Tax Code Bill 2009 proposed by the Govt of India has included provisions which have implications on the financially sustainability and management of NGOs .It also impacts Donors, because it has implications on how donated funds will be potentially used.

Those who have been receiving 100% tax exemptions to donations to NGOs under 35AC, will be deprived of this benefit if the provisions come into effect-- No more 100% deductions on donations. On the other hand, every NPO will automatically be approved for 50% deductibility of donations. Deductible donations will continue to be restricted to 10% of Gross Total Income. In fact, part of donated funds may have to be used by NGOs to pay taxes to the Government.!

Those who have been supporting empowerment of children and women by buying products made by NGOs under their various income generating schemes, the government proposes to tax the income generated under these schemes.

Sources:. Section 72, read with Sch. 16. Direct Taxes Code Bill 2009. Sign the petition to show your objections: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/DraftDirectTaxCodeBill2009.

New Delhi: On Oct 14, without addressing any fundamental concerns with regard to GM foods like Bt Brinjal, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of India cleared Bt Brinjal, the first ever GM food crop in India and the first ever such GM vegetable in the world with the Bt poison inside it, for 'environmental release' (a euphemism being used for some reason for permission for commercial cultivation since environmental release began years ago with open air trials!). It is reported that the Government of India will now take a final decision on this.

Agricultural and environmental groups all over the country have protested against this approval by GEAC of this toxic, unneeded brinjal, which will take away choices from farmers and consumers in irreversible ways,

Text of Shri Jairam Ramesh on the issue of Bt-Brinjal:
On World Food day:
"I have just received the recommendations of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) on BT-Brinjal. I have studied the recommendations and have decide on the following course of action.

1. The report of the Expert Committee (EC-II) submitted to the GEAC on October 8th , 2009 that formed the basis of the GEACs decision of October 14th, 2009 is being made public with immediate effect. It is being uploaded straightway on the website of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (www.moef.gov.in). All previous reports and studies on BT- Brinjal are already in the public domain. Comments on the EC-II report are being sought by December 31, 2009 and I actively encourage their submission.

2. During January and February 2010, I propose to have a series of consultations in different places with scientists , agriculture experts, farmers' organizations, consumer groups and NGOs. All points of view will be represented in these consultations.

Strong views have already been expressed on the Bt-Brinjal issue, both for and against. My objective is to arrive at careful , considered decision in the public and national interest. The decision will be made only after the consultations process is complete and all stakeholders are satisfied that they have been heard to their satisfaction."

For more information, contact Kavitha Kuruganti, Kheti Virasat Mission Jaitu, Faridkot dist., Punjab Tel: +91-9393001550 or Selva +91-9891358457.

'As long as people are suffering, one cannot rest in peace', words that describe Balagopal's philosophy of life.
Human rights activist and lawyer, K.Balagopal who was an inspiration to many in the civil liberties and human rights movement in India, died of a cardiac arrest on Oct.8.

Balagopal was the founder member of Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC) and later of Human Rights Forum. ,He was also an advocate who fought several cases to obtain justice for the poor without charge. Known for his principled stands and sharp legal mind, he lived and worked with utmost simplicity and commitment - a comrade and a friend whose loss is irreparable. Balagopal was known across the country for his profound scholarship and, more than that, fearless activism in the arena of human rights covering a wide range of issues.

Azadpura is a village in Bundelkhand region which faces acute water scarcity and one problem that the women faced was a faulty well which required urgent repairing. The women aired this problem on Radio Bundelkhand and within four days the concerned authority replaced the missing wheel of the well. This is the power of Radio Bundelkhand, an initiative of Development Alternatives.

The purpose of setting up Radio Bundelkhand is to work along with the villagers to use this communication medium to create awareness, give information, participate in local self governance and provide entertainment - all based on requests and feedback from the community. The audience includes the communities in the radius of the broadcast range - with special attention to women, youth and the marginalised groups.

The community and DA, jointly manage the station. There are five community reporters and six community coordinators. The villages these reporters represent are Azadpura, Ramnagar, Sitapur, Basova, Bagan, Bhagwantpur, Ghatao, Jamuniya, Gujerra Kalan, Mathrapur and Ghatao. There is also a Management Committee comprising the Sarpanch (elected village-head) of Basova Village, doctors, farmers and Self Help Group members.

Until now, Radio Bundelkhand has the longest duration of programming of four hours a day, seven days a week, in Bundelkhandi and Hindi amongst the government licensed community radio stations in India. since two decades in the Bundelkhand region.

The communities have decided that they would like information related to employment and livelihood opportunities, development of women, girl's education, legal rights, farmers' issues, training, their culture and history, how to ensure the availability of basic infrastructure such as water, energy and roads, development issues, and any other information sought by the communities. The broadcast timings in the morning and evening have been selected by the communities, with the women preferring the morning and the men the evening.

The programming, based on issues and content identified by the communities, is broadcast in the formats which they have preferred, that include the use of traditional Bundelkhandi songs, folk music and nataks, discussions, reports, commodity prices, phone-ins, experts speak, coverage of events in villages, jokes and satire, listeners' letters and feedback. The Wireless Operating License was issued on July 31st, 2008 and the first transmission took place on August 15 2008 with the broadcast of the national anthem. Reaching our communities.

The reach of the community radio is in a wide range of approximately 5-10 kms and 25 villages with a population of 15000 in the coverage area.

Programming Content on Radio Bundelkhand: Vandana - Devotional songs broadcast every morning.
Khet Khaliyan - It includes the Jhansi Mandi (unorganized market) prices for farmers so that community gets all the information related to agricultural products.
Bundelkhand Radio also broadcasts discussions about agriculture issues like how to protect seeds, crops & vegetables from insects. Experts answer question asked by the farmers.
Bal Bandhu - Especially for school-going children. Moral stories, poems and jokes by school children are included. Story telling through the Radio Jockeys is also a part of this programme.
Bundelo harbolo ke - This is about the Freedom Fighters of Bundelkhand. Stories of the freedom fighters & songs related to freedom fighters are also broadcast.
Aas Paas - In this programme Bundelkhand Radio broadcasts information on Right to Information (RTI) and any other problem.
Mere Bundeli Mere Geet - is a listener's programme in which they get the opportunity to listen to their choice of songs.
Amma ke Chauki Se - In this programme community women give their ideas on home recipes and step by step instructions for preparing the dish.
Nuskhe Nani Dadi Ke - In this programme older woman give tips on using home remedies or Desi nuskhe for common ailments and diseases. Also, give tips of using simple home remedies and alternative herbal medicine, available from the average kitchen shelf.
Radio Drama - On every Sunday Bundelkhand Radio broadcasts a radio drama. In this programme reporters discuss an issue and convey the messages related to social issues like dowry, female foeticide, importance of education etc.
Sathin - Sathin is a special programme for women. Women from the community tell their story. They discuss the struggle in their lives and success story too. These women also share their feelings what they want or wish for themselves.
Chhotou Kam Badou Munafou - This programme is for those people who want to do small business. Small entrepreneurs give tips to take up small business.(Source-- By Indira Mansingh, Chief Advisor, Development Alternatives).

A solar water pumping system has drastically changed lives of people in Jharkhand. The eco-friendly model has not only helped villagers grow vegetables and augment income but also revived the community way of life.

The four villages of Binkarva, Chichikala, Kanabandh and Chichikhurd, in Chichikala panchayat, Churchu block, Jharkhand, are models for the rest of country. They showcase the collective efforts of villagers to do something about the lack of clean drinking water, following the inaction of the state government.

Today, every home enjoys clean and potable water even as flourishing kitchen gardens add to the villagers' income. The health and hygiene of the people of these four villages has also improved dramatically after the installation of a solar water pumping system in each of the four villages.

The solar water pumping system is used to operate a DC surface centrifugal mono-block pumpset that draws water out of boreholes. (The solar panels must be installed in a shadow-free area).. It is then collected in large tanks that are mounted at a slightly higher level than the rest of the village.

"The capacity of the tank is based on the population and requirements of the village," says Sheela Hebrom from Kanabandh village. The minimum capacity of a village tank is 2,000 litres.

Each tank is fitted to underground pipes, connected to taps. These taps are not placed in individual homes but at a common point between eight to 10 houses where villagers assemble to fill up their pots and pitchers.

The system costs Rs 550,000 to install. It was funded by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, New Delhi, with technical assistance from the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI). The system was installed by Jan Seva Parishad, with the help of local villagers who contributed their labour to the effort. The system can supply 40,000-50,000 litres of clean water every day. By Moushumi Basu InfoChange, 22 September 2009.

The British government has openly criticized Vedants Resources over its treatment of local tribes in a sacred mountain area in Orissa where it plans to open a bauxite mine. The UK govt. ruled that Vedanta "did not respect the rights" pf the areas indigenous people, "did not consider the impact of the construction of the mine on the (tribe's) rights" and "failed to put in place an adequate and timely consultation mechanism". The verdict came after a nine-month investigation into a complaint submitted by charity Survival International against Vedanta's plans. The complaint was dealt with a government agency charged with promoting ethical guidelines on ethical corporate behaviour for MNCs adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (OECD).

The Church of England which has a stake in Vedanta said, they would continue its investment but would encourage "Action Aid and Survival International to keep us informed of the perception of the impact on the community and environment.

Since some years now, there is strong resistance going on for past several years against mining in Niyamgiri, a home to Dongria and Jharnia Kondhs who draw their identity, livelihood, culture, land from the mountain. The Supreme Court of India gave a go ahead to the Sterlite Industries India Ltd (an arm of Vedanta Resources Plc.) to mine the mountain in August 2008 after a long legal battle and defying all democratic norms of dissent, technical reports submitted by its own body CEC clearly saying no to mining. However, this has not deterred the determination and strong resolve of people on the ground to defend their source of life and identity - the Niyamgiri mountain and a civilization that exists around it.

As the resistance has grown stronger on the ground, it has received tremendous solidarity responses from like-minded people and groups across the globe. The sense of solidarity has also grown stronger as well with many more people and groups coming forward to contribute to strengthen the struggle all over the world.

A Solidarity Convention is organised in Delhi on 10 Ocotber 2009 in New Delhi. Organized by Lok Raj Sangathan, Kashipur Solidarity Group, AIPWA, CPI(ML) Liberation, PSU, Peoples' Political Front, MKSS, NAPM, NFFPFW, Delhi Platform, Kalpavriksh, AISF, AISA, Other Media, Delhi Forum, Kriti and other groups and individuals.
For further details please contact: Subrat 91 9868182363/ D Manjit 91 9868471143 / Asit 91 9899838159.

Their heads are too large or too small, their limbs too short or too bent. For some, their brains never grew, speech never came and their lives are likely to be cut short: these are the children it appears that India would rather the world did not see, the victims of a scandal with potential implications far beyond the country's borders.

Health workers in the Punjabi cities of Bathinda and Faridkot knew something was terribly wrong when they saw a sharp increase in the number of birth defects, physical and mental abnormalities, and cancers. They suspected that children were being slowly poisoned. But it was only when a visiting scientist arranged for tests to be carried out at a German laboratory that the true nature of their plight became clear. The results were unequivocal. The children had massive levels of uranium in their bodies, in one case more than 60 times the maximum safe limit.

Staff at the clinics say they were visited and threatened with closure if they spoke out. The South African scientist whose curiosity exposed the scandal says she has been warned by the authorities that she may not be allowed back into the country.

But an Observer investigation has now uncovered disturbing evidence to suggest a link between the contamination and the region's coal-fired power stations. It is already known that the fine fly ash produced when coal is burned contains concentrated levels of uranium and a new report published by Russia's leading nuclear research institution warns of an increased radiation hazard to people living near coal-fired thermal power stations.

The test results for children born and living in areas around the state's power stations show high levels of uranium in their bodies. Tests on ground water show that levels of uranium around the plants are up to 15 times the World Health Organisation' s maximum safe limits. Tests also show that it extends across large parts of the state, which is home to 24 million people.

Punjab produces two-thirds of the wheat in the country's central reserves and 40% of its rice. The victims are being treated at the Baba Farid centres for special children in Bathinda where there are two coal-fired thermal plants and in nearby Faridkot. It was staff at those clinics who first voiced concerns about the increasing numbers of admissions involving severely handicapped children. They were being born with hydrocephaly, microcephaly, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome and other complications. Several have already died.

Indian authorities appeared determined to bury the scandal. Dr Carin Smit, the South African clinical metal toxicologist who arranged for the tests to be carried out in Germany, said that the situation could no longer be ignored. -- millions are at high risk and every new baby born to a contaminated mother is at risk."

"The government should investigate it because if our child is affected it will also affect future generations," he said. "What are they waiting for? How many children do they want to be affected? Another generation?

India's reluctance to acknowledge the problem is hardly unexpected: the country is heavily committed to an expansion of thermal plants in Punjab and other states. Neither was it any surprise when a team of scientists from the Department of Atomic Energy visited the area and concluded that while the concentration of uranium in drinking water was "slightly high", there was "nothing to worry" about. Yet some tests recorded levels of uranium in the ground water as high as 224mcg/l (micrograms per litre) 15 times higher than the safe level of 15mcg/l recommended by the WHO. (The US Environmental Protection Agency sets a maximum safe level of 20mcg/l.)

Meanwhile, smoke continues to pour from the power station chimneys and lorries shuttle backwards and forwards, taking away the fly ash to be mixed into cement at the neighbouring Ambuja factory. Inside the plant last week, there was ash everywhere, forming drifts, clinging to the skin, getting into the throat.

Ravindra Singh, the plant's security officer, said that most of the ash went to the cement works, while the rest was dumped in ash ponds. It would be more efficient to burn better quality coal that left less ash, he said. Every day the plant burned 6,000 tons of coal. He had no idea how much ash that generated, but the stream of lorries to take it away was continuous.

Tests on ground water in villages in Bathinda district found the highest average concentration of uranium ? 56.95mcg/l in the town of Bucho Mandi, a short distance from the Lehra Mohabat ash pond. Such a concentration of uranium means the lifetime cancer risk in the village was more than 153 times higher than in the normal population. Tests on ground water in the village of Jai Singh Wala, close to the Bathinda ash pond, showed an average level of 52.79mcg/l. People living there said they used the ash to spread on the roads and even on the floors of their homes.

Scientists in Punjab including Dr GS Dhillon, a former chief engineer with the irrigation department, is convinced that the uranium has come from the power stations and accuses the authorities of failing to control the ash ponds, which he believes have contaminated the ground water.

Their concerns are bolstered by a report from the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow, Russia's leading state organisation for nuclear research, published last month in the Russian Academy of Sciences' Thermal Engineering journal. The report's author, DA Krylov, raised serious doubts about the safety of coal-fired thermal power stations (TPSs), concluding that radiation from ash residues and from chimney emissions built up around coal-fired power plants and posed an additional risk to those living and working in the area.

A previous report in the magazine Scientific American, citing various sources, claimed that fly ash emitted by power plants "carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy", adding: "When coal is burned into fly ash, uranium and thorium are concentrated at up to 10 times their original levels." (Source-Gethin Chamberlain, Bathinda, August 30 2009,The Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/30/india- punjab-children-uranium-pollution. If you have any questions about this email, please contact the guardian.co.uk user help desk: userhelp@guardian.co.uk.

Films:

Thodi Si Zameen, Thoda Aasmaan (A Bit of the Earth, a Bit of the Sky)

Documentary film: 8 mins.

Director: Shashi Ghosh Gupta, Producer: Arun Gupta).
The film is a peek into the world of street entrepreneurs, who lead their lives in the shadow of constant threat. The film looks at the problems faced by them, in a sympathetic yet quietly intimate manner. Phuphabhai is a tailor who mends clothes, sitting under a tree, to provide a life of dignity to his family. While Mukeshbhai refurbishes sofas, struggling to keep his home (which is the road itself) fires burning
Click on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmEHoDr4jRI (YouTube) or http://www.vimeo.com/6718687 (Vimeo)

Angry Monk
By Luc Schaedler;
Documentary; 90min)

In Tibet - the mystical roof of the world, Gendun Choephel, the errant monk who left the monastic life in 1934 in search of a new challenge, is the only one not to toe the line. A free spirit and multifaceted individual, he was far ahead of his time and has since become a seminal figure, a symbol of hope for a free Tibet. A rebel and voluble critic of the establishment, Gendun Choephel kindled the anger of the Tibetan authorities. The cinematic journey through time portrays the life of this unorthodox monk, revealing a face of old Tibet that goes against popular cliche.The film offers a fascinating insight into a country whose eventful past is refracted in the multiplicity and contradictions of everyday life. An outsider who was always open to new things, he eventually became a stranger in his homeland and homeless in foreign lands - a wanderer between worlds.
Contact: Tel.: +91.9967021592, Email: upport@friendsoftibet.org.

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Iljodu (the Incompatible)
Dir. MS Sathyu
Prod. By Reliance Big Entertainment
Kannada, starring Meera Jasmine

The film focuses on a young photo journalist's brief encounter with a 'Basavi' (a tribe in Karnataka) at the altar of the village deity to 'save' people hit by a devastating epidemic and the treatment, Sathyu adds is that "for those who believe no explanation is necessary, and for those who do not, no explanation is possible." Information from "a Swiss NGO that found out though a survey that there are about 1000 Basavis in Bellary district who have been forced to become prostitutes" was what led Sathyu to make a story on the Basavis.

The Latent City
when art excavates the city
A film by Krishnendu Bose
58 min/English with subtitles/2009

Delhi. 2500 years old. The city transforms. The water turns black. The trees turn yellow. The city turns a foggy green. And the poor turn to dust. The city is transforming to become more efficient and modern. Selected artists are invited to this city. In its transformative moment. To create art, in the everyday. 48 degrees Celsius. The first public art ecology project in India is shaped. For 10 days in December 2008.

A film re- constructs the art. Using snatches of artist conversation. Splicing their politics and performance. A video re-presentation, is sliced in between the chronicle of the disappearing city. Nudges us to re-examine the latent citizenry. Urges to re- imagine the future of our cities. Through the 'eye glass' of public art.

Contact: Krishnendu Bose, Member of IUCN Commission on Education and Communication, Earthcare Productions, B-91, Defence Colony, New Delhi, India. Tel. Off. (91-11) 24334171, 24332005, Cell- +91-9811843111
Website: www.earthcarefilms.com.

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Living Ganga - Agony of the Ganges
(HSBC) Film, 52 min, India -
Dir. Sudhesh Unniraman, 2008
Produced by M/s AIM Television Pvt Ltd. Lead by Mr. Iqbal Malhotra

By the end of the second millennium, as the Aryans spread southward to cover the entire Indo-Gangetic plain, the Ganges became their most sacred river. Of all the places along the Ganga, Benares is perhaps the oldest living city in the world. Because of the overwhelming reverential impact of the Ganges on hundreds of millions of Hindus, a real-life paradox today haunts the citizens of Benares. For how long can they continue to ignore the gap between the ritual purity of the river and its actual level of cleanliness? Today, this divide is so wide that combined with global warming and climate change, it threatens the very life of the river and its source, the Gangotri glacier.. The film was screened at the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival, Washington and was awarded the prestigious Best Environment Film Citation at the Mountain Film Festival Peru this year.

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Neerundu Nilamundu (Mission Possible)
by Bala Kailasam

This film is about a group of engineers working in the water sector in Tamilnadu who are engaged in such a mission. The film traces their journey to 2003; how it started in the 'The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD)' and showcases exemplary stories of individual transformation leading to institutional transformation. The narration is from the point of view of an engineer from the Agricultural Department (AED) undergoing training by a couple of TWAD engineers who share their experience with unbelievable passion.Contact: Bangalore Film Society, George Kutty @ 9448064513; Visthar, Shyam Khalil @9845442453; The Other Media, Santhosh Kumar @ 0944652999.


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'DAMaged'
by Subrat Kumar Sahu/ English, 73 minutes
DAMaged is what they say, to describe their life today! ...The state says 'development'!

This film picks the Upper Indravati Hydropower Project (built with a huge World Bank loan), in its attempts to rake in the 'development debate' that is conspicuously missing in public spaces today. Claiming to permanently end 'poverty' in Kalahandi (Orissa), instead, it has uprooted almost 50000 indigenous people, mostly adivasis and dalits, who had a traditional and sustainable model of growth and rich civilizational ethos. The project has turned a 'sustainable economy of inclusive prosperity' into the 'farcical sport of growth statistics'. The film exposes how such projects (and now Vedanta's mining ventures) are, in fact, horrific tools of large-scale economic and 'cultural genocide'...However, as it goes, people no longer take things lying down... So, those who had originally inherited the earth and kept the natural order inviolate for millennia are now out on the streets in attempts to protect their lives, livelihoods, identities, and dignity.

Film Festivals

Green Theatre Festival

India's first green theatre festivalwas held at Udaipur, Rajastan on 29 Sept - 2 Oct 2009 featuring over 20 performances related to the environment and lifestyles / relationship with nature. Contact: The Peoples' Institute for Rethinking Education and Development, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Tel: 91-294-245-1303, Web: www.swaraj.org/shikshantar.

Human Rights film festival in solidarity with Sharmila Irom

About 140 organisations have given a call to initiate solidarity actions on the eve of the tenth year of the hunger fast by Sharmila Irom against the rule of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur state. Protests, one-day symbolic fasts, film festivals, posters, letters to the Chief Minister of Manipur and Prime Minister as well as solidarity poems by students in different parts are being planned in many places. The central idea behind the campaign is to support not just Sharmila Irom's demand to repeal AFSPA in Manipur. Ultimately, there is a need to remove such repressive laws wherever they are in place, in the entire north east, Jammu and Kashmir, Chattisgarh, etc.

Many groups have expressed an interest in organising film festivals on human rights in solidarity with Sharmila Irom during the period November 2-6, 2009. A package of relevant films is available to any group that is interested in organising such an effort.

Send requests for films to insafdelhi@gmail.com and solidarity@manipurfreedom.org with your programme details. Packages will be couriered to you from following address.

INSAF national secretariat 124-A/6, First Floor, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-110016 Ph: +91-11-65663958, Telefax:+91-11-26517814 E-mail: insafdelhi@gmail.com.

Please send your announcements and reports of your actions to solidarity@manipurfreedom.org so that they can be viewed by a larger audience.

Soldiers in Sarong by Lokendra Arambam. Duration - 45 minutes

"Sarong" -women traditional wear. Manipur, a small state in north east India is in deep political and social turmoil. The impact of armed conflict and the confrontation between the State and Non state actors were most acutely felt by the women. Their lives are testimony to the impact of violence on traditional societies forced into the painful threshold of modernity.

Tales from the margin by Kavita Joshi English Duration - 23 minutes

A travel to the remote, strife torn corner of India. It documents the extraordinary protest of Manipuri women for justice. The film also focus on the everyday lives of women and human tragedies in Manipur ( India).

Sharmila - the iron lady by a Delhi-based national television channel,CNN- IBN. A 30 minute story on Iron Sharmila. Her struggle and the cycle of violence in the State of Manipur.

True lies in Manipur by CNN- IBN - 30 minutes story on the fake encounter in July 23, 2009 and the aftermath of the expose.

Redefining Peace by K.P Sasi Duration - 58 Minutes

About1000 women were nominated for the 2005 Nobel peace prize by net work of women movements and organizations across the globe. Of which 91 women were from India. The film tells the story of the struggle and contribution of these 91 women, who in their own ways redefine the definition of Peace. Sharmila Irom is one among the list.

Jashn-e-azadi (How we celebrate freedom)by Sanjay Kak Duration - 138 minutes Amidst the everyday violence and ever-present fear in Kashmir, there are no easy answers to such questions. Where truth has been an early victim, all language, speech, poetry, even cinema, becomes inadequate to describe what we know and feel here. So we reshape our curiosity, and point ourselves at what we can see, what we are allowed to see.

Development flows from the barrel of the Gun by B. Toppo and Meghnath Duration - 55 miniutes. This film presents and examines orchestrated state violence against indigenous and local peoples when they protest against development projects on their lands. The film strengthen their thesis by documenting examples from all over India - Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.

Prisoners of Conscience Zameer ke Bandi (1978, 45 mins, B&W)

On political prisoners in India before, during and after the State of Emergency in 1975-77.

An important historical record of a traumatic period in India's recent political history, Prisoners of Conscience focuses on the State of Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi from June 1975 to March 1977. During the Emergency the media was muzzled, over 100,000 people were arrested without charge and imprisoned without trial. But political prisoners existed before the Emergency, and they continue to exist even after it is over.

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We Care Filmfest
Entries are invited for We Care Filmfest 2010 on various issues of disabilities recognized by Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 of chapter 1 point non2(h)(i) and the National Trust Act-1999.

The PWD Act-1995 issues include: blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impaired, locomotors disability, mental retardation, and mental illness.The National Trust issues are:Cerebral Palsy, autism, mental retardation & multiple disability.

Categories for competition and Entry fee in INR :
i. Upto one Minute - Rs 500
ii. Upto five Minutes - Rs 500
iii. Upto 30 Minutes - Rs 1000
iv. Upto 60 Minutes - Rs 1000

The entries should be on the rights of Persons with Disabilities as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). All films and documentaries must have English and/or Hindi subtitles. Format required: DWD Deadline: 11 December 2009. Prize money worth Rs 3.20 lakhs. Contact:The Director, - We Care FilmFest, C/o United Nations Information Centre, 55, Lodi Estate, New Delhi-110003(India). Tel.+919811012065, +919899472065. Email : wecarefilmfest@gmail.com, websites: www.wecarefilmfest.net.

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6th International Children's Film Festival

The 6th International Children's Film Festival will be hedld in Hyderabad on November 14 - 20, 2009. Contact: http://www.cfsindia.org/req- accreditition.htm

6th Kolkata Short Film Festival

The 6th Kolkata Short Film Festival 2009 to be held on 6 to 12 December 2009 aims to break the myth that short films are 'just' documentaries, or annual reports of institutions or events, and that they lack creativity; that good stories can not be told in a short time. KSFF also provides 1) a platform for upcoming filmmakers to showcase their short films, 2) Create awareness about excellent short films, 3) encourage youngsters to make short films with creativity and excellent and 4) to create a data base of good short films in and around the country.
Deadline: 30th October 2009. Entry fee for those who submit on or before 30th October 2009: INR 100, between 1-15 November 2009, a late fee of Rs 100. for each film wil be charged. Contact: Chitrabani, 76, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Kolkata - 700 016
Tel: (033) 2265-3108, Fax: (033) 2226-2423. E-mail: cbcal@chitrabani.com, joe@chitrabani.Com Nandan, West Bengal Film Centre, 1/1, A.J.C Bose Road, Kolkata - 700 020. Tel: (033) 2223 1210, 2223-0970, Fax: (033) 2223-5744.

Online Film Festival

You are invited to participate in an online film festival, 'Spirit Enlightened' which will be live from December 09 to July 10.‘Spirit Enlightened’, aspires to trace the spirit that has led the humanity through centuries & civilizations and is in the making of our future. The festival hopes to explore with you, 'That' which envelops to infuse & evolve the individual as well as collective being, expands our vision of time as well as place, enlivens our hearts, and enlightens our species to transcend the present state of being for the mystical new - the next state of supramental self.

Films may be on: Evolution of consciousness, Spirituality, Culture of religion, Enlightened leaders, Philosophies & politics and Timeless creative expressions.

For participation kindly fill the online form and send film/DVD. Multiple entries are welcome.Deadline for receiving the film is 1st week of November, 2009. Fill the individual form for each film and submit at:
http://www.cultureu nplugged.com/festival/submit.php
Contact: Culture Unplugged Studios, Tel (+91 020) 65002520, +91 976 539 1242
Website: studio.cultureunplugged.com
India | USA I UK | New Zealand

[News]

Discovery Award for Konkan Film

In a statement, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) said, 'The Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) for Discovery is awarded to Laxmikant Shetgaonkar for 'The Man Beyond the Bridge'. The 96-minute film (Paltadacho Munis), which Goan filmmaker Laxmikant Shetgaonkar made with assistance from the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). Lauding the Konkani film, the statement said: 'Far from the sensory overload of India's big cities, this film explores smaller but enduring dilemmas, drawing together keen environmental sensitivity with a nuanced view of village dynamics.

'A widowed forest ranger Vinayak develops an intimate relationship with a mentally ill woman, risking becoming an outcast. Director Shetgaonkar, immersed in the culture of the region, tells his tale with grace and attentiveness, taking the villages traditions and beliefs seriously, while casting a jaundiced eye on those who exploit them.''

Video Short Contest

Create a video short that completes the phrase "Democracy is….."
Videos can be any style: fiction or documentary, animated or live action. no longer than three minutes. in English or have English subtitles. Contestants should be 18 years or above. They may enter anonymously, but anonymous winners cannot collect the grand prize. Deadline: 31JANUARY 31, 2010. The Prize is an all-expense- paid trip to Washington, New York and Hollywood to attend gala screenings of the winning videos, gain exposure to the U.S. film and television industry and meet with creative talent, democracy advocates and government leaders. See contest site for a complete list of rules: www.videochallenge.america.gov.

Photo Contest for Corporates

IBLF has launched the "Human Rights issues in a Business Context". Companies are invited to submit photographs depicting a human rights issue in a business-operating context, within any of the eight categories: 1) Collective bargaining, 2) Diversity in the workplace, 3) Health and Safety, 4). Migrant workers. 5) Privacy, 6) Supply and distribution chains, 7) Women in executive management, and 8). Work-Life balance.

The winning photographs will be used in the revised version of the Guide to Human Rights Impact Assessment and Management (HRIA), which will be published in early 2010.

As the eight winning entries will be included in the final Guide to HRIA, this is an ideal opportunity for companies to positively showcase their efforts in addressing human rights issues within their business operations, in a visual manner. Deadline: 13 November 2009. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions on
http://www.guidetohria.org/wiki?wiki=NSPQWM43315 1&sub=1&top= NFTMG1334731.

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Women Playwright's Conference

The 8th Women Playwright's Conference will be held in Mumbai, India, from 1st to 7th November 2009 at University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari Campus, Kalina, Mumbai 400098, under the joint auspices of Stree Mukti Sanghatana (SMS) and the Academy of Theatre Arts, University of Mumbai. An apex committee comprising of Jyoti Mhapsekar, Sushama Deshpande and Waman Kendre has been appointed to further the work of the conference.

The seven days will see a rich blend of discussions, seminars, roundtables and panel discussions besides numerous play readings, skill workshops and performances from various states of India as well as some international performances.

"Women Playwrights International" comprises all women working in the theatre irrespective of race, class, age, ethnicity, religion to endeavor, encourage and assist the development of their works and enrich global culture. Since 1988, Women Playwrights International (WPI) has organised an International Women Playwright's Conference almost every three years in different parts of the world.Contact: Jjyothi Mhapsekar, Stree Mukti Sanghatana (Women's Liberation Organization), 31, Shramik, Lokmanya Tilak Colony, Rd. No.3 , Dadar (E), Mumbai 400 014. Tel. /Fax: (91)-22 - 24174381. E-mail: wpi09mum@gmail.com Websites: www.wpinternational.net, www.streemuktisanghatana.org.

Women's Studies in India- A Reader
Ed. By Mary E. John
Pgs. 657 Rs. 599/-
Publ: Penguin India
This Compendium of articles by feminists gives an exhaustive overview of what concerns women's studies, through sections on : New Beginnings, Politics, History, Development, Violence, Law, Education. Health, Household and Family, Caste & Tribe, Communication & Religion, Sexualities, Literature and Media. Contributors range from Vina Mazumdar, Madhu Kiswear, Alok Mitra, Kamala Bhasin, Vandana Shiva, Flavia Agnes, Nandita Haksar, Anita Ghai, Devaki Jain, Brinda Karaqt, Ruth Manorama, Janaki Nair, Susie Tharu, Kalpana Sharma amongst others and a host of women’s organizations from all over the country. A very thorough look at all the issues women in India face at the moment.
"A Family for Every Child"
Edited by Shibani Jain and Published by Catalysts for Social Action (CSA). 200 p
Available at www.csa.org.in.

A compilation of articles with perspectives on adoption in India, this book presents stories from the adoptive heart , but beyond that it gives an overview of the laws etc related to adoption, parenting concerns and also discusses "the search for closure" concluding with a list of organizations in the field of adoption. Catalysts for Social Action (CSA), is a social welfare organization dedicated to the cause of child welfare focusing on Adoption by getting adoptive parents and adoption agencies to meet. CSA is supported by Kale Consultants Ltd., a reputed Software House in Mumbai, India.

Kathai Aruvi Tamil Story Cards with Aseema......

Kathai Aruvi, the magical 100 Tamil story cards library in a bag is now available with Aseema. Kathai Aruvi story cards were produced by Chatnath Trust to make Tamil reading attractive for children by making each story separately in a laminated card. So 100 children can read at the same time and each card can be exchanged with another 100!. The 100 cards come neatly put in a jute bag. The library can be neatly put away and the lamination makes it easy to be handled by a group of rough kids. A bagful of 100 attractively illustrated (in colour) cards is available for Rs.600. Anyone interested in buying it or sponsoring it for rural schools is welcome to contact us. Contact: Email: aseema123@yahoo.com.

<http://us.mc544.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=aseema123%40yahoo.com> or call Vasantha Parthasharathy 9841009927.

Using ICT to Develop Literacy
UNESCO ICT in Education Programme publication.
December 1, 2006

The Foreword states "This booklet aims to provide a concise overview of the literacy issue and explain how ICT [information and communication technology] can be used to enhance literacy education and contribute to achieving the Literacy Decade goals. It focuses on five areas where ICT can be utilized in literacy education: enhancing learning; raising access to literacy education; training of teachers; localizing content; and creating a literacy-conducive environment.

The authors argue that being able to read, write, and calculate in today's world is often not enough. They state that developments in technology are changing what it means to be a literate person. They offer examples from literacy and technology programmes that show how literacy and ICT education can be mutually enhancing. Contact: UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building, 920 Sukhumvit Road, Prakanong RoadBangkok10110, Thailand. Tel: (66 2) 3910577, Fax: (66 2) 3910866 Website: ikm@unescobkk.org, bangkok@unesco.org.

Digital Activism Survey Report 2009
Authors: Katharine Brodock, Mary Joyce,Timo Zaeck
DigiActive, July 1, 2009

DigiActive is an all-volunteer organisation dedicated to helping grassroots activists around the world use the internet and mobile phones to increase their impact. The group conducted a survey from late mid-February to mid-April of 2009, collecting 122 responses through an open online form and then carrying out 3 rounds of qualitative and quantitative analysis. Their aim in gathering this international demographic data was to get a picture of "digital activists": people who use digital technology as part of grassroots campaigns for social and political change. The original data set is available for download separate from the report (see below); DigiActive welcomes comments at: survey@digiactive.org.

JeevikA [Life Free of Bondage] - Jeeta Vimukti Karnataka
[Bonded Labour Liberation Karnataka].

On 03-09-2009, the Government of Karnataka published 10,000 copies in Kannada of "An Action Plan for the Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers in Karnataka 2008, containing also Brief and yet Comprehensive Explanations and Guidelines on Identification and Release of Bonded Labourers and Prosecution of Offenders" and 1,000 copies of the same in English with a view to distribute them to all the officials concerned as also the activists and some departments not only in Karnataka but also in the country.

Effective implementation of any legislation depends mainly on suitable policy guidelines applicable to the implementing agencies.

The present action plan is a handy tool in hands of the officials in Karnataka to implement the Act effectivley. It can also prove to be a powerful means in the hands of activists to lobby with the government.

A "Training Manual on Bonded Labour" in Kannada and English (Rs. 100 per copy) and another compendium of very important reports and articles on Bonded Labour titled,"Understanding and Eradicating Bonded labour" (Rs. 500) as also two handbills in Kannada giving simplified versions of the Act, SR Sankaran's Guidelines and AK Chakravorty Committee's Recommendations and 15 wallposters on bonded labour in Kannada are availabe. The priced volumes could be sent byVPP on request and other material could also be sent by post. Contact: Kiran Kamal Prasad, Coordinator - JEEVIKA, 1289, ISEC Road,Nagarabhavi Post, Bangalore 560 072.Telefax: (080) 2321019, Mobile: 9008487287.

Handbook on monitoring and evaluation of human resources for health.
WHO, 2009

This Handbook offers health managers, researchers and policy makers a comprehensive and standard reference for monitoring and evaluating human resources for health. It brings together an analytical framework with strategy options for improving the health workforce information and evidence base, as well as country experiences to highlight approaches that have worked. This publication enhances understanding of human resources for health and contributes to the growing body of tools and applied research designed to address the challenge of measuring and improving health workforce outcomes, strengthening health systems and, ultimately, improving population health. This Handbook is the result of a collaborative effort between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Learning through Art
Jane Sahi and Roshan Sahi
Eklavya, Rs 250/-
For orders mail to pitara@eklavya.in
www.eklavya.in

This book perceives art as an active way of learning and aims at helping teachers to integrate art activity into school life. The activities are designed to include all children and enrich regular lessons of language, math and environment studies. Contact: Eklavya, E-10, BDA Colony, Shanker Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Bhopal - 462 016. Tel.(755) 255 0976, 267 1017, 255 1109 (R) 246 5397. www.eklavya.in.

Cultural policing in Dakhsina Kannada: a Report
The Kannada edition of the PUCL_K report was released at Institute of Agricultural Technologists, on Oct. 3 by A. Prakash. The book published by PUCL-K costs Rs 50 and is available at PUCL offices

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Into a Warming World
Centre for Environment Education (CEE)
The Indian edition of State of the World 2009 report by Worldwatch Institute, USA, focusing on Climate Change was released in Pune on 6th October, 2009. The State of the World has been a benchmark for discussions on various issues of sustainability and the annual volume acts as a platform to launch further discussion, study, and research .
Contact: Tasneem Balasinorwala, ph: 9850918042, email: just.tasneem@gmail.com
Amar Karan, ph: 9028532347, email: amar.karan@ceeindia.org
Sanskriti Menon, ph: 9822455250, email: sanskriti.menon@ceeindia.org

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What Did You Ask at School Today?
Kamala Mukunda

The skill of being able to ask the "right questions" is far more important than giving the right answers,says, veteran teacher and author Kamala Mukunda. As she pored over research papers on child psychology, and the psychology of learning, she started summarising each research document in short articles, sans the jargon. The book has its genesis in these well-written and well-received articles.

The morality of the students depends a lot on the kind of values that the school practises. If the school gives students a sense of belonging and safety, and a chance to explore the environment on their own, then students grow up with a better sense of self.

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Purush Spandana (Marathi)
Men Against Violence & Abuse (MAVA)
Price: Rs.80/-, courier charges extra

This is the 101st year of the Marathi Diwali Ank (special Diwali issue - rich cultural tradition in Maharashtra) . And we bring to you a very special issue of "Purush Spandana" ('Men's Expressions') , containing first-hand write-ups by men from various walks of life on a wide range of matters related to relationships, gender and sexuality).

"To enlighten, and not only entertain" has been the spirit of the Diwali Anks. This years theme is on 'Friendship' . The issue analyses the various dimensions of the theme in very many ways: Male-Female, Male to Male Friendship, Friednship between Father-Daughter, etc.

It has contributions from writers and professionals like Awdhoot Paralkar, Mukund Taksale, Dr. Chandrashekhar Phansalkar, Shriniwas Hemade, Dr.Manoj Bhatawdekar, Sanjeev Chandorkar, Kumar Nawathe, Prashant Kothadiya, Dr.Suresh Chandwankar and Rajeev Kalelkar. Introduction to the deep, Selfless Friendship between noted writer late Vijay Tendulkar and grassroots human rights activist Udgam Vikasant, fresh perspective on 'Friendship and Comradeship' from progressive thinker -Marxist Go Pu Deshpande and absorbing interviews with young playwright Sachin Kundalkar and film-actor Atuk Kulkarni form key highlight of this special issue.

The issue also has fresh writings and experiential sharings by youths (rural and urban) like Meet Tara Dnyaneshwar, Yayati Purohit and Kaustubh Joglekar and some excellent poems on the theme. There are thought-provoking write-ups on Examining Friendship through Orkut, Face-Book and other means of modern technology.

The issue is available at leading bookstalls in Mumbai and Pune. In Mumbai, it is available at Ideal Book Depot, Dadar, Majestic - Dadar, Jawahar - VileParle, Majestic - Girgaum & Thane. Contact Harish on 9870307748.In Pune, the issue is available at Utkarsh Book Depot, near Garware Corner; Akshardhara exhibition, Bajirao Road. Contact Amol on 9271264011 / 9764005627.

Community Based Disaster Risk Mitigation
All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), Ahmedabad has published its latest issue of Vipada Nivaran Newsletter on 'Community Based Disaster Risk Mitigation'. The following are the contents of this issue.

Flood relief

After the terrible floods of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in October, many NGOs began relief activities in the region. For those who would like to contribute relief packages to Andhra and Karnataka, here is a list of items required: Dry ration- Rice, pulses, biscuits, packed eatables, Water purifier tablets, Basic medicines, Sarees & Children clothing,* Tarpaulins and thick plastic sheets, Bed sheets, Blankets & Mosquito nets, Export surplus / Cotton cloth for making sanitary napkins, Stoves, cooking and water storage utensils/buckets, Lanterns, candles, matchbox, torch & batteries, Feeding bottles, ropes,* all kind of usable clothing & footwear. (For the list of collection centers, please log on to www.goonj.info).

Logistical support of any kind is also needed:* Transport support to reach the material to effected areas, Space for collection centers, Facilities for local pickups , Transportation of material from different cities to GOONJ processing centers in a few cities.

Contact ruchikagoonj@gmail.com

or Tel.- 011-26972351, 41401216 E-mail- mailgoonj@gmail.com for numbers and names in other centres in India.

Others collecting relief are:

"Women politicians debate issues"

Bangalore: A mock parliament held on Oct. 21 by the National Alliance of Women jointly with Women's Voice gave aspiring women politicians got a chance to hone their debating skills. The mock parliament was structured like a Parliament with opposition parties. The exercise is being held across the country to allow women with skills to participate in decision making. Ruth Manorama, president of NAWO said 40 women leaders for various parliamentary constituencies in Karnataka participated. Of these, 28 will participate in the Women's Parliament to be held in Delhi from Nov. 2-5. At least 500 women leaders from across India are expected to attend... to discuss pending Bills like the Women's reservation Bill, Communal Violence Bill, Domestic Worker's Bill etc.

Women and Guns in Manipur

Manipur: To offer financial and emotional support to women who had lost their men-folk in the state's political conflict. The Manipur Women Gun Survivor's Network has been founded by 34 year old Bimalakshmi Nepram. 'There's hardly a familyin Manipur who doesn't have a drug abuser", her niece died when she stepped on a mine and her mother s part of a women's group which patrols the streets to protectr their husbands from detention! The MWGSN now has a 60-strong network of Manipuri women. According to Nepra, "over 400 men aged between 19 and 40 are shot dead every year leaving behind widows who have to borrow moey to survive. A study of small arms in Colombia and Guatemala led to the realization that Manipur had a similar problem and that drugs and guns are linked-- something her field trips confirmed. She works from Delhi because she says, NGOs and social work are part of the problem in Manipur... if you see a new house in Manipur it either belongs to a militant or to an NGO." As secretary general of Control Arms Foundation of India, a Delhi-based NGO she feels she doesn't need to make MWGSN one too.

Used Newspapers can change lives

Chandigarh: Old, discarded newspapers have changed the lives of about 50 slum kids in Chandigarh when an NGO Theatre Age, inspired people to donate newspapers to held finance their education. 600 families contribute to the effort which also harnesses acting, singing and dancing talents of the kids. The 51 slum kids generate Rs 18-20,000 every month by selling old newspapers from Chandigarh, Mohali and Pachkula. After a decade of working with kids, they have been given 4 rooms at the Government High School in Sector 24 where one room contains computers and books; another into a kitchen where kids take turns to cook; one has a sewing machine for the girls. The slum kids- shoeshine boys, rag pickers and labourers study from 3-6 p and then begin rehearsing. The children have gone onto colleges, jobs and theatre.

Integrating child care

Bangalore: Organisations that offer child care services for women in the unorganized sector are being integrated so that they offer a common criterion of crèche services, health, education or nutrition. None of the organisations, which are a mix of NGOs and state-run programmes have established networks for their needs- a lacunae which the Karnataks State Commission for Protection of Child Rights is trying to do through a task force. Acts that make provision for mandatory crèche facilities by private companies include the Factories Act, 1948, Plantation Labour Act 1951, Mines Act 1952, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition ) Act 1970, Inter-state migrant workers Act 1980, Building and Construction Workers Act (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Work) 1996 and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005.

Available for Conferences :

The Free Tree Conference and Training Centre of the CIEDS Collective in Kolar is 60 kms aways from Bangalore and includes a conference hal, workshop spaces and ceandand simpe residential accommodation for 30 people amid rock sculptured landscapes.

If you would like to roganised seminars, conferences or workshops or need some time off contact" George Kutty, CIEDS Collective, Bangalore email: freetreecommune@gmail.com or tel: 080 25493705, 9448064513.

Helpline for Blood
Bangalore: The Comprehensive Trauma Consortium and Sankalp's Helpline for blood 94800 44444 has been receiving 15-20call per day ever sine its launch two months ago. The helpline networks with 50 lood banks in Karnatka. Blood groups that are rare are stored and they have become the centre for blood donation drives in and around the city.

Ortho surgeries forkids

Bangalore: The Sparsh Vachana was inaugurated on Oct 19 by actor Salman Khan and went on to do over 20 complicated surgeries every day on children who had physical ortho defects. Over 100 children benefited from the Sparsh Hospital programme. Many organizations contributed to the effort.

OBIT
The first Indian woman diploma, Chonira Belliappa Muthamma, who fought for the rights of women in government service did inNew Delhi on Oct. 14 at the age of 85.

Muthamma was the first woman to join the Indian Foreign Service in 1949 and the first Indian wamn career diplomat to become Ambassador / High Commissioner. In 1979she took he government to the Supreme Court when she was denied the post of foreign secretary. She fought against gender-bias and published a collection of essays: Slain by the system- India's real crises in 2003. She had to face al the prejudices against women in Indian society. Earlier there was a rule that a woman officer who married had to resign.. she wrote in her bood that "I cannot hep but conclude that my tenure with the ministry was one long tussle with an anti-women bias."

World Palliative Care Day-Oct 10

Bangalore: Awards

This year's Senior citizen award given by Harmony was won by an illiterate woman who once was beaten for trying to read. She learnt to memorize and then swallow the papers she memorized so as not to get caught. The last straw of humiliation for this child bride came when her mother in law wanted to kill her 4thchild, a girl. So she ran away from the home with the baby, stayed at the railway platform and then one day as she looked after the orphans on the platform left her daughter at a Trust home. She survived and then went to live with tribals in Chikhaldhara in 1986 and two years later he established Sapta Sindhu, an ashram for widows and children. She has nurtured 1042 kids so far and her daughter armed with a masters in Social work helps her. In February this year she was invited to the Vishwa Maathi Sahitya Sammela in the US- and flew for the first time. And now one of her adopted sons has chosen her life story as the subject for his Ph.D.

FAP (Fight Against Poverty)
Bangalore, Two different types of events were conducted by NEON on on Oct 16, 17 towards the Fight Against Poverty programme. On the first day, a sports event for the children of the free school of Sindhi Seva Samiti was held and later 250 lunchboxes with sweets for diwali were contributed to a rural school. where 300 satchels had also been donated. On the second day, to bring people to awareness about the present climate crisis and the need to eradicate poverty. a fair with. Musical, dance and play performances were held for over 1000 particpants.

Contact :Abhisheka, Sharath, Keerthana,Kashyap Tel. 9980160022/+91 80 40901761.

EMAIL: makingawarness@yahoo.com.

www.neonilluminates.webs.com See More Events.

World Alzheimer's Day

Mumbai: On the occasion of World Alzheimer's Day on Sept. 21 ARDSI (Alzheimer's & Related Disorders Society of India) Greater Mumbai and Mumbai Chapter in association with Silver Inning Foundation planned a Ten-Day Programme to create awareness about Dementia and Alzheimer's. All over India ARDSI and its networking organisations held awareness campaigns.

Dementia is a progressive brain dysfunction , it is a brain disorder which results in a restriction of daily activities and in most cases leads in the long term to the need for care mostly in 60 + age group. There are many forms of dementia, the most common one being Alzheimer's disease. The disease knows no social, economic, or ethnic boundaries.While there is no cure for most causes of dementia at present, there is great deal of advice, support and information available from Alzheimer's associations like Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India ,Silver Inning Foundation and Nightingale Trust.

On 18th Sep  Gerontology Seminar 'Lets Add Quality Life to Their Years' was held for Nursing Students organised by L.T.College of Nursing ,S.N.D.T Women's University ---part of two full day seminar from 17th Sep to 18th Sep 2009 from 8am to 4.30pm
On 19th Sep - A Street Play performed as a Sensitizing Programme at the OPD ,Nair Hospital, and on 21st Sept. a Special Service for Dementia in Mumbai was launched by Silver Inning Foundation.

City Leprosy Project completes 33 Years of Service

Mumbai: At a simple but significant function, Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP) observed its Foundation day on Sept. 11.

Dr R Ganapati, the Founder Director BLP and currently serving as the Director Emeritus mentioned that the institution was established with other leading members like Dr Wardekar and Dr P Kapoor to undertake field work on a massive scale to implement cost effective ways of controlling leprosy. Documentation of several operational research studies published by BLP led to recognition in the national and international circles and BLP began to be looked upon as a model to be emulated in similar situations.

BLP's collaboration with K J Somaiya Medical College has benefited in reaching specialized services to leprosy patients and is a model of collaborative activity. BMC Hospital Starts Specialised Leprosy Services.

Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP) made a breakthrough in integrating its specialised services into the municipal health delivery system. On 11th August,2009, yet another 'Extension Centre' of BLP was started at the Shatabdi Hospital, Borivali to cater to the large number of patients from Northern suburbs seeking expertise of staff with vast experience in leprosy.

To commemorate the 34th anniversary of Bombay Leprosy Project, a seminar was organized on Oct. 6 on "Some Recent advances in Leprosy with reference to treatment of leprosy and reaction management" as a part of the Continuing Medical Education program and our activities in the leprosy relief work mainly with the objective of improving the quality of life of leprosy patients.

The seminar covered mainly the role of newer drugs in leprosy management.
bombayleprosy@mtnl.net.in" <bombayleprosy@mtnl.net.in>

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The B'lore twitter

Bangalore: In order to help Bangalore's underprivileged children, the Twitter community of India's IT hub came out in the open to tweet for a cause on Sept. 11.
The event christened "Twestival" or Twitter festival saw Twitter users of the city come together to raise money for needy children at the Kyra theatre. A performance by rock band Swarathma, mesmerizing acts by Nakul Shenoy, psychic entertainer and a stand up comedy show by Papa CJ and Aron Kedar were part of the event.

The money raised in the event was donated to "Dream A Dream", working for needy children, which has 1500 street children on its rolls now. The festival has also come up with a cheeky slogan: Tweet, meet and give.

"The idea behind the festival is to help underprivileged children who are struggling to get their daily food and education." Bangalore is among 200 places across the world to host the festival on the day. Other Indian cities which were part of the event are Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune.

Twestival was first started in London, when a group of Twitter users met at Trafalgar Square in September last year.Now, the festival is held twice a year worldwide, during February and September. While the February event is dedicated to a global cause, the September event takes up a local cause.

iVol celebrates Divali with ukids

iVolunteer Bangalore celebrated Diwali with around 40 children who are either orphans or slum dwellers (Surabhi Foundation) and Destitute Girls/Women (Government Reception Centre for Women and Children)

Surabhi Foundation runs three residential schools and two Non-Residential schools at various locations in Bangalore and Anekal taluk for underprivileged kids 6-13 years of age of both sexes. Those are Marasuru Anekal taluk (Non Residential School), Shikari Palya near Electronic City (Residential School), Doddamavalli near J.C.Road (Residential School) and Bangarappa nagar (Both Residential and Non Residential) . Surabhi Foundation is also running a Transit Home at Hongasandra near IIMB for runaway children, Rag pickers, beggars etc.

Tata Steel to set up 300 m hospital in Orissa

As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), is setting up a 6 million ton integrated greenfield steel plant at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district, and a hospital near its rehabilitation colony at Gobarghati, The project will be completed over next 2 years with the first phase commissioning slated next month. The hospital building is under construction over 4 acres of land and the civil construction of the project is almost over. Costing about Rs 300 million the hospital is expected to benefit the families affected by the Tata Steel`s project at Kalinganagar and also the people in periphery villages.

Various health services related activities like, rural health check-up programs, health camps during epidemics and awareness building activities for people on health issues are proposed to be planned reports (Source Economic Times).

LEGAL

Delhi High Court Rejects Bayer's Plea for Patent Linkage

The Delhi High Court today rejected an attempt by Bayer Corporation, a multinational pharmaceutical company, to sanction the patent linkage system in India through a court direction. While holding that unpatented (generic) drugs are not spurious drugs, Justice Ravindra Bhat held that this petition was an attempt to tweak public policy. While dismissing the petition, the Court also held that this is a vexatious and luxury litigation which should be discouraged and imposed cost of approximately Rupees 6 lakhs to be paid by Bayer Corporation to Respondents - Union of India and the Cipla Ltd.

CPAA had filed an intervention application to be added as a party, which was allowed by the Delhi High Court Tosylate. CPAA had urged that the introduction of patent linkages in India would have adverse public health consequences. India does not recognise a patent linkage system. If introduced, the patent linkage system would have seriously impacted the early entry of generic drugs into the market. Contact: Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS" aidslaw1@lawyerscollective.org.

Legal Aid Clinic for NGOs"

Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT) on Oct.9 launched a 'Legal Aid Clinic for NGOs' which will be run by PCGT through its team of lawyers who have volunteered to extend their services.

The Legal Aid Clinic is a platform to interact with other NGOs and to understand as well as resolve the legal and other issues confronted by them. The Clinic seeks to assist NGOs, civil rights groups and charitable organizations in fulfilling various statutory and legal obligations imposed on them under a diverse set of legislations, to improve the level of governance.

Since NGOs stand at the forefront in tackling issues relating to governance, it is imperative that they be given a platform in resolving legal issues that arise in the course of their work. Contact: legalaid@pcgt.org.

LEGAL

Gram Nyayalayas Act to take effect on October 2

New Delhi: More than 5,000 village courts, aimed at providing inexpensive justice, set up under the provisions of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, will start functioning from Gandhi Jayanthi. This was announced by the Central government.

The Act has been enacted to establish Gram Nyayalayas (GNs) at the grassroots level for providing access to justice to the citizens at their doorstep.

The GNs will provide inexpensive justice to people in rural areas. It will be a court of the Judicial Magistrate of the first class, and its presiding officer (Nyayadhikari) will be appointed by the State government in consultation with the High Court.

The GN will be established for every Panchayat at the intermediate level or a group of contiguous Panchayats at the intermediate level in a district or where there is no Panchayat at the intermediate level in any State, for a group of contiguous Panchayats. The Nyayadhikaris, who will preside over these GNs, are strictly judicial officers and will drawthe same salary and derive the same powers as the First Class Magistrates working under High Courts.

The GN will be a mobile court and exercise the powers of both the criminal and civil courts. The seat of the GN will be located at the headquarters of the intermediate panchayat, they will go to villages, work there and dispose of the cases. It will try criminal cases, civil suits, claims or disputes which are specified in the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to the Act.

They will follow summary procedure in criminal trial and exercise the powers of a civil court with certain modifications and follow the special procedure as provided in the Act.

The GN will try to settle the disputes, as far as possible, by bringing about conciliation between the parties and for this purpose, it will make use of appointed conciliators.

HC takes serious view of child adoption, will issue guidelines

Mumbai: In an order that might make adoption of children by foreign couples stricter, the Bombay High Court has said that it will soon frame guidelines to ensure that such kids do not develop behavioural problems after they are given in adoption abroad.

"Psychiatric screening should be made compulsory for kids before they are given in adoption to couples abroad," observed justice DY Chandrachud while appointing Additional Solicitor General D J Khambatta as amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist in framing guidelines.

"Many children who are placed in guardianship of parents abroad have had a disturbed childhood. Unless adequate psychiatric evaluation is carried out prior to placement of a child in guardianship and even thereafter, the child may develop serious behavioural problems," the judge observed.

The judge also sought help from Asha Bajpai, Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, to give her expert opinion in formulating guidelines for adoption of children by couples abroad.

The court was hearing a petition seeking medical costs from a foreign couple and a adoption agency for a girl who was repatriated to India and given psychiatric treatment after she developed behavioural problems in her home abroad. (Oct 11, Source PTI).

Medical help for tribals
A doctor couple Dr Ashish and Kavita Satav, have devoted their lives to run a hospital for the Korku tribals of Melghat, Maharashtra, through the NGO, Mahan, If you would you like to support them contact: mail2nimesh@gmail.com.

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International Day of Climate Action
*
Eight weeks away from the all important UN negotiations at the Conference of Parties in Copenhagen. there seems to be a broad consensus on limiting temperature increases to two degrees Celsius, but there is still no consensus on how to reach that goal.
*On October 24, about 2000 organizers are organizing actions in about 148 countries to walk, march, cycle, plant trees etc.
(www.350.org / oct24). Visit www.iycn.in / oct24, contact Surendran at suren@iycn.in or 011 4679 2246.


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Action demanded on land Acts

New Delhi: While land continues to be snatched from tribal people and farmers to be given to industrialists there is no initiative of land distribution to the landless people. Forest Rights Recognition Act was also implemented after Janadesh 2007 but tribal people are not getting the rights over the possessed forest land because of the lack of concrete policy guidelines to implement this act. That is why this historical act became only a Government declaration. Three thousands Satyagrahi are coming from all over India to join this Sathyagraha before Parliament on October 29, 2009.

Contact: Ekta Parishad, Gandhi Bhawan, Shymala Hills, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Ph: +91 755 422 38 21.

Cry to restore democracy in Manipur

Manipur: A series of mass protests in the state followed the shocking murder of Chungkham Shanjit and Thokchom Ongbi Rabina Devi at a market place in Imphal town and in broad daylight on 23rd July 2009 in a fake encounter by Manipur Police Commandos. Instead of responding to the democratic and legitimate demands of its people for justice and action, the state government led by Okram Ibobi Singh has replied with brute force and imposed curfew in the state, and tried to cover-up the story in the State Legislative Assembly.
Meanwhile, several activists of the All Manipur United Clubs Organisation (AMUCO) and the Apunba Lup as well as environmental activist Jiten Yumnam have been detained under various draconian Acts like the NSA and UAPA. It is almost impossible to find legal assistance for those arrested in the state today. On Sept 24, a mass protest was organisedvoutside Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi which demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all activists arrested in relation to the protests since August 2009 and drop all charges against them.

• That police personnel responsible for the extra judicial execution of Chungkham Shanjit and Rabina Devi in July 2009 are punished without any further delay
• Ensure that due process of law is followed with those arrested
• Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958 and end the atmosphere of impunity that prevails in Manipur
• Adopt a democratic and political approach, rather than military, in resolving the crisis in Manipur
• Please endorse the memorandum and fax / email a copy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 91-11-23019545 and manmohan@sansad.nic..in.

Committee for Peace and Democracy, Manipur, Delhi Forum, Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), Intercultural Resources (ICR), Focus on the Global South, National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM), New Socialist Initiative, The Other Media, Saheli and other concerned groups.

RTI

Under the banner of Orissa RTI Coalition, civil society organizations in the state have conducted several workshops to promote greater use of the Right to Information Act. RTI clinics have also come up to address citizens' basic information needs and help them file applications.

In Bhubaneswar Around 20 participants attended a training of trainers session on Right to Information, delivered and organized by Centre for Youth and Social Development and Orissa Soochna Adhikar Manch, in Bhubaneswar in August.

The participatory sessions gave the delegates an opportunity to deepen their understanding and knowledge on the RTI Act and its rules with a special focus on sections such as Section 4 on proactive self-disclosure.

There was also a very practical session on the important aspect of question framing for RTI applications which the participants found particularly helpful in relation to completing RTI applications.

Earlier, when Salil Shetty, Director, UN Millennium Campaign had visited Bhubaneswar to have a dialogue with a group of civil society organizations.

In his address, he highlighted three central components that according to him should be a critical part of the initiatives to achieve the MDGs: mobilization of youth in monitoring government social welfare schemes and programmes at the grassroots level; implementation of RTI as a tool for every citizen and appropriation of technology in disseminating the information and maximizing the reach of communications.

Orissa RTI Coalition is a network of 12 organisations formed in February 2009 to collectively join efforts in raising awareness on power of information and initiating hands-on support in marginalised communities, assisting citizens to assert their rights and to access the tool of RTI.

As a result of the discussions, working groups were formed that will join efforts in developing action plans on the following themes: campaign, research and strategy, call centre, community media, internal strengthening and knowledge management.

RTI clinics
Please use these readymade formats to file formal complaints against Information Commissioners by suitably modifying highlighted portions, filling in the blanks or striking out options that are not applicable. Refer to the Checklist of offences, and copy-paste from five Most Applicable Offences.
Standard Draft of COMPLAINT LETTER against individual Information Commissioners: http://www.box.net/shared/rh4u7ftbzn.

LIST OF OFFENCES commonly committed by Information Commissioners: http://www.box.net/shared/9anbn50ook.

ADDRESSES to send your complaint letter: http://www.box.net/shared/v5rps0ho10.

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Volunteers have distributed leaflets and the mobile phone numbers for volunteers so that the communities are aware of the RTI clinics. 60 RTI applications on various issues, including PDS, NREGA, water supply, and school building construction have been filed.

In one case the Public Authority responded to a request with complete and immediate action to avoid filing of an RTI application.Contact: rtiodisha@gmail.com 9777677068.

Snehalaya celebrates annual function

The Annual function was held in Snehalaya on 23rd and 24th Aug. went well and the building work for the new School within Snehalaya campus is progressing satisfactorily targeted to complete by June 2010. Details as well as the Souvenir- 2009 with all the updates and information can be downloaded from http://gchvols.pbwiki.com.

63 children reside in Snehalaya, mostly disabled and or sick including HIV, CP, Epilepsy etc. handcrafted greeting cards and many other gift items made by or with the help of our children in Snehalaya, are available on
http://gchvols.pbworks.com/SouvenirShop.

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JAMSHEDPUR: As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the department of Integrated Customer Services (ICS), JUSCO, organized a cancer awareness camp in collaboration with Maa Saroda Cancer Help Line Ashar Aaalo (Vision of Hope) to provide free check-up to the needy and thereby offer moral support to them and their families.

nearly 200 people at the camp attended . The members present on the occasion included Shakti Sharma, chief education, JUSCO, Soma Sinha of Maa Saroda Cancer Help Line, Sumit Kr Das Gupta, head, ICS, JUSCO, Subhashish Chakraborty, manager, CSR, JUSCO, and JUSCO Seva champions. Contact:SSESS - Society for Socio-Economic Studies & Services.

Calcutta - 700102.
Tel : 033- 25914439 (10.30am - 5pm)
skgssess@yahoo.co.in

Photography contest

SamanBachpan Abhiyan is launching a National Photography / Painting contest titled "Equal/Unequal Childhood-India 2009" to raise voice against unequal opportunities for children. The idea is to involve artists, across India to create an art production on the issue of Equal Opportunity in Childhood to highlight the need for providing special focus to issues related to Equal Opportunity in Childhood. Awarded and selected entries would be displayed at a National level exhibition to be organized along side the award function.

Last date for sending in your entries is 16th November 2009. The entry forms etc on www.samanbachpanindia.org.
PRIZES (one each for photography and painting)from: Rs. 50,000/- and citation to Rs. 1,500/- )
Entries to Goa-CAP, C/o Dorothy Fernandes, H/No 83/1, Opposite Chicalim Church Chicalim, Vasco Da Gama, Goa - 403711 Mobile: 09730103604, 09820679662 Email: equalindia2009@yahoo.com.
Saman Bachpan Abhiyan is a campaign about raising voice against unequal opportunities for children. The campaign believes that each child should get equal opportunity for development as a matter of constitutional right. For more details on the campaign please visit.

We Farm CSR project

In a first for the corporate sector, the "We-Farm, Radhapuram" project is being undertaken by Suzlon Foundation (SF), in collaboration with the National Positive Women’s Network (PWN+), in Chennai.

The PWN+ identified women in and around Radhapuram to undertake collective income-generating activities and share produce not only to earn their livelihood but also to boost their self-esteem and empower them to deal with life's challenges.

Their efforts led to the setting up of the Thirunelveli District Positive Women's Network (TPWN+), of which Mugil has been elected president.

The SF has made available 46 acres of land along with existing assets, including 152 grown coconut trees, a farm house with metered electric connection and a pump set to PWN+ to use for three years. The agreement was signed on April 26, 2009. One month later, the women began their work.

In June they harvested 1,700 coconuts. The women are encouraged to use organic fertilisers made out of five substances obtained from cows - dung, urine, milk, curd and ghee. This mixture is kept in a container and stirred twice a day for 22 days, after which it becomes organic manure free of chemicals, explains Ravikularaman Ramasamy, SF's CSR manager.

"Because of their HIV status, we tell them to first consume whatever they grow themselves and then sell the produce, as good nutrition is essential for them to build their immunity," he points out.

Each of the 20 women came to the project with a seed capital of 2,000 rupees while SF’s contribution for the first year is one Lakh rupees, to be given in quarterly installments.

Acting as facilitator between the PWN + and SF in this key initiative towards building women's resource rights is a national women's NGO, Sathi All for Partnerships (SAFP), based in Delhi.

"We approached Suzlon, state agencies and UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) with the idea of increasing women's resource base in three states of Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Kerala," says SAFP director Shivani Bhardwaj. "The Radhapuram experiment is the first ever private and public agreement that forms a key step towards building a women's resource zone."

The deliberations led to the SF offering two plots, of which 46 acres were allotted for the project and 43 for a similar initiative involving tribal women in the same district.

Shalom cares for AIDS patients

Delhi: The SIM International Shalom Delhi project steps into HIV homes with home-based care staff making regular visits to the homes of families enrolled in the program. They partner with other NGOs to provide medical, material, social, support. The program targets widows, single adults, and families who have minimal support from their extended family. It serves families in Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Gurgaon.

Shalom Delhi targets Delhi's satellite city of Faridabad with a prevention/awareness program. The program runs in schools for 1-3 months, teaching kids about basic hygiene and health care as well as AIDS-related issues.Other prevention programs target adolescents and truck drivers. It also runs the Shalom Critical Care Center.

'BRAILLE MITRA' by Modular
Pune. This is a software that can instantly convert ANY INDIAN a language and English soft copy to Braille and a device with which visually challenged can read it line by line. You just need to attach a pen drive to this device- you don't even need a PC. One 2GB pendrive can hold upto 1000 books! I saw a reading demo with a Visually challenged girl reading with this device faster than I could read from the book!

Now what needs to be done is publishers and authors giving the rights to convert their books to Braille. They can just share the soft copy for such conversion. All authors till now have given the rights free of cost.

Write to the Jt. MD of Modular Infotech on rrjoshi@modular-infotech.com*

Ganeshutsav and RTI in Mumbai

It was a brilliant move to reach the great and eager crowds at the Ganpati festival at the pandals and give them an insight into RTI. And PCGT's ever enthusiastic young workers got the permissions required to set up RTI stalls with the various pandal organizers all over the city.

The programme from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2 began with a stall at 12th Khetwadi Ganesh Mandal put up by volunteers from Ganesh Mandal. at 10th Khetwadi Ganesh Mandal. By 5 pm two volunteers from the Mandal, on 29th August, 2009.
Stall was erected at Ganesh Galli, Lalbaugh- thebiggest Ganpathi pandal in Bombay possibly, The crush of crowds at the pandal forced the volunteers to stand if they were to speak and they managed to speak to around 700 people who wanted information about the RTI till 9:30 pm.

Then there was a Stall at British Imperial Trust (BIT) on Aug 30; on 31st August, the RTI stall moved to Chinchpokli .
In the Govandi area PCGT put up stalls at the Ganesh mandals at several places with the enterprising volunteers and workers of Apnalaya, who are active in the Govandi area.

RTI Stalls were set up at the Samata Nagar Savajanik Ganeshutsav Mandal; the Sarvajnik Ganeshutsav Mandal, at Baiganwadi ; the Ram Mandir Ganeshotsav Mandal. wheretwo students of Government Law College joined the stall and at Jagruti Seva Mandal,. Contact PCGT 022-23647642.

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OBITUARIES
Founder of the North East India Harm Reduction Network, NEIHRN, Mr. Kamad passed away on 4th October 2009 at around 6:45 am.

Mr Kamad was one of the torch-bearers in the field of drug use and harm reduction and an ardent activist working for the welfare of people especially for those impacted by drug use and HIV.

Contact:North East India Harm Reduction Network,2nd Floor Bishmilla Bhavan, Near Care Foundation, Chassad Avenue, Brighter Academy Road, Imphal West - 795001, Manipur State, India.

World non-violence day

About 1,460 NSS Students from 76 colleges of University of took the pledge to work for peace and non-violence on the occasion of International Non-Violence Day.

"I shall endeavor to resolve all differences through dialogue and constitutional means and I shall strive to establish WORLD-PEACE... ", about 1,460 students of N.S.S. Unit, from 76 colleges of University of Mumbai joined hands with the millions of people all over the world to take this pledge on 2nd October - International Non-Violence Day.

Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal, N.S.S. Unit of University of Mumbai and World March for Peace and Non-Violence had jointly organized the mega event at Convocation Hall, University of Mumbai, Fort Campus.

The main theme of this programme was to raise awareness of non-violence, tolerance, full respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, democracy, development, mutual understanding and respect of diversity among the young generation.

Students carrying placards and banners stating 'No More Violence, Peace is our Mission' marched from Churchgate & CST followed by Gandhi bhajans & peace songs.

TISS receives US$18.2 mn to tackle AIDS, TB & malaria in India

Bangalore:The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has received a grant of US$ 18.2 million under the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) Round 7 to enhance capacities of institutions of higher learning in HIV/AIDS Counselling and undertake capacity building of counsellors under the National AIDS Control Programme. -- 'Saksham',
Saksham is a partnership between 40 academic institutions in over 25 states of India. Which will work closely with the National AIDS Control Organization, State AIDS Control Societies, non-government organizations, representatives of Positive People's Networks and corporate agencies to enhance the overall quality of HIV/AIDS counselling and counselling training programmes in India.

A fast for repealing AFSPA enters 10th year

Imphal: On Nov.2, 2009, Manipur poet and activist Irom Sharmila, will enter the 10th year of her hunger strike demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).Introduced in 1958 the AFSPA grants the Indian military special powers throughout North-East India to:

•Arrest citizens and enter their property without warrant;
•Shoot and kill anyone on mere 'suspicion';
•Enjoy immunity against legal action.
Under the cover of the Act the Indian armed forces have indulged in killing, torture, enforced disappearances and rape, bringing much misery to the people of Manipur. According to the government appointed Justice Jeevan Reddy Commission ‘the Act has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness.’ The United Nations Committee on Racial Discrimination has urged the Indian government to repeal the law.

On 2 November, 2000 Irom Sharmila Chanu, a Manipuri poet decided to go on a hunger strike after the Indian Army massacred ten civilians in Malom, Manipur. On 6 November 2000 she was arrested by the police and charged with attempt to commit suicide under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code.. She is routinely released every year only to be re-arrested again. This ritual has been going on for a decade now.

In solidarity with her local civil society, particularly the women, have been on a relay hunger strike since December 10, 2008. On the occasion of her struggle entering the tenth year, they are poised to celebrate her resilience as a "Festival of Hope, Justice and Peace". Sharmila's struggle is not just to defend the human rights in Manipur, but in reality it is reshaping the very foundations of democracy in India. To celebrate Sharmila's courage and resilience as her struggle enters the 10th year We call upon all people's movements, women's organisations and human rights forums to initiate actions from 2 to 6 November 2009 .Write to solidarity@manipurfreedom.org.

PEOPLE
Dr. Chandrakant Puri has taken over as Professor-Cum- Director of the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion & Inclusive Policy, SNDT Women's University, which is sponsored by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi from September 1, 2009. He can be contacted on Tel : 91-22-26608198 Cell :9819056444 E-mail : csseipsndt@gmail.com / chandrakantpuri@yahoo.co.in
Visit on : www.csseip-sndt.org.
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WEBSITES

The Chandigarh, India-based non-profit service and advocacy organisation DadaDadi is using short messaging service (SMS) and other technologies in an effort to ensure the safety of elderly people living alone in the city. Contact Jorawer Singh Chandigarh. Tel: 91 9888 9888 47 Contact: DadaDadi website <joe@dadadadi.org> Care@dadadadi.org

Hamari Suraksha has joined hands with Mumbai Police to launch a website to register senior citizens, domestic help workers such as servant, driver, cook, health care providers including doctors and nearest hospitals. http://www.hamarisuraksha.com / presently launched the following services: Senior Citizen Registration.

Registration of Senior Citizens and their domestic help worker, Servant, driver, cook, cleaner, milk man and others, Senior Citizen's Tenant Registration, when you rent your house or apartment, must register your tenant: Tenant Registration;Volunteer Registration, the site will register volunteers who will provide services to the senior citizens: providers and volunteers.

Now you can see agricultural production in a completely new Gapminder Graph. With data from FAO, and 700 indicators to show how agricultural production has changed over the last 45 years.Go to: Gapminder http://gapminderfou ndation.createse nd5.com/t/r/l/hyhtkt/ muksihy/r.

Gapminder has expanded the dataset on the number of children per woman (total fertility rate) to cover the period 1800-present for almost 200 countries. That means you can now follow the demographic transition for almost all the world's countries in Gapminder World. Go to: Children per Woman in Gapminder World (1800-2008)
http://gapminderfou ndation.createsend5.com/t/r/l/hyhtkt/muksihy/y.

www.congoshongo.com, is a brand new initiative from iCONGO. a unique retailing concept to promote NGO products and the artisan communities. It aims to provide ready market and visibility for these products mainly through online retail, and later through franchise outlets and "shops in shops" with support from retail ventures for face-2-face consumer experiences. Launched by Indian Confederation of NGOs (www.icongo.in) in association with Net Assets Private Limited, an ecommerce and phone & buy retail company. The CONGO SHONGO mission is to create progressive market supply chains to promote products made by NGOs, through a business 2 Consumer (B2C) and Business 2 Business (B2B)- global retailers and distributors model. They also plan a toll free line and an outbound call centre operation as support to drive sales.

Young Leaders' Forum -The Indian Merchants' Chamber in association with Society for Service to Voluntary Agencies (SOSVA held the Tenth Dr. Mabelle Arole Memorial Address on "The World is Warming Let us keep a Cool Head" on October 9, The Keynote Speaker was Dr. Madhav Gadgil - Noted Environmentalist and Padmashri and Padma Bhushan Awardee, founder of Centre for Ecological Sciences at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. And winner of the Environment Prize in 2003.

Joy of giving week
One of the most ambitious giving events in India began from Sept. 27toOct 2 when GiveIndia launched their Joy of Givng week all over the country. The idea made a small beginning but has entered the consciousness of many citizens and over the years is bound to grow.

In Chennai there was a Battle of the Buffet,' where several five star hotels presented a tasty spread, for donors for Rs 5,000, at Chennai Trade Centre on October 1. "The entire amount will be donated to one of the 80 NGOs on our list. An all-India campaign to "Donate books, Receive Books" was started by Karmayog (www.karmayog.org/donatebooks) to enable any person from across the country to connect with and donate books to any public library, school, college, hospital, NGO, Trust, etc. contact Nikhil on 9819685838 or Rohit on 9920431933.

(http://www.joyofgivingweek.org)

India's first green theatre festival was held from Sept 29-Oct 2 in Udaipur featuring over 20 performances related to the environment and lifestyles/relationship with nature, hosted by several local groups and communities. The Peoples' Institute for Rethinking Education and Development,Udaipur, Rajasthan, Tel: 91-294-245-1303.
Web: www.swaraj.org/shikshantar.

Exhibition about conflict zones
Association for India's Development <http://www.aidindia.org>, in partnership with many other groups, is hosting events across the US and India to raise awareness about the crisis in Chhattisgarh.One of the central themes for these events is a traveling exhibition of Javed Iqbal's <http://www.lightstalkers.org/javed-iqbal> photos. Javed is a photo-journalist who has toured extensively in southern districts, and brought back powerful depictions of the conflict zone. He has played an important role in uncovering the truth behind some of the "encounters" Check the Chhattisgarh photo exhibit.
<http://picasaweb.google.com/tsengupta/CGExhibit?authkey=Gv1sRgCLnko-PI4uSABg& feat=directlink>

Environment Ministry invites discussion
The minister for environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh has invited comments from the States, civil society, and other stakeholders regarding the design of an appropriate institutional structure for best addressing the growing environmental challenges. So click here <http://www.envfor.nic.in/mef/NEPA%20-%20Discussion%20Paper.pdf> if you wish to participate and provide online feedback to the ministry on the available options for a National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA) and to create a mechanism that would be responsible for monitoring and compliance of environmental standards.

The ISO26000 Draft International Standard (DIS) on organisational responsibility is now available for public comment here
<http://isotc.iso.org/livelink/livelink/fetch/2000/2122/830949/3934883/3935837/ISO_DIS_26000_Guidance_on_Social_ Responsibility.pdf?nodeid=8385026&vernum=0>.
ISO has been working on a standard for organisational responsibility for over 5 years. The standard is likely to be influential across much of the world. Contact Kristina Sandberg <kristina.sandberg@sis.se>

OBIT
Remembering K.Balagopal - Campaigner for the Human Rights Movement

K.Balagopal, the synonym for the human rights movement in Andhra Pradesh passed away suddenly on October 8th at 10.00 PM of a peptic ulcer. His death at the age of 57 has left everyone associated with human rights and democratic movements in a state of shock. Activists and supporters of the human rights movement are still finding it difficult to accept the reality of his death.
He was elected to the post of the General Secretary of APCLC in 1985 and carried out that responsibility for 15 years. He took up the leadership of the organization when the repression on the Naxalite movement had just begun. In the process of exposing fake encounters he visited every nook and corner of the state. He expanded the organization from its confined location in a few cities to every small town in the state. Inspired by his activist practice, numerous young people were attracted to the organization. In order to inculcate the consciousness of human rights in muffasil areas he identified issues that are specific to each district and worked through them. By enabling the district activists to articulate the local rights issues, he shaped the organization in such a way that wherever a violation of rights took place, they would raise their voice against it. Even though many civil liberties leaders such as Gopi Rajanna, Dr.Ramanatham, Jaapa Lakshma Reddy and Narra Prabhakar Reddy were killed, he did not lose heart. Instead, he tried to infuse courage among the fellow activists. He remained unfazed in the face of direct repression too. Arrested under TADA, he spent three months in Warangal prison but always believed that it is quite natural for activists to be arrested or imprisoned. His response to attacks on his person exemplified his democratic temperament. When he was attacked by ABVP activists in 1984, kidnapped by the Khammam police in 1989, fatally attacked in Kottagudem in 1992 and even mauled in the presence of National Human Rights Commission in 1993, he refused to pause even for a day. Speaking to the media after he was released by his kidnappers, he suggested that they should focus more on the repression of the rural youth, rather than on him.

Balagopal's success lay in making the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee stand by the people of Andhra Pradesh, especially in opposing the repression unleashed by the state government in the name of containing naxalism. His efforts in developing APCLC into a pioneering organization in opposing state violence in India are unparalleled. Working relentlessly, he sought to extend the civil liberties activism and practice from the confines of urban intellectual debates onto a much broader basis. When Dalits were attacked during the initial years of Telugu Desam regime, his was one of the first democratic voices to be raised. During the anti-Mandal agitation he wrote the first analytical essay in support of reservations for backward castes from a human rights perspective and thereby widened the horizons the human rights movements.

He envisaged a broad based and autonomous human rights movement which would be accountable to the people. Due to the differences of opinion emerging from such a reflection, he left APCLC to form Human Rights Forum (HRF) with a few comrades. Over the last ten years, HRF's growth from 32 member organization to an active and energetic 300 member strong organization owes a lot to the untiring efforts of Balagopal. His vision lay in creative alignment of human rights theory with practice and in cultivating among common people a spirit of commitment to social responsibility and faith in democratic values.

After joining the civil liberties movement Balagopal wrote numerous analytical commentaries on various social and political phenomenon in Andhra Pradesh. To conduct public inquiries into human rights violations all over the country, he established Indian People's Human Rights Commission along with Nandita Haksar and Sebastian which served as the basis for the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission. Balagopal is known to people of Kashmir, Manipur, Chattisgarh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka which saw extensive human rights violations in recent times. He visited these states many times with other civil liberties organizations and brought out several reports.

Despite rising to immense heights in the human rights movement he chose to live a simple and ordinary life. He practiced what he believed in his everyday life. He did not have any life outside the movement. From 1981 till his last breath, he used all his energies in struggles for justice for poor people and protecting their rights. For rural people his name is synonymous with 'rights'. Intellectuals consider him as a thinker who advocated human rights norms to evaluate the democratic quotient of any social and political phenomenon. He stood out as an intensely committed lawyer in a profession increasingly beset with corruption. He not only provided a moral compass to peoples' lives but also diligently carried out the responsibility of warning them about impending threats to public interest.

'As long as people are suffering, one cannot rest in peace', words that describe Balagopal's philosophy of life too.

pratham.nishant@gmail.com

"NGO initiates a course in banking"

WITH an aim to help find jobs for youngsters from low-income group 'Pratham', has initiated a three months course in Banking, financial services and insurance industries. Pratham conducted a study of sectors that provide more job opportunities in various cities of Maharashtra. There are many openings in the banking sector of banking and finance in Mumbai and therefore Pratham started the learning center in collaboration with Deustsche Bank.

The NGO also has a team of volunteers who conduct camps and door-to-door awareness programme about the jobs opportunities in this field in the slum and lower middle class areas of city of Bhandup, Mulund, Kanjur Marg, Vikhroli etc.

The Course provides basic practical and theoretical knowledge of banking, share markets, mutual funds, capital markets and insurance sector. To give them an overall idea, Pratham works on communication, presentation, writing, typing and computing skills. Candidates are also provided training in English speaking and Soft skills to build their confidence level.

Deutsche Bank provides financial help along with guiding with the curriculum as per the requirement of the sector. The bank also assists the NGO in arranging corporate visits and orientation programmes and guest lecture by their executives. This training program is provided to the deserving candidates at a very nominal fee.
www.prathambhandup.blogspot.com.

Fresh Graduates in need of a job-based training contact: Pratham Learning Center.
Bhandup (west).Mumbai Phone: 259464404/ 65271315.

World Alzheimer's Day, 21st Sept,
Mumbai: Many events were planned across the country to create awareness and bring
together concerned individuals and organizations. in Delhi, Mumbai, Banglore, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
http://weforpeople.com/2009/09/world-alzhiermers-day
In Mumbai the Silver Innings Dementia Support Group, and Related Disorder Society of India (ARDSI) has already reached out to 657 families. -- clinical psychologists provide free consultation on the phone to seniors , pay a visit to the home of an Alzheimer's patient and chalk out the future course of treatment in consultation with the family. Contact Mobile: 0091 9819819145 Website : www.silverinnings.com.

Neighborhood Empowerment- A People's Movement.

Indian Development Foundation(IDF) has 17 such Gurukuls spread out in India with only locals supervising the effort for 2-3 hours of volunteer work in their neighbourhoods.
IDF has 2 Gurukuls in tribal villages away from Jaipur for the past 4 years. Similarly there is an Empowerment Class for rag-picking children of Jaipur city and their transformation is* unbelievable. *

MP-MLA-Corporator funds are good to initiate and support such schemes.
Principals of schools and school managements, business houses, local shopkeepers, religious institutions and individuals may come forward to support such a novel scheme. The whole effort has to be secular without politics getting into it.

Despite the official claims, thousands of children do not have access to basic education. This IDF experiment has yielded excellent results over the past 7-8 years starting with a class in the tribal village of Tamnath near Karjat and now in many states including one in Assam.

IDF can be a partner for sharing know-how .For details write to Dr Narayan <idfmumbai@gmail.com> or me <idfark@gmail.com> Indian Development Foundation (IDF), Mumbai Tel: 022 - 2876 2008/ 2876 3008 Cell : +91 98200 97905
Email : idfark@gmail.com.

Another 'Mother Earth store launched
Mumbai: 'Mother Earth' launched a 5000 sq ft store at SOBO Central, Haji Ali, Mumbai on Oct.1.
Initiated by Industree, nominated amongst the top 50 social entrepreneurships in India and the Future Group they earlier launched the unique endeavour in Bangalore. Industree, a social entrepreneurship, combines its years of experience in the developmental sector, with the retail acumen of the Future Group, to address issues of environmental as well as social sustainability.

Mother Earth is positioned as India's first complete 'green' store with a wide range of carefully selected merchandise, that helps build environment and social sustainability under home, apparel and food items. Mother Earth sources from rural producers and Fair Trade partners and encourages green, artisanal skills, which provide non farm based incomes to its rural masses.

It is a one stop shop for all requirements of an aware buyer, looking for better healthier alternatives for themselves and their families. From organic and natural foods, home and personal care to gifts, home decor and apparel. To enable this, Industree has partnered with leading Indian NGOs and Fair Trade partners such as SEWA, SASHA, CFM, ANT, SADHANA, SAHAJ, DARAM, that work across states in India, to bring the rich mix of ethical, well designed merchandise to the discerning customer.

Mother Earth helps, the aware customer buy low carbon footprint merchandise hence contributes to the 'greening' of India and combating climate change.
Earth will be having 'green' pledges signed at The SOBO Central Atrium, driving home the message of sustainable consumption into the hearts of the Mumbaikar.. The Mother Earth trend of selling home composters, having a pickup for recycled tetrapacks and e-waste is being repeated at the Mumbai store. www.motherearth.co.in.

Rural sisterhood Zindabad!
Bangalore: An 11-state study conducted from Oct. 07 to Dec.08 by Delhi-based, Swanchetana found that rural victims of sexual abuse are beginning to fight back in their own way. Using data collected by state police forces and NGOs working with rural victims of sexual violence, the researchers noted that 85% of urban women express sadness and guilt describing their experience, the rural women expressed rage! When a woman of the fishing community was raped, the women spread their stale catch outside the house of the attackers and the police, who finally had to lodge a case. Women are empowered when they form a collective and the collective haranguing by the women, while being 'fun,' is consistent and persistent.

Fund raising through scraps
Mumbai: Residents from Dombivli and Kalyan are contributing for animal care and welfare every month through selling scrap and unused newspapers and donating the amount to Plant and Animals Welfare Society(Paws).
Seema Prabhu and her family from Dombivli (W) say "Scrap material and old newspapers fetch around Rs200, it is also reasonable to offer small sums every month." PAWS began with the initiative in early 2008. Volunteers collected scrap from residents in selected localities of Dombivli and Kalyan. The initiative was conceptualised by three young volunteers of Paws. One among them Saurabh Chaughule, a mechanical engineering student and Paws fund raising committee member said, 'We would go door-to-door and collect the newspapers, but initially we found hardly any positive response.” But determined to continue the programme, they persevered. Today almost 20 families are regular contributors under this initiative. Sonali Bagade, 25, a masters of social work student and member in-charge of campaign awareness said, "We initially began by convincing residents from different localities. The word-to-word publicity got around. We are hopeful that it grows further."

Oswald Braganza, 55, a resident of Kalyan West, feels that animal care is being neglected by the municipal corporation In Dombivli PAWS along with international rabies experts celebrated the third annual World Rabies Day on Sept.28 by organizing a free anti-rabies drive for 100 stray dogs in Thakurli-Dombivli area. Contact Nilesh Bhanage +91 9920777536 www.pawsasia.org.

EOTO introduces mobile library (pix)
Mumbai: Working with 50 primary school students in the Zilla Parishad school at Dhamote, near Nerul, and with the Dhamale Memorial Trust in six schools in Vikamgad Taluka in Thane, EOTO introduced a mobile library which would travel to all the tribal schools of Palghar.

Palliative care in the slums of TN
Chennai: When death is inevitable, the last days at home can be traumatic. It is at this stage that Dean Foundation in Chennai steps into provide whatever succour they can to the patient and their families. A drip, an injection to lessen the pain, a nurse, the Foundation attempts to reduce the suffering of the terminally ill patient. Their aim is to "improve the end-of-life quality of the patient. The services are offered free and the Foundation takes doctors and nurses to the huts and alleys of the poor. A film, Rainbows at Sunset directed by V.Ramanathan on the work of the Dean Foundation won an award.. See reelshow International website http://www.reelshowint.com/student-portfolios/rainbows-at-sunset.html.

Voices from the Waters-09
Bangalore's annual nternational 'Water film festival' Voices from the Waters was inaugurated by the Bhoomi Thai Balaga (Friends of Mother Earth) who sang an invocational song about Water. The films were shown from Sept 4-6 at the YWCA Koramangala and at the Alliance Francaise. Among the Indian films shown were Holy Water by Lotta Ekelunnd about the Cola companies depleting and polluting the environment; Sujan Bandhu by Viplab Majumder ; Chilla Bank by Akanksha Joshi tracing the 4-decade view of a banyan tree on Chilka Lake from the times when there was no export bazaar on its banks to the time maybe when there will be no lake!Jala Tarangani, produced y the students of Christel House, India which wove the notes of music with the music of the river; Barren Dreams by Anwar Chowdhury capturing the lives of children living on an island in the middle of the Jamuna river. "Living Water" the piece de resistance of the festival explored the Indian religious context of water i.e. Preservation is communion, while 'Deeply Superficial by Vineet Rai is a chronicle of the many meanings the waters of the Ganga hold... its veneration and its filth and those who are out to save it from those who want to make money from it. Contact: Bangalore Film Society Bangalore. Tel:080-25493705, 9448064513.

Economic Rights of Single Women
Mumbai: As part of a larger project on the financial status of separated women being done by the Economic Research Foundation in Delhi (with support from IRDC), and the Women's Legal Forum, held a seminar on the 'Economic Rights and Entitlements of Separated and Divorced Women in India' on Aug 22 at the YMCA International.
Although data census shows that the separated female population is 7.3% of the total female population, there is in fact, no real data on the subject with estimations of desertions, abandonment etc estimated in the range of 20-35%. The objective of the seminar was to examine the laws and government policies which concern these women and to evaluate their status. Among the issues discussed were the right to marital property, recognition of household work as 'productive, the Forest Rights Act etc. Among those who discussed these issues were Adv. Kirti Singh, Prof. Maithreyi Krishnaraj, Dr, Flavia Agnes, Dr. Vibhuti Patel, Kiran Bhatti with regional inputs from fellow activists and advocates from the various regions. Contact:

Insitu Housing in Slums report (pix)
Bangalore: In a documentation of the 750 slums in Bangalore, not all of which are 'recognised' AVAS (Association for Voluntary Action and Service) interventions in urban programmes for the slums, are trying to create viable, affordable and replicable insitu housing models to resolve the land and shelter problems of the slum dwellers. It has impacted 18 communities directly at a micro level and its sustainable models have become the icons influencing housing policies for the urban poor. The report on 'Affordable Housing for All', was submitted to a High level task force of the Govt. of India.
The AVAS experience, replicable and viable, is evident in the Hoskerahalli slum;Wahab Garden; Sudhamanagar; Parsi Garden slum in Bandavyanagar; Vyalikaval Chowdiah MRS Palya; amongst others. Contact AVAS Bangalore, Tel: 080-23614227 email: <avas@vsnl.com>

Fishworkers Against ASEAN-India FTA

Ernakulam: Several Major Fisheries Trade Unions organized a convention on Sept. 24 at Ernakulam, under the banner of the Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee, to oppose the recently signed ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement, with an unanimous demand for "No fish imports" and called for a march to Parliament on Nov. 11 against it.
The Agreement between India and 10 South East Asian nations signed on August 13th this year aims to allow the import of several fish products at lower tariffs into India. This would grossly impact the employment and incomes of over ten lakh traditional fish and allied workers in Kerala. Fishworkers in Kerala are already dealing with the pressure of rising investment and maintenance costs, and are unable to deal with even a one-rupee fluctuation in price.

Friends society blood donations

Vadodara: VIIth Voluntary Blood Donation Camp for the Year 2009-10 was conducted successfully on Sept. 17 at M/s. Eclipsys Corporation, where their 44 employees donated blood.

In the above camp, many of them had donated blood for the first time. With above, they have contributed 244 units to Blood Bank, S.S.G. Hospital in the year 2009-10. Contact Anuj Agrawal" jaya.anuj1@gmail.com.

Mumbai, Sep 22 The Bombay Stock Exchange has partnered with Plan, an NGO working for child rights, to help sensitise people to invest in girl children for the nation's economic growth.

The BSE also launched a report "Because I am a Girl" today, which focuses on the economic empowerment of the girl child. It was also released simultaneously in 15 countries, including at the Sydney and Dutch Stock Exchanges.

BSE CEO and Managing Director, Madhu Kannan, who released the report with ICICI Securities CEO, Madhabi Puri-Buch and Plan India Member of the Governing Board, Raj Nooyi, said "the BSE was privileged to partner with Plan and start a social responsibility programme for the girl child."

The organisation will continue to release such reports on the state of girl child till 2015, which would be the 20th anniversary of 1995 Beijing Conference on Women.

(Box)Details of NGO Co-ordinators all over India are available at our Helpline no. 98203 39608.

India to receive Rs 130 cr aid from Germany

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) India will receive Rs 130 crore (19.4 million Euro) aid from Germany for viable loan-based financing of natural resources and conservation initiatives taken up in rural areas.

An agreement was inked by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Germany's Development Bank KfW as part of financial cooperation between both the nations, a German embassy statement said here.

The assistance to be given for the Umbrella Programme for Natural Resource Management includes 15 million Euro as standard loan and 4.4 million Euro as grant, for which NABARD is the executing agency.

The Umbrella programme aims to demonstrate viability of loan-based financing for management of natural resources and conservation initiatives in rural areas.

Indo-German bilateral development cooperation focuses on three priority areas, environment, energy and sustainable economic development, to facilitate inclusive growth, reducing poverty and meeting millennium development goals.

India's denotified tribes demand a life of dignity

Living in precarious conditions, India's denotified and nomadic tribes are subject to maltreatment and abuse by all and sundry. Highlighting their inhuman existence, a convention held in the national capital brought together many of these floating communities to demand basic rights of food and shelter from the government.

To highlight the peculiar problems faced by these invisible communities and suggest measures to integrate them into the mainstream, a national convention was organised in New Delhi earlier this week by Lokdhara, a national alliance of denotified and nomadic tribes. Denotified tribes include various communities, which were unjustly notified as 'criminal tribes' under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 by the British government. Following independence, all of these were 'denotified'.

The event also showed a short documentary by Anand Kasambe, an activist with Lokdhara, depicting the plight of these nomadic tribes.

Some of these included pastorals and hunter-gatherers like Dhanagars, Kathiawadis; entertainers and religious performers like Dombaris (acrobats), Bahurupias (strolling actors), Saperas (snake charmers), Gosavis (ascetics); and service nomads like Shikalchi (blacksmith), Vadar (stonecutters), Kunchikorna (monkey trainers), Chapparband (roof-thatchers), etc.

Speaking to OneWorld South Asia, Pallavi Renke, Maharashtra State President, Lokdhara said: "One of the major problems being faced by the DNTs is a continuing stigma of criminality attached to them, which has made them vulnerable to frequent police harassments merely on the grounds of suspicion. Apart from having to face the stigma of criminality, these communities had been driven away from their traditional occupations and were being prosecuted under a plethora of new laws in the name of forest conservation, wildlife protection, cruelty to animal, prevention of beggary, and so on.

Taking note of their socio-economic conditions and to suggest measures for their all-round upliftment, a report by the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Tribes was submitted to the prime minister last year.

This report observed that these communities across the country were seen dwelling in temporary shelters or tents on vacant lands. They had no permanent addresses and hence had got no land allocation for housing purpose.With no proof of residence or property ownership certificates, they were not in a position to avail ration cards and had not been included in the BPL (below the poverty line) list. They also faced a lot of trouble in getting the caste certificates and therefore no access to government welfare schemes.

"Why is it taking so long to implement the recommendations of the report?" Manasi Singh, OneWorld South Asia.

a clinic for ailing entrepreneurs!

Pune First, a group of small and medium entrepreneurs from Pune, has been meeting once every week for the last 15 years to discuss matters pertaining to their businesses. It is now all set to launch a clinic for small entrepreneurs--Entrepreneur's International, a non-profit trust. The clinic will be operational within two months' time. The concept is similar to a doctor's clinic. If an entrepreneur has any problem, query, questions or anything she would like to know, the clinic will help address it," says Rajendra Bam, an entrepreneur who is a member of the club.

A visitor will be charged a nominal fee and consultations will be by appointment. Ranade explains that the clinic will work on certain pre-decided days of the week for some hours, and will also leave no stone unturned to help the person in need."

There are three clubs under Entrepreneurs International: Pune First, with the other two operating in Pimpri and Baramati. Pune First also arranges discussions, seminars, workshops, sessions designed to help members of the group, and visits to various business units. Contact: http://www.weentrepreneurs.org.

Conf Held

Meet on climate change highlights challenges

JAIPUR: Experts and concerned citizens of the state met on Sept. 17 to discuss the need to take the issues of global warming and carbon emissions to the masses and generate an informed debate in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December this year.

The participants in the one-day workshop on Climate Change and Challenges Ahead' here included 83 journalists and representatives of 30 civil society organisations. The participants expressed concern over the dangerous fallouts of global warming such as land inundation, flooding, droughts, decline of bio-diversity, loss of livelihood and agrarian distress. They highlighted the role of media in creating awareness of these emerging disasters.

The Jaipur-based Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society (CECOEDECON) organised the workshop in collaboration with stakeholders such as Oxfam, PAIRVI and One World South Asia with the support extended by Unicef and UNFPA.

The Rajasthan Rural Development and Panchayati Raj minister Bharat Singh inaugurating the workshop.

Member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, Prof. V S Vyas, addressing the inaugural session said wheat production had declined significantly in India, which was earlier the world leader in this foodgrain.

The experts, who addressed the inaugural session, were the CECOEDECON chairman and former judge of Rajasthan High Court, Justice V S Dave, BBC India editor Sanjeev Srivastava, Unicef Rajasthan State Head Samuel Mawunganidze, UNFPA state programme coordinator Sunil Thomas Jacob, and editor, Jansatta, New Delhi, Om Thanvi.

The Green Jobs Fair

New Delhi: From 24th to 26th Sept at the India Habitat Centre Lawns, The Green Jobs Fair was held to- Make students and job seekers aware of the real and growing careers available in the sector, Demonstrate to key employers in the country that some of the best students and employees are seeking careers in this space, Make Vice Chancellors, university leaders, and government officials aware of the potential of this sector and the urgent need to provide education that supports it.

The Green Jobs Fair had Display stalls where organisations marketed their green careers, Talks by individuals who have built careers in sustainability in a variety of fields, A public and private session with government officials and various Vice Chancellors to talk about the need for Green curriculum. Contact information : greenjobs@climateprojectindia.org 022- 3222 3320 refer to www.habitatsforum.org/greenjobs.

Environment Support Group in collaboration with Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology held a workshop on 'Urban Lakes as Ecological, Cultural and Public Spaces for Decision makers, Media, NGOs, Teachers, Students and the Public on Sept. 26.

Presently less than 60 of 260 tanks exist in built Bangalore, and most are heavily polluted or drained. As a direct result of encroachment of lakes and its canal networks, Bangalore's neighbourhoods get easily flooded even in a short rain frequently resulting in loss of life and property.In this workshop protecting and conserving lakes and examine their efficiency, especially ongoing efforts at privatising lakes.contact: Environment Support Group, Bangalore _Tel:91-80-26713559 /60/61 <tel:91-80-26713559 /60/61>_ Email: bhargavi@esgindia.
<mailto: bhargavi@esgindia.org / nandini@esgindia.org Website: www.esgindia.org <http://www.esgindia.org>

The Tamilnadu-Pondicherry State Parliament of Children organized on Sept. 26 Ministry wise deliberations by Child Ministers from various districts on Participatory governance, Education, Health, Environment, Culture and Art, Sports, Gender and Child Rights/ Human Rights starting with an election and Rally by child parliamentarians, Swearing-in Ceremony for new State-level Child Ministers. The workshop was held on Sept. 26 & 27, at St .Francis School, Uyyankondan, ,on Sept. 28 at Bishop Heber College, Trichy. Contact: ANUGRAHA,Tamilnadu E-mail: ncnworld2000@yahoo.com, www.ncnworld.Org.

CIVIC Bangalore organised a discussion on a study: 'Local Welfare in a Global Context: Slums and Urban Welfare in Karnataka's Development' by Dr. Supriya Roy Chowdhuri, Professor, Centre for Political Institutions, Governance and Development, Institute for Social and Economic Change. On Sept. 23 at Ashirvad, Contact: CIVIC Bangalore Tel. 80-22110584 Email: info@civicspace.in.

Towards an Alternative Indian Climate Policy: Copenhagen and beyond, a seminar was held on Sept.18 in New Delhi org. by The Delhi Science Forum and the Centre for Science, Technology & Society of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai following a Workshop in Mumbai "Breaking the Climate Deadlock: towards a New Climate Policy for India''contact:Delhi Science Forum, Tata Institute of Centre for Policy Research. Ashoka Trust for Social Sciences Research in Ecology & Environment (ATREE).

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Making Missions Measurable

A workshop for the NGO sector. The outcome of the workshop will be a) the development of a tool to help each organization to track milestones in relation to their activity plans and mission, (b) strengthening organizational systems to use the tool as an internal assessment process.

The workshop will be facilitated by Manjulika Vaz of OrganAid, anorganization enablerFor more details, contact Manjulika Vaz at manjulika_vaz@ yahoo.com or call 098457 27821.

iVolunteer Institute of Volunteer Management (IIVM) is back with it's Volunteer Management Workshop for 2009 in all cities where they have a presence.A 2 day Workshop in Delhi on 13th and 14th October 2009 and.29th and 30th October, 2009 in Bangalore.The two day workshop is being conducted to assist & provide value addition to NGOs to gain a better understanding of the methods and skills involved in setting up systems that would help them make effective use of volunteers in their respective organizations. Contact Archana, Bangalore.Tel: +91-80-41466568,Cell: +91-99803 50180.

Excella Orbit, a division of Sambodhi Research & Communications Pvt. Ltd. Held a training programme on Training of Trainers on Design & Delivery of Trainings and Monitoring & Evaluation of Development Projects in New Delhi between October 06-10, 2009 & October 21-23.

Trauma Therapy in Women' a workshop for the general public and staff was held on Oct. 5 at MLT, KEM Hospital The speakers for this workers included expects viz. Dr. S.R. Parkar (Hod & Professor of dept. of Psychiatry), Ms Aparna Joshi Bapnu trust & Adv. Ujwala Kadrekar (Lawyer's collective).Contact Dr Shubhangi R. Parkar ,Department of Psychiatry,Chief: Bombay Drug de-addiction center, G.S.Medical College and King Edward Memorial hospital,Parel, Mumbai TELEFAX: 0091 22 24186662.
Tel off 0091 22 65208363 /24136051ex t 2015.

The Water Community of Solution Exchange had its Second Annual Forum in Kolkata. -- the most important national event for the water and sanitation sector. From 28-30 October, 2009.. About 150-200 participants attended the Forumincluding practitioners on water, governance, resource management, sanitation and drinking water in India from the government, private sector, donors and the UN, Contact: nitya jacob <nityajacob@gmail.com>

One Day Workshop on CSR and Cause Related Marketing Organised by MindView at Bangalore on Oct. 28.An Informal Interactive Workshop inviting the participants to share their own insights and experiences to learn from each other, highlighting the business benefits at being a responsible business.For iCongo contact: Snigdha Narain snigdhamjn@googlemail.com .This workshop is in Support of "Silver Innings" ,a social entrepreneur organization working for the cause of Elderly. Contact Mr.Kumar P, MindView, Email: register@mindview.in, Website: http://www.mindview.in.

Paths leading to Copenhagen

The Civil Society Coalition on Climate Justice and Equitable Development comprising several NGOs and institutions, such as Centre for Education and Development, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), Institute for Community Organisation Research (ICOR), Xavier Institute of Social Research, etc, organised a one-day event on 24 October 2009 in Mumbai. It included the following: a Public Hearing on Impact of Climate Change - "Voices from Mumbai's Margins", where people gave testimonies of the problems they face on issues of agriculture, coastal environment and fishing, waste dumping, water woes, flooding of slums, migrants and the homeless, unorganised sector, and the impact of commercial development on semi-urban agricultural areas (such as Vasai) on the poor; a panel of jurors made note of the problems. The testimonies were followed by a panel discussion on "Climate Change, Urban Issues and Equity" which included climate change and water, transport and energy, and domestic and international policies on climate change. The event also included a eco-painting workshop, a youth forum, video screenings, a street play, exhibition and sale of books and ways of reducing carbon emissions (through organic urban agriculture, biogas generation from wastes, etc). Regional meetings for different agro-climatic zones will be held at Pondicherry, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur and Uttaranchal leading to a National Hearing of People's Voices on Climate Change at New Delhi during 11-13 November, where government officials connected with climate negotiations will also be present.

All these are part of a process to carry the "voices" and "perceptions" of people, who are the least responsible for climate change but are its worst victims and whose voices are never heard at national and international climate negotiations and policy-making, to Copenhagen (Denmark) where final negotiations to renew the Kyoto climate agreements (whose initial term ends in 2012) will be held from 6-18 December 2009. (From Lakshmi Menon)

Survey for NGOs

The Civil Society and Outreach Unit of the United Nations Secretariat' s Division for Social Policy and Development invites all NGOs, that work in the area of social and financial development, to take part in a Survey on the Impact of the Global Crises on Civil Society Organizations and their Constituencies. The web-page for the Survey on our DSPD Website is available at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ngo/unsurvey- globalcrises.html.

The results of the study will be published for advocacy use of CSOs and also made available at the Forty-Eighth Session of the Commission for Social Development.