South Asia Citizens Web

In Public Interest Litigation (PIL) cases hundreds of thousands of poor people in India have been adversely affected to the extent of losing their livelihood, homes and even Constitutional guaranties all in the name of ‘public interest’; even though PIL in India derives its legitimacy as an instrument to provide justice to the underprivileged and the downtrodden. Why have things come to such a pass? The most important reason appears to be that in PILs the principles of natural justice are not followed.

. . . the campaign by the Hindu nationalist organizations for cow protection is merely instrumental to achieve their political objective, establish cultural hegemony of the upper caste and declare the hierarchical and feudal culture privileging the upper caste as the national culture.

On April 10, 2015 Bombay High court refused bail to Sachin Mali, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), who have remained in jail for two years without a trial. They are not charged with committing violence, or possessing weapons or contraband; it was their singing and their songs that were found unlawful.

Human Rights Watch called on the Bangladesh government, factory owners, and Western retailers to ensure respect for workers’ rights and end the unlawful targeting of labor leaders by factory owners and supervisors. The 78-page report, ‘“Whoever Raises Their Head, Suffers the Most’: Workers’ Rights in Bangladesh’s Garment Factories,” is based on interviews with more than 160 workers from 44 factories. [. . . ]

M.N.Roy and Borodin decided that Mexico should take the lead. Soon Socialist Party of Mexico was converted into the Communist Party of Mexico in an extra-ordinary conference held in November, 1919 in the city of Mexico. Carranza, President of Mexico, who was on friendly terms with Roy, approved the event to take place. So the first communist party in the world outside Russia was born. It was in this background that Lenin invited M.N.Roy to attend the second Congress of the Communist International to be held in Moscow in July-August, 1920. Roy landed in Moscow in May 1920 and was given a copy of Lenin’s ‘Preliminary Draft Theses on the National & Colonial Questions’. Roy had certain differences on some fundamental issues with the views of Lenin. Roy’s Supplementary Theses was also adopted by the Comintern alongwith Lenin’s theses. Roy, on behalf of the Communist International, played major part in formulating the policies and implementing the programme of building up communist movements in different countries of Asia, including India.