Tribals just escaped surgical strike
A major mishap has been averted last minute. And this issue is not related to India and Pakistan. It happened on our very land. Supreme Court had permitted a plan to displace lakhs of citizens through surgical strike on our very land. Owing to this, more than 10 lakh families would have been displaced.
These are not terrorists who have come from Pakistan. They have been living inside the forest since ages and generations. They have the real entitlement to the forest. The Supreme Court had to order their eviction out of compulsion because the lawyer that had to appear on behalf of the tribals had not attended the hearings of the case. Or, the government didn’t want the lawyer to attend the hearings. Because to evict them was the grand plan the government had so that the forest could be handed over to corporates.
But the government hardly anticipated the backlash. The tribal communities came together and protested against the verdict by the Supreme Court. Tribals in north eastern states began consolidating against the government. If this order had been implemented, a large scale massacre of the adivasis would have taken place. And the friction between the government and adivasis would have reached its peak.
Now the citizenship bill has already created such a furor in north east. Now with this order, the damage would have been manifold. The pressure to review this verdict came from the international level and the government appealed to the Supreme Court regarding this. And the court issued a stay on it immediately. The Court has rapped the government asking “were you in slumber till now?” and the government pleaded helpless saying the states were non-cooperative in this.
This shows the level of commitment of the government in safeguarding the interests of about 10 lakh adivasi families. The government barely thinks these are also equal citizens of the country. The governments want forests, but not the adivasis. Government thinks forest is just about the priceless trees that line the land and the mining sites that exist within. In some ways, this is similar to the attitude the government has towards Kashmir. India wants Kashmir yes, but that’s not just geographical borders. It is also about people who have their livelihoods there. Our leaders have conveniently forgotten that. Hence the large scale violence that the army has carried out against the Kashmiris has been distancing the people living there from India. We are trying to make Kashmir ours with rifles. The final result of this is already visible.
The same approach is being adapted with respect to the Adivasis as well. Government wants the forests, but not the adivasis. If they are forcibly evicted, do we have a good rehabilitation plan? No, not even that. Can we evict them only based on the rifle? Won’t they rebel against their own government? Saving environment is just one reason for the government. Corporate forces have set their sights on the forests and they assume all everything lying there is just unclaimed riches. For them to carry out mining and start resorts, the adivasis have to leave first. Hence the government had discouraged the lawyer from attending the court hearing on the matter. Now with the Supreme Court rapping them, the government is forced to face the humiliation.
The pattern of cruelty can be noted if one observes the naxal history. This shows the atrocities of the army, and army officers meted out on the adivasis. They are not literate and have no idea about the policies and legalities. Hence it is easy to cheat them. When the government stood against their interest, the naxals stood with them. They suffered immensely at the hands of police. Adivasi displacement is the main reason for spread of naxalism here. If the government had even implemented the court order, the country would have seen massive bloodshed. Forest is the livelihood of the tribals, They’d feel like fish out of water if they are thrown out of their forests. Kudos to Supreme Court for staying its own order. Even if they have to be rehabilitated, a good plan in place for their life ahead would be highly appreciable too. Hence the government has to take the tribal organizations into confidence.
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UK Professor Nitasha Kaul's Overseas Citizenship of India cancelled
Academician decries move as "transnational repression"
London/New Delhi: Professor Nitasha Kaul, a London-based academic, announced on May 18, 2025, via a social media post that her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card has been cancelled by the Indian government. She described the move as a "bad faith, vindictive, cruel example of transnational repression" intended to punish her for her scholarly work critical of the Modi government's policies concerning minorities and democracy.
The cancellation follows an incident in February 2024 when Professor Kaul, who holds a British passport and held an OCI card, was denied entry into India upon arrival at Bengaluru airport. She had been invited by the then Congress-led Karnataka state government to speak at a conference on "The Constitution and Unity in India."
According to an image of the letter shared by Professor Kaul, the Indian government stated that it had been "brought to the notice of the Government of India that you have been found indulging in anti-India activities, motivated by malice and complete disregard for facts or history." The letter further accused her of regularly targeting India and its institutions on matters of India's sovereignty through "numerous inimical writings, speeches and journalistic activities at various international forums and on social media platforms."
Professor Kaul, who is a Professor of Politics, International Relations, and Critical Interdisciplinary Studies and the Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) at the University of Westminster, London, vehemently rejects these accusations. She stated she had provided a 20,000-word response to what she termed the government's "ridiculous inanity about ‘anti-India’," but the OCI was cancelled through a "rigged process."
In her social media posts, Professor Kaul lamented the decision, questioning how the "mother of democracy" could deny her access to her mother in India. She characterized the action as stemming from "thin-skinned, petty insecurity with no respect for well-intentioned dissent."
The February 2024 denial of entry had already sparked controversy. At the time, immigration officials reportedly cited "orders from Delhi" without providing formal reasons, though Professor Kaul mentioned informal references to her past criticism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Ministry of External Affairs had then responded by stating that the entry of foreign nationals into India is a "sovereign decision." Unofficial government sources had indicated that a "preventive lookout circular" was issued against her due to her alleged "pro-separatist" and "anti-India" stance on Kashmir.
The BJP in Karnataka had criticised the state government for inviting her, labelling her an "anti-India element." Conversely, the then-Karnataka government and various international human rights organizations and academic bodies had condemned the denial of entry.
Professor Kaul has been an outspoken commentator on Indian politics, including the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, and has testified before international bodies such as the US Congress on human rights in the region. She maintains her work is academic and pro-democracy, not anti-India.
The cancellation of her OCI card effectively bars her from entering India, a country to which she has personal and academic ties. This incident adds to a growing list of academics, journalists, and activists of Indian origin whose OCI status has been revoked or who have been denied entry to India in recent years, raising concerns about freedom of speech and dissent. Reports indicate that over 100 OCI cards were cancelled by the Indian government between 2014 and May 2023. Furthermore, in 2021, new rules were introduced requiring OCI cardholders to obtain special permission for activities such as research and journalism.
