South Asia Citizens Web

“’The next government may adopt a muscular and hawkish approach to internal security...,’ said a senior official [of the Ministry of Home Affairs]” (Hindu, 20 May 2014, page 10). As bureaucrats tend to be overly cautious, the fact that this statement was made should tell us something.

At least 1000 workers of the 23 hot roller plants in Wazirpur Industrial area in Delhi have struck work since 6 June 2014. They are demanding only what has been laid down in the law. Their demands include enforcement of minimum wages, payment of overtime at double rate, provision of appointment letters, worker identity cards, salary slips, Employee’s State Insurance (ESI), Provident Fund, prescribed bonus amount, safety measures at workplace, provision of government holidays, and payment of salary in the first week of every month. The workers have formed a committee by the name of Garam Rolla Mazdoor Ekta Samiti which is representing them in putting forth their demands.

The reports that have appeared in the media about the Modi Government taking measures to ease out the heads of various institutions, including the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, is an undemocratic act which thoroughly exposes the intention of the BJP to bring all structures within its political power.

We the undersigned Sri Lankans strongly condemn the Bodu Bala Sena’s (BBS) highly inflammatory hate speech against, and brazen physical attacks on the Muslim community in Aluthgama, Beruwala, Welipenna and Dharga-Town in June 2014. We believe that the violence is directly linked to recent statements by the BBS targeting Muslims. We call upon the authorities to immediately conduct independent investigations into the incidents, and hold to account perpetrators and those complicit in such acts. We believe inflammatory statements made by the General Secretary of the BBS, Galagodathera Gnanasara, clearly demonstrates his pivotal role and responsibility for the violence. We therefore call upon the authorities to take immediate steps to arrest and charge him for the deaths and destruction in the area.

interview in Hindi . . . More than 1,500 workers at 26 hot-rolling steel plants in the Wazirpur Industrial Estate, Delhi have been on strike since June 6 to demand safer working conditions and their entitlements such as Provident Fund (PF), Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), health benefits cards, occupational safety measures and wages for overtime work, as mandated by law. Workers also complained that they are paid just 8,000 rupees ($US135) a month and forced to work 12 hours a day without any compensation.