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  • São Paulo unions threaten general strike for World Cup

    The bosses courts here in California have just issued a legal decision attacking teachers tenure and seniority rights.  This is a major assault on teachers and their Unions.  The teachers are being blamed for a crisis in  education system that the bosses want to privatize.  The crisis in public education as in all public services and society as a whole is a crisis of capitalism, not teachers. No doubt the US trade union hierarchy, wedded as they are to the view that workers and bosses are on the same team, have the same economic interests, will file a lawsuit protesting this vicious assault on the teachers and it’s even possible they might send Obama and email.  A bit of a different situation in Brazil isn’t it?
     
    And the state is deploying 100,000 troops and 57,000 police for the event.  The cost of the World Cup would possibly eliminate poverty in Brazil. The military is there to keep the workers and poor at bay.  The players should refuse to play there until the subway workers demands are met, but to my knowledge they have no independent organization of their own.  RM.
    ***************
     
    São Paulo unions threaten general strike for World Cup amid subway protests 
    Daily Telegraph UK

    Days of subway strikes raise fears of transport chaos during tournament in Brazil; union leaders say other sectors could join industrial action

    Subway train operators, along with some activists, clash with police at the Ana Rosa metro station on the second day of their metro strike in Sao Paulo, Brazil (Friday, 06 June 2014)

    The police blamed the strikers for Friday’s clashes at the main station of Ana Rosa, insisting they were forced to act after fighting broke out Photo: NELSON ANTOINE/AP
    4:57PM BST 07 Jun 2014
    Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Saturday claimed that protests ahead of the World Cup were part of a “systematic campaign” against her government, as São Paulo union leaders threatened a general strike to coincide with the opening of the tournament in the city.
    São Paulo, which is due to host the opening match on Thursday, has been paralysed by days of strikes and protests by subway workers which have led to clashes with police and deepened fears of chaos for visiting fans.
    The cost of staging the event – at an estimated $11.5 billion (£6.9 billion) the most expensive World Cup ever – has ignited public anger at economic woes, corruption and poor social provisions. But Ms Rousseff said that criticism of spending amounted to “disinformation”.
    “Today there is a systematic campaign against the World Cup – or rather, it is not against the World Cup but rather a systematic campaign against us,” she said, without revealing who she believed to be behind it.
    Police fired tear gas and beat back protesters at one São Paulo subway station on Friday night, leading Altino de Melo Prazeres Júnior, the head of the Union of São Paulo Subway Workers, to insist members would not be deterred and instead would reinforce their presence at key interchanges in the city.

    He vowed that any further use of force by authorities would trigger a day of citywide industrial action to coincide with the first game of the tournament, which is to be held in the city on Thursday.

    “If the beating continues, we are going to talk to all the sectors. If our people bleed, we are going to ask for help from the metalworkers, from the bank workers, and have a day of general strike at the opening of the Cup,” Mr Prazeres said.

    The country’s largest unions – the Central Workers Union and Conlutas – as well as the Homeless Workers Movement, all pledged to join a wider strike if the violence continued, according to the Estado de São Paulo newspaper.

    The police blamed the strikers for Friday’s clashes at the main station of Ana Rosa, insisting they were forced to act after fighting broke out between commuters trying to enter and strikers blocking their path.
    “
    Ana Rosa station, one of the most central stations, was closed and numerous users tried to enter. Clashes broke out between picketing strikers and users and the police had to intervene”, a military police spokesman said.

    The strike, in a dispute over pay and lay-offs, has brought gridlock to the Brazilian city with almost half of subway stations closed and 125 miles of traffic jams snarling the roads during Friday’s rush hour.

    As the main transport link to the World Cup stadium in the sprawling city of 20 million people, the strike on the subway has raised concerns that fans could find themselves unable to reach matches.
    It has also fuelled fears of unrest during the tournament.

    On Saturday Brazil’s Fifa executive committee member, Marco del Nero, played down the prospect of a general strike as “a minor problem”, but the organisation’s head of security, Ralf Mutschke, said he was concerned about the impact such action might have on the opening game.

    Last year over a million Brazilians took to the streets during a warm-up tournament ahead of the World Cup and disgruntled workers have seized upon the international attention to press their causes. Indigenous groups have also joined protests in a number of cities as they seek to highlight environmental and land disputes.

    Failures to deliver many of the infrastructure projects promised for the World Cup have only added to frustration ahead of the event.

    Ms Rousseff in May called in the army to protect infrastructure and ensure security for teams and fans, after a bus carrying the Brazilian team was attacked by protesters.

    100,000 police and 57,000 troops are to be deployed during the tournament.

  • Real incomes in the UK still falling; global growth slows

    by Michael Roberts

    The latest data on unemployment rate in the UK show a fall in the official rate to 6.6% in the three months through April, down from the 6.8% recorded in the first quarter, and the lowest level in more than five years. That sounds good but at the same time, average weekly earnings rose just 0.7%, including bonuses, significantly lower than the pace of inflation. So the real income for the average British worker is still falling, as it has done since the Great Recession began in 2008, or for over six years. And for the last four years, the trend in pay rises has been down, not up.

    UK pay and prices (yoy %)
    UK pay

    The reason is clear: people in relatively better paid jobs in finance and in the public sector have lost their jobs and those getting jobs since have mainly done so in much lower paid sectors like retail, tourism etc. And we also know that there has been a very large increase in ‘zero hours contracts’, casual labour and self-employment (15% of the workforce now) where incomes are generally lower than paid employment.
    UK self employed

    The other bad piece of economic news for the prospects of the capitalist economy was global. The World Bank substantially reduced its forecast for global real GDP growth this year from 3.2% to just 2.8%. If that turns out right, for the fourth year running, the world economy will have expanded at less than 3% a year and the world economy is growing way below the trend rate before the Great Recession. Aside from the financial-crisis bounce-back in 2010, it will be the sixth sub-3% rate in the past seven years.
    World bank GDP

  • Ireland: Babies deaths, the left, and Catholic Church power.


     As children of unwed mothers, the dead babies were not baptized
    By John Throne

    When my father would come home drunk all I ever heard from my mother was “You will put us all in the workhouse with your drinking.” The workhouse was the great terror in her life. Its name was then changed to the County Home. It was in Stranorlar. 

    I am very keen to hear what demands Comrades who read this blog, or left Comrades in general are putting forward on the issue and the power of the role of the Catholic Church in Ireland. I see where a Protestant organization/church in Dublin has now also been caught with a mass grave. This makes things both easier and more urgent to clarify and raise demands. 
    Comrades I have to say that over the recent years I have been surprised at the reluctance of people on the left to take on the structure of the Catholic Church in Ireland and point out its role and power. Paddy Devlin was one of the few well-known left politicians to do so for all his faults. He said that the Catholic Church blocked the development of the left at every turn and as a result every radical movement from below had nowhere to go except sectarian republicanism. 
    I was recently in Derry and had to meet a man there that I knew. He was not a socialist. But he knew me and my opinions very well. He said he had to call a few places to collect something and then we would go on to our destination. I said fine and thought no more about it. After a few stops we arrived at the Catholic Church and in he went and delivered the money he had been collecting at the stops he had been dragging me—-an atheist and Marxist—–around to. I was enraged that he had involved me in collecting money for that outfit. I broke off all relations with him after this. 
    I raised this with a Comrade who is an atheist and former leading member and full timer of the old CWI, the socialist organization from which I was expelled. I said how about if I had taken that other man, the devout Catholic, around and collected money for the Orange Order and never told him what I was doing? Would he not be enraged? This Comrade said he would never have thought about it like this. I was and am astounded that he would not. It shows the depth of the indoctrination of the Catholic Church over its members. The difference between the Orange Order and the Catholic Church is mainly one of power.  
    The Catholic Church campaigned from the pulpit for the move to the National Wage agreements in

    Onward Christian soldiers

    the early 1970’s. The Catholic Church set up a committee at the time to set the wage for its lowest rank male full time workers that it calls priests. Donal Nevin, a top trade union official was brought on to the committee. This was to pretend that the labor movement was involved. This committee set a wage for these full time church workers which was three times that of the income of a single mother with three children. Am I not also right in thinking that when it looked like the Stalinist WP was going to take over the ITGWU the Catholic church mobilized its brainwashed members in the trade union and labor bureaucracy and merged the ITGWU and the FWUI and kept the “commies” out. We are dealing with an extremely powerful and conscious political organization of capitalism in the Catholic Church. The Protestant churches are also churches of capitalism but the Catholic Church with its 1.1 billion members, its own state and with diplomatic rights in countries it has a presence, is the main one. 

    The US ambassador to the Vatican said that the moral power of the Catholic Church and the

    economic power of the US would bring down Stalinism. He was not far wrong. the Catholic hierarchy held many meetings with top strategists of US imperialism as Stalinism began to crack. Google this and you will be astounded at how much information comes up. The popes of the time made trip after to trip to the Stalinist countries to whip up their supporters and make sure that Stalinism was followed by capitalism and not democratic socialism.

    So back to Ireland. There will be no successful socialist revolution in Ireland that does not take on the Catholic Church just as there will not be on in the US that does not take on institutionalized racism or sexism. Look at the role such outfits played in the Russian revolution and the Spanish Civil war and the dirty wars in Latin America. The Catholic Church will use the sword by means of mobilizing its members. The left must not be intimidated in the present situation. There is a chance now to strike a serious blow at all the churches and their support for capitalism. For this some cutting edge demands must be developed. I am not in Ireland so I cannot be sure. But some I would suggest: 
    No religious organizations to be allowed to control any school, place of education or hospital. 

    All who see themselves as progressive and revolutionary leave any organization that is based on sectarianism. 

    All organizations that discriminate on gender or LGBT basis to be shunned and all who think of themselves as progressive to leave these organizations. If they cannot leave them build opposition groups within them. 

    All who think of themselves as progressive not to allow their children to be named in such organizations and not themselves to marry or be buried in these outfits. 

    Tax all religious organizations. 

    Open up a debate on whether organizations such as the churches and houses of all religious organizations with their criminal records should be banned from owning property. 
    Readers of this blog that know me will know that I was born into a Protestant Orange Order family. My uncle who brought me up was the “Worshipful District Master” they use the fancy titles too like the churches. I broke from that background ended up in the Bogside where I was on the Bogside Citizens Defense Association. I went on to become a revolutionary socialist and remain so and also an uncompromising atheist. Revolutionaries in Ireland must consider have they fully broken from their religious indoctrination whether Protestant or Catholic. 
    If what I hear is right and there is not a united front of direct action to force the issue of the mass graves of children on to the parliaments North and South and to end the control by the religious organizations over so much of society then I am worried.  
    If this is the case then a great opportunity is being missed. And if as some Comrade says FF and FG are taking up this issue then of course they are. But the question is why can they? They can only do so with any impetus if the left does not take it up and takes it up in the way I suggest that is by showing how weak Irish capitalism made a deal with the Catholic church and gave it control over the workhouses, children’s homes, schools and hospitals. It was in a hospital like this that the Indian doctor, Savita Happanavar died after her pleas to terminate her pregnancy due to a miscarriage were refused.  She was told, “This is a Catholic Country.”
    As I pointed out in a previous blog, the Irish capitalist class were too weak to lead the struggle for independence in Ireland. (See Trotsky’s Theory of the Permanent Revolution. The capitalist parties will not take on the Catholic Church and its control over Irish society.  Irish capitalism and the Catholic hierarchy are both responsible, this alliance is responsible for the mass graves just as this alliance is responsible for the Magdalene Laundries, orphanages and women who were imprisoned in them.

    The issue must be taken up in this way because now the mass media is trying to blame the “Irish People.” Anything to get their class and its allies the Catholic and Protestant hierarchies off the hook. 

  • I Fear for My Life: Activist S. P. Udayakumar

    One Vicky Nanjappa has written an article entitled “IB alerts government over ‘mischievous’ NGOs” in rediff.com on June 9, 2014. The following excerpts sum up the main arguments of the article based on the classified IB report:

    “Many out of the total 85,000 NGOs operating in the country are using foreign funds to indulge into a lot of mischievous activities to hamper social and economic development, the Intelligence Bureau has alerted the Union home ministry in a report.”

    S P Udaykumar

    “The most obvious interference from an NGO was found at the Kundankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu. The protests that erupted against the plant had puzzled several intelligence agencies. The IB had then submitted a report to the then MHA about a US-based that was allegedly orchestrating the villagers’ protests. However, the home ministry under the United Progressive Alliance government at that time had made a statement about the same and left it at that. With a new government in place, the IB has once again raked up the issue and wants stringent action against such NGOs.”

    “These NGOs have been set up with the help of funds from the US, UK, Germany and other countries only to ensure that some of the developmental projects run into troubled waters, the report points out.”

    “Earlier these NGOs created rifts on the basis of caste discrimination, religion and human rights. Today they have been tasked to stall major projects by staging protests.”

    “These NGOs work along with some unions who are paid a major chunk of money to stage protests, the report notes. The money on offer is so lucrative that these unions never come to the discussion table and this has been a very strange trend as more often than not one does not realise what they are protesting for, the report notes.”

    “The report states that the conversion racket is immense and huge sums of money are being pumped in from the foreign countries through some NGOs to lure people into conversion.”

    ‘Such issues are bound to create a social divide as a result of which there is constant tension and this is very counter-productive to the growth of a region which is marred by conflict,’ the IB report states.”

    [Part II]

    Now Priyadarshi Siddhanta, Assistant Editor, The Indian Express, New Delhi, has emailed me saying: “we have read through a report prepared by an Indian government agency, which has referred to your role n anti-nuclear protests. …Specifically, we would like to seek your comments on the following paras excerpted from the report:”

    [1] “An enquiry of Udayakumar had revealed a deep and growing connection with the US and German authorities. In July 2010, Udayakumar received an unsolicited contract from he Kirwan Institute for Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University USA as a consultant on Group, Race, Class and Democracy Issues through NGOs. He was paid $ 21, 120 upto June 2011 in a US bank account in his name and was contracted to earn another $ 17, 600 upto April 2012 for fortnightly reports.”

    [2] “…As a result, Udayakumar’s contact in Germany, one Sonntag Rainer Hermann (German national) was deported from Chennai on February 27, 2012. Hermann’s laptop contained a scanned map of India with 16 nuclear plants (existing or proposed) and five uranium mine locations marked prominently. The map also included contact details of 50 Indian anti-nuclear activists hand-written on small slips of paper with Blackberry PIN graph. The map was sent via email to five prominent anti-nuclear activists, including Udayakumar.”

    My Response:

    It is a ridiculous and libelous claim that I was contracted through NGOs and I was submitting “fortnightly reports” to them. In fact, I worked as an off-campus Research Fellow in the International Program of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, at the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA for several years. The Director of the Kirwan Institute was one Professor john a. powell (he does not use capital letters in his name), a reputed scholar in civil rights, who had been my employer at the Institute on Race and Poverty, University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, USA between Fall 1997 and Spring 2001. I had worked with him there as a Research Associate and Co-Director of Programs and that was why he chose me for the Kirwan assignment. I traveled to the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio a few times also. For the Kirwan Institute, I did several research and writing projects on globalization, racism, minority welfare, BRICS etc. I never did any research and writing project on India’s development or India’s nuclear program. I left that Research Fellow job in Spring 2011 when the Kirwan Institute reorganized itself under a new administration.

    Similarly, Sonntag Rainer Hermann is NOT my “contact in Germany”. He was an acquaintance from Nagercoil, my hometown in Tamil Nadu. He was a hippie-type staying in a cheap hotel here in Nagercoil and participated in our anti-nuclear events. I did not receive any information or maps or monetary helps from him, nor did I give him any. If he had done something illegal or dangerous why did the Indian authorities deport him hurriedly without taking any legal action? I asked this question even when he was deported in February 2012.

    In my humble opinion, Indian authorities must begin to believe that “ordinary citizens” of India such as farmers and fisher folks have a mind of their own and can take an intelligent stand on issues such as setting up a nuclear power park or other such dangerous projects in their backyard. Those of us who stand up, speak up and try to protect our poor and illiterate people’s land, water, air, sea, food security and nutrition security should NOT be considered and insulted as foreign stooges, money launderers, or smugglers. The Indian authorities should acknowledge the simple fact that we do what we do because we love this country and its peoples. If this is how we –honest, responsible and law-abiding citizens– are treated, abused and harassed, this would only send wrong lessons to our youth and promote extremism and terrorism in this country.

    The IB report tends to blame all the Hawala transactions, religious conversions, caste clashes, terrorism, impeding developmental activities, and crippling the national economy on the NGOs and their activities. This augurs ill for our country that has pluralistic ethos and democratic politics. I am afraid this Fascist presupposition of the IB report is a precursor for stringent actions against individuals, groups, people’s movements and minorities. As I have been singled out in this report and mentioned by name, I fear for my life and for my family’s safety and security. Please do the needful.

    Nagercoil, June 10, 2014.

    Dr. S.P. Udayakumar is associated with People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) and National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements (NAAM). 

  • Massive Strike by Hot-Roller Steel Workers Unfolding at Wazirpur, Delhi

    A massive indefinite strike is unfolding in Wazirpur Industrial area, Delhi. The strike entered 6th day on 11th June. The workers organised as Garam Rolla Mazdoor Ekta Samiti (Hot-Roller Workers Unity Committee) have been on strike since June 6.
     These are the workers of Hot-Roller steel plants in the Wazirpur Industrial Estate who work in 12-hours shifts under inhuman conditions and with complete absence of  any labour standards and laws of this country. Apart from long working hours, below minimum wages, these workers work around hot furnaces of 1,000 degrees Celsius without any safety gears. Almost every worker have suffered various kinds of industrial accidents, many have lost fingers and toes and almost every worker has varying degrees of burn injuries.
    Workers have been demanding minimum wages, job cards that would certify them as bonafide workers and Employees’ State Insurance (ESI). This is third time that these workers have struck. In 2012 after a long struggle workers got a weekly off day. In 2013 summer after a successful strike they forced the factory owners to increase their wage by Rs. 1550. Their demand for ESI was also accepted but was never implemented by the factory owners.
     In the ongoing indefinite strike action, the workers are demanding the implementation of Minimum wage (currently for 12 hours workers are paid Rs. 6000-8500 which is far below the stipulated minimum wages), eight hour work shift, double wage rate for overtime labour, appointment letter, identity card, wage slip to all the workers, ESI, Provident Fund, payment of bonus as labour laws, safety measure at workplace etc. All these demand are actual rights that have been achieved by the struggle of working class all over the world.
    Today the strike entered its 6th day and all the other ancillary units are soon going to be shut due to the strike in the Hot-Rolling plants since all other plants are dependent on the supply from the Hot-Roller plants. More workers from the ancillary plants are expected to join the strike as it unfolds. The striking workers assemble every morning at 9 Am at Raja Park, Wazirpur and continue their protest meeting up to 2 PM.
    Day 1 of the Strike (6th June, 2014)
    On the 5th day (10th June) of the strike the workers took out a rally which passed through the narrow dusty lanes of the industrial areas picketing factories which were still running, they also urged the workers of Cold-Roller plants and other ancillary plants to join the strike. The rally culminated into a public meeting at Raja Park where over 1500 workers took a  collective pledge not to withdraw the strike until all the demands are not met and to make every possible efforts to enlarge the strike.
    A worker summed up the mood of  the strike when he said, “if we can melt the iron with our hammer, we can also defeat these owners”!
    A world for the workers! A future for the world!
    Below are some images from the ongoing strike:

  • Fact Finding Report:Gang-Rape of a Minor Adivasi Girl with Disabilities in Madhya Pradesh

    On the 16th April, 2014, Chhindwara Bhaskar (local supplement of the newspaper Dainik Bhaskar) reported the incident of kidnapping and rape of a mute and handicapped minor girl in Chhindwara. Various other local newspapers such as Patrika and Nai Duniya also covered the issue and that is how the issue came into light. However, even after one and half months of the incident, neither had there been any progress in the case, nor had any help reached the survivor. Finally it was decided that an intervention is needed in this case. The case raises many questions about the delay in action by the police and the administration, about the complexity of the issue involving a minor with multiple disabilities and lack of supporting environment for a rape survivor.

    An Indian demonstrator holds a placard during a protest calling for better safety for women following the rape of a student in the Indian capital, in New Delhi on December 27, 2012. An Indian student who was left fighting for her life after being brutally gang raped on a bus in New Delhi arrived December 27 in Singapore for treatment at a leading hospital. The attack sparked a wave of protests across India in which a policeman died and more than 100 police and protestors were injured. AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN

    1. Team

    The fact finding team consisted of the following members:

    1)      Daya Bai- social and human rights activist

    2)      Ms Aradhana Bhargav- senior lawyer and social activist based in Chhindwara

    3)      Ms Kranti and Ms Jyoti- members of Jan Sahas, Dewas, an NGO fighting against atrocities against women

    4)      Ms Kanika Sharma- social worker from TISS, Mumbai

    1. The Incident

    This incident involves atrocity against a 15 year old girl who is mute and has paralysis in one hand since birth. She belongs to an adivasi family, which migrated from a near-by village to Chhindwara 10 years ago and now both parents and two elder brothers work as daily wage labourers. The family lives in a rented kuchcha house in Koldhana area.

    According to the mother of the survivor, at around 5 pm on the 13thof April, 2014, the girl had gone to the old Nagpur Naka (the near-by market) with 10 Rs to buy a packet of biscuits. She went missing after that. While searching for her, the family was informed that she was last spotted at a temple, which is around 500 meters from their house, and within 50 meters from the old Nagpur naka.

    On 14thApril at around 9 pm, the girl came back home on her own. She was in a distraught state, her clothes were different and she was continuously crying. She then communicated to her mother that a man in a motorbike (red in colour) had taken her to a house where four men, including him, “did wrong to her”. It was her mother who realized that she was raped.

    1. Findings on the actions taken so far

    FIR

    Late in the night of 14th, the family went to the police station to lodge the FIR. The procedures took time and the FIR was registered at around 4 am on 15th April 2014. Sections 363 and 376 of IPC were applied.

    The FIR was lodged by the mother, who is not literate and therefore, the nature of the complaint was oral. It is important to note that in the FIR, in four places it has been pointed out that the girl is “mand-buddhi” (mentally “slow” or developmentally disabled). However, in our interactions with the girl, we found out that she understands and remembers everything and tells the same points about the incident each time. Therefore, we feel that this over-stressing on her being “mand-buddhi” and being “unable to tell much specifically” about the incident, has been done to weaken the case.

    Problematic medical examination process

    On the 15thof April, the girl underwent a medical examination. The report of the examination has not been given to the family and neither was it available to us. However, a news report published in ChhindwaraBhaskar, dated 18th April 2014 (see annexure 2), reported that in the medical report, the examiner has stated that girl is “sabhogkiaadi (habituated to sex)”.Furthermore, the SP told the Times of India journalist, on 4th June 2014, that in the medical report, it has been stated that there is ‘old tear in the hymen’. It is ethically, legally and scientifically wrong to state in the medical report of an examination of hymenal tears or habitiuation to sex. Additionally, the hymen can tear because of a variety of factors, including heavy work or exercise. A hymenal tear does not establish whether a girl has had sex or not. Therefore, going by these two points, we strongly suspect that not just in the report but also in the process of medical examination, medical protocols and guidelines have been flouted.

    Delays in recording statements

    The statements of the girl were recorded on 28thApril, two weeks after the FIR was registered. This caused a loss of crucial time and halted any possible progress in the case. However, in the meantime, it has been reported that the police tried to question the girl in the city Kotwali. The SP himself said that he met the girl in the Thana where she was “unable to tell anything”. The girl should have never been called, let alone questioned, in the police station as the law clearly states that minors and women must not be called to the police station for any enquiries.

    Finally, when the experts came from Jabalpur, the statements were taken in front of the Magistrate. This happened in a closed room, where even the mother of the girl was not allowed. What happened behind the closed doors remains unclear to us but according to another news report on 29th April (see annexure 3), “the girl was unable to tell anything about the accused even in the court and therefore, no progress could be made in the case.”

    1. Points from the case diary

    On 9th June, in the meeting with the Town Inspector (TI) who is currently the investigating officer, the case diary was shown to the team. Following points from the case diary confirm the aforementioned problems with actions taken by the police

    1)        In the medical report, it has been clearly stated that “two finger test” was performed on the girl. This test has been banned in India.

    2)      In the medical report, it has been written that the girl is habituated to sex.

    3)      There is also a certificate from the district medical board which states that the girl has 60% mental retardation. The mother is unaware of any such test being conduct on the daughter.

    4)      In the statements recorded in front of the magistrate and the experts on 28th April, the experts wrote that the girl said there was only one man who raped her. This again is a contradiction to the fact that the girl has clearly stated to us that she was raped by four men.

    5)      The police says that the rikshaw puller, Bablu Dole, in whose house the girl was raped and seen in the morning, has admitted that he dropped the girl on the evening of 14th in his rikshaw and therefore, he is the accused. However, the girl has clearly stated to us that she never sat on any rikshaw in the period of her kidnapping. She has also confirmed that Bablu, who is older than the other four accused, did not rape her.

    1. In-action by Police and administration
    • No substantial progress in the case in more than one and half months
    • No compensation and rehabilitation efforts for the rape survivor
    • Mistreatment by the police, calling the girl “mad” and telling her mother to send her to mental asylum
    • Blaming the victim and her family for being non-cooperative
    1. Interactions with survivor and her mother

    The team interacted with girl twice on different days and she communicated the exact same things through her expressions, which were further communicated to us through her mother who was present both times.

    Following are the important points that came out in the interactions:

    1)      The girl has a sharp memory. She remembers everything about the incident and when asked with patience and in a place and a manner she is comfortable with, she communicates everything.

    2)      The girl was taken on a red motor-cycle by a man who wore two rings in his hands.

    3)      He took her to Sukludhana area.

    4)      She clearly tells that she was raped by 4 men, pointing 4 fingers each time.

    5)      After the rape, she was given different clothes to wear in the morning. She was also told to take bath, which she did

    6)      She was dropped to the Bus Stand, near the tomb of KamliWaale Baba, by another accused in the motor-cycle.

    7)      She walked home from there, a distance of almost 4 kilometers, in a distraught condition.

    1. Meeting with SP

    Between the two interactions with the girl, the members of the team also met the Superintendent of Police, Mr. P. Sharma and briefed about the case on 4th June, 2014. At first, he said that the girl was unable to tell anything but after we told him about our interaction with her, he made following assurances:

    • Changing the Investigating officer
    • Transferring the case to Women Cell
    • Immediate arrest of the suspect, who is in fact the accused as per the girl
    • Financial help/compensation to the girl as per the procedure

    None of these assurances have been fulfilled in the last 5 days. There has been an arrest of Bablu Dole on 6th, however, he is not the accused and therefore, this is a fabrication of the case.

    1. Visit to the location of crime

    The team then went with the girl and her mother to the place where she had been taken after kidnapping on the evening of 13th April 2014. The family had also taken the police to the location on 15th April but despite that, the police could not find out much about the accused whereas the team, which visited the spot after more than one and half months of the incident, found important leads related to the four accused. Following are the main points from the visit to location:

    1)      The girl was taken to the Sukludhana area of Chhindwara, which is within 100 meter of the Kundipura Police Station

    2)      She was first kept in the house of one of the accused, where she also saw the mother of the accused, who she identified during the visit. The mother of the accused, a woman who called herself Sudama, after seeing the team and the girl, quickly came out of the house.

    3)      She was then taken to a kucchha house, 30 meters from the house where she was kept earlier. This was the house of the uncle of the accused.

    4)      It was in the kuccha house that she was raped.

    5)      The kuchha house belongs to Bablu Dole who is a riksha-puller. He, however, was not one of the four accused.

    6)      Three women who live next to the house identified the girl and said that they saw her sitting alone outside the house in the morning of 14th April. One of them, realizing that something was wrong, asked the girl to go to the police station with her but the girl was too scared to do that. The women also saw her fetching water from the tap near the house and taking bath.

    7)      One of the women informed that unlawful activities keep happening in this house but no one raises any voice.

    8)      While we were investigating the location, suddenly the girl got very scared as she saw one of the accused peeping from the other house. Clearly, the girl indentifies all the accused. We had to stop the investigation there as she was visibly very scared and it was not safe to continue with the investigation

    1. Identities of the accused

    After investigation of the location and identification of the two houses, the team took local help in finding out the identities of the four accused. Different sources revealed following names/identities of the accused, based on the facts collected and provided by the team:

    1)      Bhola Dole, son of Krishna Dole

    2)      Rinku Dole, son of Rameshwar Dole

    3)      Son of ASI/SI posted at the Kundipura police station

    4)      Son of the Patel from Chand

    The team also got following information:

    • The four accused were going for the Hanuman rally on the 13th when they saw the girl. They signaled her to come towards them and then kidnapped her.
    • The red motor-cycle on which the girl was taken to Sukludhana is of the ASI/SI. He still rides it.
    • The first two accused, Bhola Dole and Rinku Dole are nephews of Bablu Dole, in whose house the girl was raped.
    • Demands: 1)      Immediately initiate the procedure for identification of accused by the survivor and arrest them.2)      Record the statements of the girl again in a sensitive manner. Ensure that she is comfortable while recording the statement or enquiring.

      3)      Prepare a map of the location of the crime and record the statements of people living near the two houses

      4)      Immediately file the charge-sheet against the four accused. It is a clear case of kidnapping and gang-rape of a minor.

      5)      Ensure fast track trail of the case, so criminals are punished and justice is done to the girl.

      Regarding efforts for reparation and rehabilitation for the survivor:

      1. Medical help to the survivor
      2. Immediate and rightful monetary compensation
      3. Future security of the survivor. Efforts must be taken for her education.

      For further details Contact:  Advocate Aradhna Bhargav- 09425146991, Kanika Sharma – 07588480386, Daya Bai, Ms Kranti and Ms Jyoti

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  • खेल शुरू हो चुका है: आनंद तेलतुंबड़े

    गरीबों-उत्पीड़ितों की हिमायत के ऐलान के साथ मोदी सरकार के बनते ही भगाणा के आंदोलनकारी दलित परिवारों को जंतर मंतर से बेदखल करने की कोशिशों और पुणे में एक मुस्लिम नौजवान की हत्या में आनंद तेलतुंबड़े ने आने वाले दिनों के संकेतों को पढ़ने की कोशिश की है. अनुवाद: रेयाज उल हक.

    अब इस आधार पर कि लोगों ने भाजपा की अपनी उम्मीदों से भी ज्यादा वोट उसे दिया है और नरेंद्र मोदी ने ‘अधिकतम प्रशासन’ की शुरुआत कर दी है, बहुत सारे लोग यह सोच रहे थे कि हिंदुत्व के पुराने खेल की जरूरत नहीं पड़ेगी. अपने हाव-भाव और भाषणों के जरिए मोदी ने बड़ी कुशलता से ऐसा भ्रम बनाए भी रखा है. इसके नतीजे में मोदी के सबसे कट्टर आलोचक तक गलतफहमी के शिकार हो गए हैं. यहां तक कि जिन लोगों ने भाजपा को वोट नहीं दिया है, उनमें से भी कइयों को ऐसा लगने लगा है कि मोदी शायद कारगर साबित हों. लेकिन संसद के केंद्रीय कक्ष में, भावनाओं में लिपटी हुई लफ्फाजी से भरे ऐलान के आधार पर यह यकीन करना बहुत जल्दबाजी होगी कि मोदी सरकार गरीबों और उत्पीड़ितों के प्रति समर्पित होगी. तब भी कइयों को लगता है कि चूंकि वे एक साधारण पिछड़ी जाति के परिवार से आते हैं और पूरी आजादी से काम करते हैं, इसलिए हो सकता है कि गरीबों और उत्पीड़ितों के प्रति ज्यादा संवेदनशील हों. नहीं भी तो वे मुसलमानों (जिन्होंने मोदी को वोट नहीं दिया है) और दलितों (जिन्होंने भारी तादाद में उन्हें वोट दिया है) के प्रति संवेदनशील होंगे. यही वे दो मुख्य समुदाय हैं जिनसे मिल कर वह गरीब और उत्पीड़ित तबका बनता है, जिसके प्रति मोदी समर्पित होने की बात कह रहे हैं. 

    लेकिन इस हफ्ते हुई दो महत्वपूर्ण घटनाओं ने इन उम्मीदों को झूठा साबित कर दिया. दलितों के बलात्कारों और हत्याओं की लहर तो चल ही रही थी, उनके साथ साथ घटी इन दो घटनाओं ने ऐसे संकेत दिए हैं कि शायद पुराना खेल शुरू हो चुका है.

    दलितों की नामुराद मांगें

    भगाणा की भयानक घटना देश को शर्मिंदा करने के लिए काफी थी: घटना ये है कि हरियाणा में 23 मार्च को 13 से 18 साल की चार लड़कियों को नशा देकर रात भर उनके साथ सामूहिक बलात्कार किया गया, फिर प्रभुत्वशाली जाट समुदाय के ये अपराधी उन्हें ले जाकर भटिंडा रेलवे स्टेशन के पास झाड़ियों में फेंक आए. लेकिन इसके बाद जो हुआ वह कहीं अधिक घिनौना और शर्मनाक है. लड़कियों को मेडिकल जांच के दौरान अपमानजनक टू फिंगर टेस्ट से गुजरना पड़ा, जिसका बलात्कार के मामले में इस्तेमाल करने पर आधिकारिक पाबंदी लगाई जा चुकी है. हालांकि पुलिस को दलित समुदाय के दबाव के चलते शिकायत दर्ज करनी पड़ी, लेकिन उसने अपराधियों को पकड़ने में पांच हफ्ते लगाए. जबकि हिसार अदालत में उनको रिहा कराने की न्यायिक प्रक्रिया फौरन शुरू हो गई. और यह गिरफ्तारी भी तब हुई जब भगाणा के दलितों को उन लड़कियों के परिजनों के साथ इंसाफ के लिए धरने पर बैठना पड़ा. ये दलित परिवार अपने गांव वापस लौटने में डर रहे हैं क्योंकि उन्हें जाटों के हमले की आशंका है. भगाणा के करीब 90 दलित परिवार, जिनमें बलात्कार की शिकायतकर्ता लड़कियों के परिवार भी शामिल हैं, दिल्ली के जंतर मंतर पर 16 अप्रैल से विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रहे हैं. इसके अलावा 120 दूसरे परिवार हिसार के मिनी सचिवालय पर विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रहे हैं. इन प्रदर्शनों के दौरान ही नाबालिग लड़कियों के बलात्कारों की अनेक भयानक खबरें निकल कर सामने आई हैं. जैसा कि एक हिंदी ब्लॉग रफू ने प्रकाशित किया है, पास के डाबरा गांव की 17 साल की एक दलित लड़की का जाट समुदाय के ही लोगों ने 2012 में सामूहिक बलात्कार किया था जिसके बाद उसके पिता ने आत्महत्या कर ली थी. एक और 10 वर्षीय बच्ची का एक अधेड़ मर्द ने बलात्कार किया था. इसके अलावा एक और लड़की का एक जाट पुरुष ने बलात्कार किया जो आज भी सरेआम घूम रहा है और उल्टे पुलिस ने लड़की को ही गिरफ्तार करके उसे यातनाएं दीं. ये सारी लड़कियां इंसाफ के लिए निडर होकर लड़ रही हैं और इन विरोध प्रदर्शनों का हिस्सा हैं.

    जंतर मंतर पर 6 जून को सुबह करीब 6 बजे, जब ज्यादातर आंदोलनकारी सो रहे थे, पुलिसकर्मियों का एक बड़ा समूह आया और उसने आंदोलनकारियों के तंबू गिरा दिए. उन्होंने उनके तंबुओं को जबरन वहां से हटा दिया और चेतावनी दी कि वे लोग दोपहर 12 बजे तक वहां से चले जाएं. हिसार मिनी सचिवालय में भी विरोध करने वाले इसी तरह हटाए गए. दोनों जगहों पर पुलिस ने उन्हें तितर बितर कर दिया और उनका सामान तोड़ फोड़ दिया. छोटे-छोटे बच्चों समेत ये निर्भयाएं (बलात्कार से गुजरी लड़कियों के लिए मीडिया द्वारा दिया गया नाम) सड़कों पर फेंक दी गई, लेकिन पुलिस ने उन्हें वहां भी नहीं रहने दिया. वहां पर जुटे महिला, दलित और छात्र संगठनों के प्रतिनिधियों तथा दो शिकायतकर्ता लड़कियों की मांओं को साथ लेकर प्रदर्शनकारी दोपहर 2 बजे संसद मार्ग थाना के प्रभारी अधिकारी को यह ज्ञापन देने गए कि उन्हें जंतर मंतर पर रुकने की इजाजत दी जाए क्योंकि उनके पास जाने के लिए कोई जगह नहीं है. लेकिन इस समूह को थाना के सामने बैरिकेड पर रोक दिया गया. जब महिलाओं ने जाने देने और थाना प्रभारी से मिलने की इजाजत देने पर जोर दिया तो पुलिसकर्मी उन्हें पीछे हटाने के नाम पर उनके साथ यौन दुर्व्यवहार करने लगे. वुमन अगेंस्ट सेक्सुअल वायलेंस एंड स्टेट रिप्रेशन की कल्याणी मेनन सेन के मुताबिक, जो प्रदर्शनकारियों का हिस्सा थीं, पुलिस ने प्रदर्शनकारी महिलाओं के गुप्तांगों को पकड़ा और उनके गुदा को हाथ से दबाया. शिकायतकर्ता लड़कियों की मांओं और अनेक महिला कार्यकर्ताओं (समाजवादी जन परिषद की वकील प्योली स्वातीजा, राष्ट्रीय दलित महिला आंदोलन की सुमेधा बौद्ध और एनटीयूआई की राखी समेत) पर इसी घटिया तरीके से हमले किए गए. बताया गया कि एक वरिष्ठ पुलिस अधिकारी चिल्ला रहा था, ‘अरे ये ऐसे नहीं मानेंगे, लाठी घुसाओ.’ इस घिनौने हमले के बाद अनेक कार्यकर्ताओं को पकड़ कर एक घंटे से ज्यादा हिरासत मे रखा गया.

    इस नवउदारवादी दौर में जनसाधारण के लिए लोकतांत्रिक जगहें सुनियोजित तरीके से खत्म कर दी गई हैं और इन जगहों को राज्य की राजधानियों के छोटे से तयशुदा इलाके और दिल्ली में जंतर मंतर तक सीमित कर दिया गया है. लोग यहां जमा हो सकते हैं और पुलिस से घिरे हुए वे अपने मन की बातें कह सकते हैं, लेकिन वहां उनकी बातों की सुनवाई करने वाला कोई नहीं होता. यह भारतीय लोकतंत्र का असली चेहरा है. इस बदतरीन मामले में गांव के पूरे समुदाय को दो महीने तक धरने पर बैठना पड़ा है, अपने आप में यही बात घिनौनी है. उनकी जायज मांग की सुनवाई करने के बजाए – वे अपने पुनर्वास के लिए एक सुरक्षित जगह मांग रहे हैं क्योंकि वे भगाणा में नहीं लौट सकते – सरकार लोकतंत्र की इस सीमित और आखिरी जगह से भी उन्हें क्रूरतापूर्वक बेदखल कर रही है. यह बात यकीनन इसे दिखाती है कि ये दलितों के लिए वे ‘अच्छे दिन’ तो नहीं हैं, जिनका वादा मोदी सरकार ने किया था. दिल्ली पुलिस सीधे सीधे केंद्रीय गृह मंत्रालय के तहत आता है और यहां पुलिस तब तक इतने दुस्साहस के साथ कार्रवाई नहीं करती जब तक उसे ऐसा करने को नहीं कहा गया हो. यह बात भी गौर करने लायक है कि हरियाणा और दिल्ली की पुलिस ने, जहां प्रतिद्वंद्वी दल सत्ता में हैं, समान तरीके से कार्रवाई की है. तो संदेश साफ है कि विरोध वगैरह जैसी बातों की इजाजत नहीं दी जाएगी. क्योंकि अगर जंतर मंतर और आजाद मैदान जैसी जगहें आबाद रहीं तो फिर कोई ‘अच्छे दिनों’ का नजारा कैसे कर पाएगाॽ

    पहला विकेट गिरा

    ऊपर की कार्रवाई तो सरकार की सीधी कार्रवाई थी, लेकिन कपट से भरी ऐसी अनेक कार्रवाइयां ऐसे संगठनों ने भी की हैं, जिनके हौसले भाजपा की जीत के बाद बढ़े हुए हैं. भगाणा के प्रदर्शनकारियों को उजाड़े जाने से ठीक दो दिन पहले 2 जून को पुणे में एक मुस्लिम नौजवान को हिंदू राष्ट्र सेना से जुड़े लोगों की भीड़ ने पीट पीट कर मार डाला. दशक भर पुराना यह हिंदू दक्षिणपंथी गिरोह फेसबुक पर शिव सेना के बाल ठाकरे और मराठा प्रतीक छत्रपति शिवाजी की झूठी तस्वीरें लगाए जाने का विरोध कर रहा था. पुणे पुलिस के मुताबिक, इन झूठी तस्वीरों वाला फेसबुक पेज पिछले एक साल से मौजूद था और उसको 50,000 लाइक्स मिली थीं. भीड़ को उकसाने के लिए हिंदू राष्ट्र सेना के उग्रवादियों ने इस बहुप्रशंसित पेज के लिंक को चैटिंग के जरिए तेजी से फैलाया. उनका कहना था कि यह पेज एक मुसलमान ‘निहाल खान’ द्वारा बनाया गया और चलाया जाता है, लेकिन पुलिस के मुताबिक यह असल में एक हिंदू नौजवान निखिल तिकोने द्वारा चलाया जाता है, जो काशा पेठ के रहने वाले हैं. फिर इस गड़बड़ी का अहसास होते ही इस पेज को शुक्रवार को सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइटों से हटा लिया गया और तब इस मुद्दे पर विरोध को हवा देने की जरूरत नहीं रह गई थी. लेकिन हिंदू राष्ट्र सेना और शिव सेना के गुंडे सोमवार को प्रदर्शन करने उतरे. पुणे के बाहरी इलाके हदसपार में शाम उन्होंने एक बाइक रोकी, इसके सवार को उतारा और उसके सिर पर हॉकी स्टिक और पत्थरों से हमला किया और दौरे पर ही उसे मार डाला. मार दिया गया वह व्यक्ति मोहसिन सादिक शेख नाम का एक आईटी-प्रोफेशनल था और उसका उन तस्वीरों से कोई लेना देना नहीं था. लेकिन चूंकि उसने दाढ़ी रख रखी थी और हरे रंग का पठानी कुर्ता पहन रखा था हमलावरों ने उसे मार डाला. शेख के साथ जा रहे उनके रिश्ते के भाई बच गए जबकि दो दूसरे लोगों अमीन शेख (30) और एजाज युसूफ बागवान (25) को चोटें आईं. पुलिस ने पहले हमेशा की तरह इस रटे रटाए बहाने के नाम पर इस मामले को रफा दफा करने की कोशिश की कि हमलावर शिवाजी की मूर्ति का अपमान किए जाने और एक हिंदू लड़की के साथ मुस्लिम लड़कों द्वारा बलात्कार किए जाने की अफवाह के कारण वहां जमा हुए थे. मानो इससे एक बेगुनाह नौजवान की हत्या जायज हो जाती हो.

    शेख की हत्या के फौरन बाद, आनेवाले दिनों के बारे में बुरे संकेत देता हुआ एक एसएमएस भेजा गया जिसमें मराठी में कहा गया था: पहिली विकेट पडली (पहला विकेट गिर गया). इस संदेश को मद्देनजर रखें और शेख को मारने के लिए इस्तेमाल किए गए हथियारों पर गौर करें तो यह साफ जाहिर है कि यह एक योजनाबद्ध कार्रवाई थी. पुलिस ने रोकथाम करने के लिए कोई कदम नहीं उठाए. हालांकि उसको बस इसी का श्रेय दिया जा सकता है, खास कर संयुक्त आयुक्त संजय कुमार को, कि उन्होंने हिंदू राष्ट्र सेना के प्रमुख धनंजय देसाई समेत 24 व्यक्तियों को गिरफ्तार कर लिया है और उनमें से 17 पर हत्या का मुकदमा दर्ज किया है. देसाई पर शहर के विभिन्न थानों में पहले से ही दंगा करने और रंगदारी वसूलने के 23 मामले दर्ज हैं. लेकिन इस फौरी कार्रवाई को इसके मद्देनजर भी देखना चाहिए कि आने वाले विधानसभा चुनावों में अपने अस्तित्व को बचाए रखने के लिए महाराष्ट्र की कांग्रेस-राकांपा सरकार अपना धर्मनिरपेक्ष मुखौटा दिखाने की कोशिश करेगी. लेकिन चूंकि मोदी सरकार इस पर चुप है, इसलिए संकेत अच्छे नहीं दिख रहे हैं.

    ऐसा लगता है कि खेल शुरू हो गया है. देखना यह है कि नरेंद्र मोदी इस खेल में किस भूमिका में उतरते हैं.

  • FIFA World Cup: Wave of protests and strikes unleashed in Brazil

    FIFA World Cup: Wave of protests and strikes unleashed in Brazil

    fifa-food-thThe World Cup events being held in 12 cities across Brazil are set to begin in several days. Half a million tourists are expected to flood into Brazil. However, instead of the expected celebrations and weeks of national rejoicing in a country long-known for its proud football traditions, there is enormous tension as the events are set to begin on June 12th.