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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Back-to-back protests against the Waqf Act
Two major demonstrations are scheduled on consecutive days in Hyderabad to oppose the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025 The first protest, scheduled for May 31, is being organised by the Joint Action Committee (JAC), a collaborative effort of socio-religious groups such as Tehreek Muslim Shabban, and political figures including Amjed Ullah Khan, the spokesperson of the Majlis Bachao Tehreek. Members of the Congress party have also extended their support to the protest. According to JAC convenor Mushtaq Mallik, the group had earlier sought permission from the police to organise the protest but was denied on certain grounds. The JAC said that they would go ahead with the demonstration at Dharna Chowk from 2 pm to 5 pm. Memebers had previously led the city's anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests at the same location. Meanwhile, the second protest is scheduled for June 1 and will be led by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a pan-India body comprising Islamic scholars, legal experts, and professionals. As part of its nationwide outreach, the AIMPLB has been conducting public meetings to raise awareness about what it perceives as a negative ripple effect of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025. In Hyderabad, the Board recently held a protest meeting at Darussalam, the headquarters of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). It also recently organised a Lights Off protest and a human chain, both symbolic protests against the new waqf legislation. Both the JAC and AIMPLB have expressed confidence in mobilising large crowds in opposition to the new Act. Both protests will take place at Dharna Chowk. However, there have been murmurs, that both groups are not on the same page. Efforts to organise a single protest on one day have not been successful. There are indications that this could be due to disagreements of a political nature. The AIMPLB team, speaking to the media, pointed out that that their demonstration is scheduled for June 1. Both groups have urged the public to attend the demonstration in large numbers. The Waqf legislation has drawn criticism from various Muslim organisations and INDIA alliance leaders who maintained that it is likely that the Bharatiya Janata Party would snatch waqf properties from the control of Muslims. The Act undermines the purpose and spirit of waqf .
Hans India
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Teachers' unions call for protest at Chittoor DEO office tomorrow
Tirupati: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Teachers' Unions has called for a protest at the Chittoor District Education Office (DEO) on May 21, demanding amendments to the flawed teacher transfer policies and school restructuring regulations. In a meeting held at the UTF office in Tirupati on Monday, JAC district steering committee members including K Muthyala Reddy, Jagannatham, and Sambireddy among others passed a resolution urging the government to revoke GO 117. They criticised the reclassification of schools into nine types from the earlier six, calling it impractical and unfair. Leaders highlighted that restructuring was carried out without considering ground realities, leading to surplus teacher posts and conversion of many schools into single-teacher institutions. The relocation of classes 3, 4, and 5 to model schools has forced young students to travel long distances, they noted. The committee also condemned the government's unilateral approach to transfer rules and demanded promotions for SGTs to fill headmaster posts in model schools. They insisted on revising student-teacher ratios in high schools and correcting irregularities in primary teacher postings. The JAC urged all teachers to make the May 21 protest a success. Several union leaders and members participated in the meeting.
Hans India
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
State varsity Contract Asst Profs call off indefinite stir
Hyderabad: The State University Contract Assistant Professors, who have been on an indefinite strike for the past 11 days demanding the regularisation of their services, have announced their decision to withdraw from the strike. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the State University Contract Assistant Professors from 12 universities initiated this protest 24 days ago on their respective campuses. On Tuesday, a delegation of JAC leaders met with K Keshav Rao, the Advisor to the Government of Telangana, at his residence. He assured the delegation that the government is considering their demands and encouraged the teachers to call off the strike. Keshav Rao advised the delegation to meet with the Chairman of the Telangana Higher Education Council and other officials for further discussions regarding the teachers' demands. The JAC leaders reported that the government had asked the Chairman to direct the Vice Chancellors to communicate with the protesting teachers at their strike locations and reassure them that the process for implementing the 7th Pay Revision Commission (PRC)—which includes basic pay, dearness allowance (DA), house rent allowance (HRA), and a three per cent annual increment—has begun.
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Time of India
Manipur's Imphal Valley shuts down in protest over alleged custodial death
Normal life was affected in Manipur's Imphal valley regions on Friday after a 24-hour statewide shutdown call given by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) to protest the alleged custodial death of a 27-year-old youth earlier this month. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India pulled the plug on IWT when Pakistanis are fighting over water What makes this India-Pakistan standoff more dangerous than past ones The problem of Pakistan couldn't have come at a worse time for D-St A senior police official said that shops, markets, business establishments and educational institutions were closed and all vehicles, except that of the security forces and emergency services, remained off the roads in the valley regions, especially in Imphal East and Imphal West district. The official said, "Protesters blocked roads in Khurai Ningthoubung Leikai areas from where the victim hailed and burnt tyres". 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo Imphal East's District Magistrate Mayanglambam Rajkumar Singh had on Thursday imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS ahead of the bandh. The JAC was formed after the alleged custodial death of Khoisnam Sanajaoba on April 13. Live Events
The Hindu
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Decadal Growth Average: a balanced formula for delimitation
The Joint Action Committee, formed by the southern States, has demanded that delimitation be deferred by another 25 years or delinked from population. Though the Centre remains tight-lipped about the delimitation formula and timeline, the southern States are anticipating the worst-case scenario. If the Centre opts for State-wise population growth as the sole or major criterion, it will compromise the interests of these States, which have implemented the family planning programme in all sincerity. Deferring is also not ideal, as there is no guarantee that we will not face the same issue after 25 years. This analysis tries to understand the apprehensions of the southern States vis-à-vis the formula of the Delimitation Commission. Southern States fear that their role in lawmaking will decrease if population growth is used for delimitation. The argument that delimitation would be on a pro-rata basis and that these States would not lose a single seat is not convincing. Merely retaining the existing number of seats or seeing a small increase will not assuage their fears. They are concerned that their populous counterparts would bag a disproportionate number of seats. On the other hand, the Centre cannot ignore the need to enhance the number of MPs, which has been frozen since 1973. It is important to respect the constitutional spirit of one person, one vote. Even if the Centre freezes delimitation for another 25 years, there is no guarantee of achieving a uniform population growth rate across States, as it depends on several factors such as economy, religious beliefs and geography. Delinking delimitation from population growth, as requested by some States, is also not a tenable proposition, since population is the foundational criterion for delimitation under Article 81(2)(a). As per reports, the Centre is looking to increase the 543 seats to 753, based on a State-wise population growth formula. The MP seats for populous States such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan would rise from 174 to 249. The seats of the five southern States — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh — would only slightly increase from 129 to 144. With this estimation, the Centre has reasons to consider the interests of the southern States. First, the Centre is duty-bound to ensure fair representation and cannot afford to hurt the sentiments of an entire region. Second, in today's charged political climate, every decision is met with suspicion and dispute. If the Centre goes ahead with the State-wise population formula, it risks creating sharp disparities within the country's polity. The south Indian States would feel that their progress has worked against their prospects and rendered them less significant. There are three approaches for delimitation using population growth, as mandated in Article 81(2)(a). India's population grew by 153% between 1971 and 2021. If this number is taken as the basis, the Lok Sabha seats will go up to 1,374, and the House becomes unwieldy. The average annual growth rate over the five decades is 1.94%, and increasing the number of seats by this number does not make sense. The third option is the Decadal Growth Average (DGA) formula. If we average the growth rates of five decades between 1971 and 2021, we get 20.91%. If this number is used, the seats will go up to 656, which is a reasonable number. I propose that the Centre should use the DGA. Unlike the State-wise population growth model, it does not penalise States that have effectively controlled their population. Since the DGA transfers the impact of population growth equally across all States, it eliminates the need for applying other weightage factors such as population control, literacy rate, economic growth rate, etc. If the Centre has to assign weightages, that process could lead to disputes. The table shows the State-wise share of growth in Lok Sabha seats using the Decadal Growth Average formula Using the DGA formula would allow the Centre to safeguard the interests of all States while recognising both population growth and development. The only requirement would be to amend Article 81(2)(a), which currently mandates that Lok Sabha seat allocation be proportional to each State's population, ensuring equal representation per member. This requirement of proportionality to the population is not paramount in the current context for three reasons. First, for decades, increasing the number of MP seats in line with population growth was considered impractical due to vast disparities in State-wise population growth rates, ranging from minimal to explosive. That is why there has been a more than five-decade embargo. Second, the Centre could amend Article 81 to protect the interests of all the States. Third, different States having different population ratios per MP seat is not a problem. It is often the geography that poses challenges to the MPs rather than the population. For instance, the Lakshadweep parliamentary constituency has only about 80,000 people, but to meet them, their MP needs to travel to several islands, whereas the MP of Malkajgiri constituency, the most populous Lok Sabha constituency in the country, can reach out to more than 45 lakh people very easily. By adopting the DGA formula for enhancing Lok Sabha constituencies, the Centre can address regional concerns and uphold the principles of federalism. This formula would also pave the way for future delimitations without any disputes or protests. The author was a former Officer on Special Duty to ex-Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Also read: Delimitation debate: A conflict between the principle of democracy and one of federalism
