Wednesday, November 5, 2014

NAPM Salutes Struggle of Irom Sharmila

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NAPM Salutes Struggle of Irom Sharmila and Supports Demand to Repeal AFSPA
November 4, 2014 : Irom Chanu Sharmila';s hunger fast has entered 15th year and her struggle for repeal of AFSPA continues. National Alliance of People';s Movements (NAPM) salutes her resolve and continues to supports her ongoing struggle for repeal of AFSAP. 14 years, after she began her hunger strike on November 2, 2000 she continues to be force fed through her nose by the Government, arrested with charges for attempt to commit suicide (released and then arrested again every year), criminalised as a high security prisoner, denying her access to family, friends, supporters and the media. It is a shame that in this land of Gandhi, a non-violent protester has been subjected to such humiliation for more than fourteenyears now. Even as she continues her struggle along with many in the NE and J&K, we appeal to our comrades in human rights groups and people’s movements across the country to demand for repeal of AFSPA along with other draconian laws like UAPA, MCOCA, CSPSA and others and resist the increasing militarization of democratic spaces.
May 22, 1958 Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a colonial legacy used against Mahatma Gandhi, was promulgated initially in the Naga areas of Assam (later divided between 4 states) and later in Mizoram, initially in parts of Manipur and later in all of Manipur. The Ordinance after a brief discussion in the Parliament was endorsed and got the status of Act on August 18, 1958, despite stiff resistance from various quarters who challenged it as a martial and draconian law. Since then it has been in force in one part or the other of the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir (since 1991). Even though continuation of the ‘;disturbed area'; status under the AFSPA in many part of the country is illegal in view of the violation of the mandatory six monthly periodic review directed by Supreme Court in its 1997 Judgement.
AFSPA continues to be the most potent repressive tool of the Indian state that empowers even a non commissioned officer of the armed forces of union to kill on mere suspicion and provide legal immunity from prosecution, thereby causing untold misery and agony among the peoples of the affected regions. The imposition of AFSPA is synonymous to heavy militarisation in these states leading to gross civil and political rights violations including enforced disappearances, extra-judicial execution, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence against women, arbitrary arrest and detention. All this together has meant severe economic, social and cultural cost including erosion of civil administration, lack of access to education, basic health care, destruction of properties and sources of livelihood, and environmental destruction and ‘;normal'; functioning of democratic institutions in these areas.
The continued and selective use of AFSPA against communities who have been demanding self-determinations rights is a cause of worry in the context of the increasing militarization of the society in the sub-continent especially after 9/11 and the growing communalisation of the polity in India as a whole and suppression of people';s democratic rights in the name of national security.
There were some attempts made by the UPA government to start a dialogue on the issue, however, nothing has come out of the issue. It is high time that such an Act was repealed and rights of people restored.
Continuing with our efforts for establishing the democratic values in the society and in solidarity with the struggles of democratic movements of North East and J&K NAPM calls upon the Government of India :
  1. To repeal immediately :
  • The Armed Forces (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura) Special Powers Act, 1958 (as amended in 1972), and
  • The Jammu and Kashmir Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1990
2. To refrain from inserting any part of the Acts into any other legislation granting unbridled powers to the armed forces of the union or the State police.
3. Immediately work out and announce a phased, time-bound demilitarisation plan to withdraw the Army and other para military forces from internal security duties in NE States and J&K.
It needs to be noted that AFSPA is not only opposed by the movement groups and the rights bodies but also by the Government’s own commissions and committees appointed to look into the matter. For example, the Committee to Review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, headed by Justice B. P. Jeevan Reddy in 2005, the Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Dr. Veerappan Moily in 2007 and several others have recommended and damned the use of AFSPA and demanded immediate measures towards withdrawal from civil areas. Internationally, the UN bodies including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the U N High Commissioner for Human Rights and recently the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders have consistently urged for its repeal. However, all these have gone to the deaf ears of the Government.
Medha Patkar – Narmada Bachao Andolan and the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM);Prafulla Samantara – Lok Shakti Abhiyan Lingraj Azad – Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, NAPM, Odisha; Dr. Sunilam, Aradhna Bhargava – Kisan Sangharsh Samiti Meera – Narmada Bachao Andolan, NAPM, MP; Suniti SR, Suhas Kolhekar, Prasad Bagwe – NAPM, Maharashtra; Gabriel Dietrich, Geetha Ramakrishnan – Unorganised Sector Workers Federation, NAPM, TN; C R Neelakandan – NAPM Kerala; P Chennaiah Ramakrishnan Raju – NAPM Andhra Pradesh,Arundhati Dhuru, Richa Singh - NAPM, UP; Sister Celia – Domestic Workers Union & Rukmini V P, Garment Labour Union, NAPM, Karnataka; Vimal Bhai – Matu Jan sangathan Jabar SinghNAPM, Uttarakhand; Anand Mazgaonkar, Krishnakant - Paryavaran Suraksh Samiti, NAPM Gujarat;Kamayani Swami, Ashish Ranjan – Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan Mahendra Yadav – Kosi Navnirman Manch, NAPM Bihar; Faisal Khan, Khudai Khidmatgar, NAPM Haryana; Kailash Meena, NAPM Rajasthan;Amitava Mitra & Sujato Bhadra, NAPM West Bengal; B S Rawat – Jan Sangharsh Vahini & Rajendra Ravi, Madhuresh Kumar and Kanika Sharma – NAPM, Delhi;
For details contact or write to napmindia@napm-india.org | 9818905316
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National Alliance of People’s MovementsNational Office : 6/6, Jangpura B, Mathura Road, New Delhi 110014
Phone : 011 24374535 Mobile : 09818905316
Web : www.napm-india.org | napmindia@gmail.com
Twitter : @napmindia




Singh receives ‘The Grand Cordon of the Order of Paulownia Flowers’

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Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh receives ‘The Grand Cordon of the Order of Paulownia Flowers’ from the Japanese Emperor in Tokyo
Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh receives 'The Grand Cordon of the Order of Paulownia Flowers' from the Japanese Emperor in Tokyo




St. Edmunds’ teams shine

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  • Boys and girls team both register comfortable wins 
Jaipur, November 4, 2014: Boys and girls from St. Edmunds hardly broke a sweat beating their opponents Neeraja Modi and Anslem Pink City respectively on Day 7 of the Premier League of Indian School Basketball League organized by Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in collaboration with IMG-Reliance (IMG-R) at Vidyashram School, Jaipur on Tuesday.
The boys team from St. Edmunds beat Neeraja Modi 40-18 while the girls team beat Anslem Pink City 20-17. Anslem Pink City boys team were handed a 29-46 defeat by Anslem North City while Candlewick boys lost to Seedling 14-35.
In the other matches in girls category, Seedling School gave a walkover to Neerja Modi while Sanskar School also got one against St. Wilfred.
Venue: Vidyashram
Boys
Neerja Modi (Manish 6) lost to St. Edmunds (Sandeep 12) 18-40; Anslem Pink City (Akash 10) lost to Anslem North City (Bhavya 15) 29-46; Candlewick (Ayush 9) lost to Seedling (Jayant 8) 14-35
Girls
Anslem Pink City (Jaishree 5) lost to St. Edmunds (Jhanak 7) 17-20; Seedling School gave walkover to Neerja Modi; Sanskar got W/O against St. Wilfred

About the Basketball Federation of India
The Basketball Federation of India or BFI is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI has been involved in conducting camps, clinics, events, and training sessions at its academies for the development of basketball. BFI came into being in 1935 and took complete control over Indian basketball in 1950. Prior to that time, the Indian Olympic Association handled the conduct of Indian basketball championships. Since 1950, the BFI has been conducting various such championships, from the grassroots to senior team participation in international tournaments. In addition, the BFI has been responsible for the establishment of strong sub-junior and junior level programs. The BFI has to its credit produced several international players of repute, among them 17 have been bestowed with the honor of Arjuna Award. More information at www.indiabasketball.org

About IMG Reliance
IMG Reliance Pvt Ltd., is an equal joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India’s largest and most recognized private sector company, and IMG Worldwide (IMG), the world’s leading sports marketing and management company. The joint venture company will develop market and manage sports and entertainment in India. Its current assets include India’s premier fashion event, Lakmé Fashion Week and South Asia’s only ATP World Tour event, the Aircel Chennai Open. IMG Reliance has entered agreements with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to create a new professional basketball league and manage all aspects of the commercial rights to the game in India and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), to improve, popularize and promote the game of football throughout India, from the grassroots to the professional level. IMG Reliance has also created a scholarship program to identify and train talented young Indians from sports including – basketball, soccer and tennis at IMG’s world-class sports training facilities at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida.

For further information, please contact our team-
WordsWork
Gautam Sheth – +91 – 98692 33393 (Mumbai)
Anu Sharma – +91 – 99990 69511 (Delhi)
Ankit Rana – +91– 97174 44620 (Delhi)




India flies the festive season with Honda Wings of trust!

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Honda hits a new high in October; clocks 5.4 lacs units in retail

  • Records 103% growth in festive sales over last year
  • Registers robust domestic 27% growth in April to October, FY 2014-15
  • Accomplishes fastest network expansion in history of Indian 2wheeler Industry with opening of 800th Dealer
  • Recognized No. 1 Brand in Indian two-wheeler industry (Economic Times 100 Most Trusted Brands survey 2014)

Manesar, November 01, 2014: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) – the Only Honda in Indian 2wheeler industry gave a flourishing finish to festive season 2014.

India celebrates with Honda:
For the first time, Honda’s two-wheeler retail sales breached the psychological 500,000 mark in October with 5.4 lacs unit retails across India.

Almost all dealerships worked overtime on Dhanteras when Honda sales surpassed 1 lac unit mark in a single day. The auspicious Dhanteras day saw a phenomenal 110% jump in sales to 1.65 lakh units, as compared to 78,500 units sold last year. Honda Dream Series motorcycles contributed 30% to sales on Dhanteras while Honda Activa contributed 45%.

October Performance FY’2014-15:
Honda’s two-wheeler sales closed at 377,112 units in October’ 2014 with its domestic market share at 25%.

Quote from Company:
Announcing the sales report, Mr. Y S. Guleria, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, said, “This was our first festive season as Only Honda. We posted a phenomenal 103% growth over last year. As part of Honda’s Utsav strategy, our touch-points were fully armed to meet this season demand backed by an aggressive marketing campaign. Our achieving 5.4 lacs retails in a single month and selling over 1 lac units in a single day is a testimony of customer trust in Honda. There was overwhelming customer demand for both motorcycle and scooters cutting across urban and rural geographies. Honda’s recognition as the Most Trusted Brand was an icing on the cake and we thank our customers and stakeholders for the unflinching trust on brand Honda.”

Honda’s growth story in October extended beyond sales as well. Company announced the opening of its 800th Honda Exclusive Authorized Dealer under its aggressive network expansion plans. With this, Honda network now reached 3170 touch points across India.

Honda’s front runner brand value received a further validation when it emerged as the ‘Most Trusted Brand in the Two-wheeler category in The Economic Times Brand Equity’s Annual Survey in 2014.

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