and his two brothers in arms who didn’t need to take the oath. The other names that took oath while getting aboard the Government’s cabinet are there, at best, as masquerades or robots. Indeed, it might be a good IQ test for us to name the minsters and their respective ministries, without looking at GK notes or seeking the google guru!

https://countercurrents.org/2022/10/maximum-government-minimum-governance/ 

Maximum governance? Well, yes, in terms of absolute control over the governing institutions, machineries and treasuries.

In April 2019, the Prime Minister stated that the country still doesn’t know the real meaning of minimum government and maximum governance. And as the country awaited the new definition with bated breath – it rapidly emerged that in real-time situation, the terms actually meant “maximum government” and “minimum governance”.

That is exactly what we are facing and experiencing – a maximum government, maximum through exercising total control and practicing minimum governance. One can site any number of examples as evidence and proof but when all institutions that matter and actually execut governance lie shattered, in despair and in virtual chain and fear, what is left to govern? All that the government has to do is to govern the police, the CBI, the ED, and they in turn then execute governance for it. Likewise, simply govern the judiciary, the election commission, the media et.al., not forgetting the foot soldiers, and they do all the governing as per your specific wishes. 

by Biju Negi

24/10/2022

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https://science.thewire.in/society/patriarchy-origins-evolution/ 

• Contrary to common belief, research shows that the patriarchy isn’t some kind of “natural order of things” – it hasn’t always been prevalent and may disappear eventually.
• Hunter-gatherer communities may have been relatively egalitarian, at least compared to some of the regimes since. Female leaders and matriarchal societies have always existed.
• Norms, attitudes and culture have a huge effect on behaviour. They can and do change over time, especially if the underlying ecology or economy changes.
• As men and women both increasingly generate their own wealth, the old patriarchy is finding it harder to control women.

The patriarchy, having been somewhat in retreat in parts of the world, is back in our faces. In Afghanistan, the Taliban once again prowl the streets more concerned with keeping women at home and in strict dress code than with the impending collapse of the country into famine.

And on another continent, parts of the US are legislating to ensure that women can no longer have a legal abortion. In both cases, lurking patriarchal beliefs were allowed to reemerge when political leadership failed. We have an eerie feeling of travelling back through time. But how long has patriarchy dominated our societies?

The status of women has been a long-standing point of interest in anthropology. Contrary to common belief, research shows that the patriarchy isn’t some kind of “natural order of things” – it hasn’t always been prevalent and may in fact disappear eventually. Hunter-gatherer communities may have been relatively egalitarian, at least compared to some of the regimes that followed. And female leaders and matriarchal societies have always existed.

by Ruth Mace

20/10/2022

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सेंचुरी श्रमिक संघर्ष के 5 वर्ष । 5 Years of the #Century #Labor #Struggle
Bahujan Sanvad
Oct 18, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz4Ga-VcUFc  live at 6 pm 18th Oct 2022
5 साल पहले यानी कि 17 अक्टूबर 2017 को बिरला मैनेजमेंट के द्वारा सेंचुरी मिल को अवैध तरीके से दो-दो बार फर्जी बिक्री कर बंद कर दिया गया था। न मजदूरों की सहमति ली गई थ और न ही राज्य सरकार से अनुमति ली गई थी। इतना बड़ा भ्रष्टाचार जिस पर सरकार और प्रशासन मौन है। यह आजादी के अमृत महोत्सव की एक तस्वीर सेंचुरी आंदोलन है।
1000 से ज्यादा मजदूर बेरोजगार हुए, और तब से लेकर आज दिनांक 18 अक्टूबर 2022 तक अहिंसा, त्याग, समर्पण का चुनौतीपूर्ण संघर्ष सत्याग्रह रोजगार आंदोलन के रूप में अभी निरंतर भी जारी है।

Struggle of the Century https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQADySVmXrU Durgash Khavse put their agitation in perspective.. a development story, where basic land of farmers and tribal is taken for factory projects, and when the market does it cycle, the land finds new uses, and workers get abandoned even by the Unions.. Narmada Bachao Andolan has spoken about the Development model.. Vikas Chahiye, Vinash Nahi.

This Century & The Workers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK3gILQtF-Y Nov 21, 2020
The story of the Centyry Satyagraha Andolan, goes on as the Lockdown sees more and more Laws being changed just to make it easier for a certain type of economy, where stack holder value rather than social goods and livelihood decide if a factory should be closed and capital moved to more business friendly regimes.. apparently labour laws are outdated because investment will not come our way...

Why it leaves me, a Left-Liberal, at odds with me, a Progressive Muslim  Javed Anand https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/supreme-court-verdict-on-hijab-split-wide-open-8207010/

Justice Dhulia noted the main thrust of his judgment was that the entire concept of essential religious practice was not essential to the dispute. The high court took a wrong path. According to him, it is ultimately a matter of choice and Articles 14 and 19. “The foremost question in my mind was the education of the girl child. Are we making her life any better?” He also held the view that the judgment in the Bijoe Emmanuel case “squarely covers the issue”. This refers to the 1986 ruling of the apex court that upheld the fundamental right of three school-going children from the Jehovah’s Witness sect to stand respectfully but not join others in singing the national anthem during the school assembly as it conflicted with the tenets of their faith. ..

The Liberal Me has no doubt that Justice Dhulia’s views are in consonance with constitutional values. But the Progressive Muslim Me fears that were a larger bench to subsequently rule accordingly, it would effectively strengthen the regressive sections among Indian Muslims...As is public knowledge, cutting across sectarian divides — Sunni, Shia, Barelvi, Deobandi, Wahhabi, Salafi, Maududian — virtually the entire Muslim clergy in India is of the view that hijab (niqab, burqa) is mandatory in Islam. The abstract principle of a woman’s freedom to choose, I fear, will feed into the it-is-mandatory argument; act as convenient cover for Islam’s patriarchs to keep, even push, women behind the veil...

Two, do Muslim girls studying in Muslim-run schools, 3-year-olds included, have the right to choose or they simply must conform?

In the event that the March order of the Karnataka High Court is struck down by a larger bench of the Supreme Court in the coming period, we might ponder on what students committed to Hindutva politics will make of the right to choose verdict. Classrooms becoming the new arena for competitive communalism? Muslim girls in hijab, Hindu boys in saffron scarves? Diversity, anyone?

Hijab Judgment of Supreme Court | सर्वोच्च न्यायालय का हिजाब पर फ़ैसला | Faizan Mustafa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83qGIZE0z70
Oct 14, 2022 Some comments on Youtube: Matir Manush We thank Dr. Faizan Mustafa as usual for his dedication to explain the matter of law to us with commitment and devotion. Justice Gupta expressed his opinion on the practice of Hijab with sincere reasoning. But we believe he failed to realize a simple matter.
Wearing Hijab is not harming or hurting anybody. It is not even disrupting the uniformity in the education places. But banning hijab is surely damaging one's freedom of personal choice. Banning hijab is shattering one's dream of education.
..justice Dhulia's verdict protect the integrity of our constitution. His judgement promotes the right of education of the girls. In other words the judgement of justice Dhulia is helping our girls to acquire knowledge which is very important for the nation. Our girls are a vulnerable group of people in the country. The judicial system should not and must not increase their vulnerability.

Rohit gupta New doctrines are laid down like trust doctrine, cross obligations and tolerance, laying down new dimensions of constitutional interpretation.
The question is of acoustomed to other way of living and there are countries, who have no school dress

Yazdy Palia I disagree with the line of reasoning. In their enthusiasm, the petitioner, the respondent and the judges, have not realised, that, the only issue in this case is
1. Does an institution, in India, has the right to frame their own rules?
2. Do the students and their supporters, have the right to impose their will on the institution created by individuals to educate children? It appears that all the three are competing with each other to violate fundamental rights.