KEEP THE SEDITION LAW IN ABEYANCE: SUPREME COURT RULES IN A HISTORIC ORDER  11 May 2022 https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/breaking-supreme-court-urges-centre-states-to-refrain-from-registering-firs-invoking-section-124a-ipc-198810

"We hope and expect Centre and State Governments will refrain from registering any FIR, continuing investigation, or taking coercive steps under Section 124 A IPC when it is under reconsideration. It will be appropriate not to use this provision of law till further re-examination is over".. The Court also held that those already booked under Section 124A IPC and are in jail can approach the concerned courts for bail. It has also been ruled that if any fresh case is registered appropriate parties are at liberty to approach courts for appropriate relief

On Sedition Law, Government's Big Climbdown In Supreme Court https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbhJnlJ_rZg May 9, 2022

Two days after firmly defending the country's colonial-era sedition law and asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the pleas challenging it, the government on Monday did an about-face, saying it has decided to review the legislation. In a new affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the centre said, "In the spirit of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (75 years of Independence) and the vision of PM Narendra Modi, the Government of India has decided to re-examine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A, Sedition law."

Comment: SS:  The sublime intention so very beautifully expressed is meant only to kill the current petition. For now, nothing more, nothing less."In view of this, the government “ respectfully submitted that this Hon’ble court may not invest time in examining the validity of Section 124A once again and be pleased to await the exercise of reconsideration to be undertaken by the Government of India before an appropriate forum where such reconsideration is constitutionally permitted"Ananthakrishnan G  May 10, 2022 - https://indianexpress.com/article/india/will-reconsider-provisions-of-sedition-law-centre-tells-sc-7908127/

"To Buy Time": Trinamool's Mahua Moitra Shreds Centre's New Plan On Sedition Law  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3C3C7DnP8w May 9, 2022 Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, one of the petitioners who called for the colonial-era sedition law to be scrapped, told NDTV today that the government's sudden move to decide on a review of the law is "just a ploy to buy time". The matter, she said, deserves to be referred to a seven-judge bench.

Is It Time To Scrap Sedition Law? Top Judge & Advocates Opine | News Today with Rajdeep Sardesai  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgAF2pQgAl0 May 10, 2022
Former Judge Pradeep Nandrajog, Senior Advocate in Supreme Court Dushyant Dave, ASG Satya Pal Jain (https://youtu.be/FgAF2pQgAl0?t=496) and Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud over the brewing issue of scrapping of sedition law in India.

Does India Really Need Sedition Law? | Left, Right & Centre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7TNEdmTqX4  May 8, 2022

Ahead of the crucial hearing in Supreme Court on the petitions challenging the Sedition law, the Centre has defended the colonial-era law saying there is no need to scrap it. Is sedition law essential or is it now archaic? Is going against the dominant narrative seditious and do sedition laws have a place in modern democracy?

India’s Sedition Law: Will the repressive law survive?  May 4, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl7JIAt0g90 

On May 5 2022, the Supreme Court of India will be hearing multiple pleas challenging the validity of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code or sedition law. Will this contentious law finally be done away with? With the final hearing on the matter ready to take place tomorrow, that remains to be seen.

https://countercurrents.org/2022/05/covid-19-when-will-the-profiteering-of-private-hospitals-be-curbed/

The first and second waves of the Covid pandemic in India saw health personnel in both government and private hospitals risking their lives to save patients, often working late hours day after day. For this, the Indian public will always remain indebted to them for their selfless service.

However, the stories of Covid patients being fleeced by private hospitals that are now emerging are enough to put all of humanity to shame.

“The pain caused by living is more than that of dying. Life has become harder in middle age than the end of life.” These were the sorrowful words shared by Sakharam Shinde, 62, a Covid patient who returned home from a private hospital last year.

A retired teacher of a government school in Kolhapur, Shinde had spent all his savings during hospitalisation. According to his family members he alleged that the bill that the hospital had given him in the name of treatment was not justified. The capital which he had saved for the future of his children and family, had to be given to the hospital. Within a few days after coming home he died due to weakness.

Many such tales of exorbitant hospital charges bankrupting and breaking the spirit of Covid patients are now emerging through complaints filed by non-government groups in Maharashtra with the state administration. The groups are actively participating in the audit process with the victims and in some places, district and tehsil level officers of the government are also playing an active role in public interest.

Have is a look at some of the cases of complaints against private hospitals charging exorbitant bills.  Identities of the patients have been hidden to safeguard their interests.

Case One:  “I am a professor in a private college. I was getting only half salary at the time of the Covi lockdown. It was becoming difficult to run a family with this incoe. So, at the same time we were doing other income generating work. In the second wave my close friend died. I too got Covi. At the beginning my treatment was done by the doctors of the village. But, later my condition became serious. My father, brother and friends had to struggle hard to get an oxygen bed for me. With no improvement in health, the cost increased. Family and friends together deposited Rs 5 lakh. It’s true, I got healed, but a mountain of debt hit me. I came to know that many people had complained about the private hospital overcharging. I also complained, but the hospital refused to return the money. Instead, I was called by two doctors, they told me that they saved my life and now I am withdrawing the money from their pockets. They created emotional pressure. I insisted on my complaint. Seeing this, they took the help of some goons. The goons first called me and then threatened me at home. At the same time, with the help of tehsil, district and state level organizations, I kept fighting my case with truth. In the end, the hospital had to return Rs 79,000.”

Case Two: “I am left alone with my child. My in-laws have already broken up with me. I live in the room next to my mother. I run a small grocery store. My brother helps in everything. I don’t go out alone. We tried very hard to save my husband from Covid. But, he died. I was left with the debt of hospitalisation.

Some good people helped us. We sent them the bill on WhatsApp. They said that the hospital has taken an additional Rs 12,000 from me. On their request, I went to the government office the next day with the bill. Government officials have issued notice to the private hospital. The hospital said they did not charge extra. Then those good people contacted the authorities and explained to them the rules and regulations of the government. They told the officials that the husband of this woman had died leaving behind a small child. I fought too. When the authorities again sent the notice, the hospital people returned Rs 12,000.

Case Three: “ Dadi (Grandma) was admitted first with Covid and then Tai (Aunt) also started having trouble. Both were in the hospital. Grandmother died. We were looking after Tai’s two young children. Tai’s condition was getting worse day by day. Changed three to four hospitals. I ran out of money to pay the bills. Nobody gave loan. The mortgaged fields were the only source of livelihood for the family. I also got Covid. We were at home in Shirur in Pune district and Tai was at Hadapsar hospital in Pune. We sold land and kept sending money over the phone. One day the phone rang. Tai had made us all orphans. Now Grandma, Tai and the land – all are gone.

I met many such people inside the hospital. Many people who could not save the lives of their loved ones in spite of all their efforts were scared and angry. They have become dependent, indebted. Someone came to the hospital with his mother, someone was sitting with his children. The wife, who had lost her husband, was telling the hospital people that she spent lakhs of rupees to save her husband’s life. Husband is no more. Now give me my money back.”

In May 2020, the Maharashtra government had issued a rate control order on 80 per cent of beds for treatment of Covid in private hospitals under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. In some districts, auditors were appointed by the District Collector and Municipal Commissioner for compliance. In the districts where there was public awareness about the rate control order, a demand was made to conduct an audit of the cost of Covid treatment before sending the patient home. Some hospitals charged money according to the order, while some collected huge bills in the name of various types of treatment. The common man endured all this, because it was his feeling that his patient should be saved. All these scams have left many families in debt and homeless. Farmers became agricultural labourers. In some districts, government officials expedited the audit work, but in others efforts were made to evade responsibility.

Who will stop private hospitals from duping patients in such a dire situation like the Covid pandemic period? Taking lessons from the experience, the government should at least bring such unregulated hospitals under control. A firm step should be taken to provide free and quality health care to the citizens.

Shirish Khare has been associated with rural journalism for a long time and has been continuously reporting on the economic, social and health impacts of rural life during the Corona pandemic.

https://countercurrents.org/2022/05/why-we-need-feminist-leadership-for-climate-justice/

It is increasingly clear that climate change is a social justice issue that can be resolved only if global inequalities are addressed. There is a well-documented wealth gap – reflecting historical injustices and unequal power relations – between the nations responsible for emissions and those forced to deal with their harsh effects, which range from flooding to droughts and wildfires.

For all too long, white men in the Global North – largely untouched by the catastrophic realities of climate change – have dominated the climate debate. Those in the Global South, particularly women and Indigenous communities, have been ignored. The result is emissions that are higher than ever and a lack of climate finance to support mitigation and adaptation actions, and loss and damage.

Meanwhile, business-as-usual ‘solutions’, such as carbon offsetting, seem to worsen rather than address global inequalities. Oil giant Shell, for example, plans to offset 120 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from its polluting activities with large-scale tree plantations that are likely to drive land grabs in the Global South.

As Kenyan environment and climate activist Elizabeth Wathuti said:

“If we are serious about tackling the climate crisis we need to start listening and feel the pain of those suffering the consequences already today.”

 by Barbara van Paassen 

06/05/2022

Read more

Mining in 841 hectares of Hasdeo forest will lead to:

1) Displacing 700 Adivasis who have lived in sync with nature for eons

2) Axing of 2 lakh old growth trees in one of India's most biodiversity rich forest

3) Increase in human-elephant conflict

4) Increase in #climate crisis

Please realize, it wont stop at 1 block. It wont stop at 840 hectares.

This movement will decide the future of India, our food and water security.

#SaveHasdeo even if it means our top billionaire will earn a few crores less.

Is violence more natural than nonviolence? http://youtube.com/embed/7H4cw3N1364?start=17&end=117 
What is ahimsa? http://youtube.com/embed/7H4cw3N1364?start=118&end=274

How are ahimsa, justice and politics related? http://youtube.com/embed/7H4cw3N1364?start=275&end=356

Why is ahimsa not a mere tactic for protestors? http://youtube.com/embed/7H4cw3N1364?start=357&end=487

Ahimsa and Justice: http://youtube.com/embed/7H4cw3N1364?start=487&end=605  08:07-10.07

Can Ahimsa help to shape the present and future? http://youtube.com/embed/7H4cw3N1364?start=606&end=745

Ahimsa Conversations Live # 1 : Second Anniversary 

Ahimsa Conversations Montage # 2

Part of article on Congress by Mar 27, 2022 | Prem Shankar Jha ‘Out With the Gandhis’ a Cry of Despair; With No Obvious Replacement, Cure May Be Worse than Disease 

In 2014, the youth of northern India believed Narendra Modi offered them hope of a better, more secure future.. in 2019 they still voted for him because the opposition had offered no alternative vision of the future either. Three years have passed and there is still no clear perception of the threat that a continuation of BJP rule poses to India’s future .– and still no offer of an alternative, better future. So, it is looking more and more as if the BJP will win the 2024 general elections too.

There is an even chance that by 2029 the Indian Union will cease to exist.

Read more …

Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 : Prema Gopalan, Executive Director of Swayam Shikshan Prayog received the Award of Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 from Prof. Klaus Martin Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum at the SEOY 2019 Award Ceremony held at Delhi on October 3 2019, awarded by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation. She was also one of the 40 awardees who have received the award for Social Innovation Driving Change and Transforming Society at the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit (SDI) held in New York on Sept 23, 2019  https://www.sspindia.org/awardsandrecognition/ 

'Social Entrepreneur of the Year' India 2008, Finalist Prema Gopalan Nov 24, 2008 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H6ntLf-9X0 
Founded by Prema Gopalan in 1994, Swayam Shiskshan Prayog (SSP) is building networks of rural social businesses that are co-created by private corporations and women survivors of disasters such as the 2004 Asian Tsunami and the Latur and Gujarat earthquakes (of 1993 and 2001 respectively). With the facilitation of SSP, networks of rural women entrepreneurs have launched retail businesses in renewable home energy products, home groceries and health funds in partnership with BP (previously known as British Petroleum), LIC and others.

Rural Community Leaders Combatting Climate Change  https://vimeo.com/227254208 Swayam Shikshan Prayog, an Indian NGO, trains rural women in entrepreneurship and builds their capacities for marketing clean-energy projects in their communities. Currently, an active network of 1,100 women entrepreneurs is working across 8 districts in India. The women provide a complete ‘ecosystem’ approach as clean-technology users, educators, providers and supporters in their communities, which helps make it easier for people to adopt energy-efficient technologies and products that address climate change.

SSP functions as an “umbrella” organization, a consortium of four social enterprises to execute its activities on-ground. These social enterprises collaborate to form an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.

Through our entities, SSP builds women-led rural markets at three levels:
• We make women part of the rural economy through business-coaching.
• We extend monetary support to rural women foraying into entrepreneurship.
• We create a network of these women entrepreneurs to scale their operations through strategic partnerships between corporate and local women entrepreneurs.

Our entities function independently as sustainable enterprises, managed by CEOs at the helm of business development and operations.

'Silent Majority' Supported the Three Farm Laws: SC-Appointed Committee Report https://thewire.in/agriculture/farm-laws-supreme-court-committee-report-released Anil Ghanwant, one of the three members of the committee, made the report public on Monday.

Statiscally, an overwhelming 85.7% of the farmer organisations the committee directly interacted with lent support to the three controversial farm laws. 

Out of the 266 farmer organisations to whom invitations were sent, the committee could directly interact with only 73 organisations. The report claims that out of these 73 organisations, 61 organisations (85.7%) representing over 3.3 crore farmers fully supported the laws. Four farmers’ organisations, representing 51 lakh farmers (13.3%), did not support the Act. Another seven farmer organisations, representing 3.6 lakh farmers (1%) supported the Acts with some suggestions for modifications. Further, Ghanwat said the 40 unions, which had organised agitations against the laws under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), did not make any submission despite repeated requests.

Ghanwat said the 40 unions, which had organised agitations against the laws under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), did not make any submission despite repeated requests. However, their concerns, as ascertained from media reports and interactions with Government, have been kept in mind by the Committee, while formulating its recommendations,” the report reads, according to the Indian Express.

Comment: But their concerns where not included in the headline,  of the same story.. So going by Ghamwat's stat of 266 farmers who were contacted on 61 organisation came back with a support for the three laws..  means that more than two thirds of farmers organisations boycotted the questionnaire. The report then has an online opinion poll, which asks leading questions.. and of course they say that two third support the black laws. They ignore that fact that while the black laws may enable some thing, it disables and makes difficult hitherto beneficial provisions. It pretends that the only way to be more free and give more options to the farmers is to allow all kinds of elements, like corporates to have a role.. It ignores the responsibility of the State to facilitate good cooperative systems.....

'73 में से 61 किसान संगठन कानून के साथ', SC की बनाई Committee ने किया बड़ा दावा | 5 Ki Baat  Mar 22, 2022
एक साल तक देश की राजधानी की सीमाओं पर कृषि कानूनों के खिलाफ किसान आंदोलन चला. फिर ठीक चुनावों से पहले कानून रद्द कर दिए गए. एक साल तक इन कानूनों की समीक्षा के लिए सुप्रीम कोर्ट की बनाई कमेटी कि रिपोर्ट अदालत के पास रही. उसे ना तो सार्वजनिक किया गया, ना उस पर कोई कार्रवाई हुई.

'जब आंदोलनकारी संगठनों से बात नहीं की गई, तो ये संगठन कौन थे?': किसान नेता Yogendra Yadav 
Mar 22, 2022

सुप्रीम कोर्ट (Supreme Court) की कमेटी और उसके रिपोर्ट पर सवाल खड़े करते हुए किसान नेता योगेंद्र यादव (Yogendra Yadav) ने NDTV से कहा कि, 'सबसे बड़ा सवाल ये है कि आंदोलनकारी संगठनों से बात नहीं की गई. ऐसे में ये 73 संगठन कौन थे, जिनसे बात की गई? कम से कम इस बात से पर्दा तो उठा.'

Comments: AA.. Avik Saha's talk on the report of the committee, I listened to. (In English). He said the committee has gone beyond it's mandate from the Supreme court and made 2 recommendations. 1) Cut down procurement for MSP and 2) Dismantle the PDS and give DBT to ration card holders. If true, these two measures will seriously damage food security.

Why the Supreme Court now thinks it was wrong to claim that reservations undermine the idea of merit  Umang Poddar Jan 27, 2022   https://scroll.in/article/1015729/why-the-supreme-court-now-thinks-it-was-wrong-to-claim-that-reservations-undermine-the-idea-of-merit 
The Supreme Court recently upheld 27% OBC reservations in the All India Quota seats of NEET UG and PG Exams.     the court said that although many want to draw a binary between merit and reservation to say that “reservation is antithetical to establishing meritocracy”, merit “cannot be separated” from existing inequalities in society. The court said that even the drafters of the Constitution recognised this and wanted the idea of social justice to be taken into account while promising equality of opportunity. Finally, it said that backwardness does not disappear merely because a candidate has graduated. While graduation may provide certain “social and economic mobility”, that does not create “parity between forward classes and backward classes”.

Full text of judgement available at:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/13PU9PuLGdk3mqrsBNeSoCvgZ5UDlno77/view ( courtesy the print.in )

Interrogating the false merit-reservation binary https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/interrogating-the-false-merit-reservation-binary/article38379295.ece Yogendra Yadav Prannv Dhawan February 05, 2022 00:02 IST
 February 05, 2022 
The Supreme Court’s recent order advances an interpretation that is consistent with the ideals of equality, social justice

The Supreme Court of India’s recent ruling on an all India quota deserves closer attention for a reason other than its impact on post graduate medical admissions.