Latest news with #Mahatma
India Today
3 days ago
- General
- India Today
How Ambedabadis are cleaning their Sabarmati
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated June 16, 2025)It's a sewage drain, it's a garbage bin, no, it's a riverbed! The 11.5 km stretch of Sabarmati along the much-feted Riverfront in Ahmedabad has been emptied of water. How and why? The first is easily answered. The Sabarmati doesn't exactly fit the classic prototype of a flowing river, much less a perennial one. Narmada water is diverted into it from a canal 20 km upstream from the Riverfront, and a barrage holds it in at the other end—so it's functionally closer to a long lake under human control. Ergo, it can be OF MUCK'Why' yields a rather more intriguing answer. In what's possibly an exercise that's never been seen before in the world, an emptied river is being cleaned—manually. Good samaritans and tireless squads of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) are physically picking up filth from the riverbed. The Sabarmati Riverfront has been projected as an urban marvel, but there's one fact that never made it to tourism brochures. This hallowed water body, whose very name evokes the self-cleansing ethos of a Mahatma, has entire rivers of untreated sewage flowing into through 43 outfalls within city limits. The AMC estimates the volumes of vile sludge at some 786.49 million litres per day (MLD). Add plastic garbage, discarded clothes and religious flags, and you can see why 251 tonnes of garbage was removed from the riverbed in just the first four days of the month-long brought the chance for spring cleaning. If the Karai Dam controls the water inflow, the Vasna barrage keeps the water within the city. 'One barrage door had to be repaired, so water had to be drained for a month. I turned adversity into opportunity and invited volunteers to help clean the riverbed,' says AMC commissioner Bancha Nidhi Pani. 'On average, 2,500 volunteers turn up every morning, with the number reaching 10,000 on a Sunday.' So it has genuinely resonated with the local community. Some say this is quixotic repair work that leaves the original problem intact. What plagues the river is a deep rot, literally: take outfalls for allegedly 'treated' sewage, untreated industrial effluents with no allegations of purity, and thousands of illegal connections plugged into the AMC's stormwater network. The city generates some 1,693 MLD of sewage. Its 14 sewage treatment plants (STPs) have a capacity of 1,252 MLD. Not more than 1,080 MLD is treated every day: the STPs go periodically into spells of dysfunctionality and maintenance mode. A 27 km mega pipeline is meant to route 120.8 MLD treated effluents from Narol, Naroda, Vatva and Odhav industrial estates, but the five Common Effluent Treatment Plants either do not function or fall short in capacity. Studies show high concentrations of organic pollutants and not enough oxygen for aquatic life. The effluents also seep into the groundwater, used to draw drinking water for nearly 500,000 homes.'The unaccounted sewage isn't even routed through STPs,' says environmental engineer Mahesh Pandya, who runs the NGO Paryavaran Mitra. Ahmedabad's urban sprawl is the issue: its population has doubled to 9 million since 2000, including the lakhs in the unserved ghettos. 'But the trunk infrastructure has not caught up. It's a socio-political problem.'A 2021 suo motu PIL by theGujarat High Court spurred some action. The AMC has introduced bioremediation—partially treating sewage using bacterial consortia—but missed its first deadline of March 1. Why all the new urgency? Put it down to the city's ambition is to emerge as a global sporting capital. The 2036 Olympics is on its mind. The river will be the cynosure of all to India Today MagazineMust Watch advertisement
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
MGNREGS workers demand payment of wage arrears
Demanding immediate release of wage arrears by the government, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers staged a protest at their workplaces at Panasalapadu and Losingi villages in Anakapalli district on Wednesday. Addressing the workers, Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Karmika Sangam (A.P. Agricultural Workers Sangam) vice-president K. Govinda Rao said that 27 lakh daily wage workers and their families across the State were struggling as their wages of ₹8,500 crore have not been paid by the government. The salaries of 15,000 employees, recruited under the scheme from the village to the State-level, have not been paid their salaries for the past three months, he alleged. Workers in rural areas are dependent on MNREGS for a livelihood during the summer months and their wages have to be paid within 15 days of the completion of the work. The technical assistants, field assistants recruited at the Mandal Computer Centres, for the supervision of MNREGS works, and various levels of employees recruited at the State-level have not been paid their salaries for the past few months, Mr. Govinda Rao alleged. The workers would organise an agitation after a week if the wage arrears were not cleared by then, he added.
The Wire
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
An Open Letter: ‘I Have Small Eyes, Mr Prime Minister'
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Society An Open Letter: 'I Have Small Eyes, Mr Prime Minister' Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty 35 minutes ago It doesn't behove the stature of an Indian prime minister to deploy such racist language about any community, whether Indian or not. Why you could consider a course correction. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now Dear Mr Prime Minister, I saw a video from a public speech delivered by you in your home state of Gujarat on Tuesday, May 27. To say the least, I, as a person from Northeast India, am still numb at your references to 'small eyes' and with 'eyes that don't even open'. Before I come to why, let me take this opportunity to convey to you that far from Gujarat, in my family home in Assam, ever since my school days, I have seen a sizeable photo of a certain Gujarati hanging on a wall of the drawing room. Every godhuli (dusk), an incense stick is stuck on to the photo frame by my father, just after he finishes the same ritual on all the frames containing various gods and goddesses hung across the house, while reciting his evening mantras. I am proud to say here, that the Gujarati prayed in my family is none other than the Mahatma – Mahatma Gandhi. My father, now 93, still continues the daily ritual; also never forgets to tell any first-time visitor with a tinge of pride that the Mahatma, during his maiden trip to Assam in 1921, had also paid a short visit to his now over-a-century-old family house. My grandfather was one of the first in that upper Assam town to have signed up for Congress membership at the call of the Mahatma then to fight the foreign powers; yes, to refuse the foreign goods too. Prime Minister, I am sure you are aware of the great Naga freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu. When there was no advocate to fight the case mounted against her by the British, my grandfather had traveled a challenging path all the way to the Rangoon high court with a set of fellow Nagas to fight for her release from jail. In a country under foreign powers then, it was no surprise that the advocate was also jailed along with Gaidinliu, a young accused then who had the gumption to stand up to the colonial powers for converting fellow Nagas to Christianity from their religion, Heraka. That fight, by the way, had made our first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru bestow Gaidinliu the prefix to her name, Rani (queen), as we know her today, and call her a freedom fighter. These references, particularly to the Father of the Nation here, are only to underline that such connections that we form with powerful leaders and change-makers who may belong to another region or community, just keeps alive the unity and solidarity of the people of this huge country that we are all part of, and so proud of. Tiny, daily rituals carried out in houses like mine also acknowledge that we may know little about a region that the leader/the change-maker comes from or their people, but, as the constitution says, we are the same people – no matter how large or small the size of our eyes are (irrespective of race and creed, remember?). Prime Minister, like several from the Northeast, I too had lived on those lines; happen to choose a partner from outside the region. I never looked at the size of his eyes, and am sure, he didn't either. Let me tell you, what we saw in each other's eyes was the same – love and respect. * In your May 27 speech, even if you had made an indirectly referred to the Chinese when you had referred to Ganesha with 'small eyes' and 'eyes that don't even open', the remark cannot be overlooked; cannot be not seen to apply to 'small-eyed' Indians like me; those who come from the region I call home. Prime Minister, even in the national capital, many from the Northeast (that includes me too) face racism and discrimination on the streets almost every day. Often in central Delhi, I am stopped by random strangers while walking, to ask in English which country I belong to; whether I am looking for a currency exchange booth; a cheaper hotel room, a taxi for sightseeing. For those who may ask, what clothes were you wearing then: Well, no 'Indian' dress has been able to help me ward off such casual street racism in Delhi yet. I am sure this must be the case in various other cities. Also, I speak for many northeastern women living in mainstream cities if I say that I never step out of my house without using kajal on my eyes, just because we don't want to be on the streets with 'small eyes'; eyes that are seen by others as 'barely open'. Sir, I am not sure if you are aware, it is also well documented in the report of the Bezbaruah Committee, set up by the central government after the tragic death of an Arunachali youth, Nido Tania, in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar, that the racist terms used on people from the Northeast in mainstream cities includes words like 'Chinky' and 'Chinese'. 'Small eyes' too is a term used for us. At times, no words are needed but finger tips are used to press the corners of the attacker's eyes to send us the message that we have 'small eyes'; 'eyes that barely open' – the same gesture you used in your speech. Exactly like that China-made Ganesha idol you had referred to in your speech. * Prime Minister, it is also well documented that during the Covid-19 pandemic, many from my region were thrown out of stores and rented accommodations, some even attacked physically and spat at, just because they looked 'Chinese' and the epidemic had stemmed from China. In such a dark reality, if you, as the prime minister, lampoon 'small eyes' publicly, in our eyes, you are seen backing those nameless people in many mainstream cities who call us 'Chinky' and Chinese'. Anyway, it doesn't behove the stature of an Indian prime minister to deploy such racist language about any community or set of people, whether Indian or not. What I understood also from your speech is that India's contest is economic and versus China, and rightly so. In such a fight, there should be no space for the size of the eyes. Like it didn't matter in diplomacy, when you set your big eyes on the 'small-eyed' Chinese premier Xi Xingping while sitting on a swing and chuckling together by the Sabarmati some years ago. Prime Minister, let me remind you here, that even in your own cabinet, there are ministers with 'small eyes'. I am referring to Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju. In 2018, when your government, reportedly due to Chinese insistence, kept Rijiju out of an official function in New Delhi, many in my region were upset and sad that New Delhi didn't stand up to the Chinese pressure. Arunachal Pradesh, Rijiju's home state, is an Indian state, and shall remain so. Also, doesn't at least one of your important cabinet ministers, who is in the CCS, have a partner whose eyes are 'small' due to her race? Personal preferences aside, racist outbursts by the country's top leader should have no space in a public speech in today's day and time; they are bad for both domestic and international optics. Remember how US president Donald Trump was chided by the world for having questioned the attire of Ukrainian president V Zelenskyy. * Prime Minister, here is something about Lord Ganesha having 'small eyes'. If you take into account the fact that Ganesha is also a Buddhist deity, revered across South Asia where people have 'small eyes'. Even in several Indian monasteries, say, Alchi, said to be the oldest monastery in Ladakh, Ganesha exists in miniature paintings on its walls – and yes, with small eyes! The Vinayaka or the Ganapati cult within various sects of Buddhism exists beyond India, across the South and South-East Asia's geography. Finding a Ganesha sculpture in a museum, therefore, in these countries where Buddhism has been a strong religious influence, is not a rarity. By the way, Ganesha is the only Hindu god regarded as Boddhistava. Even in China, there have been Ganapati rituals. French Buddhism expert Robert Duquenne in his publication, 'Ganapathi Rituals in Chinese', had pointed out that 'Not less than twelve texts in the Chinese Buddhist Canon are dedicated to Vinayaka or Ganapati.' The author had noted, 'The alternative and more usual name Ganesa never occurs here.' Here, let me also inform you that some of our goddesses may in all likelihood have 'small eyes'. Assam's revered goddess Kesaikhati is a tribal goddess. We don't often draw Ma Kamakhya, but as per new research, she too might have a tribal (Khasi) origin. In Assam, we also celebrate the annual arrival of the monsoons, no less than that of a goddess. We call her Bordoisila. Every monsoon, we keep out a small mirror, a bottle of hair oil and a comb, for her to look at; the belief is, the rains are strong because she is rushing home to see her mother. Since the name Bordoisila has been drawn from the Bodo community, of Tibeto Burman origin, that goddess also, racially speaking, should have 'small eyes'. * Prime Minister, I fully agree with you that a country which is aspiring to become a developed nation by 2047, must start its self-sufficiency journey on a war footing. You had implied China in your speech and I agree that we must stay away from using not just cheaper Chinese goods like Diwali lights and Holi colours and Lakshmi and Ganesha idols, but also all foreign goods that have a decent equivalent which is Made in India. This country had seen a time when people had booked their HMT watches and waited for months to be delivered; same with India-made cars and scooters. But should that journey not start with you? Like it did with Gandhi when he gave a call to quit using foreign goods? Therefore, if you still wear that Movado watch; that pair of Mayback sunglasses; that Mont Blanc pen, etc., which several media reports speak of regularly, please replace them with Made in India equivalents. Show the path. * And that western hat you wear while visiting a wildlife park? I have a suggestion for its replacement too. In the Northeast, each community has its own hat; you can truly promote indigenous traditions and Made in India products if you choose to replace that cowboy-like hat with one from my region. The choices are too many, I promise. Before I end, I must also say why I took the liberty to write an open letter to you. This is in keeping with my understanding of what you often say, India is not just the world's largest democracy but the mother of all democracies. In such a democracy, a common citizen must then have the right to question her elected Prime Minister. So have I here, just as a common citizen who comes from the Northeast. I have questioned you about a sensitivity that you clearly overlooked in your May 27 public speech, and as a 'small eyed' Indian, I am offended. I hope you ponder over it and course correct, because India's prime minister must not be seen just talking about the need for fellow Indians to treat people from the Northeast without discrimination; but must be seen doing so too, both in his words and deeds so that he becomes an example for others to emulate. With best regards, Yours Sincerely, Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty A humble citizen of India who is never allowed to forget that she has 'small eyes', but she manages to keep them open and look clearly ahead. (Post script: Sir, looking at the times that we are in, I hope I don't get arrested for writing an open letter to you; getting trolled on social media would anyway follow, and who knows, fellow north-easterners belonging to your party may also be sent after me for taking umbrage at your comment, and I may eventually end up being called a 'China sympathiser'.) 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Business Recorder
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Country without a soul
India, under Narendra Modi, has descended to its lowliest lows. The civilization of hundreds, nay, thousands of years, has been torn to shreds. The villain of the peace is Modi, an example of human baseness at its zenith. Maha— (a prefix) in Sanskrit means 'great', and Aatma means 'soul'; together the word is Mahatma. Rabindranath Tagore, the poet, philosopher, and Nobel laureate in a letter to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in 1915 wrote, 'To the one whom India's millions call Mahatma — to him my grateful full homage.' Gandhi was reluctant to accept this honorific title but acquiesced, saying that it meant a reminder to him to serve others. He became an icon of peace and non-violence. From the Mahatma the descent is to the evil headed nincompoop, called Modi. He is a dishonourable antonym for the honorific tittle of Mahatma. Evil enters like a needle and spreads like an oak tree (an Ethiopian proverb). The Mahatma (M.K. Gandhi) in his Non-Violence in Peace and War had said in 1948: 'Must I do all the evil I can before I learnt to shun it? Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.' Modi, an answer to the Indians and to your own soul, in case it is still alive. Only when evil increases, does its potential to harm strike the eye. It appears that Stephen Vincent Benet in 'John Brown's Body' is actually describing Modi, the evil, when he says, 'Some men wish evil and accomplish it, but most men, when they work in that machine; just let it happen somewhere in the wheels; the fault is no decisive, villainous knife, But the dull saw that is the routine mind'. honi soit qui mal y pense (shame on him who thinks evil of it). An evil man sees not the same tree as a wise man sees. Modi's Hindutva philosophy is built upon sand dunes. Adventurous men are not necessarily courageous, they are but only small time cowards, and may not be seen as men of principle. Principle knows no forgiveness. They are to be observed and adhered. Expediency can last for a few hours, but principles survive for ages. Indians, generally speaking, are good people. They are mostly peace-loving. The recent refusal of a Lieutenant-General to do his (Modi's) evil bidding also indicates that the armed forces are also not warmongers or haters. It is purely a Modi phenomenon to spew poison against the minorities, particularly Muslims. He denuded India of its past glory of being a tolerant society. He stabbed to death the 'soul of India', rendering it today as a soul-less country. With malice he attacked places of worship. Modi is an arch enemy of Islam and Christianity. He destroys their mosques and churches on one pretext or another. Recently, he targeted only mosques in the cities of Kotli, Bahawalpur and Muridke. He is now after the resting place of Emperor Aurangzeb claiming his tomb is built over some imagined, ancient temple. Modi having massacred Muslims in Gujarat entered the Prime Minister's office with a conscience that was long dead and buried. Indians were misled by his religious doctrine of supremacy of Hindutva, and voted him into power. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke thus: 'He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.' Recently, in the short military engagement between India and Pakistan, the world witnessed with humour and laughter how the Indian media tried to create its own climate of opinion. The Indian media stood confused between what is honourable and what is evil? What is lost by them is the fact that there is no such thing as the lesser of the two evils because once the choice is made it still is evil. The media behaved like evil, and was no less than the evil of Modi. India must remove Modi if it wishes to retain its original character as enshrined in its Constitution to be a secular and democratic state. However, looking at BJP's leadership starting from Modi and ending with Modi's thought and philosophy, I am reminded of Shakespeare's line from The Taming of the Shrew, 'There's small choice in rotten apples.' Modi is a wolf in a wolf's clothing. How then are the Muslim leadership deluded away from recognising his mindset? Our Muslim brethren in the Middle East warm up to him so dearly. It is time they recognise the devious mindset of the man; any failure to do so will result in a costly learning exercise. A man who has blood on his hands of the angelic small children who were martyred by his deadly missiles can never be a sincere friend to anyone. To the recent belligerent attacks upon several cities in Pakistan our government responded with hitherto unseen maturity and patience. This restraint was being misread by Modi as a sign of some inherent structural weakness in the command and control authority of our political setup and national security apparatus. Only a single day of strong retaliation proved to be a very long time for Modi and his cohorts. Flustered by this fierce response and retaliation and acting like a retarded pygmy Modi sought ceasefire through the friendly mediation of US and a host of other countries. His acceptance will always remain in doubt. He will find or artificially create conditions like he did on the night of 22nd April in Occupied Kashmir, to wriggle out of his commitment to discuss 'all issues' at a neutral place across the negotiating table. The acceptance of third-party intervention to resolve all outstanding issues must be gnawing away at his peace and sanity. Most would suspect that he will find a reason to revoke the commitment; he is not trustworthy. The efforts of friends of India alone are not enough to instill sanity and maturity into BJP's leadership; in the end it will be the people of India who must discover the evil, to shun it, and they must help themselves by jettisoning all those who are hell-bent on destroying the rich social fabric that has been in existence for thousands of years upon the soil of the subcontinent. India must go back to its Gandhian and Nehruvian political philosophy of tolerance and peace. It is expected that Indians will now with the liberty of hindsight see how he misled them into a war hysteria, 'ably' supported by an ever-enthusiastic and hysteria-filled broadcast, digital and print media. The anchors in their frenzy declared Lahore to be a seaport!! Modi has brought shame upon the peace-loving people of India. The time is ripe for all political parties, including the BJP, to go for wholesale jettisoning of this frustrated and politically dead cargo once and for all. Any continuity of Modi and his cohorts at New Delhi foretells the looming disaster of the seven sister states in the North-East of India, who are already seeking independence from the union of India. The wrong person Lieutenant General Rana who until recently was General Officer Commanding in Occupied Kashmir was banished to the Andaman and must be brought back to the peninsula's capital and the rightly deserving candidate must be sent forth to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. India and Indians by doing so will restore their lost stature in the comity of nations. A government in Delhi that has no religious rabid Hindu will be a good neighbour to all the countries of South Asia. The hyena in saffron clothing — Modi — will be enshrined in history as a synonym for both evil and devil. His biography will be the longest suicide note in history. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The Hindu
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Higher Education Minister hails Supreme Court verdict dismissing plea for enforcement of NEP in 3 States including Kerala
Minister for Higher Education R. Bindu has hailed the Supreme Court's decision to dismiss a plea seeking enforcement of the National Education Policy (NEP), including the three language formula, by the Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal governments. Addressing a press meet here on Monday (May 12, 2025), Ms. Bindu said that the NEP and recent UGC regulations encroached into the rights of the States and were against the federal principles. They were against Constitutional provisions and created a lot of difficulties to the States. The protest against these developments were ubiquitous. The apex court verdict is in keeping with the basic tenets of the Constitution, she said. Ms. Bindu said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate Science Centre, which is the first phase of the proposed Science City, at Kuravilangad grama panchayat in Kottayam on May 29. The Science Centre, spread over 47,147 sq. ft., features science galleries, 3D exhibition centre, science park, seminar hall, and innovation hub. The Science City is being proposed on 30 acres under the Higher Education department's Kerala State Science and Technology Museum. It encompasses planetarium, motion simulator, augmented reality, virtual reality theatres, musical fountain, light and sound shows, stargazing facilities, gardens, visitor's area and related infrastructure facilities. Ms. Bindu said that the government has already spent ₹50 crore for the project. A second phase of ₹45 crore has been drawn up. Efforts are on to set up a biodiversity park on the Science City campus in association with the Uzhavoor block panchayat, Kuravilangad panchayat and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
