1. Home
  2. Open letter by Mangalureans demanding action against saffron outfits for threatening St Aloysius College

Open letter by Mangalureans demanding action against saffron outfits for threatening St Aloysius College

Open Letter by Individuals and Organizations
October 9, 2021

Various media have reported that Hindutva fascist groups including ABVP, VHP and Bajrang Dal have opposed the decision of the St Aloysius College, Mangaluru a private autonomous college to name one of its parks after Human Rights and Adivasi Rights Activist Late Father Stan Swamy. They have threatened to stage a protest if the college goes ahead with the plan. Threats have been made by them stating that “the college will be responsible if any untoward incident takes place”.

We call upon the district administration and the police to take immediate action against these organizations for engaging in criminal intimidation and issuing such threats. They have absolutely no right to interfere in the goings on of the private institution. These organization have a stated purpose and history for violence, communal divisiveness and subscribe to an idea of our country, with scant regard to the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

This blatantly illegal behaviour is a consequence of the free run that is being given to these fascist organizations in coastal Karnataka. These organizations are imposing social apartheid, interfering in the private affairs of citizens and acting against the Constitutional principle of fraternity by engaging in daily acts of violence and intimidation with impunity. Members of these organizations have engaged in lynching of minorities across the country, conducting riots and engaging in violence to push minorities into second-class citizenship

Fr. Stan Swamy was a person who was falsely implicated in the cases pending against him and subject to the most inhuman treatment leading to his untimely death. Imprisoned at the age of 84 years while suffering from Parkinson’s disease, he was denied the most basic of rights, being deprived of even a sipper. He dedicated his entire life for the upliftment of the oppressed sections of society and was targeted precisely for this reason. We stand with Fr. Stan Swamy.
 
We demand that immediate action be taken against these fascist organization for their actions of criminal intimidation and the district administration and police provide adequate protection to the college to ensure that there is no interference in its private affairs.

1.    Campaign to Defend Democracy (Karnataka)
2.    All India Peoples Forum
3.    People’s Union for Civil Liberty (PUCL)
4.    A. John Vincent, Advocate, High Court Bench, Madurai
5.    Abha Rao
6.    Akhil Mythri, NIAS
7.    Alice, AEO
8.    Alwin, Jesuit
9.    Alwyn, Alumni
10.    Amar Jesani, Independent Consultant, Bioethics & Public Health
11.    Amod Shah, PhD Researcher
12.    Amulya D’Souza
13.    Anil Sadgopal, Former Professor & Dean, Faculty of Education, Delhi University
14.    Archana Kaul, Srijanatmakanushi Sanstha
15.    Arindam Roy, CPI ML
16.    Ashiqa
17.    Ashish Kajla, Delhi Solidarity Group
18.    Avani Chokshi, All India Lawyers Association for Justice
19.    Basavalinga, Alumni
20.    Brian D
21.    Brinda Adige, Ananya Mahila Okkutta
22.    Cedric Prakash
23.    Chayanika Shah, Forum Against Oppression of Women, Mumbai
24.    Cheriyan Alexander
25.    Clifton D' Rozario, All India Lawyers Association for Justice
26.    Cynthia D
27.    Cynthia Stephen, Independent researcher
28.    Cyril, Alumni
29.    Deepak D'Souza    Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
30.    Dr.Mohan Rao, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan
31.    Dr.Sudhir Vombatkere, NAPM
32.    Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre
33.    Dwiji Guru, NAPM Karnataka
34.    Emmanuel David, HRDA
35.    Esmeralda D’mello, Justice Task force
36.    Francis
37.    Francis Balaraj, Indian Social Institute
38.    Frazer Mascarenhas, St. Peter's Parish
39.    G. Mary
40.    H (Laltu) Singh, AIFRTE
41.    Harsh Mander, Human rights and peace worker and writer
42.    Harshita, St. Claret College
43.    Hartman de Souza, Writer
44.    Jagdish Patel, Peoples Training and Research centre
45.    Jolly Chacko, Retd Govt Servant
46.    Joseph Xavier,    Indian Social Institute Bangalore
47.    Karuna, Journalist
48.    Kavita Srivastava, PUCL
49.    Kavya
50.    Lekha, All India Students' Association
51.    Madhu Bhushan, Women's rights activist/researcher
52.    Maimoona Mollah, AIDWA Delhi
53.    Manshi Asher, Nagrik Adhikar Manch, Kangra
54.    Manu
55.    Marian Furtado
56.    Mary Ann B
57.    Meera Sanghamitra, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM)
58.    Michael Rajamathi, St. Joseph's College, Bengaluru
59.    Milagrin, Alumni
60.    N Manu Chakravarthy, Individual
61.    N Thamizhseran
62.    N. Jayaram, PUCL
63.    Nandini Sundar, Sociologist
64.    Nisha Biswas
65.    P A Devaiah, All India Students' Association
66.    P. Sainath, Journalist
67.    Philo Thomas, Women's Welfare Centre
68.    Pieter Friedrich,Centre for Liberty and Peace in South Asia
69.    Prabhat Sharan, Journalist
70.    Prayer KC, Independent Doctor
71.    Ram Puniyani, All India Secular Forum
72.    Ramnarayan, Independent Ecologist, Educator
73.    Raphael Dsouza, The Bombay Catholic Sabha and All India Catholic Union
74.    Rohit Prajapati, Activist, Gujarat
75.    Rohit, AISA
76.    S Subramanian, Independent Researcher
77.    S.Krishnaswamy, Madurai District President, PUCL
78.    Sawani Shiraz
79.    Sejal Dand, Anna Suraksha Adhikar Abhiyan
80.    Selvaraj Arulnathan, Loyola College, Vettavalam
81.    Shashank SR, Research For Equity
82.    Shiva Shankar,IIT
83.    Shujayathulla, PUCL Bangalore
84.    Siraj Dutta, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha
85.    Sridhar Venkatesh, University of Michigan
86.    Sudha N, Independent Researcher-Activist
87.    Sultan Mahmud, All India Students Association
88.    Suraj Samrat
89.    Synthia
90.    T.Dlee
91.    Thomas Kailath
92.    Uma Shankari, Human rights organisation
93.    Usha, NMSWorks Software Pvt Ltd
94.    Vidya Dinker, Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development
95.    Vijayashree CS, National Institute of Advanced Studies
96.    Vinay Sreenivasa, Advocate
97.    Walter Fernandes, NESRC
98.    Xavier Jeyaraj SJ, Society of Jesus
99.     Vasant Kumar

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 13,2024

voting.jpg

Bengaluru: An estimated overall 10.14 per cent voter turnout was recorded during the first two hours, since the voting began for bypolls to three Assembly segments in Karnataka on Wednesday, election officials said.

The voting began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

More than seven lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in about 770 polling stations in Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna, where a total of 45 candidates are in the fray.

While Channapatna recorded 10.34 per cent voter turnout till 9 am, it was 10.08 per cent in Shiggaon, and 9.99 per cent in Sandur, election officials said.

Voters, including women and elderly were seen queuing up in front of polling booths in these segments.

By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) -- to Lok Sabha in May elections.

As many as 31 candidates are in the fray from Channapatna, while Sandur and Shiggaon have six and eight contenders, respectively.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the three segments for the smooth conduct of the polls.

The by-polls will witness a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA alliance is in contest against the grand old party.

Among the three segments, Channapatna is considered to be a "high profile", where the contest is between C P Yogeeshwara, a five time MLA from the segment and former Minister, who joined the Congress quitting BJP ahead of nomination, and actor-turned -politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is Kumaraswamy’s son and former PM H D Deve Gowda's grandson.

BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai, is fighting Congress Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former Chief Minister in the 2023 Assembly polls, in Shiggaon.

Bharath Bommai and his father cast their vote at a polling booth in Shiggaon segment.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress is contesting from the seat vacated by her husband, against, BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, who is considered close to party leader and former mining barron G Janardhan Reddy.

Annapurna, Tukaram and other family members cast their votes at a booth in the segment.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families are in the fray in this by-poll. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 7,2024

3yearoldchild.jpg

Mangaluru, Nov 7: In the quiet village of Tippunagar, Loretto Padavu, a heartbreaking accident claimed the life of three-year-old Aashika on Wednesday, leaving a family and community shattered.

Aashika, the beloved daughter of Unais from Pattanabailu near Farangipet, was simply enjoying a carefree moment, playing outside her grandmother’s house. It was then that an unimaginable tragedy struck: a parked goods tempo, owned by her uncle, unexpectedly rolled backward, trapping the innocent child beneath its wheels.

Despite her family’s desperate rush to get her to the hospital, little Aashika’s injuries proved too severe, and she was declared dead upon arrival. Her passing has cast a deep shadow over the close-knit community, who grieve alongside her family for the life taken too soon.

The Bantwal traffic police have registered a case and are investigating the incident, while the community mourns the loss of a precious young soul who had only just begun to experience life’s wonder.
 

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 13,2024

evehicle.jpg

In the heart of Mangaluru, where rising air pollution is spurring public health worries, voices are calling for a greener, cleaner shift in the city’s public transport. Leading this call is APD Foundation, a Mangaluru-based environmental NGO, which has urged Forest, Ecology, and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre to mandate electric vehicle (EV) adoption in public transport.

Abdullah A Rehman, CEO of APD Foundation, emphasized in a formal letter to the minister that Mangaluru’s public transportation system—efficient and organized with both government and private players—could transition smoothly to EVs in stages. He suggested that government-backed financial incentives, partnerships with EV manufacturers, and collaborations with environmental groups could streamline the switch.

Rehman stressed the potential of EVs to cut down emissions, enhance air quality, and reduce noise levels, noting the quieter operation of electric buses. He confirmed that a copy of his letter was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner as well.

However, Dilraj Alva from the Dakshina Kannada City Bus Association noted potential challenges, explaining that the shift might take up to two years due to infrastructure and budget hurdles. Most EV buses, he explained, are procured through aggregators, not directly by individual operators. The addition of charging stations and other essential infrastructure further complicates the transition.

Alva also raised the economic concern: while diesel buses are priced between ₹30-40 lakh, electric buses can cost up to ₹1 crore. Reflecting on recent meetings with companies, including one in Manipal, he questioned the assumption that EVs are an absolute solution to pollution. “EVs aren’t entirely eco-friendly, especially when considering battery disposal,” he cautioned.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.