1. A People’s Critique-- The Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005

(box)Imagine there's no countries,
It isn’t hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace......

You may say I’m a dreamer,
But I’m not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one- John Lennon

Anti-communal groups, human rights organizations and women’s groups expressed their strong opposition to the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill which the UPA
government recently tabled in Parliament. Earlier drafts of this bill were rejected by these citizen groups, but few of their concerns have been addressed in the Bill which was hurriedly tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Dec 5.

A demand for such a bill had been made in light of an increasing atmosphere of communalisation across the country and particularly in light of the events of Gujarat 2002. On neither front does the Bill deliver.

The Bill does not respond significantly to the criticisms and fears voiced when its first draft was released a few months ago outside Parliament. The government instead appears bent on diluting, even subverting the spirit of one of its most important commitments on being voted to power.

The basic problem with the Bill is with the foundation of objectives on which its entire edifice is constructed. The preamble of the Bill itself states that the Bill aims ‘to empower the State Governments and the Central Government to take measures to provide for the prevention and control of communal violence which threatens the secular fabric, unity, integrity and internal security of the nation and
rehabilitation of victims of such violence’.
What people needed instead was a law that enhanced the powers of citizens in relation to such governments, and not of the governments in relation to its citizens.
They needed a law that did not merely enable their governments to act when communal violence unfolded. They needed a law which made it mandatory for the government to act, and which made failures of these
governments to act, criminal acts for which they can be
charged, tried and punished.
There is virtually nothing in the law that does this; indeed, this is not even the stated intention of the law. That is why this Bill needs to be rejected in its entirety and replaced by a law of very different objectives, which genuinely protects the human rights and security of citizens in communal contexts and enables them to hold their governments accountable for their acts of omission and commission.

The Bill does contain one clause for punishment of public officials who fail to perform their duties.
There are however two fatal catches to this otherwise promising segment of the Bill. It neglects to hold accountable the command authority of elected leaders like the chief minister and home minister for these lapses, and at best can result in the mild punishment of some junior policepersons. Even more fatal is the proviso that no court shall take cognizance of an offence under this section except with the previous sanction of the state government. In the context of state governments with communally driven malafide intent, the chances of even police officials being punished under this clause are very remote.
In any case sections 217 to 223 of IPC cover offences by public servants such as the shielding of criminals, preparing false records, making false report in courts, initiating false prosecutions and allowing criminals to escape.
It is critical that the immunity granted under sections 195, 196 and 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code be omitted in any statute on communal crimes. No junior officer should be allowed to take the defence that he was ordered by his superior to commit the crime. Nor should any commanding officer be allowed to take the defence that he or she was unaware of the crimes that were committed on one’s beat.
ANHAD, HRLN, Jan Vikas. Contact ANHAD 011-23327367 email anhadinfo@yahoo.co.in

For the tribal communities in Kalinganagar in Orissa, the year began with the brutal killings of 12 of their own, simply because they disagreed with the Orissa Government's and Tata Steel's
proposal to set up a massive steel plant on their land. For long, communities displaced for mining and industrialisation have not been adequately compensated or rehabilitated, including by Tata Steel.
Fearing their fate would be the same, the project- affected communities of Kalinganagar wanted to be properly compensated first before being dispossessed.

Tata Steel Ltd (TSL), has been allotted 2400 acres in Kalinga Nagar for the construction of a six million tonne plant. The land that the government purchased at the rate of Rs. 37,000/- per acre in 1994
was sold to the Tata Co. for Rs. 3,35,000 per acre (The current market price ranges between Rs. 5,00,000 to 7,00,000 per acre). It was this dispute over compensation that was on the negotiation table till
Jan.2 and was the reason why the people had assembled-- to prevent the bull-dozers from destroying their houses and taking over their lands that fatal day. On the land-rights question the Adivasis were
in possession of the land making any entry on their land illegal. They were in their right to question the operations of the Orissa Government and Tata Co. on their land on that day.

At the time of the talks, one of the tribals tripped on a string of a dynamite planted by Tata Steel in the football field where people had gathered. The dynamite went off destroying his leg and caused panic. As anger spread, the police started lobbying tear gas shells and also opening fire without warning.
Six innocent bystanders, including women and children were shot through the back, clearly indicating they were retreating. Six injuredwere taken by the police ostensibly to a hospital. But they never
came out alive. Their bodies were returned later and found to be without hands, breasts (in the case of women) and genital organs in the case of men.

Tata Steel has disowned any responsibility in this crime. Sanjay Choudhry, a Tata spokesman has commented in an email: "…industrialization is imminent and the only way to improve the standard of life of all the people of the area. The only issue is that of resettlement and rehabilitation at mutually agreed terms."

To ensure that Tata Steel took some responsibility for the brutal massacre,
in Bangalore, representatives from Environment Support Group, Equations, CIEDS
Collective and various individuals walked into the Tata Steel office to submit a representation on Jan 30- Martyrs Day.

Three children aged 4, 5 and 8, nine women and five men walked into the Tata Steel office in Bangalore peacefully holding placards with messages such as: Tatas: Making Steel out of Blood; Tatas Benefit
over Tribal Rights; Tata Steel: Strength over Justice; Tatas: Look your Hands are Bloody!; etc. The office was filled with over fifty men of Tata Steel who surrounded this group, shouting violently
at the women and children. Tata Steel was reminded that they were well within their rights to call the police if they wished to. Then, two women, three children, and four men were locked in.

Tata Steel employees were repeatedly told that the purpose of this entry into their office was to submit a representation, in protest against the Kalinganagar killings, to a key representative. Eventually, women police were called in about an hour after the protestors had been locked inside and were allowed to go.

A symbolic peaceful protest in memory of the 12 killed in Kalinganagar became an issue, for the people of Kalinagar now proclaim: "We will not allow OUR habitat - land, water and forest-that supports our life- to be overrun by industrialists or the State" .(Shades of ‘Rang de basanti’!!!)
We demand immediate halting of the plant, punish the guilty police and district administration officials and engage in a dialogue with the people. The state should give priority to the life and livelihood of the tribals, dalits & common people and must not hand over land, forest, water and other natural resources to corporate powers.

National Alliance of Peoples Movements, Lok Raj Sangathan, Kashipur Support Group, India Centre for Human Rights and Law, Shoshit Jan Andolan, Initiative, Samajwadi Janparishad, Girangaon Rozgar Haq Samiti, Peoples Political Front, Ladaku Garment Mazdoor Sangh, Narmada Solidarity Group, Zhopadi Bachao Andolan, Hind Navjawan, Chemical Mazdoor Sabha ICHRL" <documentation@ichrl.org>
Environment Support Group Bangalore Telefax: 080-26341977 Email: esg@esgindia.org

 

Kottayam Environmental activist Medha Patkar has asked Left parties to take a firm position against the machinations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monitory Fund (IMF), World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) whose funding programmes ``are aimed at changing our priorities and culture.''

Addressing a public meeting, Ms. Patkar stressed the need to turn to `desi' alternatives wherever possible and pointed out that political and administrative establishments were part and parcel of the globalisation drive. "We may not be able to change it overnight, but it is time to take a stand in favour of `desi' alternatives in our country," she said.

Ms. Patkar said local struggles against exploitation could no longer be seen as micro-level agitations. "They are part of the larger struggle against encroachment on the sovereignty of the nation and the
freedom to take decision on our own terms," she said. She urged people not to give in to the propaganda that `there is no alternative' to the prescriptions of the WTO, World Bank, IMF, ADB and other multilateral
and bilateral lending agencies who are here with “their own agenda of privatisation and maximisation of profit”. By pumping money into India in the name of Urban Renewal Mission or River Linking Projects, they are trying to privatise land and water.

Delhi: Greenpeace, Corporate Accountability Desk and trade unions celebrated President Jacque Chirac's decision to call back the decommissioned toxic aircraft carrier Clemenceau to France. The Clemenceau has become an icon of toxic trade between the developed and developing countries. President Chirac's decision shows how governments, when confronted with the truth and pressurized by public opinion, take corrective action.

" This incident should set the precedent not just for ship-breaking, but for all toxic trade, from electronic waste to biomedical wastes and beyond," said Ramapati Kumar, "With the Clemenceau, both France and India have had a close brush with international law. Although we've successfully avoided a transgression in this case, it nonetheless points to the need for governments worldwide to commit themselves to protecting human rights and the environment, and ensuring that multilateral agreements like the Basel Convention are upheld with the strictest discipline."

"It is a victory for the workers in the ship breaking yards across Asia who will be beneficially impacted by this decision," a CITU spokesman said.

"The French President has eventually capitulated to a demand that the Indian government should rightfully have made, but failed to do. The MoEF, especially, has shown itself up as indecisive and dysfunctional. Instead of fulfilling it's assigned role, the ministry positions itself as a clearing house for industry and has shown that it can no longer be trusted as the custodian of our environment," said Kumar.
Ramapati Kumar, Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner 09845535414
Caption: Greenpeace activists board the carrier ship Clemenceau 50 nautical miles off the coast of Egypt hanging a banner that reads 'Asbestos carrier stay out of India.’Greenpeace was protesting against the decommission of the Clemenceau, which was being sent to India for decommissioning despite widespread outrage at the highlevels of asbestos and other hazardous materials it contains.

Mumbai: Chandrakant Pathak has invented power-generation gadgets tailored especially for rural energy needs. As Pathak's gadgets are gaining popularity in rural areas of Pune district and several neighbouring districts in Maharashtra, state energy development agencies are taking note.
. "Free electricity for farmers is quite an easily achievable goal," remarks Chandrakant Pathak casually, "What is more, the costs too are nominal.". He has invented power-generation gadgets that can be operated manually or by bullock power, and even installed into bullock-cart wheels. He has modified power-consuming gadgets of every-day use, like motor pumps, flour mills and even electric vegetable shredders to run on manual power.
Tailored especially to suit rural energy needs, Pathak's gadgets are recognised and subsidised by the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency, and he has received several awards for his work.
In 1995, Pathak started his own institute, the Modern Technical Centre, in Pune, with the aim of devising gadgets for power self-sufficiency in rural areas.Today, his first bicycle pump has evolved into several varieties of bicycle-operated lift and spray pumps to suit different needs. Some of the pumps are powerful enough to draw water from a depth of fifty feet and pump it up to a height of 100 feet. Anything between 15-40 litres of water can be pumped per minute.
After the bicycle, Pathak turned his attention to the other source of rural power, the bullock, and invented a bullock-cart-mounted and powered 'Jaladhara pump', a mechanical contraption which can be used to spray insecticide and to run four sprinklers simultaneously forspray irrigation. The pump is powered by the motion of the bullock cart, and is mounted on the cart itself, along with a barrel for water or insecticide.
He also found ways to operate other rural machines requiring electricity, like the floor mills, winnowers and threshers on manual and bullock power. He also devised a floating turbine that uses the power of a running river or stream to pump water from the same stream. Generate power, don't buy it, he says.
Run in the same way as the oil-presses of old (Kolhu in Hindi, Ghani in Marathi one of his machines converts the 2 RPM input from a bullock into a 1500 RPM output with the help of a simple gear box.
This machine is extremely versatile -- it can be used to run a fivehorse-power centrifugal pump, and all small machines like a 1 KVgenerator, a flour mill, an air compressor and so on. A single machinecan run the entire water supply system of a small village. Run for two hours, it can keep ten street lights burning for the whole night.
On a sudden inspiration, Mr Pathak landed on the swing "The to and fro movement of the swing can be used to run a piston pump ten times as powerful as a hand-pump," says he. The swing pump is Mr Pathak's latest innovation,and can pump water from a depth of 10 metres and up to a height of 30metres at the rate of 20 litres per minute. Some 10-12 schools in thePune and Ratnagiri districts are using this pump effectively to pump their drinking water. The swing also has great potential in the area of air-compression and power generation, and Pathak is currently exploring these possibilities.
. The bullock energy machine, for example, the most expensive of his gadgets, costs just Rs 20,000. Theproducts further save the farmers a packet in electricity bills in the bargain, have found wide acceptance among the rural people of WesternMaharashtra. What distinguishes Pathak from other inventors is the fact that he has not drawn a patent on even a single one of his inventions. "These machines are all based on very simple principles. I want to spread this knowledge, not hoard it." Recently, at an agricultural fair in Latur, 100bullock power machines were booked by farmers, personally as well as collectively by villages or communities.
His own institute, the Modern Technical Centre, employs 9 people., but for the past two years, the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency has been giving subsidies of 50 per cent on the products. The Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Agency and the Punjab Energy Development Agency are also interested.Contact .Modern Technical Centre is at: 114 Narayanpeth, Kasat Chowk, Kelkar Road, Pune 411030. Tel: +91-20-4452620/4452448.

New Delhi: Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials assure that Delhi has enough water for its residents. The scarcity then is artificial and the result of the theft of public utility supplied water. The leaked water finds itself into commercially bottled drinking water bottles, water tankers and water cans, available round the clock, but of course at a price. The turnover, by all reckoning, is impressive.
The fact is that a powerful nexus of politicians, officials and water traders is actively engaged in profiteering through sale and theft of water. It is this water mafia who in collaboration with the enforcement cell of the DJB is keeping the government taps dry..
After the Delhi government abandoned its plan to privatise the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the next step of the Sheila Dixit government has been to set up an expert committee to examine water sector reforms in Delhi. It has invited Right to Water Campaign, an NGO, which had carried out a robust campaign against the Delhi government's decision to privatise the DJB. The idea that competition in the market forces the private players to provide quality service and the market decides the price of the product is not possible in case of a public utility monopoly. Arvind Kejriwal, president, Parivartan, an anti-corruption group warns, "the privatisation of monopolies can never work. Private sector monopoly can become a great demon and play havoc in the lives of ordinary citizens."
The Delhi water privatisation fiasco holds lessons for the other 20 states and union territories where the privatisation of water boards is in various stages of completion. Water supply in three districts of Karnataka has already been privatised. The experience the world over has proved that water tariffs had shot up wherever water utilities had been handed over to private water companies, be it Manila, Cochabamba (Bolivia), Sofia (Bulgaria) or Valencia (Spain) and the experiment has proved disastrous.
Delhi's problem is not technical. What is needed is mere internal accountability. Delhi has 670 million gallons per day (MGD) of water supply (which would go up to 810 MGD after the Sonia Vihar project). And if divided by the 150 million people, the population of Delhi, it comes to 220 litres per capita per day (almost 11 buckets). No city has this kind of availability of water. Government says that they lose 50 per cent of water. If so, where is this 335 million gallon of water going? If it goes underground, the water table should rise, which is not happening. So where exactly is the water going? Where is this water?
The serious lack of accountability is quite evident in case of Delhi Jal Board functioning. Delhi has been divided into 21 water zones, each headed by an executive engineer who is provided with the fixed amount of water and a budget for his zone. Yet, he is not held responsible for the water/money invested in his zone. There is no functioning bulk water metre in the zones--Who can tell who is getting how much?
- Sandeep Yadav Delhi

26 per cent or about 260 million (193 million in rural areas and 67 million in urban areas) — of Indians are still below the poverty line, according to India's first Social Development Report. Punjab has the lowest incidence of poverty (6 %). Orissa has highest population below poverty line(47%).
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan account for two-thirds of the infant mortality rate in the country .Rural Kerala tops the States in social indicators. In the urban scenario, Himachal Pradesh tops the list. The 21 indicators taken into account while grading the States included demography, health care, education, unemployment, poverty and social deprivation.
Kerala has the lowest infant mortality rate of 11 deaths per 1,000 births. Orissa has the highest IMR of 83 deaths per 1,000 births.
Among disadvantaged classes, the IMR is higher among Scheduled Castes (83). A similar trend is witnessed with regard to the mortality rate of children under five, underweight children, children and women with anaemia.
Kerala has the highest literacy rate of 91%. Bihar has the lowest literacy rate of 48%. Rajasthan has shown a large gap in gender literacy of 32 %age points.
Punjab has the lowest child sex ratio of 798 girls to 1,000 boys.The traditional societies, including tribal communities, have an impressive sex ratio of 975 girls to 1,000 boys (Chhattisgarh).

 

Janaki Devi Award
Smt Chetna Gala Sinha, founder Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank Ltd, Satara District was awarded the Jankidevi Bajaj Puraskar 2005 for Rural Women Entrepreneurs, for successfully developing a culture of micro-entrepreneurship among women in the drought prone areas of Maharashtra. The Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank Ltd founded in 1997 was the first rural women’s bank to get a license from the RBI to operate in Maharashtra. The co-operative bank run by and for women has provided the tools for achieving financial independence and self-sufficiency. The Mann Deshi Umbrella also has two other organizations in its fold: The Mann Vikas Samajik Sanstha which gives scholarships and vocational skills training, and the Mahila Bachat Get Foundation which currently caters to 300 SHGs. The award function was organized by the Ladies Wing of the Indian Merchants Chamber.

Nominations for Outstanding Women Panchayat Leaders 2006

The Institute of Social Sciences seeks nominations for the Outstanding Women Panchayat Leader Awards 2006. These awards were instituted in 1999 to recognize women panchayat representatives' contribution to public life and development of their panchayats. The 2006 awards will be presented on the occasion of Women's Political Empowerment Day Celebration that will be organized in Delhi on April 2-25, 2006. The last date for submission of nominations is 1 March 2006. Contact: Dr. Bidyut Mohanty, Institute of Social Sciences, Tel. (011)26121902, 26121909, Fax: 26137027 Email: issnd@vsnl.com;

Padmashree Award
India's national government recently awarded Sister Sudha Varghese the Padmashri --the country's highest civilian award, -for providing education to girls from the Musahar community in the village of Jamsaut, Bihar. These girls belong to one of the most destitute and marginalised groups in Bihar and Sr Sudha Varghese has been sending girls to school from the Musahar community for 20 years. Her institution, Nari Gunjan, has more than 1,500 girls enrolled and runs over 50 centres.

Oracle Excellence Awards
Twenty-two Indian e-Government projects were declared winners of the Oracle Excellence in e-Governance awards at the Oracle Open World . The 22 award-winning projects included Andhra Pradesh government's the rural e-Seva project, e-Panchayat and the land record management information system (LR-MIS), IT in judiciary, the customs department, the passport division and the computer-aided Administration of the Registration Department (CARD), among others.

Winner of Animal welfare award
The VMAAF awards are an attempt to appreciate the hard work and efforts by individuals and organisations in the field of animal welfare. They are also aimed at sensitising the general public about animal rights and creating a much-needed awareness about animal care. The Venu Menon National Animals Award is the principal award that recognises the work of an individual who has contributed most significantly to the cause of animal welfare
Twenty nine year old Rahul Sehgal gave up a lucrative career in the hotel management industry to devote his time to the care of animals. Within a short span of three and half years, he has helped set up an organisation that has 28 employees, three veterinary doctors and ambulances, has treated over 18,000 animals and birds, and completed over 10,000 sterilisations. He has played an important role in stopping the sale of exotic pets by the Ahmedabad zoo and the passage of a car rally through the prime habitat of the endangered wild ass. In a state that is known more for its extremes, Rahul Sehgal, comes as a breath of fresh air. http://www.vmaaf.org/pages/award_vmaaa.htm
© 1999-2005 VMAAF.. All rights reserved. Contact: vmaaf@yahoo.com.

 

Films
One Show Less - Hindi/19mins/MiniDV/2005
Dir by Nayantara.C.Kotian/National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad/ India. The film won the first prize at the 9th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) in February 2006 and is about the increasing numbers of single screen cinemas that are shutting down all over the country because of the multiplex invasion, depriving the masses of the incomparable experience of watching cinema on the big screen.

Fight for Survival - Gujarati-Hindi/MiniDV/20minutes/2004
Dir: Dakxin Nandlal Bajarange. It won the second prize at MIFF, and is about the Madari community in Gujarat which depends on traditional business of snake exhibition and performance in villages and cities, fairs and haats. However, the Animal Cruelty Act and other animal Acts have made it difficult for the madaris to keep snakes for public performance and it has now become a question of survival for the entire community.

In Search of a Job - Assamese-English/14 minutes/Beta/2005/
Dir:Mrinal Talukdar

Assam has a long tradition of domestic elephants used for logging business for centuries. The 1997 Supreme Court order of banning all sorts of felling of trees has changed the whole scenario. Overnight these elephants and their mahouts have become jobless and helpless as law does not allow transfer or sale of any animal like the elephant.

Research internships
The Center for Civil Society (CCS) organises “Jeevika” with multiple objectives: to take stock of films already made on livelihood issues; to encourage established filmmakers and particularly the youth to find interest in livelihood issues and make documentaries on them; and to provide them a
platform to maximise the impact of their documentaries. CCS is a research and educational think-tank working for sound public policy solutions in the areas of education, livelihood, governance, environment, globalisation and rule of law. CCS is offering research internships for students and recent graduates who are interested in working on related issues. Contact: www.ccsindia.org.

City Farming - film on Urban Agriculture
Duration 16 mins - Produced by Centre for Education and Documentation (CED)
City farming is an innovative technology which deals with farming in urban areas --on terraces, balconies and even on the walls of civil constructions. Dr. R T Doshi has perfected a method of growing fruits and vegetables for domestic consumption, which involves relatively low labour input, organic production methods and very high yields. For a copy, write to nalini@doccentre.org

Namma Kadalkarai, Namma Urimai (Our Coast, Our Right) was screened in various parts of the Tsunami affected areas. CED has edited the film and the new version includes the feedback of people and activists. This film is aimed to educate local communities, promote the right to information, people’s right to know, determine and participate in their own development particularly their re-development/rehabilitation. Contact: nalini@doccentre.org

Film festival on environmental issues
This year's film festival is slated for the first week of November 2006 on environmental documentary films both Indian as well as international made between 2004 -2006. Interested filmmakers contact Mob. 9811864256, Email: pragya@toxicslink.org

International Community Film Festival 2006

Submissions are invited for the Northampton International Community Film Festival 13-16th July 2006, University of Northampton, Great Britain. The Festival showcases the best community film-making from around the world and is looking for short documentary or promotional films that deal with one or more of the festival’s nine themes for 2006:
* Community empowerment projects
* Citizenship and local democracy
* Neighbourhood renewal
* Combating prejudice or discrimination
* Voluntary groups or charities - making a difference
* Building social capital
* Equality and diversity work
* Improving community cohesion
* HIV/AIDS

Films of 8-15 mins, (shorter or longer submissions may also be accepted) must be submitted on Mini-DV tape or DVD and arrive before 24th April 2006. Free festival tickets and bursary opportunities will be awarded to the top ten community film makers. Contact: Dr Ian D. McCormick, Festival Director, Email: ian.mccormick@easynet.co.uk

Student Film Awards
Hitesh Kewalya, a NID Film & Video student, won the Best Fiction Film up to 75 mins / National Competition Award (he gets the Golden Conch and a cash prize of Rs.1,50,000/-) for his NID Diploma film "Nothing Happens on this Turn / Is Modh Par Kuch Nahin Hota" at the 9th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, Short & Animation films held in Mumbai this Feb. Amit Shah also a NID Film & Video student jointly shared with another documentary film the National Jury Award for his NID Diploma film 'Hoon'. He gets a cash prize of Rs.50,000/-.
Plays
Host a performance
"Laadli - A voice of countless unborn girl children” - a play on sex selective abortion in Hindi is available for staging in March 2006. The play is written and directed by Manjul Bhardwaj and performed by The Experimental Theatre Foundation. The duration of the play is one hour, and 20 minutes on the street or open space. Contact: 9820391859, Email: etf@bom3.vsnl.net.in
Photography exhibition (pix)
With the objective of changing the world through images, Drik India is presenting two photography exhibitions related to social conscience on the theme 'Women' with the support of Chobi Mela III, the International Festival of Photography in Asia, a unique initiative of Drik Bangladesh. Both works have a commonness, the very distinctive representation challenging typical 'western image of eastern women'. The exhibition, Naxal Women, an ongoing project of the renowned photographer, media-activist and entrepreneur Dr. Shahidul Alam, seeks to understand and evaluate the rightful role of Bangladeshi women activists in the Naxalite Movement by recording their stories and lived experiences.
In Returning the Gaze by the noted Iranian photographer, Shadi Ghadirian, photographs are constructed images to depict the monotonous and paradoxical lifestyle the women lead: materially surrounded by modern paraphernalia and psychologically burdened by cultural shortsightedness. Like Every Day is another series which place women in her domesticity where she is identified with pots, pans and vacuum cleaners which inevitably find their way in her life after marriage. Contact: Suvendu Chatterjee, Drik India, Tel. (91-33) 2454 5596, 2475 5391, Mob: 9831035158 , email:office-india@in.drik.net www.drik.net , www.drik.com
Books/Publications
SCARRED: Experiments with Violence in Gujarat
by Dionne Bunsha,
Penguin Books India
This book was released at a function Feb 8 at Wilson College, Mumbai, followed by a discussion on Life in Gujarat's Hindutva Laboratory. N. Ram, Editor-in-chief, The Hindu Group of Publications presided over the function with speakers Haseena Sheikh, community worker and refugee from Pavagadh village Bharat Panchal who lost his wife in the Sabarmati Express tragedy Tanvir Jafri son of late Ahsan Jafri, ex-Member of Parliament and Rohit Prajapati peace activist, Paryavaran Sukarsha Samiti, Vadodara. Contact: Tel. 98203-01643, 98201-91197, email: dionnebunsha@gmail.com
Small Change- (pix)
(pix) SopanStep- “the Mouthpiece of Rural India”--probably the first glossy on India’s rural life, published by INFORDS ((India Foundation for Rural Development Studies) in Hindi and English. Editor: K.A. Badarinath. Feb Issue discusses the proposed bill on land rights for tribals, the rising in Kalinga. Pages 48, Rs. 20. Published from Delhi, contact 011-41607472, email sopanstep@gmail.com
Issues in Islamic Feminism by Asghar Ali Engineer, Islam and Modern Age, Feb. 2006

This article in the Feb issue provides a deeper examination of Qur’anic verses makes it clear that it firmly upholds dignity of women as that of men. It does not discriminate between two sexes. In fact it was social environment in which Shari’ah formulations were made that affected Islamists’ viewpoint about women rather than the Qur’anic teachings. Today’s social environment is radically different and women awareness of their rights has increased phenomenally. There is nothing wrong in revisiting Shari’ah formulations regarding women today and attempt to reformulate issues in the light of contemporary social milieu. Contact: csss@mtnl.net.in

CED Publications

The Centre for Education and Documentation (CED) is bringing out four monthly dossiers - collections of clippings on issues of slums, child rights, textile industry and tribal issues. Other DocPost volumes are available on Legal Rights, Habitat, Disasters and Critical Concerns. Contact : Jacintha, Tel. (022) 2202 0019, Email: jacintha@doccentre.org.

CED & RDCs

CED, in association with Architecture and Development (A & D), Praxis & ISED is setting up resource development centers (RDCs), focusing on the rehabilitation and the long-term development needs of tsunami-affected communities in South India. They have launched a website aiming at information dissemination among its partners, local organisations and activists. For more details check website www.rdc.net.in Contact: CED (022) 2202 0019, Email: jacintha@doccentre.org

Development Digest

The latest issue of Development Digest #12 examines the following:
The Business of Hunger by Devinder Sharma
Water! Water!! Everywhere!!! But for Everyone?
Bhakra Dam - A Different View, Siddharth Narrain reviews Shripad Dharmadhikary's Unravelling Bhakra: Assessing the Temple of Resurgent India
Managing Water, A. Vaidyanathan reviews Ramaswamy R Iyer's Water: Perspectives, Issues, Concerns Water Sector Reforms in Mexico: Lessons for India's New Water Policy by Tushaar Shah, Christopher Scott, Stephanie Buechler
Leapfrog Beyond 'Modern' Water Paradigm by Sunita Narain
Contact: Tel. (022) 2202 0019, Email: jacintha@doccentre.org.

Gender-responsive budgeting in education
Authors: Oxfam, Produced by: Oxfam (2005)

This paper uses the Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) approach to explain how governments and donors can promote gender equality in education through their financing decisions.

The paper deals with three categories of GRB to discuss how education budgets in different countries have tried to promote gender equality:
* gender-targeted expenditures: e.g., special scholarships for girls
* staff-related employment-equity expenditures, e.g. spending on training for female teachers' career development
* mainstream expenditures, e.g. spending on compulsory education and the provision of early childhood education.

The paper concludes with some recommendations for governments and NGOs. Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20776

Women, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
Indian Anthropological Association, Delhi has brought out a special volume of its journal Indian Anthropologist on Women, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, vol.35, no.1& 2, 2005. Contact: E.mail iaadelhi@rediffmail.com www.indiananthropology.org

Achhut Kanya, 1936. Visualising Indian Women
Edited by Malavika Karlekar
Oxford University Press
Pages 121, Rs. 1500

Directed by Franz Osten, this Hindi film, Achhut Kanya, belongs to the genre of the ‘classic’. It made Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar the most famous screen pair of the times. In a period of political and social unrest, the pertinent theme of tragic love between an untouchable girl and a Brahmin youth touched a chord of sympathy amongst the audience. The book Visualising Indian Women edited by Malavika Karlekar, captures the different facets of the life of women in India from 1857 to 1947. Arresting visuals of prominent women and their role in social and political history make this book a collector's pick.

Special issue on Urban Poverty in India, Web journal E Vikalpa December 2005 by,Vikas Adhyayan Kendra, Mumbai. See the website http://www.vakindia.org

Because I have a Voice
Edited by Arvind Narrain and Gautam Bhan.,
Yoda Publications.
This is a collection of essays ranging from the conceptual to fiercely personal. The introduction puts forward the salient debates of the Indian queer movement, situating it not as a minority politics but in the larger framework of human rights and the politics of class, gender and religion. They delineate ways in which the movement has become more visible - in fighting discriminatory laws; undertaking protests; queering culture through the arts and the media. This same sex love includes not just gay men and lesbians, but any identity based on non-heterosexual desire. Contact: gbhan02@yahoo.com

Muslims and India
by Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer.
Published by Gyan Publishing House, 2006,
price Rs 540. (Tel.011-23261060/ 23282060, gyanbook@vsnl.com)

Includes seven chapters on Historical Backdrop, Socio-Political context, Muslim Women and Modern Society, Contemporary politics, Secularism and Riots, Gujarat Imbroglio and Legal Framework. Contact: Centre for Study of society and secularism Tel (022) 614 9668) Email: csss@vsnl.com www.csss-isla.com

 

BOOKS

Management Development in NPOs (pix)
By Vijay Padaki and Manjulika Vaz
Pgs: 283
Rs. 480
Publ. Sage Publications www.indiasage.com

The Governing Board of an NGO can play an important part in the development of any NGO but because NGOs consider themselves to be “action-oriented”, this area invariably is neglected This book draws upon the author’s broad experience in consultancy to identify the needs of governing boards and offers a programme designed to meet their needs. It is a practival, comprehensive reference manual for board members using an FAQ format.

For organic farmers
The book, Krushi Jnana Pradeepike (KJP), now available in print, is unique. It was written based on the time-tested practical knowledge of farming. Ghanamatha Nagabhushan Shivayogi Swamiji, the author of this book, hailed from Daroor, in Andhra Pradesh. He had spent a good part of his life in northern Karnataka. The 350-page text is full of practical information to help farmers grow a variety of crops, to prepare manure and to conserve soil and water. Ten pages are allotted for soil and water conservation and drought-proofing. The book, in Kannada, was published only after Shivayogi Swamiji's death. So far, it has sold more than 40,000 copies. Says D.D. Bharamagaudra, a well-known organic farmer of Yelavatti, Karnataka, "KJP is the scripture for the farmers pursuing dry land agriculture in Karnataka.”

In 1969, Mallikarjuna Swamiji of Sangapura Mutt, Gangavathi, realized the importance of the book, and had it published. Since then, it has seen 9 editions, and has already been translated into English. Efforts are on to bring it out in Hindi and Telugu as well. Mallikarjuna Swamiji can be contacted for copies of KJP in Kannada or English, at (08533)321168

Drought proofing-India style
From decades, farmers of Hungund taluk have been spending 20 to 30 lakh rupees annually for soil and water conservation as well as drought-proofing. At least half a dozen workers trained under the late Shankranna Nagaral have full-time employment in this task. Directly or indirectly, at least 500 families in the taluk earn their bread from drought-proofing work. All this work is carried out without a single paisa of subsidy from the government. Though a bit expensive, wherever construction of bunds, waste-weirs etc. was taken up systematically, no drought was able to snatch away a particular farmer's harvest.

When this success story of drought-proofing was brought to light at the recently held jalajatha - a water-awareness mass campaign of Bagalkote district - Mallanna was a star attraction in the rural meetings. Now the Bagalkote District Collector K S Prabhakar is planning to bring out a video documentary titled 'best farming practices' including the drought-proofing techniques demonstrated by Nagarals. Contact Shree Padre Mallanna S Nagaral at (08351) 260303..

Sahasnama
A book on struggle and courage of women
Author : Rajendra Bandhu
Publ : Vikas Setu Group
pages: 72
Price: Rs. 50 Only ( Rs. 80 by V.P.P.)
'Sahasnam' is focused on the struggle and courage of 15 women who represents gram panchayat, janpat panchayat or district panchayats of Madhya Pradesh.. Vikas Setu is a group of people who are active in media and NGOs. They are closely allied with grassroot issues i.e. panchayat, water, land, forest agriculture and gender. The book is their effort to providing a place to grassroot issues in media. Contact E-Mail: rajbandhu@rediffmail.com

Resource book of services for children in Mumbai
Rs. 25/-.
Vatsalya Trust Mumbai has published a Resource book of services in Mumbai for children with special needs. Copies of this book are available with us . We have compiled information of more than 300 services in Mumbai. Contact: Vatsalya Trust,Mumbai Email: dotrec_vatsalya @yahoo.co.in
Telephone: 25782958

'Love's Rite'
By Ruth Vanita.
It's the first book to examine the history of same-sex weddings and the same-sex suicides of women in India. It explains them in the context of the debate and discourse on same-sex marriages in the West It moves away from esoteric explanations of sexuality and gender to concentrate on 'Same sex marriage in India and the West', in her own words.

'With Respect to Sex'
Gayatri Reddy
The book is a doctoral thesis of a very perceptive and densely written subject on hijras, kotis and other "multiplicity of sexualities and gender in India". The author takes a close look at Hyderabad's hijra culture.

Critical Concerns (pix)
Critical Concerns was formally launched on Sept 26 in Bangalore at CED, Bangalore. Raajen Singh, rights activist from Mumbai, helped evolve this package and demonstrated how the monthly collation of news clippings about the NGO world could be useful for NGOs. Some of the people who attended the launch were Ms. Saraswathy Ganapathy (Belaku Trust), Ms.Vanaja Ramprasad (Green Foundation), Ms.Sheela Ramanathan (Human Rights Law Network, Bangalore),Dr. Kshithij Urs (APSA) and many others.

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Globalizing India
Perspectives from Below
By Jackie Assayag, and Chris Fuller
Price:£16.99
288 pages
Series: Anthem South Asian Studies
This book is one of the first to present a collection of writings on the effects of globalization on India and Indian society.

The concept of globalization itself needs critical examination. Assayag and Fuller have assembled a team of eminent academics, who present a series of critical discussions about important issues of economy and agriculture, education and language, and culture and religion, based on ethnographic case-studies from different localities in India. This challenging collection also includes a major study of the history of globalization and India that sets current trends in perspective.info@wpcpress.com
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MANUALS (pix)
1.Working with Men on gender, sexuality, violence and Health-Trainers manual
2.Training manual for Health care providers on Women centred counselling in a Gynaecology clinic
3. Policy Briefs- Reproductive and sexual health in a public Health System
Publ. SAHAJ. Contact chinu@wilnetonline.net Tel: 0265-340223
Price Rs. 150 each

The manuals are excellent guidelines for training personnel- laymen and professionals to work with women (and men) through a woman centred approach. The book has been written after the Project completed their work in a Mumbai Public Hospital.

Manual for Counseling MSM,
Publ: The Humsafar Trust, Tel. : 022-26673800
Price: Rs. 200 with a self-addressed A4 envelope.
The manual is for health delivery professionals in handling issues faced by MSM and the problems encountered during counseling them. This manual will also be useful for counselors in general health settings and enable counselors to ask for same-sex behavioral histories, during pre and post test counseling and help familiarize themselves with the issues of MSM.

Breastfeeding (pix)
By Lakshmi Menon and Sarah Amin
Publ: WABA (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action) waba@streamyx.com
This publication aims to situate breast feeding within the women’s reproductive health and rights agenda ,and looks at both issues as a common concern to the Womens’ health movement as well as the breastfeeding movement.

Religion In South Asia
A Liberative Perspective
Edited by Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer
Pages: 240/-
Price Rs.495/-US$20.00
Publs; Hope India Publ. Haryana E-mail: hope_India@indiatimes.com, Tel. 0124-2367308
Though Liberation Theology has yet not struck its roots in South Asia, some scholars have, however, started taking deep interest in it. As a result, we have begun to see the liberation content in every religion in the region. The present book offers the researches of some of these enterprising scholars. All the major religions in South Asia, -- Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity have been covered -- their liberative content, which was hardly discernible, stands exposed for people to make use of.

Liberative Undercurrents in Hindu Thought: A Preliminary Inquiry- M.C. Dinakaran, Hindu Liberation Theology: A Blueprint for Reform-- Swamy Agnivesh; The Buddhist Way to Liberation of Society - Kuliyapitiye Prananda; Christianity in the Cause of Liberation - Errol D’ Lima;. Domination – Liberation: A New Approach - Enrique Dussel; Religion, Ideology and Liberation Theology: An Islamic Point of View - Asghar Ali Engineer;Sikhism and Human Liberation - Gurbhagat Singh

The Mumbai Marathon (6 pix)
As in every year, the city of Mumbai showed their spirit. On Sunday January 15 they ran for fun, they ran for health and they ran for a cause. Here are some of those who took part. There were 20000 runners and over 100 registered NGOs. The marathon was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and organised by Procam.
Empowering Vadodara
Vadodara: Over 100 NGOs, government agencies police etc took part in a fair in February, “Empowering Vadodara” to tell the city how they work to empower citizens. The brainchild of architect Karan Grover, and inspired by President Kalams message to Empower India, among those who took part in the fair were United way of Baroda, Tree Lovers Foundation, Akshar trust, the Baorda Citizen Council, Vikas Jyot Trust
Musical cheers (pix)
Bangalore: Zakir Hussein played and Birju Maharaj and his disciples danced at the Koramangala National Stadium in February to raise funds for Premaanjali. Premaanjali runs a home for destitute children, a foster care programme and day care centres for children of stone quarry workers. The programme was sponsored by the Puravankara group and extremely well organized and attended. Contact 08025567333 email: home@premaanjali.org
ART for global concern
Caption: An art exhibition of paintings done by KP Mukundan was held at Mumbai Art gallery at Andheri to raise funds to raise cancer awareness.
Hearing-impaired Olympics
Mumbai: Around 300 hearing impaired students from city participate in all-India sports meet Special Olympics for Hearing Impaired (SPOHI). There was a march past but no band. There were races but no gunshots. There was a crowd but no noise pollution.Everything was a pleasant surprise at the University grounds at the event organised by the Bombay Round Table 19. This year's SPOHI was attended by 500 children from elsewhere, and 300 kids from Mumbai.
Forum celebrates golden jubilee
Mumbai: Begun as a forum to discuss freedom inenterprise at a time when business was tightly controlled, the Forum of Free Enterprise celebrated its 50th year with a series of events involving business and the common man. The 3rd Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecure delibered by Dr Bimal Jalan, former governor, RBI discussed :”Separation of Powers: the myth and the reality”in January and was followed by the presentation of the first Nani Palkhivala Memorial award for the preservation of Civil Liberties inIndia. The award was presented to PUCL-Delhi and was accepted by Nawaz Kotwal. Contact email ffe@vsnl.net or Tel: 22614253
AIDS management course at IIM-A
Ahmedabad, The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmeabad, has introduced a short course on managing
HIV/AIDS programmes for health professionals. The weeklong course is meant for government health policy makers, voluntary groups and others working in the field of HIV prevention and care, said Bakul Dholakia, director of the school.

"The focus of the programme is on managerial challenges involved in conducting HIV/AIDS prevention and care and their implementation," he said. IIM Ahmedabad already has a centre for management of health services, which conducts research on mental health and stress.The institute is also working on a course for officials in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to help them streamline their HIV/AIDS programmes.
Celebrating good works and deeds (collage box)
A group of friends, associates and businessmen got together some years ago to make their services and time available for fund raising for deserving institutions. These dedicated men identify each project they get information on and then make a report and decide on how to raise funds for the organization. At a small function was held recently to honour and introduce their beneficiaries, beAmong the organisations they have adopted (so to say) are Baba Amte’s Anandwan with whom they began a long association. They spread their activities subsequently and now support the Parivaar Education Society Kolkata, run by ex-IIT graduate Vinayaka, whuich rehabilitated destitute children for red light areas of Kolkata; Snehalaya runby a group of college students in Ahmednagar which is working with commercial sex workers to stop trafficking in 3 areas around Ahmednagar. The Sane Guruji Arogya Mandir in Mumbai exhorts and teaches students from the slum areas in Santa Cruz to study in a stimulating atmosphere. The Vasundhara Public Trust in Mumbai emphasizes on science for rural areas and a Mobile Science Laboratory covers 60 school in the rural areas. Srishti in Orissa has been active in starting a village high school. a cottage hospital and dairy Societies and is presently working on a potable drinking water project in the tribal areas of Orissa, Samaritan Help Mission working with Muslim and other youth in the slum areas of Howrah. Samaj Pragati Sahayog in MP started by a group of professionals focuses on watershed development, soil conservation and preservation of eco bio-diversity, SAMPARC which works with children in Pune.
Neelima Mishra returned to her village of Bahadarpur in Jalgaon after her post graduation and began a project to change the lives of the villagers through education, vocational employment, SHGs and organics agriculture. Vanchit Vikas, run by Vilas Chaphekar, in Pune, similarly has grown and expanded its work from Maharashtra to MP working in nearly sections he has come in touch with. You can contact Mr Ramesh Kacholia Tel 28216366 email glorimex@vsnl.com
Loksatta at work
Ahmedabad; The Loksatta Gujarat chapter is currently focusing on two activities (Projects): Improvement in governance of Urban Health Centers (UHC) in Ahmedabad City which included survey of about 700 slum/low income group households, located in four wards of the city. Eventually 8 wards of the total 43 wards of the city are scheduled to be surveyed by March 2--6. Volunteers of SAATH, conducted the demand side survey of households, and Loksatta volunteers with students of Nirma Management Institute conducted the supply side survey. A report on ‘Gaps in Governance’ of the UHC’s. will cover recommendations to bridge the Gaps. with concerned Stakeholders, facilitation of formation of local community groups to work out a ‘Road Map’ with other wards, NGO’s, Ahmedabad Municipal Corp., the State Government etc..
A focused team is currently working on a strategic plan and activities to promote RTI. Interactive Panel Discussions with State officials NGO’s SEWA, SAATH and media have been held to explore ways to work together. SEWA have agreed to work with us to achieve RTI objectives across their members in the state.
UTI Lifeline
Mumbai: : On Feb 11 a Workshop on Emergency Medical Services – was organisesd by UTI at the N