I endorse. Sukla
On 5 July 2014 16:31, Gopal Krishna <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear All, > > If you agree with the statement, kindly endorse it and share it with > people who are concerned about the increasing assault on freedom of > expression. > > > > *Statement of Concern on SLAPP Cases filed against authors, journalists > and publishers* > > > We, the undersigned condemn the threats of defamation cases served on > authors, journalists and now as publishers in writing. > > > We have read the book "Gas Wars: Crony Capitalism and the Ambanis" > co-authored and published by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and the review article > '"Ambani ki dukaan?" 'by Sucheta Dalal, Managing Editor of moneylife > magazine website and her messages on twitter and we found nothing > defamatory either in the book or in the articles and tweets. The impeccable > credentials of Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Sucheta Dalal have been exemplary > for Indian journalism in the era of paid news, embedded journalism and > draconian corporate control over media. > > > We note that both the book and the article are based on information that > is readily available to everybody in the public domain. > > > We are outraged by the assault on freedom of press and public interest > through threatening letters. The attempt to intimidate journalists who > report truth which commercial czars is quite reprehensible. > > > We express our support to the authors and publishers in question who > have exercised their right to free expression enshrined in Article 19(1) > (a) of the Constitution of India. The day such voices are silenced that > would be a black day for Indian journalism and democracy. > > > We have observed that the authors have been fair to Late Dhirubhai > Ambani, Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani and their companies, by providing > their version of events and circumstances. > > > Among other issues, the core issue that this scholarly and rigorously > referenced book and the articles in question raise is: who all are > colluding with to deprive present and future generations of Indians of > their claims of the natural resources of the country? > > We have pondered over the questions like: "If gas price is low as per > correct production rate then, why should Indians pay higher price of gas? > Who wants Indians to pay price of Indian natural resource as per US price > rate?" We observe that the legal notices from Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani > and their companies through their lawyers will have us accept that raising > such questions is defamatory. > > > While delivering the speech at the award of Nobel Prize for Literature in > 2005, Harold Pinter said, "I believe that despite the enormous odds which > exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as > citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a > crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory. If > such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no > hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us - the dignity of man." > Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, his co-authors and Sucheta Dalal and her colleagues > have done their duty as citizens, writers and as purveyors of truth. > > This undemocratic act by these richest persons of our country and the > artificial persons-the companies- they run is totally unacceptable, > deplorable and constitutes an illegitimate advance against citizens' > rights. > > > *Signatories * > > 1. Prof. Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi > > 2. Githa Hariharan, Writer > > 3. Garga Chatterjee, Indian Statistical Institute > > 4. Seema Mustafa, Editor, The Citizen, www.thecitizen.in > > 5. Chittaroopa Palit, Narmada Bachao Andolan > > 6. Prof. Ayesha Kidwai, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi > > 7. Arun Kumar, Former Member, Press Council of India (XIth Term), > General Secretary, Bihar Working Journalists Union, Member, National > Executive Committee and Indian Journalists Union > > 8. Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi > > 9. Noor Zaheer Zaheer, Writer and Researcher > > 10. Preeti Sampat, Anthropologist, City University of New York > > 11. Siddharth Varadarajan, Journalist & Former Editor, The Hindu > > 12. Prof. (Dr) Dr.Mohan Rao, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi > > 13. Mitali Saran, Writer & Columnist > > 14. Subhash Gatade, author and human rights activist > > 15. Dr. Malem Ningthouja, Campaign for Peace & Democracy, Manipur > > 16. Irfan Engineer, Director, Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict > Resolution, Mumbai > > 17. Mukul, Dube, Writer, Photographer and social activist > > 18. Gautam Navlakha, human rights activist & journalist, Delhi > > 19. Omair Ahmad, Author > > 20. Trupti Shah, Activist, Gujarat > > 21. Himanshu Thakkar, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People > (SANDRP) > > 22. Kamayani Bali Mahabal, Feminist and Human rights activist, Mumbai > > 23. Faisal khan, National Alliance of People's Movements > > 24. Yashwant, Editor, http://bhadas4media.com/, NCR > > 25. Pushpraj, Journalist and Author of Nandigram Diary, Patna > > 26. Rohit Prajapati, Activist, Gujarat > > 27. Xavier Dias, Editor, Khan Kaneej Aur ADHIKAR (Mines, minerals & > RIGHTS), Jharkhand > > 28. Prithvi Raj Sharma, founder member of Indian Community Activists > network (ICAN) > > 29. Dilip Simeon, Historian and author of Revolution Highway, Delhi > > 30. Gopal Krishna, independent researcher, journalist and social > activist > > 31. Dr Babu Rao Kalapala, Scientist > > 32. Dipak Dholakia, Citizens' Solidarity--Forum for Water and Sanitation > (CS-FWS) > > 33. Kiran Shaheen, Memoirist and activist > > 34. Sudhir Pattnaik, Writer and Media Person, Bhubaneswar > > 35. Sankara Narayanan, social activist > > 36. Persis Ginwalla, Social activist, Ahmedabad > > 37. B.R. Bapuji, Professor (Retired), University of Hyderabad > > 38. M. Thimma Reddy, People's Monitoring Group on Electricity > Regulation, Hyderabad > > 39. Shweta Tripathi, Social Activist > > 40. R.Subbarao, Social Activist, Secunderabad > > 41. Sagar Rabari, Jamin Adhikar Andolan, Gujarat (JAAG) > > 42. Krishnakant, Social activist, Gujarat > > 43. Ashok Tankashala, Journalist and Writer, Hyderabad > > 44. Dr Paresh R. Vaidya, Scientist > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Green Youth Movement" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
