Latest news with #Adivasi
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
T trying to break 50% quota cap, BJP a hindrance: Rahul
Hyderabad: Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday called on all Congress MPs to inform citizens about Telangana's caste survey and how the BJP was trying to "stall the state's progress". He said the Telangana govt was attempting to break free of the 50% cap on reservation, both in local bodies and in govt jobs and educational institutions. "Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy's job is to use the data to transform the lives of the people of Telangana, and our job is to raise the issue in Parliament and help him push the idea of breaking the 50% reservation cap barrier," Rahul said while speaking during Revanth's presentation on the socio-economic survey at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday. The PowerPoint presentation was attended by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, MP Priyanka Gandhi, and many other top leaders of the Congress. Rahul said the Congress govt in Telangana had sent a note on the amendment to Parliament, both to the Govt of India and to the President of India. But, he alleged, the Centre was reluctant to take up the issue as if it would destroy BJP's brand of politics. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad He also remarked that the national census and caste census being taken up by the Centre would not be a fair exercise as it would reveal the real situation of OBCs and Adivasis. The Congress leader also said his party had been correctly raising Dalit and Adivasi issues nationally for more than a decade. He felt many of his own leaders may not agree with him, but more needed to be done on voicing concerns of the OBCs. Rahul also praised Revanth for completing the caste survey in Telangana. "When I started to push the idea of a caste census, I thought it would be difficult for Revanth as CM, as his community (Reddy) might not appreciate it. I was observing carefully. Today, I told the expert committee that Revanth Reddy ji and other leaders exceeded my expectations. They not only did the caste census, but did it exceptionally well," Rahul Gandhi said. He said they not only completed the survey, but also executed it in the right spirit, marking a milestone in social justice in the country. "The Telangana govt showed the country how the national caste census should be done. The census should not be conducted within closed rooms. Every section of society was taken into consideration, and every household was covered," the Congress leader said. The Telangana govt has 21st century data which is powerful enough to target the needy in executing education and health policies. No other state in the country has that data, and for obvious reasons, the BJP may not like it, he said.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘First 30 years it was Cong, then BJP; time for change': Kejriwal tells people to prepare for BJP's exit
'Samay ka chakra ghoomta hai…pehla tees saal Congress, phir tees saal BJP. Ab BJP ke jaane ka time aa gaya. Bye bye BJP. (The wheel of time turns…first 30 years of Congress, then 30 years of BJP. Now the time has come for BJP to go),' Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal trained his guns at the two national parties while addressing a rally along with Punjab Chief Minister Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in support of party's arrested Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava. Vasava was arrested on July 5 in an alleged attempted murder case after a brawl with Dediapada taluka BJP president Sanjay Vasava during a meeting at the Dediapada Prant office. On Thursday, the two AAP leaders also talked about the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scam and paper leaks apart from discussing issues of employment, education, healthcare and road infrastructure during the rally in Narmada district's Dediapada. Criticising both the BJP and the Congress, Kejriwal and Mann termed party leader Gopal Italia's recent victory from Visavadar as 'a positive sign' for the AAP in the upcoming elections. Punjab CM Mann said, 'Aam public hai, chup rahe toh paanch saal, seene pe pathar rakh le dus saal, aankhein band kar le pandrah saal, jeeb ko taala laga le pachees saal, kuch bina bole tees saal… par tees saal ke baad jab janta jaagti hai toh tees saal ka hisaab tees minute me le leti hai (The common public remained silent for five years, endured for 10 years, shut their eyes for 15 years, locked their pockets for 25 years, didn't say anything for 30 years…but after 30 years when the public awakens… they will ask for accountability in 30 minutes). Kejriwal added, 'Samay ka chakra ghoomta hai…pehla tees saal Congress, phir tees saal BJP. Ab BJP ke jaane ka time aa gaya. Bye bye BJP (The wheel of time turns…first 30 years of Congress, then 30 years of BJP. Now the time has come for BJP to go).' Kejriwal and Mann, who were on a two-day visit to Gujarat, had attended the Mahapanchayat of cattle herders in Modasa on Wednesday. 'In 2022, an Adivasi man, Chaitar Vasava, fought the elections. He is an educated member of the tribal community and an honest man… so you made him your MLA. Since Vasava has become an MLA, he has raised the issues of the public regarding schools, hospitals, electricity, jal, jungle, jameen, roads… Then Chaitar began getting government records. He saw that the government money sent for school, hospitals and roads were going into these people's pockets. One small neta of theirs becomes MLA and from cycle he has now 10 big cars… from a small house, he has a palace, from where? From stealing your money. Chaitar began exposing their secrets and became the voice of the Adivasi community,' said Kejriwal. He added, 'The BJP government got scared that if Chaitar keeps speaking up for the Adivasis, they won't vote for them. Then Chaitar looked into the MGNREGA scheme, where you get a minimum wage for 100 days. Who goes to work for minimum wage? The poorest of the poor. These BJP people are so 'gande and neech' (bad and selfish), that they even stole that money. Chaitar exposed corruption in MGNREGA first in the Vidhan Sabha, then in front of the media and then on the roads'. 'The minister didn't resign but both his sons went to jail,' he said while taking a dig at Gujarat minister Bachu Khabad. Meanwhile, Vasava's wives, Varsha and Shakuntala, were also present at the gathering and the former read a message from the jailed MLA to his constituents, who in turn, raised the slogan 'jail ke tale tutenge, Chaitar Vasava chhootenge' (The jail locks will break, Chaitar Vasava will be free). Thanking the people for their support, Varsha read Vasava's message saying, 'After becoming MLA, I haven't stayed at home for a single day. My people have faced injustice by the government and I have fought against that, and so the government has falsely put me in jail. The truth is that where the meeting was held, no such incident took place. It is a made up story and the police made the CCTV footage disappear…they are trying to implicate me in a false case. When I went to file an FIR, the police made me sit for 3 to 4 hours and didn't let me speak to the media…the police are working with the government.' Varsha further read out, 'The Rs 2,500 crore MGNREGA scam was done by Bachhu Khabad and his sons are out on bail and the one who exposed them is in jail. Isn't this a political conspiracy? If anything happens to me or my family, the police will be responsible for it.' Speaking in favour of Vasava, Kejriwal said: 'They keep sending AAP leaders to jail. Last year, they kept me in jail for a year. They put Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Sanjay Singh in jail, they thought we would get scared, that this would break our party but our party became stronger. We are not going to be scared. There are still two years for the next election. You just see, they will send Gopal Italia and Isudan Gadhvi to jail as well.' Meanwhile, Punjab CM Mann said, 'They think the poor people can be controlled.. they have corruption money and can purchase the administration. I say collect how much money, diamonds and pearls you want, but a coffin doesn't have pockets. Chaitar hasn't been jailed for the first time. Last time, when the administration came to crush a farmer's crops under a tractor, Chaitarbhai stood in front of the tractor. He went to jail then also.' Saying that AAP gives tickets to the 'Aam Aadmi', Kejriwal exhorted the youth to step forward to take part in the upcoming Taluka Panchayat, Zilla and Nagarpalika elections. Slamming the Congress, Kejriwal added, 'Beware of the Congress. Gujarat doesn't have a BJP government. It has a Congress-BJP alliance government. They loot the people together. Till now, there was no opposition in Gujarat. Now there is. We will fight with you but you have to take responsibility.' Hitting back at Kejriwal for his remarks, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi said, 'His habit of lying is still going on. Whether it is Delhi, Haryana or Punjab, or (during) Gujarat 2022 elections, if you see any poll results, it is clear they have helped the BJP. AAP should stop misleading the people of the country and stop cheating the public of Gujarat. Kejriwal is working to damage the Congress and help the BJP win.'
Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Should India lower its voting age?
Written by Anandini Dar A young activist, Ridhima Pandey, at age 11 in September 2019, led a strike in Dehradun, drawing attention to government inaction on the extreme weather and deforestation plaguing northern India. After experiencing the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, Pandey became a champion for climate change. She also led strikes aligning with the Global Fridays for Futures Movement. When she was 9 years old, she filed a case via the National Green Tribunal against the Indian government for its inaction regarding the future of children, calling for a carbon budget and a national climate recovery plan. On the other hand, working-class children and other marginalised young people are fighting for basic rights to living conditions, healthcare, dignity, and justice. Mexican anthropologist Valentina Glockner discusses how non-state actors engage with migrant Adivasi and Dalit children who work in Bangalore, an urban city in southern India, to educate them and support them in accessing their rights. She argues that in the interactions between the children and the NGO staff, it was apparent that working children are highly vocal and aware of the injustices they face, yet operate within the context of the 'weight that the existing social and symbolic order places upon them.' Children today are engaging in rights-based movements for their futures and are invested in civic and political issues at as early as 11 years old. Their investment in the future can contribute to the growth of the nation, and hence, including their voices is essential. B R Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution, among other things, advocated for democracy as a tool for ensuring social and economic equality. As children continue to hold low social, economic, and educational standing, a criterion for being a minority according to Ambedkar, I argue that they are minorities who are marginalised and ought to be enfranchised. Historically, marginalised communities were disenfranchised owing to their low social status and consequently, low literacy rates. Today, many of the arguments against granting children the right to vote, or lowering the age of voting below 18 years, a general standard across most countries, are akin to those made at the time of India's Independence, wherein there was a resistance to include 'poor' and landless persons as enfranchised. For instance, many members of the Indian Constitutional Assembly in 1947 were against a universal adult franchise. I wrote elsewhere, 'Some members argued that it was an 'impractical endeavour' as there was limited education in India, and the vote would be a 'dangerous weapon' in the hands of the uneducated or the illiterate. Such expressions are nothing less than how the British displayed colonial and racist ideologies of domination and exclusion, as they sought to limit the franchise to the privileged alone.' (Dar, 2022, p. 122). Recently, the UK government announced their plans to include 16-17-year-old children as registered voters. This move is being discussed as bringing about a parity in the voting age across the island, including Scotland and Wales, which have already reduced the voting age for their citizens to 16 years. In 1988, in a watershed moment, India's 61st constitutional amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years. This change was brought about to increase the participation of the youth in the electoral process of the country. Low voter turnout, especially among young voters, has been a major cause of concern for the Election Commission of India (ECI). In the UK, young people are responding excitedly to the prospect of a lowered voting age. They are asking for the education system to include materials on political and civic education at earlier stages in schools. While engaging in such studies, young people will also be interested in participating in and testing out their right to vote. These educational programmes may also encourage greater voter turnout at earlier ages. Globally, several other countries, including Germany, Austria, Malta, Estonia, Argentina, Nicaragua, and some others, have lowered their voting age from 18 to 16 years. Since many children are employed at 16 years in India, and are taxpayers, they also ought to have the right to vote for the representatives who may best serve their interests. Given greater global connectivity and meanings of shared global childhoods and youth across class backgrounds, there is a need to include children in the democratic processes through the franchise, enabling a more just present and future. At the very least, enfranchisement offers a universal parity to all citizens for political representation, and creates avenues for greater accountability directly towards the young. India should not be far behind in considering what is becoming a global move vis-à-vis suffrage rights for children. Many young people in this country are politically motivated and have been at the forefront of several political and ecological issues that concern our collective futures. Thus, to strengthen their collective voices and aspirations for a just and shared future, it is crucial that they have a political voice. The right to vote would ensure greater accountability from our political leaders, who tend to, at best, dismiss young people as petulant or, worse, as easy targets of state repression. Lowering the voting age would also broaden the election manifestos with a greater focus on child rights, quality education, and gender justice. The writer is associate professor, BML Munjal University
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Chhattisgarh's Tiriya gram sabha recognised globally for community-led forest governance
RAIPUR: Tucked deep inside south Chhattisgarh's Bastar division, Tiriya village has been recognised among the top 15 mentions, out of the 190+ nominated communities, for the 2025 Collective Action Awards by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). Tiriya's model stands as a resilient example on how tribal (Adivasi) communities can lead inclusive, sustainable development rooted in traditional knowledge and collective action in Bastar region. The RRI is a global coalition of grassroots organisations aimed at improving coordination and support for the recognition of land rights for indigenous people across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The global efforts intended to safeguard nature and preserve traditional knowledge for future generations are much appreciated. The achievement of Tiriya has been supported by the Bastar-based team of ATREE, which has facilitated key steps in the community forest rights (CFR) claim-making and community planning processes. The global recognition celebrates Tiriya's exemplary grassroots efforts in securing community forest rights, strengthening collective governance and pioneering a self-sustaining eco-tourism model.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Multi-purpose centre equipped with AI-learning tools established at Limbuguda in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district
Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as a mini-library, computer systems and AI-based learning tools, the Multi-Purpose Centre (MPC) at the remote Limbuguda village in Wankidi mandal of Telangana's tribal heartland of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district is poised to be a boon for local tribals, especially women and children. The centre has been developed as a pilot model under the PM JANMAN scheme with the support of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency, Utnoor, and the district administration. Billed as first-of-its-kind in tribal areas of the country, it has Non-Communicable Disease (NCD), Antenatal Check-Up (ANC) and telemedicine centres, official sources said. The Education Room has been equipped with computer systems and AI-based learning tools for the benefit of students of Mandal Parishad Primary schools and Tribal Welfare Primary schools. The MPC will also serve as a platform for tribal communities to market their products. The conference room is equipped with a projector for multi-purpose use to host meetings and interactive sessions for the benefit of local tribal communities. The MNC's walls have been aesthetically painted highlighting the rich cultural heritage of Adivasi communities and inspiring stories of legendary Adivasi leaders like Gond martyr Kumram Bheem. The model MPC drew praise from Minister of State for Road, Transport & Highways and Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra during his recent visit to the centre. During his interaction with students and local tribals, he appreciated the efforts of the ITDA and the district administration in developing the MPC.
