The Activist in Me

New Delhi, India — Greenpeace activists took the campaign against the illegal import of the Clemenceau to the doorstep of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), holding up a banner stating 'Don't make India a waste dump' and lining up barrels painted with the letters C L E M E N C E A U. Greenpeace also delivered hundreds of petition postcards signed by Indian citizens in eight cities, with the clear demand that Minister A. Raja do the right thing, and ask France to take back the toxic decommissioned aircraft carrier.

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Greenpeace researcher uncovers chilling patent plans

The Earth is flat, pigs were invented by Monsanto, and genetically modified organisms are safe. Right.

Geneva, Switzerland — It's official. Monsanto Corporation is out to own the world's food supply, the dangers of genetic engineering and reduced biodiversity notwithstanding, as they pig-headedly set about hog-tying farmers with their monopoly plans. We've discovered chilling new evidence of this in recent patents that seek to establish ownership rights over pigs and their offspring.

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When I look around, I find very little evidence of Indians being involved in ecological movements (the chipko is the only one that comes to mind) or soceities. At least there are not any that are prominent other than the really old ones like the Bombay Historical Soceity. That is why I was surprised when I came across the Ecological Soceity of India. It has been around since 1982 and was founded by the ornithologist, Prakash Gole.

By Pratibha Singh
Published in www.toxicslink.org
05/01/2005

You could be eating salt mixed with chalk powder, or drinking milk with traces of oxytocin hormones. A new compilation finds out how unscrupulous people adulterate your food and endanger your health.

Do you really know that what you are eating is safe for consumption? A recent compilation explains what is meant by ‘adulterated food’. It also provides facts regarding common adulterants, which foods they are normally added to, and the resulting diseases and impact on health.

Many additives such as artificial colours or adulterants are added to food items in order to enhance their appearance and thereby their marketability. The addition of many non-edible substances, food additives and contaminants to foodstuffs pose a serious threat to the health of consumers. Contaminants can be deliberately added or they can get into the food from the environment. ‘Additives’ refers to substances that are not a part of the food; they could be colourants, flavouring agents, preservatives, sweeteners and stabilisers. Since the last few decades many commonly used food additives have come under the microscope and many have also been banned due their connection with various heath disorders in consumers. Food adulteration is a major issue within the purview of food safety.

Food adulteration is a process whereby the quality of the commodity gets reduced through the addition of a baser substance and/or removal of vital elements. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, aims at making provisions for the prevention of adulteration of food. The Act extends to the whole of India and has been in force since June 1, 1955.

This Act puts immense power in your hands. A recent compilation by Toxics Link explains how you, as a concerned consumer, can safeguard against food adulteration – from carrying out simple tests at home to filing complaints with the authorities.

Asbestos has been banned in almost 40 countries, which includes Australia, Uruguay, European Union, Honduras and others. Currently, Japan has also banned asbestos use, except in cases where there are no substitutes. But as per the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), asbestos is safe for Indian workers and citizens.

The adverse impact of asbestos use has been further established with major Japanese manufacturers having admitted scores of asbestos-related deaths amongst former employees, customers and local people. But the extent of the human tragedy due to asbestos exposure remains uncovered in India.

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By Gopal Krishna.
Published in toxicslink.org, 06/01/2006

The WWF has taken cyberactivism to a whole new level. If you are hardpressed for time to help in the causes that you believe in, this is a super time saving and effective way of getting involved. Now, all you need to do is have an Internet connection, a computer, and you can get started! I'm serious.

Step 1: Go to the site: http://passport.panda.org/

Step 2: Open an account for free. (You do have to give your postal address because WWF does not believe in annonymity.)

Step 3: Choose your cause.

Step 4: Choose your method from sending e-cards (increases awareness) to letters (to the teams on the field as well as the governments.)

Voila! You are a cyber activist now! Needless to say, I am clicking away protesting against all those atrocities out there. And it feels good to be able to pitch in and do something!

What was lost in 1992 the historic Shakabpa passport from Tibetan community has now been recovered, bringing pride and honour to the Tibetan people. In a recently concluded public donation drive, more than 850 Tibetans pooled together money to pay for the purchase of their historic passport which stands as proof of Tibet's independent status recognised by other countries in 1948.

This historic Shakabpa passport was issued by the then Government of Independent Tibet in 1947 to Finance Secretary Tsepong Wangchuk Dedhen Shakabpa who was leading a trade delegation to China, the United States and Britain. On this passport, visa and transit visa were issued by countries like the United Sates, Britain, India, France, Italy, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Today this document remains to stand as an important proof of independent status of Tibet legally recognised by other countries before China's invasion of Tibet in 1949.

However, this document got lost from the Tibetan community in 1992 and there were rumours that it had been sold to antique dealers and reached into the hands of Chinese government officials. After 13 years of mystery and search, Friends of Tibet (India) located it with an antique dealer in Nepal, and later bought it for an amount of US$10,000 with money borrowed from a monastery in Nepal.

Tibetans from all around the world donated overwhelmingly in this donation drive to purchase the document. The donation drive was initiated by Friends of Tibet (India) and was led by General Secretary of our organisation Tenzin Tsundue who went on a whirlwind tour of India and Nepal covering Tibetan refugee camps and Indian towns. Starting from Kathmnadu, Shillong, Dimapur, Kohima, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Ravangla, Salugara, Calcutta, Ranchi, Tatanagar, Dhanbad, Asansol, Bodh Gaya, Patna, Allahabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Jaipur, Ajmer and wound up in Udaipur.

The target of five lakh rupees has been achieved and no now more donations are being accepted. About his forty-day long tour in India and Nepal Tsundue said: "Where ever I went, it was so encouraging to see how Tibetans were most forthcoming with their contributions that very quickly we collected all the money needed. Personally it is inspiring to see how one symbolic article could infuse so much spirit and unite us for the cause of Tibet". Tsundue went to 27 different Tibetan refugee camps, towns and cities where he conducted meetings and collected donations.

In an attempt to make it purely a Tibetan effort and donations were collected only from Tibetans and all offers of donation from non-Tibetans have been declined. More than 850 Tibetans took part in the donation drive, some of the contribution ranging from Rs 5 to one lakh from an individual.

Friends of Tibet (India) took responsibility in recovering the document and had submitted it to the leader of the Tibetans - His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Now to complete the work, we initiated the donation drive to pay for the purchase of historic document, a national property of the Tibetans. Friends of Tibet (India) holds no authority or ownership whatsoever on the article. The document is now a property of the Tibetan people and we are happy to have played a small role in recovering it and return it to where it belongs.

The passport will be a part of an exhibition we are organising called "Story of a Nation: Independent, Occupied and Exiled Tibet".

Source: Friends of Tibet Newsletter; News Release (January 6, 2006)

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Friends of Tibet (INDIA), PO Box 16674, Mumbai 400050 Email: support@friendsoftibet.org