Sujata Gothoskar The article was originally published under the title – Domestic Workers in Maharashtra in the High Court – in Mainstream, Vol LVIII no. 45, October 24, 2020. We are republishing it with the permission of the author. It is by now widely acknowledged in many circles that domestic work is work […]
Sugarcane cutters together with sugarcane growers form the backbone of the sugar industry in Maharashtra. The work of sugarcane cutting is undertaken by groups of people, mostly comprising of couples – husband and wife pairs. Even as late as the year 2020, despite this hard, arduous, back-breaking work for 15 – 18 hours or more, […]
Corona is certainly a dangerous Virus but the reason it has turned into a pandemic is certainly the making of capitalism. Decades of reckless policies of neo-liberalism led to constant neglect of public health care services to facilitate entry and expansion of private capital. It has turned even the basic health facilities into a profiteering […]
আজ ৩১শে মার্চ আর্ন্তজাতিক রূপান্তরকামী দৃশ্যমানতা দিবস। আজ রাষ্ট্রের নির্দেশে সারা ভারতে লক ডাউন চলছে করোনার সংক্রমণ রুখতে। অথচ কেন্দ্র বা কোনও রাজ্যের সরকারের বিন্দুমাত্র সচেতনতা নেই এই রূপান্তরকামী মানুষগুলির এই বিপদের দিনে পাশে থাকার বিষয়ে। উপরন্তু হায়দ্রাবাদে পোস্টার পড়েছে রূপান্তরকামীদের সঙ্গে কথা বললে করোনা ছড়াবে। এই বিদ্বেষ, এই উপেক্ষা সমাজের প্রান্তিক করে রাখা এক […]
Last week, protests erupted across Maharashtra alleging police inaction and casteism by Government medical officers in an incident of gang-rape and subsequent death of a 19-year old Dalit woman. The alleged rape happened in the Chembur area of Mumbai, and a case has been filed against 4 accused at the Chunabhatti police station. After major […]
One of the main peoples to be directly impacted by the fallout of Mumbai’s Coastal Road Project are the Koli fishing communities in the city. These people have sustained themselves on daily small-scale fishing off the city’s coast for centuries, and are amongst the first makers of today’s sprawling metropolis. They had however no prior […]
The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, while promising a new political articulation of the socially marginalised communities of Maharashtra, has also sparked a sharp debate. Their refusal to forge an alliance with the Congress-NCP in the state is being seen by a section of people as ‘aiding fascism’, that is, effectively ensuring electoral victory for the BJP. […]
On 7th April, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) in Maharashtra – an alliance between Adv. Prakash Ambedkar-led Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh, and the Asaduddin Owaisi led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) – published its electoral manifesto. The forging of this platform is an important intervention in the upcoming elections in Maharashtra – a state which faces not […]
“It is time to take stock of everything we have lost, of opportunities that failed to arise, of the hatred that was delivered to our doorsteps like cow meat. It is time to count the lives we have lost and the ones we are at risk of losing. And, it is time to take charge, […]
A public hearing regarding the ongoing struggle against privatization of the public bus system in Mumbai was recently held. A committee headed by retired Justice of the Bombay High Court Hosbet Suresh solicited testimonies from citizens concerned with the municipal authority’s proposed course of action, which involves contracting out operations to private enterprises. In this […]
Today morning 8’o clock, Mahul MHADA (Mumbai Housing and Area Development Authority) Building number 14 caught blazing fire, allegedly from an electricity short-circuit. The fire engulfed as many as 3 floors of the building, affecting 100 families (each floor with 34 flats). The people stuck in the fire were rescued by the residents of […]
The (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) BEST workers’ recently concluded total bus strike for 9 days has brought back to the city memories of the historic Bombay Mill Workers’ strikes of the 1980s and the Railway Workers’ Strike of 1974. Going beyond mere economic demands of minimum wage, etc., the city’s public bus transportation employees […]
On the 50th day of their ongoing agitation demanding proper rehabilitation, Mahul residents marched to Azad Maidan in Mumbai and occupied it. As the sit-in continues despite threats from the police, the Maharashtra CM still refuses to meet with the protestors. Rohit Pandit and Aabha Joshi report from Azad Maidan, Mumbai. Rohit is one of […]
The fight of Mumbai’s slums against forceful eviction and deadly “rehabilitation” continues. As the Maharashtra Government and the Bombay Municipal Corporation continue to violate High Court order mandating proper and just rehabilitation for the slum residents evicted last year from all along the Tansa water pipeline, the protests have now spilled onto the streets. On […]
গ্রাউন্ড জিরো : প্রায় একযোগে সাতসকালে হানা দিয়ে মুম্বাই, পুনে, নাগপুর, দিল্লি থেকে আইনজীবী, অধ্যাপক, পত্রিকা সম্পাদক, দলিত ও উচ্ছেদ বিরোধী আন্দোলনের নেতা ও সক্রিয় কর্মীদের গ্রেফতার করল মহারাষ্ট্র পুলিশ। এই ঘটনার তীব্র প্রতিবাদ জানাল দেশের মানবাধিকার সংগঠনগুলি। পিপলস ইউনিয়ন ফর সিভিল লিবার্টিজ (পিইউসিএল), মহারাষ্ট্র এই গ্রেফতারকে প্রতিহিংসামূলক ও স্বৈরাচারী বলে বর্ণনা করেছে। পিপলস ইউনিয়ন […]