Gowtham

Nature | History | Startups | Film Making | Governance | Mental Health.
Day job on Climate action esp Mobility & Pollution.

[Mis_andrea ☭ @jugnyy]

TIL: Jinnah's paternal grandfather, from Gujarat, made his fortune in the fish business but was ostracized by his Hindu Lohana caste due to vegetarianism. His son, Jinnah's father, angered by this, converted to Islam along with his four sons embracing Khoja Ismaili Firqa beliefs.

[Mannu @meharaazzz]

Who is this gentle woman??!💙

[Civic Opposition of India @CivicOp_india]

A 37-year-old Karnataka government officer named Pratima was hacked to death in her own home. She held the position of Deputy Director in the Mines & Geology department. 😢 Assailants broke into her residence while her husband was away and brutally ended her life. The incident has been reported at the SubramanyaPura Police Station in Bengaluru. We also face similar threats when we expose the real estate mafia for their encroachment of lakes & Rajakaluve. 😡
#Murder #Mining #Bengaluru #WomanOfficer

[Vinay Kumar @bahudari]

Mom was miffed with the unsold inventory of https://t.co/tqkPK076qd materials lying all over the house. She said "you're mad to be doing all this at the cost of your career. Why don't you make money like the Kamat brothers of Zerodha & then worry about Constitution" 🤦🏽‍♂️🙄

[Shalin Maria Lawrence @TheBluePen25]

Dalit Intellectual Collective

Public statement on the Recent Atrocities Against the Dalits in Tamil Nadu

We are deeply concerned by the increasing violence against Dalits in Tamil Nadu. In the past week itself, we have witnessed a series of atrocities against the Dalits in Krishnagiri, Perambalur and Tirunelveli.

On 29th October, Dalits in Chokkadi village in Krishnagiri District were brutally assaulted by a mob of 200-300 Gounders—a dominant caste (OBC) in the north-western region of Tamil Nadu. It was led by the ADMK’s, the opposition party in Tamil Nadu, block secretary.

Dalit houses were burnt down because of the small dispute between Dalits and Gounders over the issue of pollution caused during temple renovation in the village. Instead of protecting and standing with the victims, the Police sided with the caste Hindu goons and arrested the victims who were admitted in the hospital. The caste Hindu goons who orchestrated the brutality are roaming free.

On 30th October, the transport minister SS Shivashankar and MLA Prabhakaran along with more than 100 goons prevented Kalaiselvan, a Dalit Panchayat President, from participating in an auction for stone quarries conducted at Perambalur collectorate, in the central part of Tamil region. Both the minister and the MLA belong to the Vanniyar (OBC) caste groups having a long history of unleashing violence against Dalits. Kalaiselvan was also assaulted and stripped to sit semi nude by the DMK party workers.

And On 31st October, at Tirunelveli in the southern region, two Dalit youths were stripped, brutally assaulted, and urinated upon by the intermediate caste Hindus from the Maravar community (OBC). The Dalit youth were subjected to torture and humiliation from evening to late night for more than six hours. The Maravar caste fanatics robbed the Dalit youths’ phones, debit cards, jewellery, and 5000 rupees via e-wallet. The victims had to walk two kilometres half-naked to reach their homes before being admitted to the hospital.

In the same district, Dalit siblings of Nanguneri were attacked with sickles at their home for complaining to the school about caste harassment.

This series of violent attacks and humiliation against Dalits is consistent with the observation in "Caste Pride" (2023), the recent book, that Tamil Nadu provided a template of atrocities against Dalits for the entire country.

These incidents also expose the ugly truth behind much-hyped social justice in Tamil Nadu. The lukewarm response to these inhuman acts by the DMK government is alarming. Crores of rupees have been spent on the judicial enquiry commissions but hardly any concrete actions were taken upon the commission report.

We express our anguish and anxiety at the increasing violence against Dalits and also at the inaction of the state.

We demand that the state immediately act upon the reports of judicial enquiry commissions and take preventive and proactive steps that protect the Dalits from such barbaric and brutal violence in Tamil Nadu.

It should be recorded that the unabated atrocities unleashed against Dalits are not a law and order problem alone but they are serious caste Hindu hate politics as well. The violence against Dalits become normalised forming a strong political culture in Tamil Nadu.

Hence the solution to the casteist terror has to be political as well. The Chief Minister of TN should call for an all parties consultation to end such mean acts of terror in the future.

We demand that the Chief Minister should make a public statement to his party functionaries to refrain from acting against or humiliating the Dalits.

We also request the national media to take cognisance of such a grave situation for Dalits and critically report on the unjust environment of caste terror in Tamil Nadu.

Sd. C Lakshmanan, Convenor, Dalit Intellectual Collective, Chennai
@DHRDefenders @dhrdnetwork @ambedkariteIND @SADAN_Canada @idsnupdates @DalitWomenRise @The_Mooknayak

[Srinivas Alavilli @srinualavilli]

Better believe it :)

@BMTC_BENGALURU is going places - 30% more ridership; 2200 new buses in the pipeline; recruitment approved; 300 feeder services. GPS tracking; new App- digital boards..lot more to be done but heading in right direction IMHO

https://t.co/80JwL7ebqp

[M.K.Stalin @mkstalin]

In the recent episode of my #Speaking4India podcast series, I spoke about how Tamil Nadu has been unfairly treated in the fund devolutions from the Union and how we continue to be shortchanged despite our significant contributions to the nation.

An insightful article in today's @timesofindia elaborates on the same issue. Read more to understand the importance of fiscal autonomy for states and the need for a more progressive approach in sharing resources.

#FiscalAutonomy

[Mahua Moitra Fans @MahuaMoitraFans]

Mother of Democracy !!

[Atharva Kharbade @athrvakhrbde]

The Internet's own boy would've turned 37 today.

The world would've been a better place.

[Tamil Guardian @TamilGuardian]

It seems that Tamil bakers are rapidly becoming masters in the field of French baking.

Earlier this year another Tamil baker Tharshan Selvarajah, who arrived in France from Sri Lanka in 2006, who the title of having the best baguette in Paris. Selvarajah beat off 176 other baguettes and bagged a €4,000 prize.

He is currently delivering the bread to the presidential palace.

[Tamil Guardian @TamilGuardian]

Tamil baker wins award for whipping up the best pain au chocolat in Paris

A Tamil-run bakery in Paris can claim the title of having the best Pain au Chocolat in all of the French capital, and the second best in the whole country, after a hard fought national competition last week.

Sugeetharan Sigamani narrowly missed out on first place and the ‘Master du Pain au Chocolat’ title, but can still boast of having the best pastry in Paris, as he battled it out amongst France's top professional bakers.

Read more ⬇️

https://t.co/xeib7gbex0

[avli @avli_verma]

If interested, Send your applications by tomorrow -03.11.2023!
Manthan is looking for a researcher to join our work on rivers in India with a focus on navigation and transport of goods and passengers.
Details: https://t.co/eTXoiKrkIQ

[baadal nanjundaswamy @baadalvirus]

Before & after! @BBMPCOMM

[Priya Shobana | பிரியா சோபனா @Priya06916530]

உலகத் தமிழ்மக்கள் அனைவருக்கும் தமிழ்நாடு நாள் வாழ்த்துகள்..🖤💙❤️

வாழ்க தமிழ்! வளர்க தமிழ்!!

#நவம்பர்1 #தமிழ்நாடுநாள்

[Gowtham @gowthamkyro]

@JustAnkurBagchi Me

[Tamil Guardian @TamilGuardian]

🕯️ Remembering the Jaffna exodus – 500,000 displaced

On October 30, 1995, over half a million Tamil men, women and children fled their homes in Jaffna as the Sri Lankan military launched a military offensive to capture the peninsula.

Read more ⬇️

https://t.co/awE35aJJ6Z

[Anjali Bhardwaj @AnjaliB_]

As the #ElectoralBonds case comes up in SC & the Central govt says citizens don't have a right to know source of bonds, here's a 🧵 on papers accessed under RTI Act on how concerns of RBI & ECI were ignored & proposal for public consultations dropped after a meeting with the PM.

[the reporters' collective @reporters_co]

Exposing the Govt’s #ElectoralBonds Frauds

With Supreme Court hearing scheduled for tomorrow, we're re-upping of our exposé on the government's #ElectoralBonds fraud. Stay with us as we tell you how the Modi gov't rammed through every single constitutional barricade.

[meghnad (Nerds ka Parivaar) @Memeghnad]

here's a wild thought.

over a 6 year period since electoral bonds were introduced as a mode of political donations, 31 parties have received Rs 16,400 cr worth of EBs. BJP has the biggest share.

IF the supreme court declares the whole thing illegal (a BIG IF), then these Rs 16k crore become a true mystery. what if the supreme court also asks the SBI to reveal who donated to which party?

that would be truly wild.

in one swoop we will know who was getting what contracts, coal mines, airports, benefits from the govt (state and centre), and how much money political parties got in return.

It will be a truly crazy day for our democracy in which all the crony capitalism for the past 6-7 years will be revealed ALL AT ONCE.

Of ALL parties, not just BJP.

IF this wild scenario unfolds, supreme court will just put a spanner in the works of how elections were being done for all these years. nuts.

one can dream, you know

[meghnad (Nerds ka Parivaar) @Memeghnad]

can i make the same argument when the govt wants to know my source of income and takes a chunk out of it as taxes?