News Analysis India

Tag: Hunger strike

  • Manoj Jarange: If I’m arrested, crores of Marathas will go on hunger strike: Quota activist Manoj Jarange

    CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Quota activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday claimed that if he is arrested, crores of Marathas will stage a hunger strike. Talking to reporters at a private hospital in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where he is currently undergoing treatment after ending his fast at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna three days back, Jarange said the Maratha community is fighting for its rights.

    The government still has a chance to implement the “sage soyre” (blood relatives of Kunbi Marathas) draft notification. The community will appreciate it, he said.

    The draft notification was issued in January for issuing certificates to eligible Kunbi (OBC) Marathas. Jarange has reiterated his opposition to the 10 per cent quota granted to the Maratha community recently by the Maharashtra legislature under a special category.

    The activist has been under fire for using intemperate language against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday as he alleged the BJP leader was trying to kill him.

    Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday directed the state government to set up a special investigation team (SIT) and conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the Jarange’s remarks against Fadnavis. “The Maratha community and I will not give up the demand of quota for the relatives (of Marathas who have Kunbi certificates), even if I am put in jail. It seems the report (of SIT) is about to get ready before the inquiry. No matter wherever they keep me, I am ready to go anywhere,” he said. “I am not greedy even for a single rupee. Let them arrest me. The route by which I will be taken to jail, they (government) will find crores of Maratha community members sitting on hunger strike along the route,” Jarange added.

    The activist claimed nearly 1.5 crore persons have got reservation till now as about 57 lakh records of ‘Kunbis’ have been found so far, and that he has been demanding reservation for the remaining people.

    “They (those in the government) expect that we should talk to them respectfully. When our people are getting arrested without any fault, why should we? What was the reason that curfew was imposed in Antarwali Sarati?” he asked.

    Jarange said the 10 per cent reservation for the Maratha community is acceptable if facilities for the SEBC (Social Economic Backward Class) are included in it.

    “This 10 per cent reservation should be included in the OBC quota,” he added.

    On the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s proposal that Jarange contest the upcoming Lok Sabha poll from Jalna, the activist said he respects the VBA chief as he has supported their agitation since the beginning.

    “But contesting elections is not my way. I will keep working for my community,” he added.

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  • Jailed Iran filmmaker Jafar Panahi on hunger strike

    By Online Desk

    PARIS: Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who has been jailed for the last six months, said he has begun a hunger strike to protest his continued detention, according to a statement published by Tahereh Saeidi, his wife Thursday.

    Tahereh Saeidi announced the news about the hunger strike on her Instagram page.

    Panahi, a former Golden Bear winner whose social-issue films have drawn retribution from the Islamic Republic, recounted joining other Iranian filmmakers on July 20 last year to protest the arrest of two colleagues, only to find himself in Evin prison after being resentenced by a judge, The Hollywood Reporter recalled.

    Panahi won a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2000 for his film “The Circle”. In 2015, he won the Golden Bear at Berlin for “Taxi Tehran”, and in 2018, he won the best screenplay prize at Cannes for “Three Faces.”

    He started his dry hunger strike, refusing food and water, from Wednesday, he said in the statement.

    “Today, like many people trapped in Iran, I have no choice but to protest against this inhumane behaviour with my dearest possession — my life,” said Panahi.

    Panahi said he is protesting against the illegal and inhumane behaviour of the judicial and security apparatus and the hostage-taking.

    “I have started a hunger strike since the morning of the 12th of Bahman, and I will refuse to eat and drink any food and medicine until the time of my release. I will remain in thisstate until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison,” the ace director said in the statement.

    “With love for Iran and the people of my land,” Jafar Panahi signed off.

    There were expectations last month that the judiciary could order his release, but he remains behind bars in Tehran’s Evin prison.

    According to AFP, Panahi, 62, was arrested on July 11 and had been due to serve a six-year sentence handed down in 2010 after his conviction for “propaganda against the system”.

    But on October 15, the Supreme Court quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial, raising hopes among his legal team he could be released.

    Panahi’s July arrest came after he attended a court hearing for fellow film director Mohammad Rasoulof, who had been detained a few days earlier.

    Rasoulof was released from prison on January 7 after being granted a two-week furlough for health reasons and is still believed to be outside of jail.

    Cinema figures have been among the thousands of people arrested by Iran in its crackdown on the protests sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested for allegedly violating its strict dress code for women.

    Star actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who had published images of herself without wearing the Islamic headscarf, was among those detained although she was released in early January after being held for almost three weeks.

    (With inputs from AFP)

    PARIS: Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who has been jailed for the last six months, said he has begun a hunger strike to protest his continued detention, according to a statement published by Tahereh Saeidi, his wife Thursday.

    Tahereh Saeidi announced the news about the hunger strike on her Instagram page.

    Panahi, a former Golden Bear winner whose social-issue films have drawn retribution from the Islamic Republic, recounted joining other Iranian filmmakers on July 20 last year to protest the arrest of two colleagues, only to find himself in Evin prison after being resentenced by a judge, The Hollywood Reporter recalled.

    Panahi won a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2000 for his film “The Circle”. In 2015, he won the Golden Bear at Berlin for “Taxi Tehran”, and in 2018, he won the best screenplay prize at Cannes for “Three Faces.”

    He started his dry hunger strike, refusing food and water, from Wednesday, he said in the statement.

    “Today, like many people trapped in Iran, I have no choice but to protest against this inhumane behaviour with my dearest possession — my life,” said Panahi.

    Panahi said he is protesting against the illegal and inhumane behaviour of the judicial and security apparatus and the hostage-taking.

    “I have started a hunger strike since the morning of the 12th of Bahman, and I will refuse to eat and drink any food and medicine until the time of my release. I will remain in this
    state until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison,” the ace director said in the statement.

    “With love for Iran and the people of my land,” Jafar Panahi signed off.

    There were expectations last month that the judiciary could order his release, but he remains behind bars in Tehran’s Evin prison.

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    A post shared by Tahereh saeedi (@taherehsaidii)

    According to AFP, Panahi, 62, was arrested on July 11 and had been due to serve a six-year sentence handed down in 2010 after his conviction for “propaganda against the system”.

    But on October 15, the Supreme Court quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial, raising hopes among his legal team he could be released.

    Panahi’s July arrest came after he attended a court hearing for fellow film director Mohammad Rasoulof, who had been detained a few days earlier.

    Rasoulof was released from prison on January 7 after being granted a two-week furlough for health reasons and is still believed to be outside of jail.

    Cinema figures have been among the thousands of people arrested by Iran in its crackdown on the protests sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested for allegedly violating its strict dress code for women.

    Star actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who had published images of herself without wearing the Islamic headscarf, was among those detained although she was released in early January after being held for almost three weeks.

    (With inputs from AFP)

  • Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on ‘hunger strike’ following detention

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW/LAKHIMPUR KHERI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sat on a hunger strike on Monday after being detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur while she was en route to Lakhimpur Kheri, her party said.

    Gandhi and other Congress leaders accompanying her, including Deepender Hooda, had reached the Lakhimpur border in the morning but were not allowed to meet the families of the farmers who died in the violence during a protest a day earlier, the party alleged.

    “Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi has been arrested. She is on hunger strike. Congressmen are protesting. Government will have to bow to our demands. Voice for justice will be raised with more strength,” the UP Congress said in a tweet.

    In a video released by the party, Gandhi was seen sweeping the floor of a room where she was apparently kept.

    Stopping them in such a way is “undemocratic”, Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu told PTI.

    Eight people were killed on Sunday as violence erupted during a farmers’ protest, claiming the lives of both farmers and BJP workers ahead of a visit to Lakhimpur by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

    On their way to the violence-hit district, Congress leaders had to take alternative routes to reach the bordering Hargaon area in Sitapur as heavy security was deployed on the main roads.

    “We are waiting outside Lakhimpur Kheri. We have been prevented by the police from entering. We have come here to meet the victims of the violence,” Congress national secretary Dheeraj Gurjar told PTI over the phone at 4.30 am.

    ALSO READ: BKU chief asks BJP workers not to visit UP’s rural areas as farmers angry

    Gandhi’s convoy was earlier briefly stopped by Uttar Pradesh Police officials in Lucknow, where the Congress general secretary had arrived on Sunday night, within a few hours of violence being reported during an anti-farm laws protest here.

    Mobile internet services have been suspended in parts of Lakhimpur district, where restrictions under CrPC section 144 — which prohibits assembly of four or more people — has also been imposed, according to officials.

    The UP Police took to Twitter early Monday to describe the incident as “unfortunate” and said eight casualties have been reported so far as per the district administration.

    “ADG LO, ACS Agriculture, IG Range & Commissioner are on the spot & situation is under control. Adequate deployment has been done to prevent any untoward incident,” it added.

  • Para teachers in Bengal to continue hunger strike demanding equal pay

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Protesting para teachers forum in poll-bound West Bengal has warned the State Government to continue their hunger strike if their demands of equal pay scale on a par with regular teachers are not fulfilled.

    Para teachers have been sitting on a demonstration outside Bikash Bhawan in Kolkata since December 8 last year.

    “We are continuing hunger strike for the past eight days. The protest has completed 58 days but we have not got any assurance from the State Government. The para teachers had also marched to the state secretariat with the demand,” Amol Roy, a para teacher told to ANI.

    “Since elections are right at the corner, we have been given assurances by the government. But all went in vain. Despite working the same as regular teachers, para teachers do not get the benefits and salaries they should,” said another para teacher Mohammad Osman.

    We are on a continuous hunger strike but the State Education Minister did not take any cognisance. We only want our pay scale demands to get accepted,” added Osman.

  • Sanitary workers on hunger strike for demands

    While being aggrieved with undue retrenchment the contractual sanitary workers of Public Health Department (PHD), Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) were staging indefinite hunger strike for three days at Hospital Square in Sector-9, Bhilai. The authorities from District Labour Department assured to look into the matter and sort out the issue at the earliest. According to the information, as many as 21 retrenched contractual sanitary workers, including fifteen women six men and a trade union office-bearer from Hindustan Ispat Theka Shramik Union were staging indefinite hunger strike for three days. As there were no measures to reinstate the sanitary workers were staging hunger strike for three days while pressing demands for reinstating them and full wages payment. Yogesh Soni, General Secretary, Hindustan Ispat Theka Shramik Union (CITU), sitting on indefinite hunger strike with these sanitary workers informed that the district administration and labour department authorities were merely giving them assurance regarding immediate measures to resolve the issue at the earliest. He also informed that the police officials and personnel from police station concerned recorded names of striking workers and leaders. He also added that they would continue to stage strike until fulfillment of demands. The contractual sanitary workers along with the trade union leader are staging strike to protest and for checking the alleged malpractices of showing full wages payment through bank accounts and later compelling them for returning certain amount. The trade unions and organisations supporting the strike are State Congress Wing, Loktantri Ispat Majdoor Union, Hindustan Steel Employees Union (CITU) and AITUC and AICCTU. R K Pradhan, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Durg assured to look into the matter.