Amnesty International is concerned over the apparently arbitrary arrest of T. G. Ajay, a film-maker and human rights defender who has been documenting problems faced by adivasi (indigenous) communities in protecting their rights, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

Ajay is the second human rights defender to be arrested under the Chhattisgarh State Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA), in the state. He is a member of the state executive committee of the People¹s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Ajay is being held in Raipur jail, where Dr. Binayak Sen, general secretary of the state PUCL and a physician working on access to health for adivasis, today completed one year of imprisonment. Dr. Sen now faces a trial on charges of aiding a banned Maoist organisation, the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

On 5 May, Ajay was arrested at his residence at Superla in Bhilai and charged at the Bilaspur High Court under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (sedition) and Sections 3, 4 and 8 of the CSPSA.

Amnesty International has reason to believe that the charges against Ajay are politically motivated. Ajay has been actively engaged, since 2004, in documentation of human rights violations as part of the PUCL¹s ongoing efforts to protect the rights of adivasi communitiesin the face of escalating violence in the Bastar-Dantewada area of Chattisgarh between banned Maoists and Salwa Judum, an armed anti-Maoist militia campaign widely regarded as supported by the state government. The PUCL has been instrumental in bringing to light unlawful killings of adivasis, sexual assault of adivasi women, abductions and forced displacement.

On 22 January 2008, following the arrest of a woman Maoist in Bastar-Dantewada, the Chhattisgarh police searched Ajays residence and seized his computer hard disk. On 26 March, Ajay filed a petition in the High Court seeking its return.

Amnesty International calls on the Union and Chattisgarh governments to ensure Ajay¹s prompt and fair trial in accordance with international standards of fairness, “ to take concrete measures to ensure that human rights defenders in Chhattisgarh are not subject to harassment or intimidation and enjoy all the rights enshrined in international law.

Background

Since 2005, Chhattisgarh, especially the Bastar-Dantewada forest area,has experienced an escalation of violence between the Maoists and the Salwa Judum. Civilians have been routinely targeted on both sides,resulting in at least 300 deaths. Also, 30,000 adivasis displaced from their homes continue to live in special camps where they face increased risk of violence. The Chhattisgarh state government claimed that it enacted the CSPSA to take action against the Maoists.

The CSPSA allows for arbitrary detention of persons suspected of belonging to an unlawful organization or participating in its activities or giving protection to any member of such an organization.

Human rights organizations in India have demanded the repeal of CSPSA as it contains several provisions which violate international human rights law.

Vague and sweeping definitions of “unlawful activities” for which organizations may be rendered unlawful include “uttering words” which propounds the disobedience of established law and its institutions. Such definitions enable the government to arrest and detain individuals,as well as seek their punishment, on grounds that may not be clear to them, in violation of the principle of certainty in criminal law,reflected in Article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a state party;

* Threats, as a result, to other key human rights including freedom of expression and association, provided in Articles 19 and 22 of the ICCPR, respectively;

* All offences under the CSPSA are cognizant and non-bailable, hence all those charged under the Act are detained, often for months, before being tried. In Dr. Sen¹s case, he was detained on 14 May 2007, his trial commenced on 30 April 2008 and is currently adjourned till 23 June 2008.

The preparations for NAPM (National Alliance of Peoples' Movements) convention are in final stage. The convention to be held at: Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh (UP) on 7 - 8 June 2008 is a coming of various Peoples' Movements fighting for the toiling peoples' right to Life and Livelihood, and as also those working on various alternatives in the fields of Agriculture, Water, Energy, etc. The Alliance, over the years has brought together diverse groups engaged in struggles across the country and drawn people's attention to the marginalization of the majority of the people for the benefit of the wealthy and influential few.

We realise that the situation is becoming ever grimmer, by the day, be it any party ruling at the Centre or in the States. The stark reality is:While the 'powers that be' boast of a high growth it is at best a jobless, or rather a 'job-loss' growth. The Agriculture sector has been destroyed and labour laws decimated at the bidding of the Global Financial Institutions and Corporate interests. All basic services and Utilities such as Water, Electricity, Health care, Education, Roads, Railways, Ports, Public transport have or are in the process of being turned over into private hands through a cruel onslaught on peoples' resources. Caste violence, religious fundamentalism and ethnic strife are being perpetrated so as to destroy our social fabric.What has been unleashed on the people - farmers, fisher people, adivasis, dalits, minorities, workers is 'development terrorism'.

Whether it is Nandigram, Singur, Kalinganar, Ayodhya, Posco, Gorai,Plachimada, Chengara, Kakinanda, the cruelest violence is used to displace, dispossess, dis-employ and dehumanize people killing the democratic space and social justice sought to be enshrined in our Constitution. Anyone raising a voice against this is labeled 'anti-development', 'anti-national', 'naxalite' 'foreign-funded' etc. These hundreds of land and resource grab exercises, actively indulged in by corporate bigwigs and ably manoeuvered by state machinery have revitalized with renewed rigour the need for and demands by nation wide struggles groups to give flesh and blood to Article 243 in the Constitution, which provides the framework for "development" (in whose name all the tamasha of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) are happening) and locates the Gram Sabhas and Ward Committees in villages and towns as the epicentres of any developmental planning.

National sovereignty, democracy and governance are virtually being outsourced and sub-contracted in the name of Public Private Partnership.

How far away is this to practical realization, more particularly, in the wake of draconian definitions of 'public purpose' creeping into enactments, as is being witnessed in the recently proposed Land Acquisition Bill, 2007 and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill, 2007 is the challenge before peoples movements and struggles all across the country.

Over the last 12-14 years, NAPM has been at the forefront of people's struggles be it the slum-demolitions in Mumbai and other cities and towns, displacement by various dams and projects, the Enron struggle, the various anti-SEZ struggles, fisher peoples' struggles, WTO and World Bank Bharat Chodo campaigns, Desh Bachao Desh Banao campaigns etc.

Similarly, its various constituents have led successful struggles of fisher people, those displaced by dams, those fighting globalization in its various manifestations.

Probably, never before has there been in the history, so much a need,as also an opportunity, for all democratic forces, including like-minded individuals, groups, alliances and movements, with the struggling masses at large, to come together and challenge the claims of those who hold seats of power in various ways, both within and outside the framework of the State and reclaim back not just legitimate democratic spaces, denied and robbed hitherto, but also assert positive claims to natural and other resources and strive for societal and political recognition of the non-destructive, equitable ways of harnessing those new economics and politics of reconstruction. The inevitable task, ahead for presently sectoral people's struggles, is to strike at the root of inequality at various levels within existing power-structures and the future pre-condition for that would be the strategic coming together of all the concerned and their democratic supporters, across the country and around the world.

The 7th NAPM Convention is therefore an opportunity for all those struggling with the people and those desirous of bringing about an alternative development paradigm through various sustainable alternatives and experiments.

Arundhati Duru, Sandeep Pandey, Medha Patkar, Sr. Celia, D. Gabriela, P. Chenniah Anand Mazgaonkar, Thomas Kocherry, Aruna Roy, Sanjay MG, Ulka Mahajan, Mukta Srivastava, Geeta Ramakrishnan, PT Hussain, Uma Shankari, Subhash Ware, NB Kohli, Amarnath Bhai.

Contact: Keshav: 09839883518, email: napmup@gmail. com
Nandlal Master: 09415300520; Udhay Bhan: 09935445489
Mukta: 09969530060

Other emails: napmindia@gmail. com, mumbainapm@gmail.com
Simpreet: 09969363065

A 10-day Fast beginning 16th June, 2008, is being organized at Raipur in Chhattisgarh to express solidarity with Dr. Binayak Sen (Medical Doctor), Ajay T G (Film Maker) -- both are members of the PUCL, and many others detained under the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (1967) amended in 2004.

These draconian laws sanction the violation of due process by the state, and thus contravene internationally accepted norms of jurisprudence as well as democratic governance. As Senior Advocate K G Kannabiran, National President of PUCL, India, argues in his letter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the CSPSA and UAPA operate by criminalizing the very performance of civil liberties activities, and culpability is decided upon not by direct proof, but through guilt by association.

The PUCL-Chhattisgarh Unit, with Dr. Binayak Sen's active leadership as its General Secretary, had exposed the government sponsored so-called campaign Salwa-Judum in Chhattisgarh which legitimizes extra-constitutional violence and pits adivasis against adivasis.

The Fast is to ensure that human rights of marginalized people are not trampled upon and human rights defenders continue to work fearlessly. The Fast will end on 25th June, the day Emergency Rule in India was declared in 1975, followed by a National Convention on Repressive Laws & Human Rights on 25th & 26th June 2008 at Raipur.

Rajendra Sail (9826804519), Gautam Bandopadhyay (9826171304), Ilina Sen (9425206875), Kavita Srivastava (9351562965), Faisal Khan (9313106745), Sandeep Pandey (ashaashram@yahoo.com)

The recent murder of Lalit Kumar Mehta, member of Vikas Sahyog Kendra (Palamau District), who was brutally killed on 14 May 2008 as he was returning from Daltonganj to Chhattarpur on a motorcycle has once again shown the dangers of being an activist...

The circumstances of this murder are disturbing. Lalit (aged 36), an active member of the right to food campaign and Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, has been working in this area for more than 15 years on issues related to the right to food and the right to work. He was a very gentle person and his work was widely appreciated. However he was also fearless in exposing corruption and exploitation, and often came in the way of vested interests.

At the time of this incident, Lalit was helping a team of volunteers from Delhi and elsewhere to conduct a social audit of NREGA works in Chainpur and Chhattarpur Blocks of Palamau District. Attempts had already been made to dissuade the team from conducting this investigation, particularly in Chainpur Block. Is it a coincidence that Lalit was murdered just one day after the investigation began?

If this murder was an act of intimidation, it did not succeed. Friends and supporters from all over Jharkhand gathered at Vikas Sahyog Kendra on 17 May. They unanimously resolved to continue the campaign against corruption and exploitation in this area.

A public hearing of NREGA will be held in Chhattarpur on 26 May. Our immediate demands:
(1) CBI enquiry into this incident; (2) strict action on all the complaints and irregularities emerging from this social audit of NREGA.

Balram (Right to Food Campaign), Jean Drèze (Allahabad University), Jawahar (Vikas Sahyog Kendra), Meghnath (Akhra, Ranchi), Vinoy Ohdar (ActionAid) and others including all members of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan. (Vikas Sahyog Kendra) or rozgar@gmail.com.

Organizations having prior permission or registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 are required to file annual returns in Form FC-3 within a period of 4 months of the Closure of the Financial Year (i.e. by 31^st July each year).The Ministry of Home Affairs has recently issued a Notification to amend the Clause (a) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 4, of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 1976 to extend the time limit to 9 months. The last date for filing return in Form FC -3 is now 31st December each year.

ICAI - Announcement

Announcement of Notification on Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 1976.

As you are aware that as per the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act,1976 certain organizations, associations or persons receiving foreign contribution for definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programmes are required to give intimation to the Central Government, as to the amount receipt of each foreign contribution received by it, the source and the manner in which such foreign contribution was received, the purpose for which and manner in which such foreign contribution was utilized by it, in the prescribed manner & within the prescribed time period of 4 months of the Closure of the year (Clause (a) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 4, of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 1976) .The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a Notification to amend the Clause (a) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 4, of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 1976 to extend the time to 9 months. The text of the above Notification is as follows:-

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2008

NOTIFICATION NO. G.S.R. 83(E), DATED 8-2-2008

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 30 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 (49 of 1976), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 1976, namely

a.. (1) These rules may be called the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2008.

b.. They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

c.. In the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 1976, in rule 4, in sub-rule (1), in clause (a), for the words ’³within four months’´, the words “within nine months ’´ shall be substituted.

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976.

The momentous decision of Dr.G.D.Agrawal, India's preeminent environmental Scientist and a legendary Professor at IIT Kanpur, to go on 'fast-unto-death' for the conservation of River Bhagirathi-Ganga above Uttarkashi, which is threatened by the large number of proposed hydro-electric projects has put the Govt. on a limb...

In the paper “A Critique of Loharinag-Pala, Pala-Maneri and other Hydroelectric Projects on R.Bhagirathi”, Dr. Agrawal articulates his reasons for choosing this path. He points out the ample scientific data questioning the net economic, ecological and human value of these projects. He also makes it clear that at the core of his resolve is a profound belief that these projects would essentially destroy the Ganga, the very symbol of our civilization that continues to be revered by millions and is vital to our culture.

By offering his life, Dr. Agrawal has challenged us to critically examine not only the threat to Ganga, but also the present mode of development that threatens all our natural resources and promises nothing more than the skewed economic growth that enriches a few at the expense of the vast majority. We need to initiate a broad based debate to choose the path of development that draws upon our own experiences and is rooted in the genius of our civilization.

Dr. Agrawal will begin the fast from June 13th to bring a halt to the projects that will choke the Bhagirathi-Ganga River. We are deeply touched by his firm resolve. He has depth and conviction and we believe he will carry through his resolve.

We ask that you join us in urging the policy makers to immediately engage with Dr. Agrawal and others to address the concerns raised. The matter is urgent. We need both to protect the Bhagirathi-Ganga and save the life of this great man, a rare combination of Scientist and Rishi . Sign the petition in support of Dr.Agrawal to the Honorable Prime Minister of India by going online to: http://www.petitiononline.com/tpsy2008/petition-sign.html -Prof. P.K. Mehta, Abhay Bhushan, S.R.Hiremath, Surekha and Prithvi Sharma, Bhupen Mehta, Sanat Mohanty, Netika Raval, Karthik Suryanarayana.

CONNECTiNG

Manifestoes of non-governance

AN interesting analysis of the manifestoes of various parties was done by Working Children. Releasing the analysis they said: There is a deliberate attempt by politicians to ignore key issues which the root cause of a multitude of problems (in the State). The manifestoes gave a dismal picture that “should not only alarm the people but also spur them to greater collective action. The analysis, made by a panel of citizens from various segments noted that though a few parties made promises to supply subsidized rice and gas and free colour TVs for BPL families, issues like the widening gap between the rich and the poor had not been addressed.

The analysis was done on three broad categories: governance, democracy and decentralization; environment and human rights and communalism. “When it comes to governance, there is no move to strengthen the constitutional obligations of the State”, the report noted. The people have been ignored and there is no move to institutionalize the process of evolving policies based on public opinion. According to the analysis there has also been a lack of holistic planning for environment conservation and no action inititiated against indiscriminate mining.

Communal tension and the increasing violence against minorities have also been highlighted along with the absence of a long-term proposal to address social and economic issues of Muslims. Prof. Hasan Mansur of PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties said the manifestoes have also ignored global warning and terrorism.

The analysis is a welcome move and one hopes more organizations can do such analyses in their respective states and bring the lacunae to the attention of voters before the elections. Rima Kashyap.

Mumbai: Many builders are today coming forward to promote childcare facilities at their construction sites, citing benefits such as greater productivity of the workers and safety of the children.

“The workers are able to concentrate better with their children in safe hands, thus resulting in an increase in their productivity. Besides, such initiatives send out a positive image of us being labour friendly,” says Abhisheck Lodha, director, Lodha Group. The group has a crèche at its construction site in Thane (near Mumbai), with about 60 children. “We are now planning to extend mobile crèche facilities to our other sites in Lower Parel and Kanjurmarg,” Lodha adds.

The booming construction industry in India is estimated to be growing at 15% per year. It currently employs 35-40 million people who have, by conservative estimates, 50-60 million children. Though the Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996, mandates crèches at all large construction sites with at least 50 women, this has not been implemented in all states.

Not-for-profit organizations such as Mobile Crèches (MC), which operates in Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune, are engaged in the care and education of children at building construction sites. “Today with 18 centres across Mumbai, we reach out to about 4,000 children aged between 0 and 14,” says Devika Mahadevan, chief executive, Mumbai Mobile Crèches (MMC). “As soon as we hear of a new construction project, we approach the builder and persuade them to allow us to set up a crèche at the building premises,” she says.

MC negotiates with the builders to wholly or partly finance such childcare facilities at their work site. “The financial assistance differs with some contributing about 20% and some others helping out with 80% of the expenses incurred,” says Mridula Bajaj, director of Delhi Mobile Crèches (apart from corporate and individual donations, MC is also funded by the government’s Rajiv Gandhi Crèche Scheme). The Delhi chapter of MC has about 20 centres in the NCR region (this includes Faridabad and Gurgaon in Haryana, and Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh). Though we have about 1,500 children at our centres, there are almost 400,000 children out there on construction sites in the NCR area alone,” she adds.

The mobile crèches offer a three-tier service—a crèche for toddlers, a balwadi (nursery) for children between the ages of 3 and 6 and non-formal primary education for children above 6. The kids are dropped off at the centre by their parents at 9.30am. They are then fed and taken care of by the caretakers till the return of their parents at about 5 in the evening.

Most children who manage to continue with school and complete their studies graduate to a higher economic strata and become part of mainstream economic life, pursuing diverse careers.

In April this year, a team of delegates comprising government and business leaders from the UK had visited MMC to provide strategic advice and support for the latter’s work.

Chandigarh,:The All-India Motor Transport Congress, that represents 40 lakh truckers and is an umbrella body of various truck unions and goods transport companies across the country, has tied up with the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) to check the spread of AIDS among truck drivers and cleaners.

Charan Singh Lohara, president of the Congress, said, “We have no funds and source material to educate truck drivers and cleaners with regard toAIDS. That is why we have tied up with NACO,” he said. NACO officials had been invited to the two-day conference held under the banner of the Congress in Kolkata on April 26 and 27 to discuss various problems being faced by owners of trucks,truck drivers and cleaners, besides other issues. “We would chalk out a programme to hold camps at various places in the country for truck drivers and cleaners,” said Lohara.(Source The Tribune).

FILMS

"Yi As Akh Padshah Bai"(There was a Queen’)
Direction: Kavita Pai / Hansa Thapliyal
Produced by Other Media Communications Pvt. Ltd. www.othermediacommu nications.Com
*India / Kashmiri, Hindustani, English with English subtitles / 105 minutes / Video / 2007* DVD copies Rs.1000/-, + Rs.100/-
(courier and handling charges), from santhosh@othermedia communications.com

A Documentary film in which Kashmiri women express their views about the bloody conflict ongoing in the state for more than 18 years and its multi faceted impact on society. In the film, woman - only women - open out on terrorism, militarism, peace and their daily life. It is a record of political voices of women from many sides in Kashmir. The film discusses how women's engagement with everyday violence has led them to think of issues of security, peace, conflict management and transformation in the unique situation of conflict in the area. It is through these women that the film examines what peace means and how it can come about in Kashmir. The documentary was made by an all women crew! It was a conscious and a deliberate decision as it was our belief as producers that since the film was about women in conflict situation, it would be appropriate to have a team of women who would be more sensitive and understanding in dealing with the subject and that the Kashmiri women would find it easy to articulate their views.

'Hot as Hell: Dhanbad's Inferno'

Dir: Paranjoy Guha Thakurta: The film seeks to explain why underground fires - literally and metaphorically - are raging for so many years in and around the township of Jharia in Dhanbad district in Jharkhand. At a literal level, tens of thousands of residents of the town are living on top of a veritable inferno. At a metaphorical level, there are powerful mafia organizations that rule over this region and exploit the underprivileged - by mining illegally, supervising organized pilferage, running extortion rackets and bagging lucrative contracts. The undercurrents of tension in the region are palpable even to an outsider. The district administration, the law-enforcing agencies and the public sector management have been engaged in regular skirmishes with politically well-connected gangsters who run lucrative coal and sand transportation businesses, corner construction contracts, conduct money lending operations and organize theft of coal. The documentary attempts to explain Jharia's 'resource curse's.

”Main, Asha.”
by The Performing Media Initiative of Media Matters A 30-min experimental play woven around the issue of female feticide. The play is a group effort in exploring and demonstrating the strength of participatory theatre as an effective tool to provoke dialogue, discussion and debate on issues and concerns.
The group is performing the play in various spaces in and around mumbai and thane. For organizing a performance of the play in your area, or to learn about our next performance contact: Pavitra: 9763265644, Seema: 9881261094.

The Public Service Broadcasting Trust, in partnership with InterNational Public Television and the Habitat Film Club organised an INPUT Retrospective from June, 5-11 2008, at the India Habitat Centre. Highlights of the Festival include films like Images of a Dictatorship by Patricio Henriquez on General Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile, the protests against him and the methods used to crush those protests; Welcome to the Human Race by Betty Wolpert on the extraordinary meeting between two families in apartheid infested South Africa: parents of eighteen-year- old Zondos executed for planting a bomb and those of the seven-year-old killed by the bomb; The Inner Tour by Ra'anan Alexandrowicz chronicling the tour of Palestinian families to Israel, the only way that they can enter Israel and others like Thinking Allowed and Maski-Show" As part of the week-long Festival, PSBT also organised a special screening of Adoor Gopalakrishnan' s film Nallu Pennungal (Four Women) Contact Tulika" tulika@psbt.org

Harvest of Rain
Directed by: Sanjay Kak 50 mins.
This documentary is dedicated to India's traditional water harvesting systems. The film analyses a wide variety of systems in diverse ecological terrain, from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to Tamil Nadu. The film demonstrates how technologies based on the local culture of water usage, along with the community control of water resources can lead to sustainable development.

Niyamgiri (the mountain of law) is divided into two parts
1. Struggle for Democracy and
2. Development & Devastation
Dir: Surya Shankar Dash,
Prod: Samadrusti TV <samadrustitv@ gmail.com>
96 mins. DVD-1000 (for inst.) Rs 750 (ind.)
The first part is about the forceful land acquisition in Lanjigarh for the alumina factory, the role of state, mafia presence and political patronage as well as the resolution of the Dongria Kondh tribals of Niyamgiri who claim not to leave the mountain even if they are beheaded. The second part is what has happened since the factory came up -;the pollution, the loss of livelihood, accidents, trafficking of women, and unimaginable terror. The film is a major expose of the state govt and central govt and more so of the company. Debjit Sarangi of Living farms said "The film shatters all notions about the pre dominant development paradigm and should be seen by as many people as possible".
A preview of the Niyamgiri film is available at http://www.youtube.com

Pani (War for Water)
25 mins. Rs.500
This is a short essay on the farmers’ struggle to save their water and also for the first time the voice of those displaced by the Hirakud dam fifty years ago has been captured in the film.
The film about diversion of water from the Hirakud reservoir to industry (including Vedanta's aluminium smelter) was a major factor in the success of a farmer's movement against it. The film was screened in all the villages that were to be affected by the diversion of water and not less than another 10,000 people joined the movement after watching the film (as claimed by senior activists). The success of PANI motivates us to carry a similar exercise for Niyamgiri.
A preview of War for Water is available at; http://www.youtube.com v=jZRu0hHstpw

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Media News

68 Pages has won the Silver Remi Award at Worldfest 2008, Houston, USA. Subverting the Bollywood film genre of song-dance and high drama, '68 Pages' places characters ignored by Bollywood centerstage - a transsexual bar dancer, a prostitute, a gay couple - to tell their stories of pain and trauma, of happiness and hope, about being HIV positive and marginalized. A searingly honest film about five lives marked by pain and bound by hope - in 68 Pages of a counselor's diary. "<solaris.pictures.india@gmail.com>
http://www.humsafar.org/68pages.htm

"Death Knell to Nilgiri Biosphere"
Dir. by Maya Jaideep and KG Vasuki won the silver trophy by the IDPA for second best in environment category. The film deals with the people's movement against a proposed coal based thermal plant near Mysore in the Nilgiri biosphere. <maya.jaideep@egkstelevision.com>

Secret Ballot
Director: Babak Payami
(2001/105minutes/ English sub)
contact 94483 71389 (Uvaraj) or 98860 52763 (Anil). Email: pedepics@gmail.com , www.pedestrianpictures.org

This award winning film is about an unsuspecting soldier and a woman bureaucrat in charge of local voting. Whether he wants to or not, the soldier is thrown into an elections adventure that just may put him out of a job. Orders from above force him to accompany the female agent in an army jeep across the island's dusty desert. The agent literally leaves no stone unturned in her search for ballots. Many a surprise lies along their route, as they find themselves in one absurd situation after another.

BOOKS

Safety, Health and Environment Directory- 2008
Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Contains references of 13 different databases in relation to the topics of Safety, Health and Environment. E.g. experts, manufacturers of equipment, BIS standards, legislations, websites of organisations, institutions, enforcement agencies etc.

Guidelines to Corporates to respond to Disasters.
The booklet is intended to serve as a set of guidelines to respond to emergencies such as fire, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, terrorist attacks. It also contains details about the Disaster Management Centre of the BMC along with important telephone numbers required.

Bridging the gap between the media & social sector

Towards Information Literacy Indicators
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/egovernment/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1148485
UNESCO's Information for All Program (IFAP) has released a paper providing a basic conceptual framework for measuring information literacy. The publication includes a definition of information literacy; a model that links information literacy with...

“Breaking Free of Nehru”
Dr. Sanjeev Sabhlok Ph.D, I.A.S. available for online reading on Website
http://www.sanjeev. sabhlokcity. com/breakingfree .html
The book argues that India badly and urgently needs reforms in its political and bureaucratic systems. The author is also trying hard to bring together at least 1500 dedicated, sincere and honest Indians who believe in India to contest future elections. His NGI is called Freedom Team of India.
http://www.freedom. sabhlokcity, com e-mail is <sabhlok@ yahoo.com>

The Raj Lives: India in Nepal
by Sanjay Upadhya
A narrative of the political history of India’s troubled relationship with Nepal. The author, a leading Nepali journalist, offers a gripping chronicle of a nation’s experience intertwined with that of British as well as independent India. Innumerable organizations, officials and individuals on both sides of the border have expended much time, money and energy into examining why India-Nepal relations remain so touchy. Many “new beginnings” have been hailed over the years. Exhilaration has barely lasted long enough to engender meaningful action. The slightest affirmation of “special” relations on India’s part instantly sparks cries of hegemonism in Nepal.

History, geography, religion and culture have bound India closer to Nepal than to any of its neighbors. Ordinarily, British India’s alleged transgressions against Nepal should not have mattered much to Indians; they were direct victims of the worst of the Raj. But in Nepal, perceptions are what ultimately matter – a point Upadhya emphasizes throughout. It is the inseparableness of the two Indias in the Nepali consciousness that gives the book its title as well as relevance. The Indian Embassy, at least in the Nepali mind, has the power to make and break governments. And perhaps not without reason. During three decades of palace rule, Nepali Congress operated from exile in India. Although Upadhya covers only the first year after the collapse of King Gyanendra’s regime, he has delineated how India may have lost some ground in Nepal and could lose more. China has stepped up its role in the country in an unprecedented manner.

New additions to SAATHII, Calcutta Office Reference Library

1) Development with A Body: Sexuality, Human Rights and Development, Andrea Cornwall, Sonia Corrìa and Susie Jolly, Zed Books, London, 2008

2) Stepping Out of the Shadows: Same-Sex Domestic Violence in Srilanka, Equal Ground, Colombo, 2008

3) Lesbian Standpoint, Asha Achuthan, Ranjita Biswas, Arup Kumar Dhar, Sanhati, Kolkata, 2007

4) Migration Gone Wrong: Linkage between Trafficking and HIV, UNDP, New Delhi, 2007

5) Settled to Move: The Decision to Migration and its Associated Risks, UNDP, New Delhi, 2007

SAATHI reference library has books, journals and audio-visual material on Sexuality, Gender, Sexual Health, Human Rights, HIV/AIDS and related development issues. Open – Monday to Friday 3 to 7 p.m. Our full updated catalogue can be accessed at http://saathii.org/gensex/ calcutta/library.html For any enquiry please call at 033- 2337 9880 or write to us at
saathiihelpline@ rediffmail.com

Empowering the people: Development of an HIV peer education model for low literacy rural communities in India Koen KA Van Rompay1,2 , Purnima Madhivanan3 , Mirriam Rafiq1 , Karl Krupp1 , Venkatesan Chakrapani4 and Durai Selvam5
From January to December 2005, six non-governmental organizations (NGO's) collaborated to build and pilot-test an HIV peer education model for rural communities. The program used participatory methods to train 20 NGO field staff (Outreach Workers), 102 women's self-help group (SHG) leaders, and 52 barbers to become peer educators. Cartoon-based educational materials were developed for low-literacy populations to convey simple, comprehensive messages on HIV transmission, prevention, support and care. In addition, street theatre cultural programs highlighted issues related to HIV and stigma in the community.

The program is estimated to have reached over 30 000 villagers in the district through 2051 interactive HIV awareness programs and one-on-one communication. Outreach workers (OWs) and peer educators distributed approximately 62 000 educational materials and 69 000 condoms, and also referred approximately 2844 people for services including voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), care and support for HIV, and diagnosis and treatment of sexually-transmitte d infections (STI). The report concludes that using established networks (such as community-based organizations already working on empowerment of women) and training women's SHG leaders and barbers as peer educators is an effective and culturally appropriate way to disseminate comprehensive information on HIV/AIDS to low-literacy communities Contact: www.sahaya.org

History of public health in modern India 1857-2005

Radhika Ramasubban (2007):
. In Milton J. Lewis and Kerrie L. MacPherson (eds.), A
Comparative History of Public Health in Asia and the Pacific, London: Routledge, 2007

Culture, politics and discourses on sexuality: a history of resistance to the anti-sodomy law in India. In Richard Parker, Rosalind Petchesky and Robert Sember (eds.). 2007. Sex Politics: Reports from the Frontlines (E-Book). www.sxpolitics.org/frontlines.

Dr. Radhika Ramasubban is a sociologist and social historian, who has worked in the areas of science and technology policy; history of public health; rural water supply- sanitation-health linkages as a basis for infrastructure planning; urban health processes and behaviours; and, more recently, women's reproductive health, sexuality and HIV/AIDS. Until recently she was Director of the Centre for Social and Technological Change, Mumbai, an independent policy-oriented social science research group that she helped co-found. Currently, she works part-time with the CSTC as Senior Fellow and is a free lance consultant and writer. Contact Dr. Radhika Ramasubban by e-mail: soctec@vsnl.com.

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Sex work, violence and HIV
A guide for programmes with sex workers

This guide discusses the challenges involved in ensuring that violence is addressed in HIV programmes, gives a detailed understanding of violence in relation to sex work and challenges some common assumptions. The guide also provides examples from real programmes that illustrate ways in which HIV and AIDS projects can help reduce the incidence of violence against sex workers and provide support to those who experience violence.

This guide is primarily for organisations implementing HIV and AIDS projects with sex workers and aims to help organisations understand and assess the importance of taking violence into account, and to help design and carry out activities to prevent and deal with violence against sex workers. You can download a PDF http://www.aidsalliance.org/ from the Alliance website.
Printed copies: For a free copy -write to. publications@ aidsalliance.org

The May issue of the free HRD online Youth Development magazine 'Dynamic Youth' dedicated to Global Youth Development is available in www.dynamicyouth.org for your perusal. sukanya kanarally" sukanyakanarally@gmail.com

Gelathi 11. Please click on www.gelathi.com
Gelathimaatu (editorial) is penned by Usha B. N. Focusing on the current political scenario in Karnataka Translation of Simone De Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" into Kannada is a recent major phenomenon in the Kannada world.. This issue carries the first part of this venture and we have De Beauvoir's biographer Deirdre Bair's introduction. Sabyn Javeri-Jillani' s short story is taken from "neither night nor day: 13stories by women writers from Pakistan" Javeri Jillani "writes with candour of being suspended between cultures, between spaces, and the fear of slipping through the cracks that differentiate the eastern and western way of life lends a poignant urgency to her writing"
"I, Banu Mushtaq, hereby swear that I shall not henceforth write any stories, novels, poems, articles, limericks, essays,... none whatsoever." Banu Mushtaq, a well-known Muslim woman writer in Kannada was asked to sign the paper that contained such demands to escape the excommunication her family had been subjected to. She writes eloquently about her journey as a writer in her recent work "Safira". "The pond that shone the bright red lotuses of my childhood/ has been buried there/ ...The red lotuses are now drunk with Saffron alchohol / Its petals have been turned into tridents..." Dr. Vinaya's book "Nooru Goriya Deepa" (Lamp of Hundred Tombs) is a collection of intensely lyrical poems. In Rangasarani, we have K. Nagarathnamma, a rural theater artist who has also served in the panchayat bodies in several capacities. And excerpts from his life story, a book edited by Gudihalli Nagaraja. "Harassed by the Sangh Parivar forces, even Mother India is turned into a foot soldier -Kavita Rai's book of poems, "Neerateru" (Water Chariot). Soniya Jabbar's narrative "Hang the Truth" argues how in hanging Afzal Guru, the Indian Judiciary would be hanging the Truth. This narrative is taken from "December 13: The Strange Case of Attack on Indian Parliament".--sukanya kanarally (for www.gelathi.com a web journal in kannada for women's writing)

Seniors helpline

Bangalore: A new helpline for senior citizens was started by the Dignity Foundation- 41511307. The helpline will offer a variety of benefits to elders including a dialogue for learning and discussion forum. The initiative for the Helpline inaugurated by Mr SK Maini, founder of the Maini Group,was taken by Mr NB Jayaprakash. On the occasion Mrs Sudha Murthy launched the career website www.dignitysecondcareers.org.

Training for youth

Bangalore: Unnati‘s new state-of-the-art training facility for youth at Sadanandnagar, NGEF layout was inaugurated by Sudha Murthy and Infosys Techhnologies CEO S. Gopalakrishnan. Unnati which trains underprivileged youth in vocational and life skills has been running a training centre in Indirangar since 2003 where retail sales, garment tailoring and guest care have been taught. It now plans to introduce courses in electrical, plumbing, carpentry and BOP services. School dropouts are picked to participate in the fulltime all-expenses paid programme. The new NGEF centre can train a batch of 120 students.

CCC for PLHIV

Vadodara: The first community care centre for PLHIV in the city will be operational by September. The community care centre to be set up by the Catholic Bishop Conference of India- a Delhi-based charitable organization will have a part-time doctor, nurses, outreach workers, counselors and a cook.

Volunteer campaign

Chennai: Times of India is launching a national wide campaign to attract volunteers to work with NGOs to teach the underprivileged children. The aim of Teach India is to provide a platform to the various members of society who, irrespective of their personal and professional standing, feel a strong desire to give back to society by providing basic education to the undereducated children and adults of India. The drive is aimed at connecting educated individuals with NGOs working in those areas. CIOSA will coordinate in the effort to sign up with NGOs on effective deployment of volunteers. All NGOs who are dealing childcare and education in Chennai: orphanages, oldage homes supplementary education centres, adult literacy, transit schools, disability, vocational training institutes, schools etc can register and volunteers can be used only for teaching and skill building. E.g.teaching english, mathsm science, etc. computer trainings,life skills,. Story reading. Scribes, preparing trianing materials. Mentoring Contact CIOSA prasanna 9282339070.

AWAKE’s Int’l summit

Bangalore: To celebrate 25 years of service in empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE) organised an international summit from May 31 to June 2 to promote women SHGs. There was also a B2B Business to Business job fair at the Palace Grounds where women were given vocational training. The theme of the summit was “Voice of Women-2008: The role and contribution of Women to global economy!”

Lifeline for dead- new approaches

Aurangabad: A group of 11 women of the Panchsheel Mahila Bachat Ghat began a business of disposing of unclaimed corpses and badly mutilated bodies that relatives cannot handle. A call from the police or the government medical college and the groups rush to the spot, take the body, get it bathed in the mortuary, wrap it in a white cloth and after performing the due rituals, cremate or bury it. For this the Aurangabad Muncipal Corporation pays them Rs 15,000 per month for the disposal of up to 5 bodies. If the number increases the SHG gets an additional Rs 3000 a body. They dispose off other bodies found by the rural police as well without expecting any compensation, the leader of the SHG- which had to compete with 12 other SHGs to get the business, said.

And in a radical move in Pudukottai, four women from Thondaimanallur village buried a dead relative after conducting the last rites. The move was initiated by the Tiruchi district President of Tamil Kalai Ilakkiya Peraval whose mother had died. The move shocked the villagers, but Suguna, one of the women said, “Even those who had resisted the move praised us later”.

Rural mela

Bangalore: To facilitate marketing for rural and tribal artisans, a 10-day “Gramshree mela” showcasing their products was held at Jayanagar May 30 by CAPART, Ministry of rural development and the District Rural Development Agency. Around 300 artisans from 150 NGOs exhibited items like coconut products, wooden carvings, coir, toys, clay and leather, glassware, beads, and rural paintings. Artisans from Karnataka, AP, Bihar Chattisgarh, TN, UP, Orissa, Punjab, MP and Goa were invited to show their ware. Every day a seminar on rural technologies was held in the evening on topics like rainwater harvesting, renewable energy, bamboo technology, bio-diversity conservation etc.

PAWS and Ponies
Mumbai: On 8th June, a PAWS Team organised a Pony / Horse vaccination & health check-up camp in Kalyan . Horses / ponies used for 'Tonga' (Horse driven cart) were checked for Health and also vaccinated against 'Serra' disease & Tetanus vaccinations given PAWS team also visited the owners of the horses at their residence. Dr. Datta Raje along with other LSS vaccinated the horses. Volunteers Kunal Chheda gave first aid to the ponies & Crystal filled the cart owners' data and treatment records. Anushree & Aashim helped the vet in preparing vaccinations. Over 25 ponies were checked and treated as well as vaccinated. “We teach the horse-owners that they are not the masters of ponies but they are the partners of these animals. If pony don't work then the owners cannot run his business. So they should treat the owners as partners & more humanely”. This is the 5th year when PAWS organized camp for working horses.

Below is the link of few photos of the camp uploaded in Orkut network:
http://www.orkut. com/Album. aspx?uid= 1163772028153342 3481&aid= 1212979437

Contact Nilesh Bhanage www.pawsasia.org <http://www.pawsasia .org/>
Tel : 0251 – 2625059 Cell : 09820161114

For NGOs working on disaster

Mumbai: To procure early help during disaster and ensure all affected people get relief, Dr Rita Savla, Disaster Management consultant, Mumbai is preparing list of NGO working in field of Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation.

”We are collecting information in which field NGO or individuals is working or can help in relief at to what extent so it'll become easy for government and people working in field of Disaster Management to channelise relief work and all affected people get help in systematic manner.” Send info to Mob 91-9833835789 Dr Rita Savla dr_ritasavla@ yahoo.co.in.

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End of Life Care

The Bhaktivedanta Hospital, Mira Road provides Palliative Care & Hospice Free of cost to needy people by going to their homes. Physician and a team of experts go to the homes of patients suffering from terminal disorders like Cancer, HIV-AIDS, End Stage Renal, Lung , Heart & Liver diseases.They are offered Medical, Psychological, Social, Financial & Spiritual care with their relatives. NGO's and person wishing to avail of this service can contact Tel +91-9223543566 Email : drjigarjoshi@ gmail.com.

Open Forum on Creches

Bangalore: Sutradhar had an Open Forum on Creches on June 6th, at Vishranti Nilaya to draw attention to a crucial entitlement of the young child and her working parents, and to learn about organizations that have stepped in to make a difference. Creches are typically centres that provide daycare and preschool education to young children. Both in
number and quality, they are severely inadequate. Those who shared their perspective and work related to crèches were. Dr Archana Mehendale, independent researcher, Nomita Chandy, Ashraya which has been running creches at construction sites for some years, Benson Isaac, Samvada which has partnered with KSCCW in refining their training programme so that balsevikas or creche workers can begin to see themselves as women entrepreneurs, Nina Nayak, of Karnataka State Council for Child Welfare involved with policy, creche worker training, and the running of creches for many years. Guest facilitator: Dr Usha Abrol. Contact Sutradhar Tel: 080-25288545 / 25215191.

Bi - Cycle Jaatha 2008

Bangalore: Jagruthi, an organization working in the area of HIV/AIDS
organized a 5 km.cycle Jaatha (Procession) on June 15 from Cubbon Park around Queens Road and back. to highlight awareness on issues concerning HIV and AIDS. The participants of the procession included members and beneficiaries of its "Young Peoples Initiative" project. Jagruthi (http://www.jagruthi .org.in/) runs various kinds of programs to benefit sexually exploited women and female children, sex workers, transsexuals and men who have sex with men ( MSMs). Their programs include:- Child centered programs for commercially and sexually exploited female children and adolescents – Home Care Centers, Pediatric Care Centers, Skill Development Centers, Working Women's Hostel, Counseling on teen pregnancies,Crèche/Play school for children of sex workers etc; Sexual health Clinics -.- Programs for women's empowerment targeting migrant labourers,spouses/partners of men with multiple sexual partners, women sex workers etc.- Rescue of victims of child trafficking. Young Peoples Initiative concerns dissemination of knowledge to adolescents about HIV/AIDS, and operates on a"peer education model". The program has successfully trained more than 250 adolescents and 3500 youth as peer educators. contact: Mrs.Chethana – 99804 85770 or Mr.Mahesh – 94803 30286 Email : jagru.kinder@ gmail.com, Website: http://www.jagruthi .org.in

Welcome help for the “depressed”

Chennai: SDD (Society for the Development of the Depressed) have been implementing an "Educational Sponsorship Programme" for poor students who are living in the villages and studying in various Government and Private Schools situated in their neighboring villages from the class 6th – 12th std. They need Uniforms, Note books and text books Coaching , Shoes, geometry boxes, bags, bicycles, playing materials (The cost per child is Rs. 2400- Rs 2500 per child per annum.) SDD is operating in Chetput, Tiruvannamalai Dist, TN, in the Rural Economic Zone (REZ).email: manavalansdd@gmail.com telephone: 094435-57572 website: http://www.sdd.org.in.

US invests $20 mn to eliminate child labour in India

Kolkata: The United States has invested $20 million in India to eliminate child labour from hazardous industries in 21 districts across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and NCT Delhi, US Consul- General Henry V Jardine said on June9.

"The US Labour Department has contributed $20 mn to the INDUS project, the largest programme ever supported by the department outside the US, which aims to ensure child labour elimination from hazardous industries in 21 districts," he said while inaugurating a seminar on "The Right Response to Child Labour" at the American Centre here.

The programme works in conjunction with the Government of India's National Child Labour Project, Jardine said. India has also contributed $20 million for the project.

Quoting ILO estimates, "The Asia Pacific region holds the dubious distinction of having the highest number of working children in the world - over 122 million. Many of the worst forms of child labour are still important concerns for the region, including bonded forced labour, child trafficking and prostitution. Stating that investing in education was a sound economic decision, Jardine said a recent ILO study found that the elimination of child labour and its replacement by universal education would yield major economic benefits (a ratio of 6 to 1) in addition to social benefits. http://economictime s.indiatimes. com/>

Disability Helpline!

New Delhi: The Disability helpline – ( open Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 4.00 pm) at 26466250 is part of the Aarth-Astha Disability Resource Centre which serves as an information resource provider for children and persons with disabilities, their families and others.The Aarth- Astha Disability Helpline also collaborates with The National Trust for the welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability.

The collaboration with The National Trust will enable the helpline to give regular, updated information on the various Schemes, Facilities and programmes initiated by them. The Disability Helpline Reaches out with Counselling, Referrals And Information On: Laws and Rights, Facilities, Schemes, Disability Certificate, Education, Health, Guardianship and other Disability issues and Concerns regarding : children and Persons with disability, families and carers of persons with disabilities, Professionals working in the field of disability. It does this by going to them personally, sharing information, conducting workshops and training sessions. The Disability Helpline would like to establish links with organizations and work out ways to sustain these links E-mail your queries at: aarth.helpline@gmail.com.

The Red Ribbon arr in TN

Chennai: The Red Ribbon Express arrived at Katpadi Jn Railway Station on May 27 and will traverse the entire state of Tamil Nadu during June and July.The Red Ribbon Express arrived at Chennai city on June 1 This is an initiative of NACO (TANSACS), Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (Ministry of Youth Affairs) and UNICEF along with Indian Railways .Write to Paul Jeyraj e-mail: <tcpcsin@yahoo.co.in>.

New school inaugurated

Chennai: Amar Seva Sangam, Ayikudy began funcationing from a new hall and classroom with the inauguration of the Sri.T.N.Natarajan memorial hall and class rooms (donated by Nandalala Seva Samithi Trust, Chennai) for its Sivasaraswathi Vidyalaya middle school. The premises were inaugurated by Sri.S.M.Uzair, managing director, Hotel Woodlands, Hongkong, who was the donor of the hall on June 10. Smt.Geetha Sankaran, Handicare International, Canada handed over sponsorship funds for physically challenged children and youth trainees of Amar Seva Sangam and its building fund for a Centre for special education.

Akanksha Report

Mumbai: The Training Institute which comprises three components - Residential training, Education Convention and a practical training - started on May 18 with a week long Residential Training for new teachers. From May 26- 31, the Education Convention was held at St. Xaviers College, Mumbai. The keynote speakers at the convention were Jo Chopra from the Latika Roy Foundation and Shukla Bose from Parikrma. guest trainers from the American School, Mumbai and Ummeed as well as a few others space is needed for the center at Colaba during the week from 8:30 am to 11:30 am.. The center has been running out of a public garden since January. Space is also needed at Worli (9-11:30am) and (3-5:30pm) and Lower Parel (9-11:30am) and afternoon (3-5:30pm) for this academic year. Contact: admin@akanksha.org.

Citizens Help the Mangroves

Mumbai:over one hundred citizens came out of their homes, to participate in a citizens movement on June 8, between 9:30 AM and 12 noon. Volunteers gathered at various points along the Mangrove line from HDFC lane to Natasha Tower end of Juhu Versova Link Road, Andheri West.
They brought old cloth pieces and all worked together under the directions of SAVE Forum (http://www.saveforum.org/) to prepare a chindi fence from Versova end of the Juhu Versova Link Road to the HDFC lane. The entire stretch of mangrove land was fenced in by three strands of cloth tied to bamboo posts, brought by the citizens who are disappointed with the apathy and lethargy exhibited by the City and State Government. Even judicial orders fall by the wayside due to vast delays in implementation. Shri Deepak Mehta, SAVE Forum promised the citizens of escalating this activity further if the 'powers that be' do not act promptly and put up a proper fence and protect the mangroves which are the first line of defense in case of monsoon storms and high tides.

Friends Honour

Vadodara: The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers”, “The Institution of Engineers” and “BSNL – Vadodara District” on the occasion of Symposium on 40th World Telecom and information society day” on May 17, took up the theme Connecting Persons with Disabilities – ICT Opportunities for All. The speakers were Dr. C.S. Buch – From Disability & Ability : Focus ICT; Dr. B.P. Lulla & Dr. Ronak Pandit ( K.G. Children Hospital ) – ICT Opportunity for Special children; Shri Purshottam Panchal (Seva Tirth) – ICT : Opportunity Transformation – Differently abled to highly abled; Mrs. Jayshreeben Shah (Gujarat Refinery) – ICT : Design for All – Adaptive & Assistive Technology.

Friends Society were requested to attend the programme along with any beneficiary who had actually overcome his disability and stood on his own feet primarily through the utilization / application of computers. Mr. Virendra Rana, physically challenged, who has been coming to Friends Society since last 2 decades, was the obvious choice, since he perfectly blended with Theme of the programme. Subsequently, Virendra shared his association with FS, in which he recalled the role of various FS members & Specialist Teachers through whose support he had overcome his mobility problem and started working on computers and is self-employed. At the conclusion of the Symposium, Virendra Rana was felicitated by the Chief Guest, Major Gen. Harkirat Singh, Commandant, EME School, Vadodara.Contact.

Tourism festival at Chakrashila WLS

A three day Chakrashila Conservation Tourism Festival was held in the first week of April. 12 houses in the area were selected for tourist home stays based on criteria like the presence of clean toilets, a guest room, running water and accessibility. Homes for tourist stays were selected at Jornagra (Rabha village), Siljan-Khagrikhola (Garo village), Ultapani (Nepali/Bodo village), Jharbari (Bodo /Nepali village) and Amguri (Santhal/Adivasi village).The Forest Department agreed to pay an amount of Rs. 200-300 to the villagers for the home stays --the cost of food and travel was to be borne by the visitors. Contact: DFO, I/c Chakrashila WLS, Dhubri Division, PO Dhubri, Dist. Dhubri. Assam. Tel: 03662 – 230967.(Source:The Telegraph, 21/03/08).

Marine Conservation Reserve in Agatti

India’s first Marine Conservation Reserve is to be set up in the Agatti Atoll in the Lakshadweep Islands. The local panchayat is reported to have formally forwarded a proposal to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for the declaration. The move is an outcome of a project initiated in 2005 by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) with support of the UK based Darwin Initiative. Contact: Dr. Deepak Apte, BNHS, Tel: 022-2821811. Fax: 2837615. Email: bnhs_conservation@vsnl.net.

Demand for new tiger reserve, six new wildlife sanctuaries

Participants in a symposium held in April on the ‘Conservation of Wild Tigers in Orissa’ have asked for the inclusion of the Sunabeda Sanctuary under Project Tiger. It was pointed out that Sunabeda has the second highest number of tigers in the state after Simlipal, and that the forests here are contiguous with the Udanti-Sitanadi sanctuaries in Chhattisgarh (Udanti-Sitanadi has been recently cleared for inclusion under Project Tiger). The symposium emphasized the need for better coordination among various Government agencies for protection and development of both tiger habitats and human communities in and around the Simlipal Tiger Reserve. The necessity of accelerating the relocation of remaining villages in Simlipal and of instituting a livelihoods program for the relocated families was also highlighted. Organized by Wild Orissa, the symposium further suggested the immediate constitution and convening of the State Wildlife Board, and to create a dedicated and well-trained Forest Protection Force; to grant magisterial powers to Wildlife Wardens and ACFs; to cancel all arms licenses within 10 km of protected areas and to declare the forests of Narayanpatna, Gupteswar, Gandhamardhan, Kapilash, Malayagiri and Chandrapur as wildlife sanctuaries. (Source: The Pioneer, 23/04/08).Contact: Wild Orissa, Bhubaneshwar. Tel: 0674-512044. Email: wildorissa@hotmail.com

Villagers around Bhitarkanika NP allegedly harassed

People’s Watch, a human rights NGO has alleged that there has been a rapid escalation of human rights violation in the fringe villages of the Bhitarkanika National Park. They have said that forest and police personnel, armed with stringent forest protection laws are harassing locals and have even unleashed a reign of terror here. The NGO conducted a public hearing in the villages and found that the residents of Dangmal, Talchua, Gupti, Rangani, Iswarpur and Satabhaya along the border of the park were living in a state of constant panic and fear. The NGO has said that they have also come across cases of sexual exploitation of women and girl children by the enforcement agencies. (Source: The Statesman, 16/04/08).

NGOS and railways join hands

Vadodara: Runaway children invariably find themselves on railway stations with nowhere to go. Begging or selling, they are leading an abnormal existence. Since the lat 12 years Vikas Jyot Trust, and Don Bosco Snehalaya have been working with the railways to identify these children, either re-uniting them with their families, providing education and vocational guidance and even jobs for some of them. Some of them have to be put into rehabs for de-addiction. The Railway Police Force have been sensitized by these organization to change their harsh attitude towards these children and the Vadodara division of the Western Railways has given a space to an NGO working for their rehabilitation where the children often play games like carom and board games.

WEBSITES

Visit for info on cancer and help” http://www.helplineforcancer. com/?p=30

A Malayalam website www.manoramaonline.com/environment to mark the World Environment Day has uploaded a film in English `Somewhere there is a river' Malayalam feature film (w/subtitles) directed by Mr. Kalavoor Ravikumar. The film has references to people's struggle in Plachimada (Palakkad) against the Cola company..

Limelight, a team comprising advocates, chartered accountants and auditors has launched www.legalight.com, an online legal service. Enquiries pertaining to Indian legal matters such as marriage, adoption, divorce, property etc can be made online at the website and advice will be provided free of cost.

Housing and urban poverty alleviation minister Kumari Selja on Tuesday launched a website, www.HIVresponsecorner", aimed at highlighting the relationship between poverty and the deadly disease and inform the public about government's policy to counter the menace. Apart from basic facts on HIV, the contents of the dedicated HIV corner in the portal of the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (HUPA) will include the relationship of poverty and HIV and impact of the epidemic on the family and community. Data on HIV and AIDS, will be periodically updated. It also has a link with the NACO website said P K Mohanty, joint secretary in the ministry. http://mhupa. gov.in/AIDSCENTRE/page2.htm

The team of volunteers working at the OngNgo.net Global Registrar for nonprofit NGOs is proud to announce the success of the initiative and is convinced that this registrar will help all the NGOs mainly when performing international contacts. The OngNgo.net Global Registrar is a simple online registrar that allocates an identification number and an international acronym to each NGO making the process of due diligence and verification about an NGO much easy. The registrar is completely free for nonprofit NGOs and it's maintained by volunteers. The registrar it's located at www.ongngo.net. Together with the registration OngNgo.net makes available for the registered NGOs a website, also for free. Contact: ongsgsngo@yahoo.com.

NGO Fund Raising Strategies,from GDRC's Programme on the NGO Cafe

This NGO Cafe feature was created to collate current thinking and resources on the topic. These are strategies for fund raising in general, and the Cafe itself does not disburse funds to NGOs. Check http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/funding/fund-raising.html.

Community Radio Forum M’ship

Community Radio Forum of India (CRF) invites radio members to join two categories of membership:o Institutional or Individual Membership Institutional Membership is for Any 'Not for Profit' organization registered who are practicing and/or promoting the concept of Community Radio -- "of the community, by the community and for the community", and appropriately reflected in the management and ownership structures of its Community Radio Station (CRS).

Individual Membership: Community radio broadcasters,/programmers, researchers, activists, engaged in Community Radio Fee:Institutional Rs.1000 p.a. Individual Rs.300pa.

Download the membership form. CRF Secretariat address: c/o. Drishti, Ahmedabad Tel: 079-2685 1234/6661 4235 <mailto: crfindia@gmail.com> drishtiad1@gmail.com

Dissent is not allowed

A team of Manipur Police arrested Mr Sapamcha Kangleipal Meetei, a key human rights defender and forerunner youth leader of Manipur (India) for organising a public discussion on the Arming the Civilians and Its Possible Consequences (in Manipur) and making statements regarding the above issue reportedly demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister of Manipur in response to the failure of governance. The youth leader was picked up from the Manipur Press Club on 7 May 2008 on charges of sedition against Government shortly after the public discussion.

The police team reportedly forced a local TV station to switch off the live telecast of the public discussion. The police team reportedly attempted to take him away forcibly at the very outset of the Discussion. Mr. Sapamcha Kangleipal aged about 27, has been working at the local grassroots level as President of the Manipur Forward Youth Front (MAFYF) over the last seven years.

MAFYF had organised this public discussion on the existing issue of the Arming the Civilians on 7 May 2008 at the Manipur Press Club, Imphal. The discussion was the follow up of one incident triggered by some armed cadres of People Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), an armed opposition group in Manipur, who reportedly shot dead two girls and a boy while another girl sustained injuries on March 24 at a local traditional festival dance.

After hearing Many of the leading civil society groups of Manipur namely, United People Front (UPF), National Identity Protection Committee (NIPCO), All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU), Manipur Peace and Integrity Council(MAPI- Council), Manipur Forward Youth Front (MAFYF), Centre For Organisation Research and Education (CORE), All Manipur Kanba Ima Lup(AMKIL), Tammi Chingmi Apunba Ima Lup(Tammi Chingmi), All Manipur Women Social Reformation and Development Samaj(NUPI SAMAJ), Advanced Women Society Sekmai, United People Administrative Council (UPACO), Thoubal District United Women Development Organisation, Thangmeiband Apunba Ima Lup(THANIL), ANUL ( Bishnupur), Macha Leima and Ethno Heritage Council(HERICOUN) the groups strongly protested the arrest and demanded the unconditional release of Kangleipal immediately.

Sevalaya +2 Results

Sevalaya's Mahakavi Bharathiyar School secured 100% pass in the Agricultural stream for fourth year in a row. We also got 100 % result in the Biology stream. 80 students from 3 streams of study viz Computer Science group, Biology group and Agriculture group and 79 of them cleared their exams successfully. The overall pass % is 98.75.

The students of Sevalaya School are from poor families and most of them are first generation learners. Of the top 3 students, Umamaheswari's parents are daily wages labourers; Ramachandrans father rears cattle for daily wages and Surya lost her father at a very young age. Her mother works for daily wages. Sevalaya has been able to provide these children and 1000 more such children, a good education.

The average annual expenses of education per student for a year is Rs 6000 Contact: V. Muralidharan,Sevalaya-602024 Tel: 9444620286 e-mail: sevalaya@vsnl.com; sevalaya2@gmail.com; website: www.sevalaya.org.

World AIDS Orphan Day!

FXB India Suraksha Eastern Region observed World AIDS Orphan Day on May 7 --West Bengal, Bihar, Sikkim and Tripura organised different events to bring the issues of AIDS orphans to government and advocate for their Rights.

FXB India Suraksha-Bihar and Bihar State AIDS Control Society, jointly organized AIDS Awareness Rally with approx. 1000 participant from NSS-Patna University, and schools.
The Rally was jointly flaged off by Art, Culture and Youth Minister Smt Renu Devi and Mayor of Patna. FXB Sikkim organised a painting competition in a school in Gangtok on the theme of plight of AIDS orphans with nearly 80 children. This was followed by a Football tournament for school students - 700 people gathered to cheer. On May 6, FXB Tripura Unit organized an art competition with 150 children in Agartala Rabindra Bhaban. On 7th May a seminar was organised in a Community Hall in Agartala with 300 participants.

On May 6, In Paschim Medinipur district, W.B. where a FXB Village program is going on - a cycle rally with 100 cyclists was organised by FXB W.B. team involving local youth, CBO, NGOs and others, followed by a meeting of 200 people at the Panchayet Hall. On May 7, in Dhapa Dhibi Slum, local clubs, youth volunteers, NGOs, community leaders marched with WAOD banner & placards. This was followed by painting competition by the slum children, cultural events by local children and ended with candlelight vigil by children of the community.

FXB India Suraksha (Jharkhand) and State AIDS Control Society jointly observed the World AIDS Orphans Day near Vidhan Sabha, Ranchi with a signature campaign. Ms Rama Khalkho, the Mayor of Ranchi inaugurated the campaign Contact S.N.Ghosh Consultant FXB India SurakshaD-27,Ashok ViharRanchi-834002 Soumendra GhoshE-MAIL: <soum_ghosh2002@yahoo.co.in>, <madhur80@hotmail.com>

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Wrote:
Agriculture can be remunerative and profitable only if productivity is improved. Productivity in India is distressingly low. please see the table attached. I also attach a table on Paddy yield demonstrated at our farm.Though we are endowed with best agronomical condition our productivity is low see attached data sheet.

COST /RETURN

DETAILS MANUAL (Rs.) MACHINE (Rs.) DRUM SEEDER (Rs.) YIELD (KG) 1800 2300 3000 VALUE (Rs) 10800 13800 21000 COST (Rs) 8800 7500 6000 PROFIT (Rs) 2000 6300 15000

Faith in action vs. HIV/AIDS

Bangalore: The Art of Living, in association with UNAIDS and Asian Interfaith Network on AIDS (AINA), hosted 'Faith in Action', a Hindu leaders' caucus on HIV/AIDS, on June 1-2 at the Art of Living International Centre here.
Swamijis from mutts and ashrams across the world attended the conference, along with more than 200 delegates, including representatives of UN agencies, National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), state AIDS control societies, members of Parliament and NGOs working for AIDS control.

Apart from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living, Chidanand Saraswatiji of Rishikesh, Swami Samarpanananda Giri of Puri, Manoj Kumar Diwedi of Mata Vaishno Devi, Swami Sampurnanand Saraswati of Kurukshetra, Swami Agnivesh of World Council of Arya Samaj, Pranav Pandya, Gayatri Parivar and Iskcon members from Manipur participated.

The conclave will focus on building a platform for Hindu leaders to work out a coherent HIV/AIDS strategy and action plan for communities across India and the world.

ART in all districts

Chennai:A one day advocacy on needs and rights on HIV/AIDS, WHLA and CLHA organized by the Manipur Positive Women Network, MPWN+ under the sponsorship of the Positive Women Network, Chennai was held on May 24 at the conference hall of the state youth centre, Khuman Lampak.

Speaking as chief guest in the inaugural function of the programme Dr, Pramod Singh, project director Manipur AIDS Control Society observed that 34 percent of the people infected by the disease are women with around 90 percent of them in the reproductive stage.He announced that from the next year, facilities of administering ART will be opened in all the headquarters of the nine districts adding that currently the authority is working for opening ART centres at Tamenglong, Kangpokpi, Jiribam and Moreh. President of PWN+, Chennai, P Kausaliya Devi presided.

New Ward for HIV kids
Puducherry: On June 5, SfDRT Society for Development Research and Training invited Chief Minister of Puducherry to inaugurate a new ward for children infected with HIV/AIDS at a 20 bedded hospital which will treat opportunistic infections. With the support of “Fondazione Aiutare i Bambini” SfDRT could have a building for the purpose of admitting 20 HIV infected children at a time and treating their opportunistic infections; give 100 infected children nutritional support worth 1050/- per month per child, etc. Contact Shyamala Ashok Executive Secretary – SFDRT e-mail: <aabinand@sify.com> Tel: 0413-2277846.

Hair-y help

Patna: Barbers in Bihar will henceforth not only trim hair, but also educate people on AIDS and double up as condom-vending stores. At least 15,000 barbers would be recruited across the state by the Bihar Aids Society to educate people on the dangers posed by the disease and safe sex.

The joint director of the AIDS Society, Vishal Singh, said in Patna that barbers' services would be useful as they have access to all strata of society. ''They can teach people that AIDS is not a communicable disease and that patients should not be treated as untouchables. '' They can tell people of the benefits of practising safe sex by using condoms which are being provided free .Their shops will also sell the contraceptives. Besides the salons, condoms will also be available in beauty parlours, massage parlours and other outlets which have mushroomed. http://www.expressindia.com/.

CSR

Sterlite Foundation empowers slum youth

Mumbai: Around 1000 youth from the slums at Mankhurd, Govandi and Chembur have been trained in Computers free. The Foundation has associated with companies like Reliance, Tata Retail, The Loot, Essar Communications, Subhiksha Ltd, Planet M and Shoppers Stop for providing placements for these students.

30 students have already been placed with leading companies and we are also associating with various NGOs like Toy Foundation, Silver Innings, Apne Aap and few others to provide similar educational facilities to their beneficiaries.The Foundation has associated with Government of India and adopted 800 anganwadis at Rajasthan and Orissa reaching out to 32,000 children. contact: Ms. Roshan John 9322512096 Manager PR Sterlite Foundation www.sterlitefoundation.org.

The following is the list of Indian civil society representatives accredited to participate in the high-level meeting on a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in realizing the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, convened on 10 and 11 June 10/11 2008 at UN, USA (from INDIA 56 CSO are accredited).

Serial No: Name of the agency

213 AIDS Prevention society

214 Association for Rural Uplift and National Allegiance

215 Bikash Bharati Welfare Society

216 Bill Clinton Center for AIDS Research & Education, (B'Care)

217 BOSS & CIPCA (Blood donors Organisation for Social Service (BOSS) and its AIDS branch Center for Information; Prevention and Counselling on AIDS (CIPCA)

218 Buds of Christ

219 CARE foundation

220 Child foundation of India

221 Christian AIDS National Alliance

222 Disaster Management Training Institute (DMTI),

223 EMPOWER

224 Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF)

225 FELLOWS FOR RECONSTRUCTION, INITIATIVE, EDUCATION, NOURISHMENT & DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIETY (FRIENDS)

226 Freedom Foundation

227 GGS Institute of information Communication Technology India

228 Global center for prevention of diseases (GCPD),

229 Global harmony

230 Glorious world organisation

231 Gram Bharati Samiti (GBS)

232 Health and Public Welfare Society of IHO

233 HIV-Network

234 IMAECSED (International Movement for Advancement of Education Culture Social & Economic Development)

235 India HIV/AIDS Alliance

236 Indira Gandhi Charitable Foundation

237 Indu Health Research Foundation

238 International Services Association INSA India

239 Late Dr G M Bhavsar Charitable Trust

240 LEPRA Society

241 Lokdeep Manav Vikas Sanstha Parbhani India

242 Maitri

243 Mamta Samajik Sanstha

244 MISBAH

245 Narottam Lalbhai Rural Development Fund

246 National Council of Churches in India

247 Network of Asia Pacific Youth

248 Noble Academy

249 North East India Harm Reduction Network

250 Orissa Voluntary Health Association

251 People Like Us (PLUS) Kolkata

252 Peoples action for social service

253 People's Action for Social Service

254 Positive Awareness Service Society

255 Positive Women Network

256 Regional AIDS Training Center and Network in India (RATNEI), International Health Organization

257 RRR INDUSTRIES, Member Company of GBC and Coordinator of SME Business Initiative on HIV/AIDS in INDIA

258 Rural Organisation for Social Education

259 Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanstha

260 Sarada Society for Care & Counselling of AIDS(SSCCA)

261 Shantiniketan Mahila Kalyan Samiti

262 SKG Sangha

263 Social Awareness Service Organisation

264 SOMA - (Social Organisation for Mental Health Action)

265 SPACE (Society for People's Awareness, Care & Empowerment)

266 St. Paul's Trust

267 Swapnil Education Society

268 The Catholic Health Association of India

269 YR Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education

Indian prostitutes receive life insurance

Kolkata: Around 250 sex workers in Kolkata have, for the first time received life insurance cover from a State-owned corporation. They believe this to be a step forward in their long standing crusade aimed at legalising their profession to help bring them into the mainstream and fight poverty and discrimination.

"The policy from the Life Insurance Corporation of India may not change much in our life, but this small step is a giant leap forward in our struggle for legal recognition of sex work," Bharati Dey of the Indomitable Women's Coordination Committee in Kolkata, said.

The committee that campaigns for safe sex and to make prostitution legal has 65,000 sex workers as members in eastern Bengal province.”This is the first time that a government company has recognised us as professionals", declared 45-year old Dey from the city's Sonagachi red light district.The insurance policies, which are now expected to include sex workers outside Kolkata, are not the only advance for women in the world's oldest profession.

In the western port city of Mumbai, a bank run by sex workers was established some years ago to help free them from exploitative brothel owners who maltreated them and kept them in wretched conditions. Started by a handful of sex workers in Kamathipura, Mumbai's red light district, it now has hundreds of clients. (Source the Telegraph).

OBIT

Veteran Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande passed away in New Delhi on May 1 morning. She was 79.A die hard Gandhian, she had received the Padma Vibhushan in 2006.She had joined Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan Movement in 1952 and undertook padyatras of forty thousand kilometres with him.She has also written several books, prominent among them being Vinobake Sath, Kranti Ki Rah Par, Chingling, Seemant and Vinoba.

RTI Hungama

The RTI application asking for information (like muster rolls and measurement books) under the RTI Act, 2005, was filed on 4 December 2006 by Miyaganj block resident Yeshwant Rao at the local Block office. He received a reply after more than six months (June 2007) asking him to submit Rs. 1,58,400 (at an arbitrarily fixed rate of Rs. 2,400 per village panchayat for 66 panchayats of the Miyaganj Block).

This followed a long battle in the State Information Commission of UP where after more than ten hearings ultimately an order was passed directing the Block officials to provide information free of cost. The people of Miyaganj finally started getting the documents on 6 April 2008 pertinent to the NREGS work done in their block. This is the most detailed information that Asha Parivar has got in its attempts to conduct social audits so far in this area (earlier social audits of NREGS have been conducted in Bharawan, Sandila and Behender Blocks of neighbouring Hardoi District)., email: arundhatidhuru@yahoo.co.uk Sandeep, email: ashaashram@yahoo.com.

Global Action Week

New Delhi: When children in organized groups of 10-15 started knocking the door of Parliamentarians early in the morning it was a great surprise for them. Representatives of Bachpan Bachao Andolan(BBA) and National Coalition for Education (NCE) along with more than 100 former child laborers on April 25 knocked the doors of more than 50 Parliamentarian well before they could move to Parliament to remind the parliamentarians about government’s promises made at Dakar regarding education for all. Children submitted their charter of demand addressed to Prime Minister of India demanding 6% of GDP spending on education.

A common school system, making the law child friendly, regulation of private school system, compliance of Millennium Development Goals Dakar goals were main issues of charter of demands.

Almost all the parliamentarians who met the children welcomed the more and assured of their fullest cooperation. Mr. Rama Kant Rai, Convener of National Coalition for Education said that some of the parliamentarians still thought within the coterie of party, caste, region and religion. However most of the parliamentarians are in support of the movement. Mr. Rai was optimistic about the bill on right to education being tabled in the current session. The Global Action week was supported and participated by International organizations like Care India, Save the Children Fund, Mukti Ashram, Global March Against child Labour, Bal Ashram, Bal Vikas Dhara, Save the Childhood Foundation, etc. The Global Action week was observed in 12 states and Union Territories of India.Dr. Ramakant Rai Convenor National Coalition for Education New DelhiPh: 91-11-41328866, 41602524 Email: nceindia@gmail.com Web: www.nce.org.in.

Dharna at Jantar Mantar

New Delhi: To raise a collective voice against displacement & The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 2007 and The Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill, 2007 a dharna on April 28-30 was launched. In effect, these Bills sanction displacement and loot of more and more land from the people for the profit of corporations and private investors.

It is now nothing more than a puppet of industrialists and capitalists, snatching all natural resources away from the people. On the other hand, for the multitudes-Dalits, Adivasis, agricultural workers, farmers, fish workers, artisans, forest dwellers- who have been facing the harsh reality of displacement and complete dispossession for years, there doesn't seem to be even the hope of rehabilitation now.

But be it in Nandigram or Jagatsinghpur, be it against uprooting people in the name of SEZs, mining or big dams or against the 'illegalisation' of urban poor, our country reverberates with voices of protest and struggle like never before. People are resisting the snatching away of the means of their lives and livelihood. They are resisting the theft and transfer of natural and common property resources into private hands for private profit. They are resisting the gross undermining of democracy and social justice that goes on in the name of development. The Land Acquisition Bill allows land to be forcefully acquired in favour of private companies and investors, thus including private purpose in the definition of 'public purpose'. It is more regressive and anti-people than even the original Colonial Act!

Ashok Chaudhary, Roma (National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers), Gautam Bandhopadhyay (Nadi Ghati Morcha) Shaktiman Ghosh (National Hawkers Federation) Ulka Mahajan (SEZ Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti) Medha Patkar (Narmada Bachao Andolan & National Alliance of People's Movements) Gabriele D (Pennurumai Iyyakam & National Alliance of People's Movements) Mukta Srivastava , Simpreet Singh (Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan) Rajendra Ravi (National Alliance of People's Movements) Sr. Celia (National Alliance of People's Movements) Sandhya Devi (Kalahandi Mahila Samiti, Orissa) Bhupendra Rawat (Jan Sangharsh Vahini) Suniti S R (Vishthapan Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti) Geetha D (Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam) Subhash Bhatnagar (NCCUSW) Sandeep Pandey (Asha Parivar and National Alliance of People's Movements).

Persistence Resistance:

A festival of contemporary political films screened over 100 films from April 28-3-, at IIC, Delhi.

The idea is to showcase the range of subjects and forms the films work with, and to interrogate the emerging aesthetics of political filmmaking.Simultaneously the festival will present films in multiple ways of seeing, interacting and engaging by creating installations, outdoor screenings and small intimate screening spaces along with regular auditorium screenings.

It also explored the linkages between art,literature, theatre, comics, animation, censorship with films.The full schedule can be downloaded http://www.magiclanternfoundation.org/.

Two New Projects

Pune:A project called “Gamat Shala,” meaning Play School was recently implemented to provide day care to the children of people who live in nearby slums and work in the brick kilns. For over ten years Maher has been reaching out to the people who live in the local impoverished tribal communities only recently was it officially declared a Maher project, bringing more attention and support to the efforts of Maher in tribal villages. The project has been named “Adivasi Vikas Kendra”. In another tribal village, Daphalewasti an educational daycare was implemented for about 30 older children-- range from 8 to 14 years who have never been to school before. Maher has also finally settled in a new administrative building donated to Maher by the Ring Family of the UK which was inaugurated on March 2 . Maher is in the process of planning a Staff Training Center to cover such topics as nursing, teaching, administrative skills, computer skills, counseling, community development etc.Maher is planning to build new staff and guest quarters for volunteers. Contact 020 – 27033421 / 9325313280 Email: maherpune@gmail.com

New NGO for MSMs

Rajkot: Nokhu Aaikhu, which means a different life, will cater to the humanitarian and emotional needs of MSM members as well as People Living with HIV/Aids (PLHWA). An offshoot of Lakshya Trust, which has been working with MSMs in Saurashtra, Nokhu Aaikhu has been formed and registered in Rajkot and will work with MSM PHLWA in Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar districts," said Sushila Prajapati of ActionAid.. "There was a need for a different organisation for MSMs and trans-genders who were HIV positive or had Aids, " said Nokhu Aaikhu president Kanan, who has been an outreach worker with Lakshya Trust.

On the occasion of the formation of Nokhu Aikhu, a workshop was held under the aegis of ActionAid India, Gujarat branch. It was decided that they would submit a memorandum to state health minister, health commissioner and district collector, highlighting their demands for antodaya cards for PLHWA people, free passes for train and bus travel for MSM PLHW.

Free heart surgery

Sri Sathya Insititute Higher medical science confirms that not only children but for any one under 50 they will perform any kind of heart surgery free of cost if they cannot afford to pay.Contact Sri Sathya Insititute Higher medical sciences,EPIP area,Whitefield Bangalore - 560066 . Karnataka India.TEL: +91 080 2841 1500 email: adminblr@ssihms.org.in.

Conf.held

The Center for Media Research & Development (CMRD), which generates awareness on issues of social concern o June 7 organised a one day work shop on RTI. bringing experts, social activists and others together. Surendra ChaturvediSecretary CMRD+91-9828151843( Mobile).

7th Convention of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) was held at Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh (UP)on June 7,8 The Alliance, over the years has brought together diverse groups engaged in struggles across the country and drawn people's attention to the marginalization of the majority of the people for the benefit of the wealthy and influential few.Whether it is Nandigram, Singur, Kalinganar, Ayodhya, Posco, Gorai, Plachimada, Chengara, Kakinanda, the cruelest violence is used to displace, dispossess, dis-employ and dehumanize people killing the democratic space and social justice sought to be enshrined in our Constitution.

Over the last 12-14 years, NAPM has been at the forefront of people's struggles be it the slum-demolitions in Mumbai and other cities and towns, displacement by various dams and projects, the Enron struggle, the various anti-SEZ struggles, fisher peoples' struggles, WTO and World Bank Bharat Chodo campaigns, Desh Bachao Desh Banao campaigns etc. Similarly, its various constituents have led successful struggles of fisher people, those displaced by dams, those fighting globalization in its various manifestations.

Probably, never before has there been in the history, so much a need, as also an opportunity, for all democratic forces to come together and challenge the claims of those who hold seats of power in various ways, both within and outside the framework of the State The 7th NAPM Convention was an opportunity to discuss alternative development paradigm through various sustainable alternatives and experiments.Contact Keshav: 09839883518, email: napmup@gmail.com.

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A public meeting on 'enforcement of rule of law' With keynote speaker: Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud and speakers: Mr. Julio Ribeiro of Mohalla Committee Movement, Ms. Nayana Kathpalia of NAGAR/CitiSpace, Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan, President of Dignity Foundation, Mr. Dolphy D'Souza, President of Bombay Catholic Sabha and Mr. Surendra Srivastava of Lok Satta Movement.was held on , May 3 at St. Xavier's College Hall, Meeting Co-hosted by: Loksatta, AGNI, All India Slum Dwellers' Federation, Awaaz Foundation, Bombay Catholic Sabha, CitiSpace, Dignity Foundation, F- North Ward Citizens' Forum, H West Federation, Juhu Citizens' Welfare Group, Khar Residents' Association, Lok Satta Movement, MITRA (Movement against Intimidation, Threat and Violence against Activists), NAGAR, Oval Cooperage Residents' Association, PRAJA, Public Concern for Governance Trust and SPARC. contact Tel: 2373 2454.

Capacity Building Series (2008-09)Communication & Presentation Skills(May 27th -29th, 2008) for participants to learn to plan, structure and deliver their first presentation in front of an audience.was held by Development Alternatives Jhansi-Ph.-+91 510 2911368 E-mail: trainings@devalt.org.

National Seminar on Globalization and Inclusive Growth was held from May 2-4 at NUEPA, 17-B Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi – 110016 with the Themes of Sectoral,Regional,and Personal Inequalities. contact:Birla Institute of Management Technology Greater Noida Ph. 91-120-2323001-10; Mobile: 9213787320 Email: nsig@bimtech.ac.in; shri.prakash@bimtech.ac.in Website: www.bimtech.ac.in.

The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health and Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai held a one-week Summer Coursefrom June 30 - July 4, 2008 on Leadership in the Development Sector - Learning to make an impact. Equipping 'leaders' to be active 'change agents' to manage this process in a balanced and nuanced manner shall both be a challenge and a necessity. http://www.ifmr. ac.in/balm , www.thebanyan.Org.

Process documentation & communication seminar from June 26-30 was held in || Shimla To sharpen the skills of field executives on process documentation and communication; & To develop professional competence in the field executives especially belonging to development sector; andTo strengthen the qualitative reporting system in the field-based organizations/ projects.PARIMAHAL State Health Training Centre Pantha Ghati, Vikasnagar SHIMLA - 9 (Himachal Pradesh).

Integrated Communication Workshop for Grassroots Communicators-"Connecting the Unheard Voices"was organized from June 12-16 at Centre DIRECT in Muzaffar pur,Bihar. By Charkha Development Communication Network. Charkha teaches local rural writers based in communities, the use of appropriate media: print,audio, visual, digital and traditional, so that a local trained cadre is built to take the work forward in the long term. Contact Charkha Development Communication Network.
The Delhi Youth Summit on Climate (DYSoC - 2008).took place at Teen Murti Bhawan on May 28th and 29th bringing together youth from different parts of the city and different backgrounds - to discuss, debate, share concerns and find innovative solutions to the pressing problems faced by Delhi Event Organizers & Partners: Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN), Nehru Memorial Museum &amp; Library / Teen Murti Bhawan, Delhi Greens, LEAD India, Fountain of Development, Research &amp; Action (FODRA) and the YP Foundation.contact:Kartikeya SinghEvent CoordinatorIndian Youth Climate Network iycn.in Ph: +91-9999-00- 88-07 E-mail: kartikeya@delhigree ns.org IYCN, Delhi Greens 98111-477-54 govind@delhigreens.Org.

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One day National Workshop on 'Fathers and Families: Responsibilities & Challenges was held by the Development, Welfare and Research Foundation along with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) on May 14 at the UN Conference Hall The workshop was based on the theme designated by UN for the International Day of Families which is observed on 15th May and brought together academicians, researchers, policy makers, administrators, media personnel, activists, government, UN, international agencies and civil society to deliberate on how to strengthen and support families at the national and local levels. Contact: Dr. Mala Kapur Shankardass, New Delhi Mobile: + 9818138553, Fax: 91-11-26196990 e-mail: <dmahla@icrw.org>

National Institute for Rural Development, Hyderabad organized a seminar from May 19-24,on 'Promoting Girl Child Education' To sensitise agencies of education on the need of engendering education from a gender perspective; To reorient and sensitise the participants to the recent innovative experiments in primary education with focus on girls.and to develop skill and attitude among the participants to tackle socio-cultural and gender issues of primary education. Contact Dr.AV.YadappanavarCourse Director and Centre for Gender Studies, National Institute of Rural Development Hyderabad Telefax (O) : 040- 24008456 / 24008452 (O), 24018046 E.mail: avy.nird@gmail.com.

While people couldn't care less and the State continues to revel in the impunity granted to the armed forces, well-meaning social activists, journalists, academicians and young human rights activists demanded the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 at a Seminar held in New Delhi on May 22, marking the 50 years of the legislation. The event went totally unreported in the Indian media.

Open Forum organized a National level Convention on the Rights of the Child in June 27-29 at New Delhi. We are currently involved in getting inputs from all the esteemed personalities for their suggestions and opinion on this proposed National Convention on Rights of the Child. Some of the major emphasis at the Convention will be on Child Protection, trafficking, health, abuse, malnutrition, justice labour etc. Vishwendra N. Thakur, Open Forum Noida T. +91 120 4270100 F. +91 120 4270101
E-mail: vnthakur@openforum.in.