Thursday, January 7, 2021
THREE journal publishers have filed a case in Delhi High Court for blocking Sci-Hub and Libgen in India. These two websites provide free downloads of research publications and books to research scholars and students. This is not an attack on pirate sites, as the publishers claim but a war against students and researchers in India, who do not have access to these high-priced journals. The case has been filed in Delhi by knowledge monopolies who have locked the results of science—both natural and social sciences—behind their paywalls, and now insist that everyone pay through their nose for access.
One of the four mercenary soldiers granted a pardon by Trump is Nicholas Slatten, who was sentenced to life imprisonment after exhaustive investigations by the US agencies and the Iraqi government. The killing by Blackwater mercenaries was made public by Private Chelsea (Bradley) Manning, through the release of logs of military reports to WikiLeaks.
A set of three laws on agriculture passed by Parliament in September has led to thousands of farmers staging protests on the outskirts of Delhi over the past two weeks. Most of these agitating farmers are from Punjab and Haryana as they are the biggest beneficiaries of the government's minimum support price (MSP) regime.
Several Indian-American protests were held in support of the farmers, with rallies being held outside Indian consulates in San Francisco, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, Houston, Michigan, Atlanta, and Washington, DC. Several American Congressmen from both the Republican and Democratic parties voiced support for these protests, including Josh Harder, TJ Cox, Doug LaMalfa, and Andy Levin. In December 2020, seven Congresspersons wrote to the Secretary of State, asking him raise the issue of the farmers' protests with India
The 2020 Indian farmers' protest is an ongoing protest against the three farm acts which were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The acts have been described as "anti-farmer laws" by many farmer unions, and politicians from the opposition also say it would leave farmers at the "mercy of corporates". The government, however, maintains that they will make it effortless for farmers to sell their produce directly to big buyers, and stated that the protests are based on misinformation.
Amid tight security, thousands of farmers today started their tractor-march from protest sites near Delhi border points against the three agriculture laws. Bharati Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) chief Joginder Singh Ugrahan said that farmers participated in the march with over 3,500 tractors and trolleys.
A day before the government’s eighth round of talks with the protesting farmer leaders, SAD leader and former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the Centre has lost the trust of the entire farming community and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should directly talk to farmers who are registering their protests at the doorstep of the national capital, news agency PTI reported.
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
The 'Delhi Chalo' farmers' protest at border points of New Delhi has entered the 43rd day today. Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, are staging a sit-in protest along Delhi borders. The protest started on November 26. The farmers are demanding a complete rollback of the new farm reform laws and a guarantee on the Minimum Suppo
Security was increased along the borders of the national capital ahead of a tractor rally of farmers on Thursday morning. The farmers will hold the rally at 11am at four borders of Delhi in protest against the Centre's agriculture laws.
Tractor march live updates: Farmers hold rally in Haryana's Palwal - The Times of India: Security was increased along the borders of the national capital ahead of a tractor rally of farmers on Thursday morning. The farmers will hold the rally at 11am at four borders of Delhi in protest against the Centre's agriculture laws.
The farmers are adamant that they will not accept anything less than a repeal of the laws. They also want a law that guarantees the minimum support price. The government, which says the laws will benefit farmers by removing middlemen and enable them to sell crops anywhere in the country, has blamed the opposition for the protests, saying they are inciting farmers.
Camping on the highways at the Haryana-Delhi border for over 40 days, braving severe cold and rain, farmers have said their protest will only intensify in the coming days. The rain came amid a cold wave in the National Capital Region last week, taking temperature down to 1.1 degree Celsius, the lowest in 15 years in January.
The Delhi Traffic Police has been tweeting updates on which roads to avoid. It said Singhu, Auchandi, Piau Maniyari, Saboli and Mangesh borders are shut for traffic. "Please take alternate route via Lampur Safiabad, Palla and Singhu school toll tax borders. Traffic has been diverted from Mukarba and GTK road. Please avoid Outer Ring Road, GTK Road and NH-44," the traffic police tweeted.
A 135-km six-lane arc that partially surrounds the National Capital Region and acts as a high-speed thoroughfare for cargo trucks will be full of tractors today, driven by farmers who have been camping on the highways in and around Delhi in protest against new farm laws. The tractor rally, called by some 40 farmer unions, will run on the Western Peripheral Expressway that starts at Ghaziabad and ends in Palwal. The police have asked people to avoid this expressway, which makes the other half of Western Peripheral Expressway, making a circle around the National Capital Region or NCR.
Washington, United States: Four people died on the US Capitol grounds Wednesday and 52 people have been arrested, after supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump swarmed inside the building as the lawmakers were counting Electoral College votes to certify President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President elect Kamala Harris' election victory.
Several massive farmers’ actions have taken place across the country in the last two weeks under the AIKSCC banner. On December 16, a massive 45,000-strong farmers’ rally of West Bengal was held at Kolkata and it was addressed by AIKS general secretary, Hannan Mollah and other state leaders. In Kerala, massive dharnas of thousands of peasants are being organised at the state capital Thiruvananthapuram and in all district centres. At Bengaluru in Karnataka, from December 16 to 31, a continuous dharna has been organised of peasants, workers, students, youth and women. Similar dharnas are being held in several centres in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Jathas will now be held in many states to take the demands to the people.
In spite of lakhs of fighting farmers involved in the siege of Delhi, the movement has been entirely peaceful and democratic. The BJP-RSS has tried to send agent provocateurs to stir up trouble and violence at all the five borders from time to time, but they have been immediately identified, isolated and handed over to the police.
One of the most heartening aspects of the mobilisation at all five borders of Delhi is the very large proportion of women and youth. Their enthusiasm about the struggle and their anger against the BJP regime and also against the corporates allied to it is evident at every step. Like the earlier placards saying, ‘We are Farmers, Not Terrorists’, they are now wearing new placards saying, ‘Farmers Lives Matter’, ‘Farmers Against Corporates’, ‘Down with Modi-Shah-Ambani-Adani’, ‘Stop the Loot of India’, ‘Prepare for the Second Freedom Struggle’, and many other attractive and imaginative slogans relating to the four main demands of the struggle.
After the completion of one month of the farmers struggle on December 26, it has intensified much further. Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have freshly joined the siege of Delhi at the Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur, Palwal and Shahjahanpur borders, blocking all the national highways there. The mobilisation of the AIKS and of other organizations at all five borders is rapidly increasing.
This inordinate delay was by itself a callous and criminal activity on the part of the heartless Modi regime, considering that lakhs of farmers were camping on the borders of Delhi in the bitter December cold for over a month. Over 40 farmers have been martyred on the Delhi borders, and two have committed suicide in an attempt to make the ‘blind see and the deaf hear’.
THE Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala will soon complete five years in government and the state is moving towards assembly elections. In the campaign for the assembly elections in 2016, the LDF presented a detailed manifesto to the people. Now that the government has implemented its promises to the people, the LDF is holding consultations on what can be done for the people of Kerala in the next five years.
THE All India Agricultural Workers Union(AIAWU) will observe protests on January 6-7 throughout the country. The ongoing struggle against three farm laws and Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2002, is continuing since last one month and farmers are sitting at Delhi borders at five major national highways which connect Delhi to rest of India. Apart from the peasants, a large section of the workers, including tenant farmers, other cultivators and landless labourers, dependent directly and indirectly on agriculture, are part of this struggle.
The bank accounts of Reliance Communication, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel -- all owned by Anil Ambani -- have been classified as "fraud" the State Bank of India has told the Delhi High Court, opening up possibilities of a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The court has asked the bank to maintain status quo on the accounts.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Farmers' Protest News LIVE Updates: The 'Delhi Chalo' farmers' protest at border points of New Delhi has entered the 42nd day today. Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, are staging a sit-in protest along Delhi borders. The protest started on November 26. The farmers are demanding a complete rollback of the new farm reform laws and a guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MS
The farmers are adamant that they will not accept anything less than a repeal of the laws. They also want a law that guarantees the Minimum Support Price. The government, which says the laws will benefit farmers by removing middlemen and enable them to sell crops anywhere in the country, has blamed the opposition for the protests, saying they are inciting farmers.
In Punjab, Reliance Jio went to court, seeking government intervention as no arrest was made for the destruction of hundreds of its cellphone towers, allegedly by protesting farmers. Jio owner Mukesh Ambani is seen as one of the major beneficiaries of the farm laws. The farmers have accused the government of working for the benefit of corporates at their expense.
Agriculture minister Narendra Tomar "clearly said that the laws will not be repealed, he even told us to approach the Supreme Court for repeal of the laws," said Sarwan Singh Pandher of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, who attended the meet. "We urge the youth of Punjab to prepare for a long haul. We will take out a big procession on Republic Day," he added.
Through one of the largest strikes in decades witnessed by India, the farmers are demanding the repeal of the three contentious laws. The laws essentially change the way India’s farmers do business by creating free markets, as opposed to a network of decades-old, government marketplaces, allowing traders to stockpile essential commodities for future sales and laying down a national framework for contract farming.
Thousands of farmers protesting near Delhi against the Centre’s three farm laws have decided to postpone their tractor march by a day as sporadic rain hampered their plans to stage a protest. The tractor march, now scheduled to be held on January 7, is a glimpse of how farmers are planning to intensify their protest after the government on January 4 refused to repeal the laws.
Tens of thousands of protesting Indian farmers are camping along at least five major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi and have said they won’t leave until the government rolls back new laws on agricultural reform that they say will drive down crop prices and devastate their earnings ******************************Indian farmers' protests – in pictures
Just five days after schools and colleges reopened in Karnataka, a number of teachers have tested positive for Covid-19 creating a sense of fear among parents and students. In Belagavi district alone, 18 teachers have tested positive for Covid-19. The government had mandated that all teaching and non-teaching staff must undergo a Covid-19 test before educational institutions reopen.
35 Panjab University students have written an open letter on the farmers’ stir to the chief justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, against attempts being made to paint the protesting farmers as “separatists.” The plea has been converted into a public interest litigation (PIL) and is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court in the coming days.
‘Desh Jagran Abhiyan’ for two weeks to start from tomorrow with protests intensifying throught the country, said Swaraj India’s Yogendra Yadav. “We have decided that on January 7, we will take out tractor march at four borders of Delhi including Eastern and Western peripheral. This will be a trailer for what lies ahead on January 26,” he added, reported ANI.
Krantikari Kisan Union President Darshan Pal said that ‘Azad Hind Kisan Diwas’ will be celebrated on January 23, on the occasion of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary. Farmers said they would boycott Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in National Democratic Alliance (NDA), reports ANI.
Vaidushya Parth 05 Jan 2021 parliament. In India, both Houses of Parliament are meant to act as checks and balances so that no branch of the government becomes too puissant in command and authority. The Rajya Sabha was meant to be more balanced and deliberative than the Lok Sabha and be free from the siege of electoral politics. But this hasn’t happened in recent years as the government has tried to bamboozle its way through and prevent the Upper House’s scrutiny of Bills passed by the Lok Sabha, writes VAIDUSHYA PARTH A formidable sinister interest may always obtain the complete command of a dominant assembly by some chance and for a moment, and it is therefore of great use to have a second chamber of an opposite sort, differently composed, in which that interest in all likelihood will not rule.”– Walter Bagehot, British essayist In the Indian constitutional scheme of things, the work of Parliament is to make laws (legislation), check the work of the government (scrutinising the role of the executive), and to conduct debates on current issues of public importance. Generally, the decisions made in one House have to be approved by the other. In this manner, the two-chamber system performs as a check and balance. This set-up was introduced to ensure that no branch of government becomes too puissant in command and authority. CONSTITUTIONAL SCHEME OF BICAMERALISM This bicameral legislature is the first line of checks against any arbitrary executive action. The basis of an Upper House and its position and function in parliamentary democracy has always remained a subject of passionate and fiery debate. In the accounts of Constitution-making, there were occasions when statesmen, writers and thinkers expressed antithetical views on the efficacy of an Upper House. Some held that a Second Chamber was destructive of “the will of the people”, illustrated and manifested through the publicly elected Lower House, while others underlined the need for such a House as “a safeguard against the tyranny of a single-chamber Legislature”. In the Constituent Assembly, during a discussion on the need for a Second Chamber, divergent views were expressed. The following reasons were cited in favour of it: (a) the requirement for a second look at Bills which may be the product of electoral equations or the tyranny of the popular majority; (b) the Second Chamber is more deliberative and nuanced; (c) the Second Chamber acts as a check on hasty and ill-conceived legislation; (d) it strengthens the federal structure. The Lok Sabha, in effect, if not in form, begins to serve as an executive, rather than a legislative (which it is ideally supposed to be) organ. The Lower House, inter alia, is, therefore, swayed by public passions, engrossed in ugly equations of electoral politics and eventually results into the epitome of majoritarianism. On the other hand, the great French constitutional expert, Abbe Sieyes, who rejected the concept of a Second Chamber, said: “If a Second Chamber dissents from the first, it is mischievous; if it agrees, it is superfluous.” Responding to this criticism, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, said in the Constituent Assembly: “The [second part] of the criticism of Abbe Sieyes is undoubtedly valid because it is so obvious. But nobody has so far [endorsed the first part of the criticism] of Abbe Sieyes.” THE LOGIC OF CHECKS & BALANCES The Lok Sabha (the Lower House) is a publicly elected chamber. The political party with the largest number of seats there forms the government. It alone is responsible for making decisions on Money Bills. The Rajya Sabha can consider these Bills, but cannot block or amend them. The Lok Sabha, in effect, if not in form, begins to serve as an executive, rather than a legislative (which it is ideally supposed to be) organ. The Lower House, inter alia, is therefore swayed by public passions, engrossed in ugly equations of electoral politics and eventually results into the epitome of majoritarianism. Therefore, without effective bicameral legislative checks, the government of a parliamentary constitutional republic, at best, becomes an elected autocracy, and the sacrosanct “rule of law” takes the face of the notorious “rule by decree”. The Rajya Sabha is supposed to check and scrutinise the Lok Sabha, which in disguise is nothing but a chamber of the prime minister along with his council of ministers. To counter this, the Rajya Sabha, the second House, is independent of the elected Lok Sabha, and more balanced and deliberative in nature. Free from the siege of electoral politics, it is supposed to check and scrutinise the Lok Sabha, which in disguise is nothing but a chamber of the prime minister along with his council of ministers. This is especially so when it is occupied with a thumping majority, and in the wake of anti-defection laws, it disallows intra-party dissent. The Rajya Sabha, therefore, is made to play an important role in checking and balancing the actions of the popularly elected government. Its creation is a counter to what James Madison saw as the “fickleness and passion” that could absorb the publicly elected House. He noted further: “The use of the [Upper House] is to consist in its proceeding with more coolness, with more system and with more wisdom, than the popular branch.” The framers of the Indian Constitution consequently attempted to erect the government – following the Westminster model — on the edifice of various limits, controls and checks between the executive and the legislature. More importantly, this separation of power was not intended to be a mere matter of form but of substance. MONEY BILL – A TOOL OF SABOTAGE In recent years, the government, however, bamboozled this separation of powers by bypassing the Rajya Sabha through the instrumentality of the Money Bill (s). Notably, certifying a Bill as a Money Bill, which otherwise is a normal Bill, has serious consequences, as it rules out the security of the Rajya Sabha. Of late, there have been continued and deliberate attempts to prevent the Upper House’s scrutiny of Bills passed by the Lok Sabha, including the Electoral Bonds Scheme. In recent years, the government (executive), however, bamboozled this separation of powers by bypassing the Rajya Sabha through the instrumentality of the Money Bill (s). Notably, certifying a Bill as a Money Bill has very serious consequences, as it rules out the security of the Rajya Sabha. The manner adopted in passing these Bonds is symbolic of its arbitrary provisions. The Act was introduced as a Money Bill in the Lok Sabha and passed by it after rejecting five amendments proposed by the Rajya Sabha despite completely lacking the character of a Money Bill. At the outset, the law related to Money Bills needs to be clear. Article 109 of the Constitution lays down a special procedure with respect to Money Bills and Article 110 lays down strict criteria as to the categorisation of a Bill as a Money Bill. Clause (I) of Article 110 defines what will constitute a Money Bill. However, as per clause (2), the mere inclusion of some provisions relating to the matters listed in Clause (I) cannot transform the character of a Bill from an ordinary one to a Money Bill. Even more recently, the pull of the Upper House was bypassed in a distinct fashion by passing the controversial three farm Bills through a voice vote despite all repeated demand for division of votes. This can only be termed as a “fraud on the constitutional values”. In the present case though, even those “provisions” were absent. The question, therefore, of whether a statute violates the provision of the Constitution is one of illegality and open to judicial review. It is another matter that the next election cycle is around the corner — so many of them have passed ad interim – yet, the constitutional challenge to electoral bonds is waiting to be heard before the Supreme Court after nearly three years. Even more recently, the Upper House was bypassed in a distinct fashion by passing the controversial three farm Bills through a voice vote despite repeated demand for division of votes. This can only be termed as a “fraud on the constitutional values”.
The Lok Sabha, in effect, if not in form, begins to serve as an executive, rather than a legislative (which it is ideally supposed to be) organ. The Lower House, inter alia, is, therefore, swayed by public passions, engrossed in ugly equations of electoral politics and eventually results into the epitome of majoritarianism.
Donald J. was in India when the Delhi riots broke out, despite attempts reportedly made to get them going after he had left the country. Does not look like anybody need have bothered. The US president is no stranger to setting his bully boys on largely peaceful protestors as in Portland, Oregon. He wouldn’t have minded.
Hundreds of people, who had gathered outside the London Central Criminal Court, celebrated the denial of the US plea to extradite Julian Assange. The verdict was a relief to Assange’s family and supporters There were also voices of caution due to the judge accepting most of the prosecution’s arguments.
Monday, January 4, 2021
Sunday, January 3, 2021
Tractor march on Jan 6, 26, if demands not met: KMSC "Our demands are the same as before-repeal the three farm laws & guarantee MSP. If our demands aren't met, then, we'll hold tractor march on Jan 6 and also on Jan 26," said Sukhwinder S Sabra, Joint Secy, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Punjab ahead of seventh round of talks with government.
Ahead of their talks with the government, the farmer leaders reiterated their demands on Sunday. “Our demands remain the same. The farm laws must be repealed. The two amendments need to be rolled back and the government must listen. Our agitation will continue,” Jageer Singh Dalewal, a Bharat Kisan Union member said. They even threatened to shut malls and petrol pumps if the Monday’s talks with the Centre fail. The Agriculture Ministry officials too worked over the weekend to prepare for the next round of talks. An official said the government is “extremely concerned” and wants a “positive outcome”.
HOPE FLOATS, RESISTANCE THRIVES. THEY ARE GOOD ARMOUR TO MEET 2021 WITH. Then, there is poetry. There is verse and songs from the protests. Or Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise”, William Ernest Henley’s historic “Invictus” or then come home to Sahir Ludhianvi, whose birth centenary it is in 2021. An icon among Indian poet-lyricists, he wrote 50 years ago in the poem “Khoon Phir Khoon Hai”:
A Year of Losses but Hope Floats, Resistance Rises | NewsClick
“Zulm ki baat hi kya, zulm ki aukat hi kya,
Zulm bas zulm hai, aaghaaz se anjaam tak,
Khoon phir khoon hai, so shakl badal sakta hai,
Aisi shaklen ke mitaao to mitaaye na bane,
Aise shole ke bujhaao to bhujaaye na bane,
Aise naare ke dabaoo to dabaaye na bane”
(What is oppression, what is its standing,
Oppression is but oppression, from beginning to end,
Blood is still blood, it can take myriad forms,
Such forms that cannot be erased,
Such embers that cannot be extinguished,
Such slogans that cannot be repressed.)
The author is a senior Mumbai-based journalist and columnist who writes on politics, cities, media and gender. The views are personal.
