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in focus
"Mayamatics" has finally worked! The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and the president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Mayawati, is widely perceived as the architect of the stunning BSP victory in the UP elections 2007. She is the first Dalit woman to become the Chief Minister of any of India's states with a clear mandate since 1991.The media has focused on how Mayawati's arithmetic has worked, and it may be worthwhile to look at her strategy.

In many states of India, we have seen the emergence of forces that defend "moral policing" in the name of protecting Indian culture. They justify strangling of the democratic rights of citizens on the grounds of suppressing "radical or revolutionary opposition" in thought and deed. But the Indian democracy has shown impressive strength and resilience.

In Gujarat, recently, a final year arts student was arrested for alleged obscene portrayal of religious figures.  His fellow students and faculty as well as several prominent artists came out in his support and opposed the "moral policing". The much talked about Gujarat encounters are a "corrupt police-corrupt politician-underworld links" nexus. While there is widespread apprehension that these "encounters" are staged, these are cold-blooded murders.

In Chhattisgarh, the government has been trying to suppress the Maoist movement brutally in the guise of Salwa Judum(Peace Movement). It has arrested Dr.Binayak Sen, a civil rights activist of long standing. PUCL, Chhattisgarh and other democratic activists have come together to condemn his arrest and have demanded his unconditional release.

In Orissa, by usurping the word "panchayat" for creating user groups or "stakeholders" who pay for water, the World Bank is undermining the concept of community control over this natural resource.  The participation of people in pani panchayat has remained largely on paper. This time, the members them selves cleaned a canal which the irrigation department would not perhaps have done in many years.  They have also started a movement against the government.

And we also have some good news for the voluntary sector.

Read on ... some of the stories on these issues that we have picked out for you this month.

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Making the Forum Truly Global: The existence of the World Social Forum is a historic achievement. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crisis of the alternative movements and theories that opposed the current system, the fact that there was again a place stating that there is an alternative was an important step.  In the article the author calls for the inclusion of the Arab World. Jamal Juma',  fpif.org,  May 8, 2007

India's Political Quake- Mayawati: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati is the winner. After handsomely winning the assembly elections in the biggest state in India, she has declared that she is on her way to capture "Delhi" and that she plans to give UP the best government and Sarvasamaj (all sections of the society) the power to share with her. Ravikiran Shinde, Countercurrents.org, May 20, 2007

Mullah Modi- Time to turn a new leaf: India's republican democracy carries a dynamic which neither casteism of the long-entrenched nor communalism of the RSS are strong enough to thwart, whatever the price. Speaking of price, two young and talented art students at the M.S. University, Vadodra are now paying it an ugly reminder that Mullah Modi remains recalcitrantly committed to snuffing out the least expression of freedom that contravenes the fascist edicts of lumpen, majoritarian gangs.  Clearly, Modi has failed to take in the message that the elections in U.P. have delivered. Badri Raina, Znet, May 14, 2007

From Shah Bano then to Kausarbi now:  Neither claims of deshbhakti nor invocation of national security can justify killing an innocent woman. India cannot claim to be a democratic, lawful society if it countenances rogue police officers playing God. Every state authority claims for itself the right to use coercion against its citizens in lieu of the obligation to protect their lives and liberty. The state arms itself with powers in the guise of laws, adorns itself with an ideological narrative, and devises rituals and ceremonies to uphold the legitimacy of its authority over the citizen. Harish Khare, Hindu, May 09, 2007

Condemn Arrest of Dr. Binayak Sen- Oppose Attack on People's Union for Civil Liberties, Chhattisgarh: Arrest of civil and democratic rights activists is neither new nor original.  The experience of various Civil Rights organizations including the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee over the last two decades is enough proof of how the state has attacked those who have questioned the state and exposed the truth behind fake encounters, disappearances, and rapes that form an integral part of the operations of state forces.  In the present context, it is well known that the Chhattisgarh Government has been indulging in the most brazen brutality in the adivasi areas of the state to suppress the Maoist movement. People's Union for Democratic Rights, Monthly Review, May 13, 2007

National Policy on the Voluntary Sector 2007: The Union Cabinet has given its approval for National Policy on the Voluntary Sector. The main objectives of the policy include: (i) Creating an enabling environment for Voluntary Organisations (VOs) that not only stimulates their effectiveness but also protects their identity and safeguards their autonomy. (ii) Enabling VOs to legitimately mobilize the necessary financial resources from India and abroad. (iii) Identifying systems by which the Government may work together with the Voluntary Sector, and (iv) Encouraging VOs to adopt transparent and accountable systems of governance and management. Press Information Bureau, Government of India, May 17, 2007

Channels Blocked- Orissa pani panchayat bedevilled by bureaucracy: A canal, which ordinarily takes about 10 days for the irrigation department to clean, was cleaned in two days - April 1 and 2 - in Orissa. What made the difference was the involvement of a water-users' association (wua), the lowest tier of the legislatively mandated pani panchayat system in the state. Ranjan K Panda, Down to Earth, May 15, 2007

Chafe At The Bit- Is India staring at the prospect of turning into a perpetual wheat importer? Although India's wheat production is estimated at 73.5 million tonnes this year, or over four million tonnes more than the previous year's output, the country may end up importing 3-5 million tonnes. Now, it seems to be the only way for the wheat buffer stock to increase from 4.5 million tonnes at the beginning of this season to a healthy 22 million tonnes. One of the reasons is that while demand continues to rise rapidly, production seems to have plateaued around the 70 million tonne mark. Lola Nayar and Chander Suta Dogra, Outlook, May 14, 2007

Methane emission from Indian Large Dams: India's Dams Largest Methane Emitters Among The World's Dams, a study estimates that total methane emissions from India's large dams could be 33.5 million tonnes (MT) per annum, including emissions from reservoirs (1.1 MT), spillways (13.2 MT) and turbines of hydropower dams (19.2 MT). Total generation of methane from India's reservoirs could be 45.8 MT. The difference between the figures of methane generation and emission is due to the oxidation of methane as it rises from the bottom of a reservoir to its surface. Himanshu Thakkar, Countercurrents.org, May 20, 2007

Jailhouse talk- a fate worse than debt: After a lull of some years, farmers are being jailed for debt in Andhra Pradesh. Even those in drought-hit districts who cannot repay their loans. Farm unions see the banks as driving a dangerous and explosive process which lets off crorepati defaulters but jails bankrupt farmers owing a few thousand rupees. P Sainath,  Hindu, May 05, 2007

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Century by Shanti
Shanthi, an ordinary SHG member in Kameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, has 100 Ecosan toilets to her credit. Today Kameshwaram has the highest number of Ecosan toilets in the entire Nagapattinam district and thanks to Shanthi many more Ecosan toilets are going to be constructed.

"My children, have got exposed to this new idea and toilets at a very early age, and can appreciate the benefits of it. ECOSAN toilets are here to stay. The septic tank type of toilets will vanish and cease to exist in the future" says Shanthi.

Ecological Sanitation - Eat, Excrete, Compost!
M Subburaman, Director, SCOPE says, "As per the Millennium Development Goals, by 2015, at least 50% of the Indian population should have toilets in their own households. This roughly translates into construction of 6000-7000 toilets per second. In order to achieve this goal we have the responsibility of creating awareness among the people and preparing them to accept something new. Ecosan will work once the people are educated about the gravity of the situation".

In the interview Subburaman tells about SCOPE's experiences in building Ecosan toilets in the tsunami affected village Kameshwaram. He firmly believes that Ecosan toilets will prove to be very useful in the future particularly, when water will be a limited resource.

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