On August 26, the Bombay HC had lifted the ban imposed on women from entering the inner sanctum of Mumbai's Haji Ali Dargah.
In a determined voice, she told rediff.com, "I beckon the people of the state and voluntary organisations to launch a well-concerted protest to counter the injustice meted out to the people of Nandigram. We cannot just sit idle and let a government destroy a state."
Behind the movement are shock-workers functioning quietly to ensure that a seemingly spontaneous, apolitical, grassroots mobilisation sustains itself without dribbling into chaos or violence. Sai Manish lists some of them.
'Why did government not include a provision in the bills which categorically stated that no crop will be sold below the MSP in the open market?'
The injured -- 130 -- cannot go back to work nor do they have homes to return to. Many of them refuse to leave the hospital while some of their relatives sleep in the hospital corridors. Apart from their physical injuries, the trauma of seeing their family members swept away haunts them as does the loss of all their possessions. But the BJP-Sena government remains indifferent to this human crisis.
'Or does India belong to the agricultural community that forms 70 per cent of this country? Which is the real India?' asks activist Ulka Mahajan.
At seven, Laxman Singh was one of the first children to be rescued by Kailash Satyarthi from bonded labour. Through his story, the author traces the Nobel Peace Prize awardee's campaign
Yashwant Sinha, former external affairs minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has been admitted to Modi Seva Sadan in Ranchi and is reported to be stable and conscious. BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that Sinha may have felt weak due to the heat at a gathering in Ranchi, adding that he was better and fully conscious.
Day curfew was lifted on Thursday in Jammu and Udhampur districts, while it was relaxed for varying periods in other areas of Jammu province, which was reeling under massive protests over the Amarnath land row. Curfew, which was reimposed in Jammu on Wednesday on the third and final day of 'Jail Bharo Andolan' of Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti, was lifted for the day from 5 am to 8 pm on Thursday, official sources said.
Citing examples of alleged corruption, she claimed that families affected from Sardar Sarovar and Indira Sagar project had been forced or lured by officials to prepare fake registries to avail benefits of the state government's special rehabilitation package (SRP).
Though he went back to writing "beautiful scenes" for other Bollywood directors, his deep interest in the lives of ordinary citizens never slackened, evident from the way he made himself available to human rights groups whenever they called him.
The 22-year-old leader will stay at a house owned by former Congress member of legislative assembly and local Patel leader Pushkarlal Patel in Udaipur for the period.
Senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi courted arrest at Belapur on Thursday along with party workers as part of the 'jail bharo andolan' to protest the Mahamumbai special economic zone of Reliance group in Raigad.
Medha Patkar on what she calls the Special Exploitation Zones.
Patel later released on bail later and transported out of Madhya Pradesh in police vehicles
Meanwhile, the farmers across the region have extended their wholehearted support to the fast undertaken by the former Union Minister Mohan Dharia in Pune.
The Supreme Court on Monday expressed annoyance over the delay in providing relief to Narmada dam oustees saying the issue had not moved an inch forward in the last one year. "Today, the position is that we have not moved an inch forward," a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said referring to its April 23, 2007 order in which it had asked the Madhya Pradesh Government to clarify the factual position on relief and rehabilitation which was objected to by NBA.
The NBA has received no response from the PMO after the fact-finding mission.
Patkar has been on fast for the last eight days protesting the government's move to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam and demanding rehabilitation for the people displaced by the project.
Patkar said she expected some concrete action from the Centre on the Narmada Bachao Andolan's demand for rehabilitation of the project-affected people and reversal of the decision to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam.
'They are innovating and a new Dalit leadership could be seen at the horizon'
Three of the farmers who committed suicide were from Buldana district, while two were from Chandrapur and one each from Yavatmal, Akola, Washim and Amravati, the NGO, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti said in a release in Nagpur.
Like his previous two movies Fanaa and Rang De Basanti, the screening of Aamir Khan's forthcoming film Taare Zameen Par in Gujarat ran into trouble when a group of men forced a cinema hall owner in Vadodara to remove posters of the flick for the actor's support to Narmada Bachao Andolan.
"Cases were lodged against the Dalits and how many of them were guilty is a matter of investigation," Gehlot said.
In the coming four months from August, agitating farmers will hold 400 meetings across the country to highlight farmers' issues and protest against government claims, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
Bhagwatibai Patidar, who had began her fast with Patkar, continued to refuse food for the 10th day today.
Unrelenting in her demand that work on the Sardar Sarovar Dam should be halted immediately, Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar's indefinite fast entered the eighth day Wednesday.
They were protesting against the demolition of slums by the Brihanmumbai\nMunicipal Corporation.
There is also nothing in this Union Budget to stop farmers from dying. It is just rural infrastructure and not agriculture that the Budget is looking at, says Kishor Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti.
An NGO has filed a PIL against the movement, alleging that it is getting foreign funds to destabilise the nation.
'You cannot suppress a section of society permanently.' 'The spark of revolt will catch fire sooner or later.'
Later, a delegation led by Patkar and comprising social activists Praful Bidwai and Swami Agnivesh met Kumar. But unsatisfied with her reply, the demonstrators refused to leave the premises till they got a "final answer".
As long as even one Indian holds aloft Ambedkar's portrait and recites the Preamble, the Republic remains alive, says Mihir S Sharma.
'It is up to the voters to decide whom to vote for," Hazare said, adding, "we will tell them about the status of the cases pending against a candidate.'
The plea was to stop constructionn work to raise the dam's height.
Minal Gadling, in her petition, claimed that all the arrested five, including her husband, have been in a false and mala fide way implicated in the case even when there was no involvement on their part in any such activity.
Patkar, who was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, said all the activists would return to the valley tonight en route Bhopal and Indore and continue the struggle from there in order to keep up the political pressure generated on the issue.
Two more NBA activists - Jamsing Nargavekar and Bhagwati Patidar - who too had been on fast with Patkar, also ended their strike.
