On 26 July 2023, the Loksabha passed the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, replacing the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. This at a time when there should have instead been widespread celebrations commemorating 51 years of Silent Valley Movement and 50 years of Chipko Andolan, the two biggest people’s movements on ecological conservation in the country, which proved critical in enacting[Read More…]
To Smt. Droupadi Murmu The President of India Respected Rashtrapati Ji, I write this in continuation of my earlier letter dated 5-7-2023 addressed to your office (https://countercurrents.org/2023/07/take-the-ncst-into-confidence-prior-to-implementing-policies-and-projects-in-tribal-areas/) on the need for the executive to hold prior consultation with the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes (NCST) as required under Article 338A(9) of the Constitution before initiating any legislative action/ policy changes,[Read More…]
To Ms Leena Nandan Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Ms Nandan, I understand that your Ministry has taken action to introduce a Bill to amend the Forest (Conservation) Rules in the Parliament during the ensuing winter session. The Bill has far reaching implications for the lives of the adivasis across the country[Read More…]
How will you feel if someone promises to remove an injustice you have suffered for years, but in the end leaves you suffering even more than before? Something similar appears to be happening to tribal communities in India in the context of the Forest Rights Act 2006. They were promised by the government that the historic injustice caused to them[Read More…]
To Smt Leena Nandan Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Shri A K Jha Secretary Ministry of Tribal Affairs Govt of India Dear Smt Nandan and Shri Jha, I refer to the amendment introduced by the MEFCC to the Forest (Conservation) Rules vide GSR 480(E) dated 28-6-2022, in which the procedure for[Read More…]
While nominating Mrs. Draupadi Murmu,as candidate to President of India, ruling BJP boasted a savior of tribal people. However, by proposing changes to Forest Rights Act, 2006, the government is doing quite the opposite by subverting the interests of tribal people to benefit big companies. During the current monsoon session of Indian Parliament new rules are proposed to the present[Read More…]
>> The young one had gone to the city to earn his livelihood and food for his poor family. The pandemic and lockdown stopped all work and all earnings. Thereby he had no option but to walk for 20 days under the scorching sun with little food and no shelter. After he reached, the villagers, fearing the spread of the[Read More…]
The population of Tribals (Scheduled Tribes) in Uttar Pradesh is 11.35 lakhs of which 80% are landless. That is why the Forest Rights Act – 2006 and Rules 2008 came into force for the empowerment of Tribals. Under this law, Tribals and non-Tribals living in a Reserve Forest area were to be given a lease of residential and agricultural[Read More…]
India is currently among the most affected countries by COVID19, recording 6 million cases, by the end of September 2020. The pandemic and lockdown measures have had a drastic impact on a large population of poor and marginalised forest communities, causing loss of livelihoods and employment, food insecurity and socio-economic distress. As per the findings of a preliminary assessment report,[Read More…]
GENEVA (4 July 2019) ‑ UN human rights experts* have urged the Government of India to prevent the potential eviction of up to nine million people, most of whom are forest dwellers and members of scheduled tribes with an ancestral link to the land and forest. The threat of evictions follows a 13 February order by the Supreme Court of[Read More…]
The Supreme Court order of February 13, 2019 on the forced eviction of more than 1,000,000 forest-dwelling households from forestlands across 16 states, once again brought to the fore the sharp ideological divide around the politics of ‘forest’ land ownership. Articulations by the ‘conservation’ lobby in support of the order also exposed the deep misconceptions and factual misunderstanding of the[Read More…]
FRA has struggled to recognize the comprehensive rights of vulnerable and voiceless groups. Judicial scrutiny could open the doors for communities where the law has not been implemented in letter and spirit. 13th February 2019 was a historic day for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and traditional forest dwellers in India because of an order passed pertaining to The Scheduled Tribes and[Read More…]
21 July: In a bizarre turn of events, Lila Gurung, a high school teacher in Kalimpong district in Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal was accused by the district administration of ‘anti-government activity’ and for stirring up unrest in the area as he supported the forest villagers to demand the implementation of the Forest Rights Act. Following a letter sent by[Read More…]
Abstract: The progressive subjugation, appropriation, enclosure and policing of the forests in India since the colonial period has left millions of forest peoples in a precarious struggle for survival and waging a continuous battle for their rights. The exclusionary development and conservation thrust left in its wake, devastated forests and forest peoples. What began as the final uprooting of forest[Read More…]
Indian Democracy has ample examples of progressive policies not being able to meet people’s aspirations due to systemic inadequacies, implementation shortages and loopholes being misused by economic elite to dilute the process. Scheduled Tribes and other Forest dwellers act (2006) is one such legislation. The act was passed after prolonged people’s struggles for recognition of Adivasi and Forest dwellers[Read More…]
Why Our Popular Mass Movements Fail 
The Slow-Motion Equivalent of a Nuclear War? 
Australian National Anti-Corruption Commission Rejects Submissions Re Huge Australian War Crimes and Carbon Debt 
Modi regime’s double standards 
Let’s Stop Slapping! OR If India were a Classroom! 
The emergence of Bangladesh: Dynamics of people’s cultural and political struggles – Part I 
Flagging Support: Zelenskyy Loses Favour in Washington 
Scandal of A Ukrainian Nazi Waffen SS Soldier Honored in Canada’s Parliament: Part Two 
The Kenya Resistance Archives Adds the Missing Links to the History of Kenya 
Review of Immanuel Ness’s Migration as Economic Imperialism 
Artsakh Almanac: Ancestral History, Memory and Place in Subjugated Artsakh 
Ignorance and Egoistic Leaders Destroying Mankind and the Living Earth 
Rights of Older Persons must be fulfilled! 
Lies about the Green Revolution Having Saved India from Hunger Can be Very Harmful for Policy 
Manipur needs healing touch and Trust building – Not AFSPA 
Mass migration from Nagorno-Karabakh continues as breakaway republic dissolves 
Commemoration of Swaminathan Calls for a Revisit of Green Revolution 
Antarctica Hits Records as Global Heat Looms Large for 2024 
Book Review: Building A Just World Order 
Canada Needs Urgent Reforms to Bring Long-Delayed Justice to its Indigenous People 
Ukraine: Peace Comes through Mutual Respect 
Canada’s Proclivity To White Wash Its Nazi Citizenry & Nazi Affiliation Past 
Clamour for Teachers Grows in Jharkhand – Parents Write to CM 
Rifts in INDIA Alliance 
At the Brink? Contemplating the Unimaginable Costs of a Nuclear War 
Cruel Prerogatives: Braverman on Refugees at the AEI 
The Perilous Path From Western Domination to De-Dollarization 
From the Contemporary History of the Balkans: Greece and Slavo-Macedonians (1913-1993) The Ethnic Violence in Manipur, India, Explained 
New Report Exposes Grave Injustice to Villagers in the Name of Expanding Tourism and Parks in Tanzania 
Ending Opioid Addiction and Deaths through Creative Strategies 
Solitude: A Source of Empowerment 
Dr.K.S.Sharma Turns 90 
The Unholy Origins of Castes in India 
Union Health Ministry placing a cap on new medical colleges in States on the basis of the population criterion violates federalism 
Reflections on the Revolutionary Legacy of Makhan Singh in Kenya 
Armenian civilians flee Nagorno-Karabakh after new offensive by Azerbaijan 
Manipur: a statement of concern and suggestions for peaceful resolution 
Global Leaders Plead for Peace in Ukraine at UN 
Ghosts of the Past: For Israel, War on UNESCO is an Existential Battle 
My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
