ICR Publications
ICR
regularly brings out various publications as a result of its
engagements in research, documentation and intervention. The main
objective of its publications is promote dialogue on critical issues
that affect various communities as well as provide a platform for
disseminating information on several dissenting voices in the country.
The
publications of ICR are unique non-profit, non-partisan activities
committed to educating the global community about the urgency of
implementing comprehensive solutions to the contemporary social,
political, economic and environmental issues.
List of Publications
1. Dissent, Self-Determination and
Resilience: Social Movements in India
(Eds.)
Smitu Kothari, Savyasaachi and PT George
It’s
a rich body of documentation on social movements in India. The book
attempts to learn and strengthen linkages among various movement
constituencies and widen the awareness and appreciation for the role
and issues that social movements bring to the political debate in our
societies. This collection of essays represents the following:
Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha, Koel-Karo Anti-dam struggle, Movements
opposing uranium mining, Movement against AFSPA in the state of Manipur
and the Indigenous Peoples struggles against displacement in Orissa.
2. Social Movements
Calendar: Conceptualized by Smitu Kothari.
The
Social Movements Calendar attempts to present the vast research and
documentation available on social movements in India as well as bring
together references to articles, books and other literature within the
realm of social movements and peoples struggles in India.
Published editions are: Social Movements Calendar - 2009, 2010, 2011,
2012, 2014.
Latest
addition to the Calendar is in collaboration with Delhi Solidarity
Group, a calendar documenting the 30 years of Narmada Bachao Andolan -
published in 2015 April.
3. A Citizens’ Report
Card on Special Economic Zones
State
Governments across the country, instead of initiating a public
dialogue, have used the force of the state machinery, coercion and
fraudulent means to subvert and suppress peoples’ resistance to SEZs.
The report brings out a critique of the (un)democratic functioning of
the SEZs, struggles of the affected people, lack of transparency and
public accountability and how hundreds of SEZs mushrooming all over the
country have become a tool for land grab.
4. Parliamentary
Scrutiny over International Financial Institutions (IFIs)
The
need for a parliamentary scrutiny over stems from the lack of democracy
that pervades all levels of the international financial institutions
(IFIs), especially the way they work in developing countries. This
small report reiterates the fact that the parliamentarians should be
the final arbiters of economic decisions even in the case of IFIs.
5. Rejecting the World
Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (2005-2009): A Civil Society Critique
The
World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for India is a blueprint for
its role in India which provides the rationale for its operations in
the country. Civil society organizations after analyzing the strategy
report have vehemently oppose the adverse impacts of World Banks
strategies in India. This critique explicitly rejects the World Banks
document and call upon the Government of India, the Parliament and the
state Assemblies to reject the IFIs push to override democratic
practices in the country.
6. Insidious Financial
Institutions in India’s North East
International
Financial Institutions have been playing insidious roles in developing
countries and it is no different in India. The ADB and the World Bank
have been promoting a particular set of development priorities in such
a way that benefits few corporations and political interests. This is
in contravention to the aspirations of the people of Northeast India.
This report attempts to energize the relationship between the
communities in the Northeast India, people’s organizations and the
elected representatives of the states so that they can collectively
exercise accountability of the IFIs.
7. A Paradise Lost:
Tribes of Jharkhand fight against Uranium Mines
The
Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), a subsidiary of the
Department of Atomic Energy, is the sole authority that supplies
uranium (yellow cake) to nuclear power plants in the country. It mines
and processes uranium at seven mines in Jharkhand’s Jaduguda area.
Careless and unscientific disposal of uranium mine waste and , sludge
which are radioactive substances could lead to environmental havoc and
could be hazardous to human beings and animals. The report unearths the
effects of uranium mining in the areas around the mines. UCIL’s
irresponsible dumping in the vicinity of Jaduguda village (in Purbi
Singhbhum district) is extremely worrisome as continued exposure to
radiation will lead to increased cases of cancer, leukemia and several
other diseases.
8. Peoples Struggles in
India:
Intercultural Resources has been publishing a series of case studies
entitled under the series - “People’s Struggles in India.” The series
began in 2010, has been documenting a variety of facets of social
movements in India, set in different regional contexts are a reflection
of the plurality of struggles in India.
Online publication at: http://www.ritimo.org/mot456.html#pagination_recherche_dossiers
9. Fractured Forest: The Political Ecology of the Delhi Ridge - Thomas Crowley
The Ridge is a fundamental part of Delhi, but it hardly figures in the public imagination of the
city. This was not always so. As recently as 2006, sizable protest
movements rallied to preserve Ridge land. But as the city has expanded
and other issues have garnered more attention, the Ridge has faded into
the background. The report “Fractured Forest: the Political Ecology of
the Delhi Ridge” is an attempt to bring renewed focus to a space whose
survival is essential to Delhi's environmental and social well-being.
The report has been prepared by Thomas Crowley, who is working as a
volunteer for Intercultural Resources, and it draws extensively on
primary sources (both archival documents and voices from the field) as
well as secondary sources.
The report, after giving a
brief introduction to the Ridge, provides a historical analysis of the
Ridge's ecology and its relationship with Delhi's urbanization in the
pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. The report then
analyzes the current status of the Ridge, including its ecological
functions, as well as the ongoing conflicts over the use of Ridge land.
Considering this historical and ecological context, the report
discusses the challenges facing Ridge advocates, both in Delhi, and in
the larger National Capital Region, which is facing intense
environmental and social pressures. The report concludes by suggesting
ways forward given the complex challenges of forest conversation in the
midst of a booming mega-city.
The Ridge, often referred to
as Delhi's green lung, performs crucial ecological functions, and it
has been a central - if unrecognized - factor in the city's long
history. Along with the Yamuna River, it forms the boundaries of the
so-called “Delhi Triangle,” the area that has nurtured all of Delhi's
historic cities, until the ever-expanding New Delhi broke these
geographical boundaries. Even as urbanization continues unabated (16.6
million people in the city proper as of the last census count), the
Ridge remains important. It protects Delhi from the heat and dust of
nearby Rajasthan, lowers the ambient temperature, serves as a
groundwater recharge zone in a parched city, shelters a wide variety of
flora and fauna, and helps mitigate against the effects of climate
change.
At the most basic level, the Ridge, as its
name suggests, is a geological phenomenon. It is the tail end of the
Aravalli mountain range, an ancient geological formation much eroded
over its lifetime. The Aravallis stretch from Gujarat to Delhi,
reaching their maximum height of about 1700 meters near Mount Abu in
Rajasthan. In Delhi, the Aravallis manifest themselves as rocky spurs
and outcrops, creating a low series of hills in an otherwise flat city
and reaching a maximum height of roughly 90 meters above the Yamuna
floodplains.
But when most activists speak of the Ridge,
they are referring, not to its stones, but to its forests. The various
“Save the Ridge” movements have largely focused on preserving the flora
and fauna of Ridge areas. The government has also been concerned with
preserving the Ridge's forests, a concern that arguably goes all the
way back to the Delhi Sultanate. Certainly, since 1913, when the
British government first declared part of the Ridge a Reserve Forest,
conservation has been on the state's agenda. Government involvement
reached its peak between 1994 and 1996, when the Ridge Management Board
was formed, and approximately 80 square kilometers of the Ridge were
set aside as Reserve Forest.
The report reviews these
basic aspects of the Ridge's geology, ecology and preservation, but it
focuses on the social movements, conflicts, and changing land use
patterns that have shaped the Ridge. The modern “Save the Ridge”
movement began in 1979, with the formation of Kalpavriksh and
wide-spread protests against encroachments on the Ridge, but this
activism has important antecedents. Moreover, it was responding to an
environment that had already been shaped by centuries of intervention
and struggle between different communities and with both the colonial
and post-colonial state.
The report argues that an
in-depth understanding of the Ridge's history is crucial for navigating
the complex realities of the Ridge's present, especially as it relates
to demands for equity and social justice. By reviewing the Ridge's
history, along with more recent contestations over Ridge land, the
report aims to lay the foundation for a socially sensitive and
historically informed approach to ecological justice in Ridge areas.
While
the report draws on historical analyses, it is firmly rooted in present
concerns, and it is especially timely given the recent election of the
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi. AAP was the only party to
mention the Delhi Ridge in its manifesto, although the document did not
go beyond a generic recognition of the importance of the Ridge. The AAP
victory comes in the midst of an atmosphere of communal polarization
and of aggressive land-acquisition policies, two issues which figure
prominently into the recent history of the Ridge. The new government
will face a range of challenges and opportunities regarding the Ridge,
and the report can help put these issues into a historical, political
and ecological context that can inform future action.
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