It was Thursday afternoon as I reached home to get things for my next class I suddenly heard noise outside our society I thought it must be some kind of fight between few people .it was when I stepped out I realised the fight which I thought was small was actually a revolt of its kind of small farmers whose land was being taken away in the name of SEZ-SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE.
It was after reaching college I got to know the actual facts from a classmate who was actually stuck in the traffic due to the protest going on. Around 8000 protestors armed with stones rods and sticks, waving Shiv Sena flags damaged vehicles across Navi Mumbai disrupting traffic for several hours in CBD Belapur, kalamboli and Uran. Manohar Joshi was arrested along with 204 protestors including 144 women. Joshi leader of Shiv Sena said that theirs was a jail Bharo Andolan” similar to the one led by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle”. But people who were at the receiving end of the mob fury said the protest rally was far from what Gandhi ji used to lead.
And I agree with the people who suffered the onslaught of this fury. I think these politicians are playing dirty politics just using the people who actually are suffering, just for their motive to gain vote bank and that is not good and fair of them. The farmers or the land owners are not even getting enough compensation in return of their land, the only thing on which their life depends on. Even what the politicians are doing, no way matches upto what Gandhi used to preach and practice himself. He was a true believer of non violence whereas in this episode of revolting against Sez, Manohar Joshi is giving violence a cover of non violence. What a practice of irony!
By Shikha Sharma
Friday, October 26, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
SEZ : Dreams and Nightmares
It was just another day in college. VM submissions and we were all ready for it. Some people were in the habit of going back to their homes for lunch or may be just a quick nap, which comes as a necessity for us NIFTians. The class was about to start and then someone walked in, all perplexed and restless. (I’m so sorry; she was supposed to be from a junior batch, so I didn’t know her name at that time)
Inquisitiveness on our part and further probing led us to understand what she referred to as riots and a word which rules – ShivSena. She exclaimed about buses being burnt and stones being pelted. We somehow started feeling secure being in Room No. 111. But, that’s not all, we were just 7 or 8 people there and soon phones started ringing and we got to know about our classmates who were stuck up at different places. The sight of vehicles all lined up at the highway seemed disorienting.
Somehow, most of us managed to get to the class except Yash, who was stuck at Belapur. The incident made him a representative of the common man during our debates and discussions about the buzzword called – SEZ, where S for ShivSena stands for Special and the abbreviation reads ‘Special Economic Zone’.
The day went by and we moved on. The following days saw a Mumbai Bandh and along with it, a Navi Mumbai Bandh by the ShivSena. That gave us a new topic to ponder over in our regular DM class. It was SEZ’s turn as our new assignment. We had to debate among ourselves and that’s not all. We divided ourselves in groups of three and discussed thoughts, not only the incidents... The discussions began. The ShivSena’s role was questioned…a catalyst in a deadly reaction or just another initiator posing as the voice of the “Aam Janta”?
Incidents and experiences kept on popping up among us. We tried to kindle that fire that had touched us. The pictures that appeared in newspapers, the helplessness of the people and then the laughter of the monarchs. It didn’t take us a long time to arrive on media and then everyone looked at me. Just because I have been there, doesn’t make sense. Yes, I am a part of media, but along with me, you too are a part of the media, in fact, we all are components of the media. Going by the ways and means these so-called leaders use, we constitute a much stronger and influential media. While HT claimed certain other figures and statistics, TOI obviously dived in another direction. Samna, ShivSena’s mouth-piece made statements which were contradictory to everything else and placed Bal Thackrey next to God. I personally feel that it’s a re-incarnation of the role he played during the 1993 bomb blasts. Same newspaper, same idol, but different victims.
There are around 7 Special Economic Zones in India. The extension of Mumbai on the lines of Maha Mumbai will be the largest one so far. Over 9000 Acres of land, spreading across 45 villages, and it has got many more elements to it. Homes are being relocated, destiny is being rude and then added to it is violence. Things are getting tough for the farmers and the people who have an emotional attachment to the places concerned. Being born over there, having taken their first faltering steps on that land, the homes they built there, the squealing of their newborns, the death of their elders…and a lot more. Money is powerful, but it can never buy back any of these things, even if you shower them with all the gold and silver in the world.
India is not the only nation that has been caught on its back foot as far as SEZs are concerned. History has got proofs for it. While Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of England, the Industrial Revolution’s traces of continuation were felt in the 19th century too, as a result of which similar problems came into light. He decided to move that proposed zone to a place which had meagre resources. This move calmed down the farmers and he promised more money as compensation to the farmers. Apparently there were no obstacles in the path of progress and the government decided to take on the burden of losses in terms of transportation.
We as humans are linked amongst ourselves and don’t want to be part of the process of experimentation. We need to remain tied to another person and that very person can become the breaking link. Reliance, with its money power, got manipulated the circumstances and opportunities -- the element that pulled political factors into the scene. PWP came into light and its leader got jailed. He was soon set free. Agitators were beaten up and arrested too, but nothing concrete happened and they are still roaming at large.
Victims have their own say and perhaps they have written the entire story with tears which never cease to dry. One Bandh followed by another. Agitation here and there and here we are. We look up to our chosen leaders for the values they promised and now they have put our faith on stake and are making deals out of it. The S party is calm now because of some mutual understanding with the ruling party. May be they now have got the share divided or perhaps have settled for a better deal. The SEZ trail follows and now the CIDCO employees are scared of the insecurity and raising their voices.
It’s an endless story but an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. We torch the buses if they don’t run on time, we stop the trains if they are late but we never make up for it. After all, it’s never the perpetrator, but someone else, that bears the brunt of it all.
Special Thanks to Nitin Kulkarni Sir.
Written and Co ordinated by : Piyush Singh
With Inputs, Voices and Opinions by : Bandana, Disha. Gayatri, Ibadariakor,Namrata, Shikha, Shrikumar, Sonal G and Vrinda.
The original blog link : http://www.you-n-sez.blogspot.com/
Alternate blog Link : http://cafe-xpression.blogspot.com/
Image Credits : http://www.worldproutassembly.org/
Inquisitiveness on our part and further probing led us to understand what she referred to as riots and a word which rules – ShivSena. She exclaimed about buses being burnt and stones being pelted. We somehow started feeling secure being in Room No. 111. But, that’s not all, we were just 7 or 8 people there and soon phones started ringing and we got to know about our classmates who were stuck up at different places. The sight of vehicles all lined up at the highway seemed disorienting.Somehow, most of us managed to get to the class except Yash, who was stuck at Belapur. The incident made him a representative of the common man during our debates and discussions about the buzzword called – SEZ, where S for ShivSena stands for Special and the abbreviation reads ‘Special Economic Zone’.
The day went by and we moved on. The following days saw a Mumbai Bandh and along with it, a Navi Mumbai Bandh by the ShivSena. That gave us a new topic to ponder over in our regular DM class. It was SEZ’s turn as our new assignment. We had to debate among ourselves and that’s not all. We divided ourselves in groups of three and discussed thoughts, not only the incidents... The discussions began. The ShivSena’s role was questioned…a catalyst in a deadly reaction or just another initiator posing as the voice of the “Aam Janta”?
Incidents and experiences kept on popping up among us. We tried to kindle that fire that had touched us. The pictures that appeared in newspapers, the helplessness of the people and then the laughter of the monarchs. It didn’t take us a long time to arrive on media and then everyone looked at me. Just because I have been there, doesn’t make sense. Yes, I am a part of media, but along with me, you too are a part of the media, in fact, we all are components of the media. Going by the ways and means these so-called leaders use, we constitute a much stronger and influential media. While HT claimed certain other figures and statistics, TOI obviously dived in another direction. Samna, ShivSena’s mouth-piece made statements which were contradictory to everything else and placed Bal Thackrey next to God. I personally feel that it’s a re-incarnation of the role he played during the 1993 bomb blasts. Same newspaper, same idol, but different victims.
There are around 7 Special Economic Zones in India. The extension of Mumbai on the lines of Maha Mumbai will be the largest one so far. Over 9000 Acres of land, spreading across 45 villages, and it has got many more elements to it. Homes are being relocated, destiny is being rude and then added to it is violence. Things are getting tough for the farmers and the people who have an emotional attachment to the places concerned. Being born over there, having taken their first faltering steps on that land, the homes they built there, the squealing of their newborns, the death of their elders…and a lot more. Money is powerful, but it can never buy back any of these things, even if you shower them with all the gold and silver in the world.
India is not the only nation that has been caught on its back foot as far as SEZs are concerned. History has got proofs for it. While Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of England, the Industrial Revolution’s traces of continuation were felt in the 19th century too, as a result of which similar problems came into light. He decided to move that proposed zone to a place which had meagre resources. This move calmed down the farmers and he promised more money as compensation to the farmers. Apparently there were no obstacles in the path of progress and the government decided to take on the burden of losses in terms of transportation.
We as humans are linked amongst ourselves and don’t want to be part of the process of experimentation. We need to remain tied to another person and that very person can become the breaking link. Reliance, with its money power, got manipulated the circumstances and opportunities -- the element that pulled political factors into the scene. PWP came into light and its leader got jailed. He was soon set free. Agitators were beaten up and arrested too, but nothing concrete happened and they are still roaming at large.
Victims have their own say and perhaps they have written the entire story with tears which never cease to dry. One Bandh followed by another. Agitation here and there and here we are. We look up to our chosen leaders for the values they promised and now they have put our faith on stake and are making deals out of it. The S party is calm now because of some mutual understanding with the ruling party. May be they now have got the share divided or perhaps have settled for a better deal. The SEZ trail follows and now the CIDCO employees are scared of the insecurity and raising their voices.
It’s an endless story but an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. We torch the buses if they don’t run on time, we stop the trains if they are late but we never make up for it. After all, it’s never the perpetrator, but someone else, that bears the brunt of it all.
Special Thanks to Nitin Kulkarni Sir.
Written and Co ordinated by : Piyush Singh
With Inputs, Voices and Opinions by : Bandana, Disha. Gayatri, Ibadariakor,Namrata, Shikha, Shrikumar, Sonal G and Vrinda.
The original blog link : http://www.you-n-sez.blogspot.com/
Alternate blog Link : http://cafe-xpression.blogspot.com/
Image Credits : http://www.worldproutassembly.org/
Industrial Revolution in England
During the continuation of the industrial revolution in England (which had begun in the 17th Century), in the 19th century, a similar problem had cropped up. Winston Churchill was the prime minister of England.
As the industrial revolution was continuing and space and resources were required, plans to include country regions had to be taken for which Southampton was under consideration. The tenants were placed, and leases were called upon. Southampton was an agricultural and pasture region. Due to the fear that the farmers in Southampton will loose their jobs, a mass protest was organized against this move.
Winston Churchill did not want any hindrance of the whole progress of the revolution; hence he promised the farmers that the industries which were being planned would be shifted to Liverpool, another region, which unlike Southampton, had meager resources.
He also promised the farmers extra revenue from the resources that they were producing, if placed for the industrial development in Liverpool. The situation was calmed down as the government decides to bear the brunt of transportation loss.
Facts Compiled and Presented by : Gayatri
As the industrial revolution was continuing and space and resources were required, plans to include country regions had to be taken for which Southampton was under consideration. The tenants were placed, and leases were called upon. Southampton was an agricultural and pasture region. Due to the fear that the farmers in Southampton will loose their jobs, a mass protest was organized against this move.
Winston Churchill did not want any hindrance of the whole progress of the revolution; hence he promised the farmers that the industries which were being planned would be shifted to Liverpool, another region, which unlike Southampton, had meager resources.
He also promised the farmers extra revenue from the resources that they were producing, if placed for the industrial development in Liverpool. The situation was calmed down as the government decides to bear the brunt of transportation loss.
Facts Compiled and Presented by : Gayatri
The First Step
We are just a bunch of individuals, one among many and known faces throughout. We fight with each other and we follow the same lines physiologically but we have tried to reach out to you people collectively. The ones who think on the same lines that we do. We have tried taking this assignment out of the class room and here we are, exploring ang putting in our thoughts in the virtual dimension. This time it is about Special Economic Zone and after the series of discussion we had, we have tried to put forward a glimpse into our thoughts and maybe down the line you relate to it. The group members are Bandana, Disha, Gayatri, Ibadariakor, Namrata, Piyush, Shikha, Shrikumar, Sonal G and Vrinda.We are highly indebted to Nitin Sir for helping us out with one more mode of expression and exploration. It is just an attempt to be you, among you and yours through out. Being the voice that is heard will be a bonus for us.
By : Piyush Singh
On behalf of the group members and the rest of FC 3, NIFT Mumbai
By : Piyush Singh
On behalf of the group members and the rest of FC 3, NIFT Mumbai
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