Geography Archives: India

Indian farmers and agricultural workers have crossed the hundred-day mark of their protest against the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They will not withdraw until the government repeals laws that deliver the advantages of agriculture to large corporate houses.

As the farmers’ protest against farm laws enters the summer season, they brave high temperatures and the paucity of basic necessities

Vaccine grabs, the refusal to relax patents to enable mass production, and the use of vaccines for diplomacy run the risk that poorer nations may not be protected against Covid-19 quickly enough. This will prolong the pandemic, even for the richer nations.

Marx, argues the author, is often misunderstood and even more often, misrepresented even as the world observes his bicentenary.

March 2, 2021 was the five year anniversary of the murder of Berta Cáceres, who opposed the Agua Zarca dam in Honduras. That date was less than one month after the deaths of dozens of people from Tehri Dam disaster in Uttarakhand, India. The two stories together tell us far more about consequences of the insatiable greed of capitalism for more energy than either narrative does by itself.

IN the week before the historic nationwide farmers’ struggle completed three months on February 26, the BJP has begun to pay a heavy political price for its pro-corporate adamancy.

Just as the Bombay HC pronounced the verdict, the additional solicitor general sought a stay on the order for three weeks. However, the court rejected it.

Looking ahead, pre-conditions now exist for a positive turn to the India-China bilateral relationship.

21-year-old Disha Ravi was arrested on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy for her involvement with a ‘toolkit’ which contained campaign material in support of the the ongoing farmers’ agitation in the country. Two other activists also face arrest.

As lakhs of farmers continue their protest against the new farm legislations introduced by the Modi government, a remarkable number of women are not only braving the rough weather by participating in these demonstrations but are also leading from the front.

The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported from Washington Sunday quoting “a source” that the Biden Administration had proposed to New Delhi, Tokyo and Canberra the idea of holding an online summit meeting of the leaders of the “Quad”. 

The Editors Guild of India, The Press Club of India and The Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemned the action against the news portal.

In the previous part of this article we saw that the Indian rulers are actively preparing the legal groundwork for parting peasants from their land. In the following part we place this in an international context.

The protesting kisans on the borders of Delhi repeat one thing over and over: When fighting against the three farm-related Acts, they are fighting to save their land.

Governments from diverse political dispositions have responded to the pandemic by arming themselves with unprecedented emergency powers. India offers a stunning example of how the pandemic can be recast as a security concern.

The ASEAN Chair’s statement of Feb, 1 recalled the “purposes and the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter” which include respecting the principles of sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, non-interference, consensus and unity in diversity.” 

At 21 years of age, Arya Rajendran is barely eligible to vote. Nevertheless, she is now the mayor of Kerala’s capital city Thiruvananthapuram, population 2,585,000. She is a second-year student at All Saints College. She concentrates in math.

On 26 January, India’s Republic Day, thousands of farmers and agricultural workers will drive their tractors and walk into the heart of the capital, New Delhi, to bring their fight to the doors of the government.

Protesting farmers are reclaiming the idea of the nation.

“The nationalists to be effective must harness the nation into action, into revolt.… The nation will stir itself to action only on assurance of nationalization. i.e.… Freedom from slavery of Imperialist—capitalists.” —Bhagat Singh