Karnataka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Isha Outreach today to conserve soil in
the state, becoming the eighth Indian state to officially join the Global Movement to Save Soil. Karnataka
Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai and Sadhguru exchanged MoUs at a Save Soil event in Bengaluru,
in the presence of Former Karnataka Chief Minister Shri B. S. Yediyurappa, Health Minister Shri K. Sudhakar and Education Minister Shri B.C. Nagesh. Sadhguru also handed the Save Soil Policy Handbook to the Chief Minister which offers practical, scientific solutions that governments can put into action based on the soil type, latitudinal positions, and agricultural traditions of a given nation.
“As far as journey of Sadhguru ji is concerned, this will be written in the history of saving the Mother
Earth,” declared Karnataka Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai. Noting that the current generation will be termed a culprit for stealing the food from the future, he emphasized the need of the movement to be successful “not only for every citizen on this planet, but it should be successful for the born child and yet to be born child- the future of this earth.”
“As a government, we have not only signed the MoU, I promise that we will do everything under the
command to Save Soil,” assured the Chief Minister. He shared that Karnataka is the first state in the
country which has created an ecological budget and has apportioned Rs 100 crore for the same. Listing
the actions needed for the organic content in soil in increase, he reiterated, “whatever action plans are
needed for that and whatever implementation is needed for that, we will begin immediately.”
Reflecting on his journey, Sadhguru shared, “This is not only been a long journey, this has been an
incredible activity. Volunteers from all around the world; UK to Europe to Central Asia to Arabia and Africa. They have done a fantastic job. I don’t have to say anything about India. And all the states that we passed through…every one of the states have signed MoUs with Save Soil movement.” Sadhguru who has now clocked over 27,000 km of his solo bike journey, and on his 598th Save Soil event, revealed that “4 days ago, we have touched over 3.2 billion people. So, this shows that people are not unaware, people are not insensitive, it just that it’s never been activated.”
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Shri B. S. Yediyurappa opined that “the movement is a necessity of
today” and highlighted that soil losing its fertility leads to less food production and a lack of potable
drinking water. “The Save soil movement started by Sadhguru…is a noble work for the benefit of the
world. I wish all the citizens to be part of this campaign for the good cause,” he ended.
Health Minister Shri K. Sudhakar applauded the commitment of Sadhguru for launching the Save Soil
movement and noted that his actions are teaching that “whatever our previous generations have given
us – pure water and live soil, we have to hand over the same pure nature to future generations.”
Commenting that an Indian guru is trying to unify the whole world with the Save Soil movement, he called upon the people to join in saving soil.
Education Minister Shri B.C. Nagesh said, “We worship the five elements but we have forgotten about it
and Sadhguru ji is reminding us about it.” The minister promised that as suggested by Sadhguru, the
education ministry will include the importance of soil in the school curriculum.
In India, nearly 30% of fertile soils in the country have already become barren and are incapable of yield.
The primary objective of the Save Soil Movement is to urge all nations of the world to mandate a minimum of 3-6% organic content in agricultural soils through urgent policy reforms. Without this minimum organic content, soil scientists have warned of the imminent death of soil, a phenomenon termed ‘soil extinction.’
Since Sadhguru’s arrival in India, the Governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh have expressed their full support and have signed MoU with the movement. At a Save Soil event in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Sadhguru in expressing his wholehearted recognition of the critical need for and value of the movement.
The 100-day, 30000 km journey will culminate on 21st June, 2022 in the Cauvery River basin where Isha’s outreach project, Cauvery Calling, has been working tirelessly to empower farmers to implement an agroforestry model that enables both agricultural and financial prosperity. This year, in a national
breakthrough, the state government of Karnataka empaneled Cauvery Calling for promoting tree-based
agriculture, with over 50,000 farmers shifting to tree- based agriculture.
Since the start of his lone motorcycle journey which began on March 21, 2022 and covered Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, Sadhguru reached the Western port city of Jamnagar, Gujarat on May 29. During the Indian leg of the journey across 9 Indian states, he has passed through Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and is currently in Karnataka.
The Save Soil Movement is supported by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN World Food Programme, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)
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Consider this. Until 2018, India was a net exporter of copper. Its export of refined copper products for the year 2017-18 was 378,555 tonnes. However, it fell down drastically to 47,917 tonnes in 2018-19. Replying to an unstarred question posed by Majeed Memon of the NCP, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal submitted in the Rajya Sabha that the domestic production and exports of refined copper declined due to the closure of Sterlite Copper Smelter plant since May 2018. Sterlite, which has an annual production capacity of 4 lakh tonnes per annum, accounted for 40% of the country’s total copper production.
Now consider this. According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Pakistan’s copper exports to China stood at USD 787.96 million for 2021, up from around USD 35 million in 2017.
Form the above graph, it can be seen that there has been an unprecedented surge in copper exports from Pakistan to China.
Multiple media reports belonging to Pakistan have reported that Pakistan’s copper export to China have increased by 400% giving a boost to local industries.
The point of this comparison is not to convey that Sterlite’s closure was a doing of China or Pakistan. However, it does tell how a social unrest in a southern town of Tamil Nadu was taken advantage of by these two countries.
The Neutrino project have been facing similar protests where repeated attempts by scientists to explain to the locals about the project has gone in vain. The Salem 8-lane highway project too met with the same fate. Misleading and false rhetorics were also constructed on the port-led coastal development plan of Sagarmala. It’s not just that development projects of the present regime are being targeted. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant faced similar hurdles.
All these have something in common. They are protests supported or spearheaded by ‘activists’ who are either supported by or have their own organizations which receives blessings in cash and kind from outside. These activists are projected as the voices of victims by an able and a thriving ecosystem.
So, who are these activists? Why do they do what they do? From where do they get support? To seek answers to these questions, we will take the example of one entity.
The Other Media
This is not a term ascribed to a non-mainstream media. The Other Media (TOM) is an FCRA-NGO with the registration number DL 231660085. It was founded by Rev. Earnest Deenadayalan in the year 1992 as a centre for ‘supporting people’s organizations and movements’. It goes on to say in its website that its mandate includes providing “campaigns, advocacy, communications, research training, and scientific support to and mobilising solidarity for community struggles against social and environmental injustice”. It runs many ‘campaigns’ like ‘Community Environmental Monitoring (CEM)’, International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and Occupational Health Campaign. Under the CEM, there are several projects run for different purposes. While some of their campaigns like the one against Unilever’s Mercury Pollution in Kodaikanal is praiseworthy, a closer look at TOM’s books and its associated persons raises serious questions.
TOM majorly receives funding from its regular donors Association for India’s Development, Global Green Grants Fund, The Takagi Fund For Citizen Science, Pesticide Action Network North America, Health Care Without Harm, etc. However, the organization has also received funds from the following questionable entities:
1) In 2012, TOM got ₹71550 as donations from World Association For Christian Communication, Canada – an organization that claims to promote ‘social justice’ to people of all faiths, ethnicities, and cultures worldwide. The same organization contributed ₹5,76,990 in 2011.
2) Another institution named Christian Conference of Asia, an ecumenical organization representing more than 100 denominations across several countries claiming to work towards ‘social justice’ had donated ₹65160 in 2011.
3) Two other organizations named Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID) of Netherlands and Trócaire, the official overseas development agency of Catholic Church in Ireland, have contributed millions of rupees during the period from 2007 to 2011. These two organizations have contributed the most to TOM during this period.
4) TOM has also received funds from Bread for the World (BfW), a “globally active development and relief agency of the Protestant Churches in Germany”. BfW openly claims to “influence political decisions through lobbying” which it does by funding the thought leaders and members of civil society.
The 2011-12 Annual Report on Receipt and Utilization of Foreign Contribution by Voluntary Associations mentions that amongst the purposes for which foreign contribution was received, the highest amount went towards “Activities other than those mentioned” i.e., the proceeds did not go towards purposes like rural development, construction or maintenance of schools/colleges’, welfare of orphans, scholarships, etc.
While TOM’s account statements (Form FC-6) mention the nature of association to be “educational, social”, all their donations have been marked under “Activities other than those mentioned”.
What are these “Activities other than those mentioned” they’re referring to?
Well, it gets quite clear from TOM’s mandate – “mobilizing communities for social and environmental justice”, which is a fancier way of saying “causing trouble by instigating people against democratically elected governments” under the guise of voicing for social and environmental issues.
Considering that they have received contributions from entities like CORDAID and Troicare, these “other activities” can also be taken to be an attempt at changing the religious demography.
This is not just TOM. Currently Tamil Nadu has the highest number of FCRA NGOs numbering 2483, and is probably the second highest recipient of foreign contribution after Delhi. Incidentally, all the protests against development projects are also concentrated in Tamil Nadu.
The ‘Nity’ Gritties
The Other Media never finds itself getting mentioned in mainstream platforms and discourses. We don’t see them getting quoted in newspapers, TV or on social media. Infact, the organization does not even have a presence in social media. All they have is just a website. Probably it is meant to be that way considering their shady background. But, we have persons associated with TOM very much active, making news and noises. They write articles for certain news portals, give interviews, participate in panel discussions, tweet, protest, and engage in other activities that would keep them in the limelight. They get projected as ‘activists’ claiming to represent the marginalized and the voiceless. One such ‘activist’ is Nityanand Jayaraman aka Nity.
Now, Nity is a person that we need to watch out for. His Twitter bio says that he is a writer and nothing more. In other platforms where he writes, he is identified as a writer and a social activist. In news reports appearing in the mainstream media he will be mentioned as someone belonging to Community Environmental Monitoring or Coastal Resource Centre or Save Ennore Campaign all of which are initiatives under TOM. But, there will be no mention of TOM in these platforms. However, he is the Chairperson or Chief Functionary of TOM.
While striving for social and environmental justice is a laudable pursuit, what people like Nity advocate is anarchy. Speaking at the India Today Conclave in January 2019, Mr. Nityanand says:
Courts are an extremely fickle partner. And.. I also find that often times, the courts are not as powerful as they used to be. There is not the respect for the courts that there used to be. And.. also the final thing is the courts treat big polluters different from small polluters. There is a clear class difference. They don’t want to take on the big guys. In Tamil Nadu, right now after the floods, they are talking about removal of encroachments, but none of the lordships talk about the big encroachments – you have entire power plants and ports built inside water bodies, who will remove them? They are encroachments too.
So, where else would ports and power plants be built Mr. Nity? At your posh house in Besant Nagar?
In another interview with The Wire, Nityanand says
I think the neutrino [observatory] will get built. You should not have any fears on that count. I’d rather it doesn’t. But I think it would be unfortunate if it does without so much as an honest debate where each side is prepared to live with a scenario where what they want may not be the outcome.
The Engineering of Social Unrest
Four people are were at the forefront of the Sterlite protests – Fathima Babu, Nityanand Jayaraman, Mohan C. Lazarus, and Samarendra Das of the London based Foil Vedanta group.
Fatima Babu, a sexagenarian professor turned ‘activist’ had worked hand-in-glove with Samarendra Das who had reported visited Thoothukudi for a ‘secret meeting’ with anti-Sterlite leaders. He had allegedly promised help ‘to keep the protest alive’ against the copper smelting plant.
Another important fringe element who was instrumental in instigating the people against Sterlite was Mohan C Lazarus. While addressing a huge gathering of Christians, he peddled without any scientific basis that Sterlite Copper was a toxic factory and said that the Church has risen to shut the factory down. He also instigated the Christian population to protest and ‘dispose off the factory’ from Thoothukudi.
He also stated that a huge protest was to be held on 24 March 2018 at Thoothukudi, in which all Catholics, Pentecostals, Church of South India (CSI) would agitate against Sterlite.
Accordingly, thousands of protesters gathered in Thoothukudi on the said date demanding the closure of the plant. The protest gained political patronage from then on, with the likes of Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam, DMK, Communist parties and other separatist outfits like May 17 Movement extending their support.
தூத்துக்குடி ஸ்டெர்லைட் ஆலையினால் ஏற்படும் பேராபத்தை அரசுக்கு எச்சரிக்கும் வகையில் பொதுமக்கள் முன்னெடுத்த தன்னெழுச்சியான போராட்டத்திற்கு திமுக முழு ஆதரவினை தெரிவிப்பதோடு, ஸ்டெர்லைட் ஆலையின் விரிவாக்கத்திற்கு எவ்வித அனுமதியையும் வழங்கக்கூடாது என வலியுறுத்தி கேட்டுக் கொள்கிறேன். pic.twitter.com/l4LAeb78b6
அன்பு வீசும் அந்த குமாரரெட்டிபுர வேப்பமரத்தடியில் சற்று நேரம் அமர்ந்து பார்த்தால் மக்கள் பற்றிய ஞானம் வரும்.தாய்யுள்ளங்களின் ஓலம் கேட்டேன். ஏழை மக்களை மதியாத அரசு சரியும். மக்களே மய்யம் வாய்மையே வெல்லும்https://t.co/wkRRkaucus
The Sterlite protests is where all our puzzle pieces fall in place – FCRA-NGOs with foreign donations, ‘activists’, Church and a certain section of media houses came together to achieve a certain purpose through social unrest.
The Role Of Media
The media is the vehicle on which all these people ride to engineer social unrest. Portals like The News Minute and The Wire repeatedly kept carrying articles of Nityanand Jayaraman. The News Minute carried an article and a video of Nityanand Jayaraman giving a response to a video by Let’s Make Engineering Simple that sought to give a bigger picture of the pollution crisis and questioned the motivation of Nityanand Jayaraman in targeting Vedanta to which he conveniently replied
People choose and pick their battles based on what they think is deserving of their attention.
On the other hand, the Tamil media exalted Fathima Babu as a Gandhian satygrahi. Here is an interesting tidbit about her. She was found having sex with a another leader of the anti-Sterlite protest named ‘Thermal Raja’, at a star hotel in Chennai during their ‘awareness and advocacy efforts’ against Sterlite.
It is through news outlets like these that people like Nityanand Jayaraman and Fathima Babu got portrayed as an enlightened intellectual and an activist. Together they manufacture opinions and build narratives that further leads to social tensions. At the same time, these media outlets took care to not project Mohan Lazarus’ nefarious propaganda on Sterlite.
Lessons From The Sterlite Episode
Today, the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi, which had been producing copper for close to two decades stands permanently closed. Thousands of direct and indirect jobs have been lost. The company has now called for bids to sell the plant. The NGOs, radical Church forces, academia and the agenda-driven media can proudly declare ‘Mission Accomplished’. But this episode hold crucial lessons for the people.
On the outside, these NGOs, activists and media seem like they stand for justice. But all of them come from a certain political and ideological position. They scratch each other’s back to help them promote themselves at the cost of lives and livelihood. And most often the organization or the individuals can be linked to large foreign Church-funded organizations. Together, they form an ecosystem. Together, they form what is called the NAM troika – the NGO-Activist-Media troika.
This ecosystem of foreign funded organizations, academia, media and other outfits peddle a certain narrative that glorifies certain values and exaggerates half-truths. They are hell belt on shoving their opinions down the throat of people. They must be an even angrier lot now, considering that the government has stopped the money flow through problematic organizations into India by cancelling many of the FCRA licenses.
It is not the intention of this post to vilify the organizations and individuals mentioned here. However, it is important to shed light on the foreign funding aspects of the organizations and the activists associated with such organizations. The NAM troika not just influences policy making and decisions by nurturing opinion makers and thought leaders to stand against development projects, but also spread anarchy knowingly or unknowingly. We are country that is governed by rule of law and in a country governed by rule of law, institutions upon which power is bestowed by the people and the Constitution should have the right to fulfil the developmental aspirations of the people and deliver justice. Not by those whose source of revenue are questionable.
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Rangarajan Mohan Kumaramangalam, the President of Tamil Nadu unit of All Indian Professional Congress took a jibe at the Brahmin community stereotyping them as a ‘shy lot’.
Kumaramangalam while giving his two cents on the Nupur Sharma controversy resorted to taking digs at the Sharma caste as reports of Nupur Sharma lying low for her safety came in.
Sharing a screenshot of NDTV’s headline about Nupur Sharma allegedly being ‘untraceable’, Kumaramangalam said “First Komal Sharma and now Nupur Sharma . These Sharmas are a shy lot or Is RSS now Rescue Sharmas Sangh?”
First Komal Sharma and now Nupur Sharma . These Sharmas are a shy lot or Is RSS now Rescue Sharmas Sangh? pic.twitter.com/bgMTlH8q4X
The Komal Sharma mentioned in Kumaramangalam’s tweet refers to the Delhi University student belonging to the ABVP who was involved in the violence that broke out in the JNU campus back in 2020.
Many including sympathizers of the Congress party have lashed out at the insensitive remarks made by Kumaramangalam.
— Advocate Deepankar🤵🏻 (@Deepankar6336) June 18, 2022
When one of the Congress sympathizer named Shanker Pandey objected to Kumaramangalam’s comments, the latter has brushed it aside saying that it was a “play on words” and “not stereotyping any caste or religion”.
“Not every Muslim is a terrorist, in the same way not every Brahmin is a Sanghi”, the Congress symapthizer had tweeted.
“Pandeyji I have NOT said all Brahmins are RSS. I have merely pointed out that two people with the same last name affiliated to the RSS can’t seem to be found and therefore are being protected by them – it is a play on words , not stereotyping any caste or religion.”, Kumaramangalam said in response to his tweet.
Pandeyji I have NOT said all Brahmins are RSS. I have merely pointed out that two people with the same last name affiliated to the RSS can’t seem to be found and therefore are being protected by them – it is a play on words , not stereotyping any caste or religion.
Mohan Kumaramangalam’s tweet is also being seen in the light of a non-Brahmin dominant caste resorting to Brahmin baiting, which the Dravidian elite upper castes are known for.
Is there a leader today in any opposition party who can emerge as a challenger? Is there a party that can take a formidable avatar to challenge Modi’s BJP in 2024?
Let me start with the so-called grand old party, Indian National Congress. The party has been in a crash mode for the last 8 years. It’s been reduced to almost a regional party today. It is a ruling party in just 2 states and is a primary opposition party in 11 states. The party’s Lok Sabha seats has been below 55 for 2 consecutive elections. There is a top leadership crisis in the party today with no credible leader that can become the challenger to PM Modi in 2024. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are caught up with the National Herald case now and whatever Shakti pradarshan that the Congress is trying to do today on the streets to bring in sympathy for Rahul Gandhi is not giving any political dividends to them for 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress party doesn’t have any chance to challenge Modi alone in 2024 unless some drastic top face change happens within the party which is very unlikely.
Aam Aadmi Party has done some smart moves and is the only party that spans across two states in India next to Congress. Arvind Kejriwal is shrewd but nowhere near to being a challenger for Modi in 2024. However, he seems to have the potential to emerge as challenger to BJP in a couple of decades or so. AAP will need some time to consolidate and replace Congress as the main opposition party to BJP. AAP has been able to convince people with some of its freebie politics but that can’t be a template they can keep using every time and everywhere. They need to come up with schemes and policies that will sound genuinely beneficial for the public. Very importantly, they have to shed their image as a sympathizer of Khalistani forces and seasonal Hanuman Chalisa party that rest of the time appeases minority. Their upward trajectory will depend on whether they can hold on to Delhi in the next assembly elections. That will be their litmus test.
The next parties are the TMC, TRS, NCP, DMK etc. that have leaders aspiring to become Prime Ministers and posture themselves as contenders to the top post but don’t seem to be anywhere near it for 2024. Each of one of these parties don’t have traction in any other state outside their primary states. Their leaders don’t have any following today outside their primary states. They are being heavily challenged even in their own states as we speak. How will they capture the imagination of the voters in the run up to 2024 is a million dollar question!
The only thing that all these opposition parties can do is to gang up against Modi and fight the Lok Sabha election as a Maha Maha Gatbandhan but this is also not as easy as it sounds. Congress will want to lead the Gatbhandhan claiming they have a pan-India voter base but Mamata Banerjee also wants to be the leader. TRS, AAP and BJD not attending the recent meeting called by Mamata Banerjee for deciding on the Presidential nominee shows some possible cracks already. Moreover, the fact that Farooque Abdullah’s name has come up for the post of the President speaks volumes of their political farsightedness. Also, the Indian voter is so matured and politically savvy today thanks to social media that he or she will never prefer a khichdi government at the Centre.
At the same time, BJP also should develop a strong leader and face of the party in West Bengal, Bihar and Rajasthan. Karnataka needs much more focus. They are already looking good in states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The moot point is that BJP should continue to strengthen their weak points and not become complacent.
The opposition parties will try out direct and indirect ways of bringing the Modi government to its knees on every decision they take or on every scheme they roll out, the recent one being the Agneepath scheme. They might make a dent here and there but are unlikely to be a formidable challenger to Modi in the upcoming 2024 elections. It will be Modi all the way!
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Telangana signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Isha Outreach becoming the sixth Indian state to officially join the global movement to Save Soil. Telangana Minister for Agriculture Shri Singireddy Niranjan Reddy and Sadhguru exchanged signed MoUs at a mega Save Soil event in Hyderabad’s GMC Balayogi Sports Complex.
Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs V Srinivas Goud, Panchayat Raj Minister E Dayakar Rao, actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Brahmaji, Tanikella Bharani, Padma Shri Venkateswara Rao, of Rythunestam Foundation, Tollywood singers Ram Miriyala, Mangli, Smitha, Music director RP Patnaik, Environmentalist Vijay Ram, Shilpa Reddy and other dignitaries attended the event.
“When it comes to save soil, we are 100% agreeing with you, and we will follow your guidelines and we will implement them,” said Shri Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Telangana extending the government’s full support to the movement. Calling the movement led by Sadhguru inspirational, the minister noted, “Only through individual’s duty and moral responsibility and through the responsibility of the policy makers, and through political responsibility, can we save the soil. In making this possible, the role that people like you play is of Immense value which is invaluable, majestic, and deserves appreciation.”
Sadhguru who sat in a conversation with Samantha Ruth Prabhu delving onto his decision to undertake the risky bike ride said, “I have been talking about it (saving soil) for 30 years and whenever I speak about it, people will say this is great, this is fantastic and then they will sleep on it. So now, wanted to awaken something, I knew the simple way for me to do it is to put myself to some risk and it’s worked because three days ago our social media metrics…is reading at 2.8 billion people have spoken about soil.” On asked about conserving river water, Sadhguru stressed that the river water must flow into the ocean and warned that without it the marine ingress can happen up to 100 km in a country leading to the country losing one-third of its land.
Famous playback singers Mangli and Ram Miriyala dazzled the audience with their heart-rendering performances dedicated to saving soil. On the day of Mahashivratri, Mangli shared with the audience that Sadhguru had asked her to create a song on “Save Soil” and the singer obliged by singing a Save Soil Song written by Matla Thirupathi. “The same way that we cannot repay our debt to the soil, in the same way there is no way we can repay our debt to Sadhguru for whatever he is doing,” said Ram Miriyala during his performance. Later, to the delight of the people, Sadhguru joined the duo to sing the viral ‘La lele lele le’ Save Soil song.
In India, nearly 30% of fertile soils in the country have already become barren and are incapable of yield. The primary objective of the Save Soil Movement is to urge all nations of the world to mandate a minimum of 3-6% organic content in agricultural soils through urgent policy reforms. Without this minimum organic content, soil scientists have warned of the imminent death of soil, a phenomenon termed ‘soil extinction.’
At a Save Soil event in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Sadhguru in expressing his whole-hearted recognition of the critical need for and value of the movement. Since Sadhguru’s arrival in India, the Governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have expressed their full support for the movement and have signed MoUs with the movement.
Since the start of his lone motorcycle journey which began on March 21, 2022 and covered Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, Sadhguru reached the Western port city of Jamnagar, Gujarat on May 29. During the Indian leg of the journey across 9 Indian states, he has passed through Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The movement, till date, has touched billions while 74 countries have agreed to act to save their nations’ soils. To a topic undeniably absent in mass awareness, since the start of Sadhguru’s journey across 27 nations, over 2.8 billion people have spoken about soil. Over 15 lakh children in India have written to the Prime Minister, requesting him to act to save the nation’s soil and their collective future.
(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)
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Karthik Chandrasekar, a 37-year-old man suffering from cerebral palsy has come out with a new book called ‘The Way I See It’ in which he has written about how he overcame odds in his life to be the man he is today.
Karthik has also written about the need to have inclusive public spaces that will enable easy accessibility for those with special conditions.
A resident of West Mambalam, Chennai, Karthik’s limbs have been affected since birth. He was two-years-old when he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. But that did not stop him from completing 15 degree courses and six diplomas. He has an M.phil in literature and also hold a masters degree in history and currently works at Standard Chartered bank in Thousand Lights, Chennai.
Karthik also has some talents that only he can boast of. With just the date and year, he can find out what day the date falls on. He also knows all the pincodes of Chennai city. He is also a chezz wizard and has won many tournaments. It was dream come true for him when he met Sachin Tendulkar and received his autograph.
Karthik has been honoured wiith academic excellence award from the Spastic Society of Mumbai. He has been leading from the forefront in making public spaces disabled-friendly.
Speaking about the book, Karthik said that he wanted to spread positivity and inspire people like him. It took him two months to finish the book which is now available on Amazon.
When asked what his next plans are, Karthik who is a die-hard fan of Tamil actor Ajith Kumar, candidly replied that he was looking forward to meet the actor and probably star alongside him if given a chance.
“I like to do something special. I want to be remembered by people. Someday, I want to do something for the nation and not just be a receiver”, Karthik said.
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Two years ago in June 2020, the entire nation was shaken by the horrific case of police brutality that happened in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district where two men named Jayaraj and Bennix were thrashed to death.
The News Minute, Puthiya Thalaimurai and other Dravidian Stockist media covered exclusive stories on the incident.
A video of Tamil Radio Jockey Suchitra Karthik, explaining in graphic detail the torture endured by the two, went viral.
‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth relased a picture of his ‘angry face’ expressing shock over the incident and calling for all the officials to be severely punished.
Actor-turned-virtue-signaller Suriya Sivakumar and other social media personalities issued a ‘strong statement’ against the custodial death of Jayaraj and Bennix.
Come 2022, the DMK is in power and incidents of death due to custodial torture are being reported every now and then.
While some of the Dravidian Stockists media have done name-sake coverage of these incidents, the self-proclaimed champions of human rights stand with their mouths zipped.
Here are some of the recent incidents of death due to police torture that deserve as much traction as that of the Sathankulam case.
Incident 1
Rajasekar, a 33-year-old resident of Munthiri Thoppu in Tiruvallur district was brought to the P6 Kodungaiyur police station on June 11, 2022 for an inquiry regarding two burglary cases.
He was brought dead to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital on June 12.
The autopsy report said that there were multiple external injuries on Rajasekar’s body of which two injuries were caused about 18-24 hours prior to his death.
Incident 2
In another case in Nagapattinam district, a 44-year-old man named Siva Subramanian working at a cycle repair shop died in judicial custody.
Siva Subramanian along with his brother Ganesh had gone to meet one Venkatesh, who had borrowed ₹95,000 from Ganesh. The trio got into a brawl which turned into a physical fight where Siva, along with others, attacked Venkatesh.
Siva Subrmanian was detained by the police based on Venkatesh’s complaint. According to the police, Siva suffered seizures when he was in jail and was taken to Nagapattinam Government hospital for treatment.
He died at the hospital on the evening of June 13, 2022.
The police have brushed aside reports of custodial torture and have said that Siva Subramanian died due to alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Incident 3
On 18 April 2022, two youth in their twenties travelling in an auto were stopped by the police during night check at Kellys. Vignesh (25), a Scheduled Caste youth who used to offer horse rides at the Chennai’s Marina Beach and Suresh (28), a construction worker, were reportedly in possession of ganja and liquor. When the police confronted the duo, there was a verbal duel and Vignesh allegedly tried to attack the police with a knife. They were pinned down and later brought to the G5 Secretariat Colony police station.
Vignesh later developed health complications. He started vomitting and had seizures. He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. Vignesh’s relatives reportedly saw injuries in several parts of the body. A case of “suspicious death” was registered and a police sub-inspector, a constable and a home guard personnel were suspended in connection with the incident.
Incident 4
Another incident was reported in Tiruvannamalai where a man named Thangamani, was taken into police custody on April 26, 2022 to inquire about illegal liquor sale in the area.
Relatives of the deceased alleged that the police had filed a false case and that the inspector had sought money to set them free.
The police on the other hand reportedly claimed that Thangamani had fits the next day and was rushed to the hospital. He apparently died in the middle of the treatment.
Thangamani was from the Kuravar community, a Scheduled Tribe.
Incident 5
In another incident that happened in January 2022, a physically-challenged man named Prabhakaran was locked up for allegedly stealing jewelry from a provision stores owner. Prabhakaran fell ill in the jail following which he was rushed to the Namakkal Government Hospital for treatment and was later shifted to the Salem Government Hospital. He died on January 12. Prabhakaran’s relatives have alleged police torture as the reason for the death. Three police officers were suspended.
Prabhakaran too belonged to a Scheduled Caste community.
Incident 6
In June 2021, a fruit stall owner named Murugesan died after being thrashed by police at the Pappanaickenpatti check post under the Yethapur police station limits in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district. In a video that were doing the rounds on social media at that time, an officer named Periyasamy can be seen thrashing the man with a lathi until he remained motionless. His friends can be seen begging the police to let them go.
The victim was a farmer who had consumed liquor and was caught travelling on his bike along with a group of friends. He had engaged in an argument with police officials, who were trying to penalise for his drunk and drive attempt. At that point, Special Sub-Inspector Periyasamy attacked Murugesan, following which he fainted and fell down on the road. He stopped thrashing him only after he fell unconscious on the road. A complaint was registered against SI Periyasamy, and he was arrested.
Incident 7
A college student named Manikandan from Ramanathapuram district who was travelling in his two-wheeler, was stopped by the police for a vehicle check on 4 December 2021. He did not stop and sped away, leading to a chase by the police. After being caught, he was taken to the police station and was allegedly beaten up by the police officials. He was not let to go, until his parents went to the police station.
The 21-yr-old passed away around 3:30 am next morning. The family of Manikandan alleged that he passed away due to police brutality. However, the police denied these allegation showing a postmortem report that revealed that he died because of poisoning and not brutality.
Incident 8
In December 2021, a 67-yr-old man died after he was released from police custody in Villupuram. Ulaganathan, was allegedly questioned for running a petty shop shop selling snacks and water bottles near a TASMAC liquor shop. The AK Nallur police told him to stop selling snacks in the area as it was turning into a menace with drunk men using the area like a makeshift bar.
However, the police allegedly used force to prohibit from running the shop. According to the complaint filed by Ulaganathan’s wife Rani, a policeman hit Ulaganathan in the chest, after which the latter fell down unconscious. She further claimed when her son tried to give Ulaganathan water, he didn’t drink it. Ulaganathan was taken to the hospital where he was declared brought dead.
The Police claimed that he previously had a heart condition and that was the reason behind his death. They also alleged that he fainted while they were just generally questioning him. While a case was registered by Ulaganathan’s son, there has been no report of concrete action taken against the police officers, not even an enquiry.
None of the above incidents received the traction that the Sathankulam incident received.
This dead silence now and selective outrage from Dravidian Stockist media and Kollywood celebrities tells a lot about their opportunism and how they stand in mercy at the gates of Gopalapuram.
A clip of actress Sai Pallavi, who is known for her roles in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films, has gone viral on social media in which she has compared the Kashmiri Hindu genocide that happened in the early 1990s with stray incidents of clashes involving cattle smugglers.
In an interview to a Telugu channel, actress Sai Pallavi said “Some days ago, ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie was released. So, when The Kashmir Files was released, they showed how Kashmiri Pandits were killed during that time. How Kashmiri Pandits living in Kashmir were killed were shown. Now, let’s take, in covid time, someone was taking a cow in a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was a Muslim. Some people beat him up and shouted Jai Sri Ram. Where is the difference between the two incidents?”
In an attempt to come across as politically neutral she said ““If I was from a Leftist family or from a Rightist family, then maybe I would have favoured a side. But I was raised in a neutral family where they taught you to have to be a good human being first. The oppressed should be protected irrespective of left-wing and right-wing. I grew up in a neutral environment. I heard about this left-wing and right-wing, but we can’t say who is right and who is wrong.”
She also said that while we think of Pakistani army as terrorists, Pakistani people would think the same of Indian security forces.
“They (Naxals) thought at that time that they could only get justice by violence. It happened in the past, long back. Our perspectives may be different. Pakistani people think Indian security forces are terrorists, we think the same for their forces. It is very difficult to say whether it (the Naxal movement) is right or wrong. It depends on the situation at that time. They thought violence was the only way, as per their situation.”, she said.
Many on social media have lashed out at Sai Pallavi for trivializing the plight of Kashmiri Hindus with that of stray incidents of violence involving cattle smugglers.
I don't carry hatred for @Sai_Pallavi92 , many in India have not been aware of what happened to us , as a community … Her equating us with cow smugglers is probably unintentional , i invite her to our refugee camps for better understanding
Dear @Sai_Pallavi92 , Without knowing what has happened, please stop lecturing or trying to relate the incidents to Kashmiri exodus. There is huge difference. Stop being hypocrite. https://t.co/8Xyrt4tZn7
A 3-day Yoga program, Uyirnokkam, conducted by Isha Foundation in 26 prisons Tamil Nadu has drawn over 1000 participants including inmates, wardens and other prison officials in the state. Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services Shri. Sunil Kumar Singh, IPS, supported Isha teachers – who have been trained by Sadhguru – in holding the 3-day sessions which began on 30th May and will continue till 18th June.
The sessions are being held in Central Prisons for Men, Special Prisons for Women and District Prisons in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Palayankottai, Vellore, Cuddalore, Salem, Villupuram, Nagercoil among other districts.
Participants are taught simple, yet powerful yogic practices such as Yoga Namaskar and Nadi Shuddhi which improve spine health, relieve joint pains and alleviate stress when practiced regularly. The yogic practices enhance overall wellbeing including physical, mental and emotional health.
The Prison Yoga Program has been specially designed by Sadhguru for inmates. Over the last 30 years, the Special Yoga Program for Prisons has touched tens of thousands of prisoners in India and the United States. Many prison inmates have testified to the program’s transformative power.
(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)
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On June 8, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had visited Pudukottai district to participate in different government engagements.
District Collector of Pudukottai Kavitha Ramu IAS who was present to welcome the Chief Minister gifted the book “Ariyappadatha Christhavam” authored by one Nivedita Louis.
The book traces the history of Christianity and how the religion spread in Tamil Nadu. It provides details about the old churches of the state, the reformist movements in Christianity, and how Christianity has ‘enriched Tamil culture’.
According to a report by Dinamalar, Kavitha Ramu had also made political remarks while sharing the same in her Facebook post. She had reportedly said that Tamil Nadu stands as a pioneer state for unity and religious harmony and that ‘it will never allow religious fundamentalist fascist forces’. She had also said in her Facebook post that the Tamil people are civilized society living in unity and harmony and that the Tamil Nadu Government cares for the religious minorities in the state adding that the book which talks about Christianity and religious harmony becomes important. She further added that such books get the attention of people across religions in a state where friendly relations between religious and religious minorities are given their right place.
This post is currently not available in the Facebook page of the woman IAS officer.
However, Kavitha Ramu’s Facebook posts raises questions about whether she is a non-partisan civil servant or a card-carrying DMK member.
The above picture was posted by the woman IAS officer on March 26, 2022 when alleged Bharata Natyam dancer accompanied CM Stalin on his extravagant Dubai trip.
Zakir Hussain is a card-carrying member of the DMK who had joined the party in January 2021. He was appointed as an advisor for the 17 district music schools under the Tamil Nadu government in January 2022.
Responding to Kavitha Ramu’s post, Zakir Hussain commented in Tamil “Nandri En Udanpirappe” which means “Thank you my brethren”. The DMK leadership calls the party cadres fondly as “Udanpirappe” or “brethren”.
When there was a fuss about his alleged denial of entry to the Srirangam Ranganathar Temple, the woman IAS officer had put an intimate photo of her with him.
There are many such pictures of Kavitha Ramu with Zakir Hussain.
While one may ask what is wrong if one dancer takes a picture with another, imagine the reaction from Dravidian Stockists if a District Collector posted such pictures with an acclaimed BJP member.
Be that as it may, there is another post which raises the ‘red-black’ flag.
In January this year, the woman IAS officer had peddled the DMK’s propaganda on NEET word for word calling it anti-poor and an exam which favours the privileged.
Ironically, the medical students standing behind her in the picture hail from underprivileged backgrounds which she acknowledges at the end of the post, completely contradicting her lengthy write-up.
In another post, the woman IAS officer can be seen raising the black flag donning a t-shirt having the face of anti-Hindu bigot who had called for the genocide of Tamil Brahmins.
Last but not the least, her open adulation of the late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi only affirms her political inclinations.
While one can argue that this was posted in light of Karunanidhi’s passing away, Kavitha Ramu, who is quite active on social media had made no such posts when the AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa had passed away.
Non-partisanship and political neutrality are key attributes of a civil servant.
Rule 5 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, states that no member of the All India Service shall be a member of, or be otherwise associated with, any political party or any organization which takes part in politics, nor shall the person take part in, or subscribe in aid of, or assist in any other manner, any political movement or political activity.
By openly promoting and associating herself with one party, the woman IAS officer is violating the conduct of a civil servant.
Is Pudukottai Collector A Civil Servant Or a Card-Carrying Dravidian Stockist Of DMK?
On June 8, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had visited Pudukottai district to participate in different government engagements.
District Collector of Pudukottai Kavitha Ramu IAS who was present to welcome the Chief Minister gifted the book “Ariyappadatha Christhavam” authored by one Nivedita Louis.
The book traces the history of Christianity and how the religion spread in Tamil Nadu. It provides details about the old churches of the state, the reformist movements in Christianity, and how Christianity has ‘enriched Tamil culture’.
According to a report by Dinamalar, Kavitha Ramu had also made political remarks while sharing the same in her Facebook post. She had reportedly said that Tamil Nadu stands as a pioneer state for unity and religious harmony and that ‘it will never allow religious fundamentalist fascist forces’. She had also said in her Facebook post that the Tamil people are civilized society living in unity and harmony and that the Tamil Nadu Government cares for the religious minorities in the state adding that the book which talks about Christianity and religious harmony becomes important. She further added that such books get the attention of people across religions in a state where friendly relations between religious and religious minorities are given their right place.
This post is currently not available in the Facebook page of the woman IAS officer.
However, Kavitha Ramu’s Facebook posts raises questions about whether she is a non-partisan civil servant or a card-carrying DMK member.
The above picture was posted by the woman IAS officer on March 26, 2022 when alleged Bharata Natyam dancer accompanied CM Stalin on his extravagant Dubai trip.
Zakir Hussain is a card-carrying member of the DMK who had joined the party in January 2021. He was appointed as an advisor for the 17 district music schools under the Tamil Nadu government in January 2022.
Responding to Kavitha Ramu’s post, Zakir Hussain commented in Tamil “Nandri En Udanpirappe” which means “Thank you my brethren”. The DMK leadership calls the party cadres fondly as “Udanpirappe” or “brethren”.
When there was a fuss about his alleged denial of entry to the Srirangam Ranganathar Temple, the woman IAS officer had put an intimate photo of her with him.
There are many such pictures of Kavitha Ramu with Zakir Hussain.
While one may ask what is wrong if one dancer takes a picture with another, imagine the reaction from Dravidian Stockists if a District Collector posted such pictures with an acclaimed BJP member.
Be that as it may, there is another post which raises the ‘red-black’ flag.
In January this year, the woman IAS officer had peddled the DMK’s propaganda on NEET word for word calling it anti-poor and an exam which favours the privileged.
Ironically, the medical students standing behind her in the picture hail from underprivileged backgrounds which she acknowledges at the end of the post, completely contradicting her lengthy write-up.
In another post, the woman IAS officer can be seen raising the black flag donning a t-shirt having the face of anti-Hindu bigot who had called for the genocide of Tamil Brahmins.
Last but not the least, her open adulation of the late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi only affirms her political inclinations.
Non-partisanship and political neutrality are key attributes of a civil servant.
Rule 5 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, states that no member of the All India Service shall be a member of, or be otherwise associated with, any political party or any organization which takes part in politics, nor shall the person take part in, or subscribe in aid of, or assist in any other manner, any political movement or political activity.
By openly promoting and associating herself with one party, the woman IAS officer is violating the conduct of a civil servant.