Hates tryst with destiny Prof.

Kalburgis Murder
There has been a prominent
resurgence of the hindu right
wing, all over India but especially
in Karnataka, in launching a
relentless campaign of hate and
murder with a view to curtailing
the fundamental freedoms of all
people, but specially writers, activists and minorities. This campaign is being carried out
by an army of hooligans recruited by the Sangh Parivar. This reminds me of the army of
the dead from J.R.R. Tolkiens novel Lord of the Rings, which portrays an army of the
dead that is continually evolving itself by spreading falsified lies, distortion of history and
spewing hate with the sole motive of stifling political dissent. In the case

of the sangh parivar, the aim is to recruit newer people into and ultimately preparing the
battle ground for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra. This is happening at a time
when the Indian state is preoccupied in pushing ahead the anti-people, pro corporate
policies down the throats of the marginalised. Read The Rest of Robin's Article

Governing Speech on the Internet: From the Free Marketplace Policy to a

Controlled 'Public Sphere
The internet is widely thought to be
unprecedented and radically
different from the media which
preceded it. Interestingly, the
internet has been unlike other
media, in that it does not have a
history of being monopolised by
governments. True, certain States
have tried to regulate the internet
in a manner which allows them to
exercise an increased control over
it, some others have a greater control over the internet root given the history of
development of the internet, but nevertheless no one State can be said to own the
internet in any jurisdiction, in the manner of telephone or broadcast monopolies.
Internet as it stands now, at its essence, is a largely private of networks connecting
privately-owned, and occasionally publicly-funded platforms. Read More

The Role of Classification in Facilitating Identities for the Internet: The Case of
VoIP Regulation
The internet is widely thought to be unprecedented and radically different from
the media which preceded it.
Interestingly, the internet has
been unlike other media, in that it
does not have a history of being
monopolised by
governments. True, certain States
have tried to regulate the internet
in a manner which allows them to
exercise an increased control over
it, some others have a greater
control over the internet root given

the history of development of the internet, but nevertheless no one State can be said
to own the internet in any jurisdiction, in the manner of telephone or broadcast
monopolies. Internet as it stands now, at its essence, is a largely private of networks
connecting privately-owned, and occasionally publicly-funded platforms. Read More

So, wheres Martha Nussbaum?

After a rather tragic misunderstanding following inaccurate media
reportage,our humble Law and
Literature groups discussion began,
sans Martha Nussbaum herself, with
a brief introduction to the selected
reading,Poetic Justice The Literary
Imagination and Public Life, and
profuse apologies for our inability to
introduce the author herself to the
crowd of avid fans. The reading
helped with shaking off our
embarrassment by providing ample
fodder for kindly reflection.
We began by analysing the notion of empathy as an aspect of human life, which is
essential even in the courtroom, and becomes indispensible at the time of passing
judgments. Enter literary fiction, to train the mind in empathy. The lack of a
metaphorical imagination in law is, in Nussbaums opinion, rectified by the structure
of a narrative, comprising of the introduction of characters, the laying down of a plot,
the build up of conflict, which is slowly faced and eventually overcome. Read More

Human rights groups slam criminal tracking system

Advocates, such as Robin Christopher J from the Alternative Law Forum said the move
to tag people is a violation of the right to love with dignity, and with it, obstructing many
other basic rights. The law is treating them differently. There is no freedom of
movement as there is an inherent restriction and even the freedom of association is
violated, as even I will be seen as a criminal if I associate with him or her. It is creating

a different class of people, he said. He also said there needs to be a more

scientific way of dealing with it. This is just arbitrary executive power, Read More
Letter to the PM against Software patenting
On September 15, 2015 several civil society organizations, institutions and citizens
submitted a joint letter to the PMO expressing their concerns over the Guidelines for
Examination of Computer Related Inventions (CRIs) issued by the Office of the
Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks on 21st August, 2015. Some
of the noted Institutions and Organizations included in this letter are IIT Bombay, CDAC, IIM Bangalore, Alternative Law Forum, Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore
, National Working Group on Patent Laws, to name a few. Read More
Handler's Plea Against Solitary Confinement
Six human rights groups, including Alternative Law Forum, Association for Protection
of Civil Rights, Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights, and over 30
signatories have written to the CM and governor of Maharashtra, saying that the
barrack Ansari is lodged in is "no more than a metal and concrete tomb", and calling
his confinement "illegal and unconstitutional". Read More
In Bengaluru, Skywalks help no one but advertisers
Vinay Sreenivasa, who is a part of Alternative Law Forum, says that skywalk is an
old and obsolete design workaround that promotes traffic. We should instead have
manned pelican lights that are easier to maintain and inexpensive to install. Pelican
lights are not resource intensive like the skywalks that need electricity for 24 hours,
he adds. Read More
Experts welcome move, but with caveats
Traffic expert M.N. Sreehari was highly critical of the policy to allow any sort of
parking on premium right of way on crucially important linking roads in CBD. Most of
our roads are very narrow. The BBMP tenders have called for parking on
Commercial Street and even Avenue Road. What will remain of the road for vehicle
movement? The average speed has come down to around 9 km per hour in the
CBD, he said. Read more
Crossing an NH is a matter of life and death
Early last year, a group of over 200 citizens, including physically challenged persons
gathered at Hebbal flyover and took over the road to highlight the plight of pedestrians
trying to cross national highways. In the past decade, the city has witnessed a
population explosion with new settlements growing rapidly on the outskirts. Predictably,
the newer areas have all come up around major roads and National

Highways which pass through the city. This has blurred the boundaries of where
the city ends and the highway starts. However, officials are yet to realise the
implications of this development and build pedestrian facilities for people living in
and around national highways. Two major highways, NH4 and NH7 pass through
Bengaluru. For pedestrians, there is no easy way to cross these roads. Read More
Operation Smile traumatic for children and parents: NGOs
Did Operation Smile by the city police to rescue children actually cause trauma to
them? Yes, according to an interim report compiled by the Peoples Union for Civil
Liberties (PUCL) and the Concerned for Working Children (CWC) released on
Saturday.Majority of persons, who had been rescued, were not involved in
begging, while children were arbitrarily picked up from the street, even when their
parents were nearby. Most families were not informed that their children had been
rescued and parents were not even guided on the procedure for releasing them, the
report points out.

Solidarity Event & 207 against 377 Campaign organised by Sangama

Gowthaman Ranganathan was a panelist Solidarity Event & 207 against 377
Campaign organised by Sangama on 9th September 2015. the gathering
included over of 100 community members and addressed the "IPC Sec. 377 and
the way forward".
Consultation meeting on State initiative for TransGender Commission
Gowthaman Ranganathan attended the consultation presided by ML Oscar Fernandes
and Health Minister UT Khader on the 12th of September, 2015.

GFGC Conference
Deeptha Rao was invited as the Resource Person for the session on "Gender Politics,
Liberty and Censorship" at the conference on Censorship in Literature: Challenges to
Creative Writing organised by the Government First Grade College, Tiptur on 4th and

5th September, 2015.

Consultation on Women's Empowerment
Deeptha Rao and Gowthaman Ranganathan were invited as resources persons
for the "Consultation on Women's Empowerment" organised by St. Joseph's
College (Autonomous) on 23rd September, 2015.
Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and the Law
Danish Sheikh was invited to teach a one credit course taught from 14-24 September
at NLU Delhi on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and the Law

Madhavi Shivprasad shares her reflections on the

Kannada movie 'Naanu Avanalla..Avalu' which based
is on Living Smile Vidya's autobiographical work 'I am

Vidya'. Read Naanu AvanallaAvalu: First Impressions

Alternative Law Forum with collaborative Networks and

Organisations

Enforcing Environmental Regulations in China: Role of Citizens, Courts, and

Agencies
The promulgation of the Administrative Litigation Law (ALL) in 1989 was
widely regarded as the milestone in the development of rule of law in China.
The primary objective of the ALL is to empower ordinary citizens to challenge
regulatory decisions in courts. A minor clause in the ALL allows
administrative agencies to sue regulated parties for non-compliance with
administrative decisions. A key paradox found in this study is that agencies,
environmental protection bureaus (EPBs) in this context, deployed the ALL
far more extensively than citizens, even though the original intent of the ALL
was to empower citizens over agencies. Read More

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Communications Coordinator

Advocate, ALF
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