George Joseph
George Joseph was a key public figure in the national life of early twentieth-century India. He was a civil rights activist, trade union leader, and brilliant journalist. Joseph was a dedicated nationalist who worked with giants of the Indian freedom movement like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, and C. Rajagopalachari. George Joseph was born on 5 June 1887 in an upper middle-class Syrian Christian family in Changanaseeri in the Travancore State. Joseph did his higher education from the Madras Christian College, the University of Edinburgh, and finally took a law degree from the Middle Temple, London. He moved to Madurai for practising law. It was in Madurai that George Joseph was initiated into public life. There he legally fought for the rights of the Piramalai Kallars, a tribal community. The state had labelled the Kallars a criminal tribe under the oppressive Criminal Tribes Act, 1911. He also got involved in labour activism. Joseph and Ramanathan, a member of the Justice Party, organised the workers of the mills in Madurai to set up the Madurai Labour Union. In the meantime, Joseph became active in the campaign for Home Rule led by Ms Annie Besant. Indeed, Joseph was a member of the first Home Rule Deputation sent to England by Ms Besant. When Gandhiji started the non-cooperation movement, Joseph gave up his legal profession. In the early 1920s he took to journalism. He served for a while as the editor of Motilal Nehru’s The Independent and Gandhiji’s Young India. George Joseph participated in the historic Vaikkom Satyagraha. Indeed, he led the Satyagraha for some time. Gandhiji and George Joseph strongly disagreed on the purpose of Vaikkom Satyagraha. To Gandhiji the Satyagraha was about asserting the rights of low caste Hindus to enter the Lord Mahadeva temple at Vaikkom and to use the roads surrounding the temple. Joseph differed and argued that it was a fight to secure the civil rights to access the public roads. Joseph continued to disagree with the Congress leadership on various issues. The bitter communal polarisation in the country also unnerved him. For a short period, he joined the Justice Party but soon returned to the Congress. In 1937, he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly. He passed away on 5 March 1938. George Joseph lived a life marked by honesty, forthrightness, and a commitment to the Indian Nation.
Visakh S M

Americans Have No Choice
It is not surprising that Donald J Trump, an open white supremacist, anti-science lunatic, who ran an election campaign for President dripping with the hatred of women, vicious bloodlust against immigrants and threats of violence against those who disagree, has won the presidency of the United States of America for a second time. Trump is an outright fascist and half of the United States voted for a fascist because his opponent Kamala Harris’s entire campaign seemed to be about saving an exploitative economic system with expansionist foreign policy that she described falsely as “democracy,” which isn’t working for large segments of both the political left and right; at the same time she and current US president Joe Biden were flouting an international system of laws in order to arm and finance a genocide in Gaza. The hypocrisies were too transparent to sustain. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and basically the entire government and ruling class of the U S A, is supporting Israel in carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people. Israel is a rogue terrorist state, which claims for itself the right to defy international law, even to the point of committing genocide, as it is doing in Palestine and Lebanon right now. And the fact is that Israel could not so easily, and repeatedly, carry out massive crimes against humanity and war crimes, if it weren’t fully backed by the USA. Americans were told to choose between a lunatic racist, woman-hating, all-around fascist Donald Trump and a genocidal war criminal Kamala Harris. They chose the first one. So, for them, gone is a genocidal president too hypocritical to admit it. And in comes a genocidal president who wears it as a badge of honour.
Rudra Sen, Brrackpore, WB

Asmaul Was Tortured
There is a serious case of human rights violation involving Mr Asmaul Sardar, son of Mr Ajgar Sardar, residing in Hakimpur village, under Swarupnagar Police Station, North 24 Parganas district. The incident in question occurred between 2nd November and 4th November 2024, during which Mr. Sardar was allegedly subjected to physical torture and ill-treatment by the personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF).

On 2nd November 2024, Mr. Asmaul Sardar, a farmer from Swarupnagar, North 24 Parganas, was stopped by the BSF while driving a private car. Although no illegal items were initially found, he was taken to Tarali Mini BOP, where he was allegedly tied upside down to a tree and tortured for hours. On 4th November, the BSF claimed to have recovered 400 locks and Rs 11,200 in cash from the car and confiscated them. Mr Asmaul later admitted to being involved in smuggling due to a lack of local employment opportunities and was taken for medical treatment before being released.

Victim was not handed over to local police; rather he was subjected to illegal confinement and torture in custody. While any unlawful activities must be addressed within the framework of law, it is deeply concerning that Mr Sardar was subjected to inhumane treatment and torture, which is a blatant violation of his fundamental rights. As per Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and the directives of the Supreme Court of India, any person in custody is entitled to be treated with dignity and cannot be subjected to torture or degrading treatment. 

MASUM has urged the Acting Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission to intervene and stop human rights violations by the BSF personnel.
Kirity Roy
Secretary, MASUM &
National Convener, PACTI

From the Depths of Neglect
Despite being outlawed, the practice of manual scavenging continues to claim the lives of sewer workers across India. In 2024 alone, there has been a surge in fatalities in the Delhi region.

These deaths not only expose the grave neglect towards the safety of workers but also point out the lack of enforcement of laws that prohibit manual scavenging.

Each year hundreds of lives are lost in the line of duty. These workers, who mostly come from marginalised communities, underprivileged and uneducated backgrounds, are exposed to life-threatening risks as they carry out manual scavenging. Unfortunately, most of these deaths occur due to the lack of safety measures, improper equipment, no training and supervision, and negligence by hiring authorities. Although there are provisions that criminalise manual scavenging and mandate rehabilitation for workers, they are not invoked during investigations of sewer worker deaths. In many cases, the administration fails to recognise that a worker’s death occurred while engaged in manual scavenging, thus preventing the family from receiving the proper compensation or justice.

Additionally, the lack of awareness about the Manual Scavenging Act (2013) among law enforcement officials is another contributing factor to the continued exploitation of sewer workers.

In addition to the tragic loss of life among sewer workers, those employed on a contractual basis face grave exploitation and mistreatment. Many contractual sewer workers are denied fair wages, proper safety equipment, and social security. These workers face arbitrary dismissal, wage theft, and removal or suspension for raising concerns about their oppressive work. In November 2023, hundreds of contractual sewer workers were unpredictably removed by contractors working for the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), with no prior notice, and had not received their pending salaries for several months.

The Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM), in collaboration with various organisations, has focused its efforts on facilitating contractual sewer workers and meeting administrative bodies to resolve their issues. Given the present situation, DASAM organised a public hearing on 28th December, 2024 with the aim of bringing together sewer and septic tank workers, families of victims of manual scavenging, unions, government officials, researchers, academicians, and members of civil society, examining the role of public and private institutions in this continuous crisis and providing a platform for the families and workers to voice their testimonies and explore the deep-rooted causes of these tragedies, exploitation.
DASAM

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 27, Dec 29, 2024 - Jan 4, 2025