A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Thursday, August 10, 2017
Huge protest rally disrupts traffic in Mumbai
People
gather to take part in a protest, organised by Maharashtra state's
Maratha community, to press their demands for reserved quotas in
government jobs and college places for students, in Mumbai, India,
August 9, 2017.
Rajendra Jadhav -AUGUST 9, 2017
MUMBAI (Reuters) - At least half a million protesters brought Mumbai, India's financial capital, to a standstill on Wednesday as they pressed their demands for reserved quotas in government jobs and college places amid a slumping rural economy.
MUMBAI (Reuters) - At least half a million protesters brought Mumbai, India's financial capital, to a standstill on Wednesday as they pressed their demands for reserved quotas in government jobs and college places amid a slumping rural economy.
Organisers put the number of protesters at more than two million and
said it was the largest rally ever staged in the city of 20 million.
Indian media estimated the number of people at the rally between 600,000
and about one million.
Rising unemployment and falling farm incomes are driving farming
communities across India, from the state of Haryana in the north to
Gujarat in the west, to redouble their calls for reservations in jobs
and education.
"Farming is no longer profitable and jobs are not available," said one
protester, Pradip Munde, a farmer from Osmanabad, a town more than 400
km (250 miles) southeast of Mumbai. "Reservation can ensure us better
education and jobs."
Protesters dismissed as insufficient a proposal by the chief minister of
Maharashtra state, Devendra Fadnavis, to consider granting reservations
to the Maratha community, which is mainly dependent on farming.
"We are not satisfied with the government's promises. The Chief Minister
hasn't given any concrete assurances to solve farmers' problems," said
Bhaiya Patil, one of the rally organisers.
People
gather to take part in a protest, organised by Maharashtra state's
Maratha community, to press their demands for reserved quotas in
government jobs and college places for students, in Mumbai, India,
August 9, 2017.
The protest rally seriously disrupted road and rail traffic in Mumbai
and a city park where protesters gathered could not accommodate all
those trying to enter, but police said there was no violence.
"Many people couldn't enter the (park) venue as it was packed. We had
made arrangements for 2 million people, but we ran out of supplies,"
said Patil.
Young people and senior citizens of western India's Maratha community
waved saffron flags while more than 10,000 policemen helped to maintain
order.
The city's famed 'dabbawalas', who deliver packed lunches to people
working in offices across Mumbai, suspended operations for the day, as
did schools in the affected area.
Wednesday's rally was the concluding protest of a series of 57 marches
staged over the past year in Maharashtra by the Maratha community to
press its demands.
Additional Reporting by Radhika Bajaj; Writing by Swati Bhat; Editing by Gareth Jones