My Columns: Without Fear and Favour

The High Stake Game In Gujarat  By Deepak Parvatiyar* Ahmedabad: All eyes are on Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah, where elections are to be held in two phases on  December 9 and 14. Eversince the Bharatiya Janata Party formed its first ever majority government in Gujarat in 1995, it has comfortably won all state assembly elections since then – its lowest tally in the 182-member Gujarat House has never gone below 115 (in 2012). However, even then it became 117 after the Gujarat Parivartan Party (which had 2 MLAs) merged with the BJP. In comparison, the Congress Party crossed the 60 figure only once, (61 in 2012), during this period since 1995. Its downslide continued to an unprecedented level when in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it could not win a single seat while the BJP made history by winning all the 26 Parliament seats from the state. Moreover, in August this year, 13 of its...

होम National ब्लॉग : बालेकिल्ला सुरक्षित ठेवण्याची भाजपची रणनिती Published On: Nov 16 2017 6:42PM | Last Updated: Nov 16 2017 6:42PM Published in Marathi Daily Newspaper, Pudhari http://www.pudhari.news/news/National/article-about-Gujrat-elections-BJP-Congress/m/ - दीपक पर्वतियार,  ज्येष्ठ पत्रकार, गुजरात  पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी आणि भाजपचे राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष अमित शहा यांचा बालेकिल्ला असणार्‍या गुजरातवर सध्या सर्वांच्या नजरा लागून आहेत. गुजरातमध्ये 9 आणि 14 डिसेंबर रोजी दोन टप्प्यांत मतदान होणार आहे. भाजप पक्ष स्थापन झाल्यापासून गुजरातमध्ये 1995 मध्ये पक्षाने पूर्ण बहुमताने सत्ता स्थापन केली. तेव्हापासून प्रत्येक विधानसभा निवडणुकीत भाजपने यश मिळविले आहे. 2012 च्या निवडणुकीत भाजपने 182 पैकी 115 जागांवर विजय मिळविला. या पेक्षा कमी जागा कधी पक्षाने मिळविल्या नाहीत. उलट याच निवडणुकीत गुजरात परिवर्तन पक्षाचे 2 उमेदवार विजयी झाले होते. या पक्षाने भाजपला पाठिंबा दिल्याने सरकारमधील संख्याबळ 117 वर गेले.  याउलट काँग्रेसचा विचार करता काँगे्रसला 2012 च्या न...

By Deepak Parvatiyar Around 8 pm on Saturday 14th October 2017. My wife gets down of rickshaw and is taking out some cash to pay the fare to  the rickshawpuller. Suddenly two men on motorbike come from the opposite side and halt near her. One of them gets down, snatches her purse, then rides the pillion and both flee the place. My wife raises the alarm and the guards of my apartments rush and so do the security guards of neighboring establishments. But by that time the snatchers had fled. My wife dialled 100 and a PCR (Police) van came soon enough. So far they could not make  much headway. Hope they crack the case.  Now some moot points for consideration: 1. The miscreants wore no helmets. Implies they were not bothered about concealing their identity. Is this daredevilry or foolhardiness, I cannot decide. But one possibility seems a surity that they must be well equipped to defend themselves.  2. The place where I reside (Kaushambi) is considered a VIP a...

Shareholder farmers from the state of Tamil Nadu during their nearly two months protest action in India's capital, New Delhi. Here they show skulls from local farmers who have committed suicide. Photo: Deepak Parvatiyar India's desperate peasants - they wear their colleagues' skulls* By Deepak Parvatiyar** (Published in Bistandsaktuelt on 27 th September 2017 -- https://www.bistandsaktuelt.no/nyheter/2017/indias-desperate-bonder/ ) Extensive drought and economic crisis affects agricultural areas in a number of Indian states. In two years, around 24,000 farmers have taken their own lives W hen driving the 200 kilometers from Hubli to the "water city" Vijayapur in the Indian state of Karnataka, it is like driving through the rugged landscape of TS Eliot's book "The Wasteland". Undisturbed land on both sides, without vegetation or civilization, as far as the eye reaches! As Elliot said in his poem: ...

When journalism overlaps activism, objectivity goes for a toss By Deepak Parvatiyar Following the gruesome murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017 questions are being asked about whether a journalist can also be an activist? This is in the light of reports that the slain journalist, editor of a Kannada language tabloid, was also an activist with definitive political views and pro-ultra left wing leanings. Apparently there is a very thin line that divides a journalist from an activist and at times that line gets blurred. This raises questions about a journalist's objectivity. As someone asked following Gauri's murder: "Can a journalist hold partisan political views? If so isn't he/she already prejudiced? So what happens to objectivity?"   Obviously objectivity of a journalist or reporter is a very pertinent issue. But my question is whether there is any such thing as objectivity?  As I try to analyse it, I realise that ...

Social media is abuzz with journalist's murder. I knew Gauri Lankesh as a colleague in Eenadu. Of late she has become the editor of a Kannada language tabloid started by her late father. Read she was convicted in a defamation case involving two politicians including a member of Parliament of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and faced jail sentence. She was on bail and about to file an appeal againat the verdict in the higher court. Scribes in their zeal to call spade a spade do often overdo it and a few end up inviting defamation cases against them. I haven't though gone into the details of Gauri's case but I know she wasn't pronounced death sentence. There are political ramifications of her gruesome murder. Whoever benefits from her murder is not the question. The question is about the late surge of kangaroo courts. Much is already being written about the lynch mob. This is not a trait of a healthy society. These are disruptions...not healthy disruptions. ...

Expedient Politics:  Why Bihar Is Important? Published on  July 28, 2017 http://www.jagritbihar.com/2017/07/28/expedient-politics-bihar-important/ By Deepak Parvatiyar Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United party was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance for 17 years.  Nitish wanted to grow and nurtured Prime ministerial ambitions. So his party deserted NDA hoping he could position himself well against Narendra Modi in the 2014 elections.  After all, like Modi he had won successive elections and returned to power in Bihar on development plank! He experimented with others and of late realised he can't compete with Narendra Modi in today's situation.  So, as they say, if you can't defeat your enemy then join him! He needed some convenient excuse and when found one (Tejashwi), now he has done so. He is back as the number one leader of Bihar...a position that he had ceded to the Rashtriya Janata Dal ...

Having left Bihar in 1986, I always regretted not to do much significantly for my home state as I never got an opportunity to work in Bihar. I was constantly exploring ways to do something within my limited capabilities for our great state. Late in 2015, I got some opportunities to explore ways and worked on a model where we all can contribute for the betterment of our state. A year of pains, trial runs and hard work when we faced many hurdles in terms of financial constraints, I am glad that I can now showcase www.jagritbihar.com which I developed with the purpose of empowering people of Bihar by providing a platform which could help them raise their voice on the burning issues confronting them. The idea is also to make the local administration more accountable towards such issues and thus the website is designed in such a manner to cover all nine commisionaries as well as 243 assembly constituencies for ease of governance and fixing responsibilities. I shall be thankful if you go th...

Published in Sahara Samay http://www.saharasamay.com/lifestyle/676601825/without-water-you-cannot-discuss-climate-rajendra-singh.html Without water you cannot discuss climate: Rajendra Singh Last Updated : 26 Oct 2016 11:08:08 AM IST  After his successful movement to get water included as an issue in the Climate Change ' title=' UN Framework on Climate Change '>UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris in 2015 (COP-21), the Waterman of India and Stokholm Water Prize Winner Rajendra Singh is busy preparing for COP-22 to be held in Morocco in November this year. On the side lines of Global Water Meet 2016 for Climate Change: Agrarian Perspective at University of Agricultural Science in Dharwad, he talks to Deepak Parvatiyar on the agenda and expectations of the ongoing three day meet in which water experts from 20 countries are participating to formulate their recommendati...

Published in indiablooms.com http://www.indiablooms.com/ibns_new/health-details/E/2224/experts-from-five-continents-adopt-dharwad-declaration-on-climate-change.html 26.10.2016 Experts from five continents adopt Dharwad Declaration on Climate Change Dharwad, Karnataka, Oct 26 (IBNS): Scientists, researchers, academics, policy makers, social activists, NGOs and farmers from 20 countries from five continents, who gathered here to formulate their recommendations for the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) to be held in Morocco in November this year, called for putting people first in any climate change negotiations. At the concluding day of the three- day Global Water Meet  2016 for Climate Change Adaptation: Agrarian Perspective, organised under the aegis of the University of Agricultural Sciences, on Wednesday, to deliberate on climate change, water and Agriculture here, they adopted the Dharwad Declaration, aimed at showing “ways and means for executio...

I In my view ANALYSIS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9,2016 Published in Kuwait Times http://news.kuwaittimes.net/pdf/2016/nov/09/p14.pdf Message from Dharwad to Morocco: Climate change summit - act or perish By Deepak Parvatiyar As world leaders sit to discuss climate change at the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP-22) to the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCC) on Climate Change in Morocco from Nov 7 to Nov 17, water gets the prominence that it deserves at the summit level for the first time. The hard fact though remains that water could get included as an issue only in COP-21 in Paris last year after a sustained movement by water activists from across the globe. In Paris Agreement, water was included in the middle and now in Morocco there will be a separate dialogue on water which experts feel will have a large impact on our lives. Euphemistically Paris was among the earliest places where commercialization of water was allowed. And it says it all at a time when campaign for com...

“Act now to prevent water conflicts” Deepak Parvatiyar New Delhi based senior journalist Last Updated : 15 Nov 2016 04:27:50 PM IST           Published in  http://www.saharasamay.com/nation-news/676602678/-act-now-to-prevent-water-conflicts-.html Although Conference of Parties started in 1994 nothing substantial has emerged so far due to sheer neglect of nature and love for humanity. Whatever changes have come by have not led to positive changes. As the world leaders discuss climate change at the ongoing 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Cl...