Speakers include: Indian human rights lawyer Nandita Haksar, who most recently has defended the accused in the Parliament Attack case; historian and writer on colonialism and patriarchy Kumkum Sangari; radical historian from Pakistan Mubarak Ali; Editor of Indian left monthly Liberation Kavita Krishnan; spokesperson of Cageprisoners Adnan Siddiqui; eminent civil-liberties lawyer Gareth Peirce; Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation spokesperson Hani Lazim, historian and writer on British imperialism John Newsinger; feminist educationalist Rubina Saigol from Pakistan

Organised by South Asia Solidarity Group, The 1857 Committee and the Centre for South Asian Studies, SOAS

Dear friends,

The people of large tracts of Bihar are facing devastation in the worst flooding of the Kosi river in the last half century. The situation is grim in over 900 villages with the districts of Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura and Araria the worst affected. Millions of people have already lost their homes and many have died.

The Bihar Government launched rescue and relief operations a full week after the first breach in the Kosi embankment – and even today, affected people remain stranded due to an acute shortage of rescue boats, and starved of basic emergency necessities like food, polythene sheets, medicine and medical care. Activists of CPI(ML) and the All India Agricultural Labourers Association (AIALA), the only mass grassroots organisations representing the poor in this region, are at the forefront of organising rescue and relief operations on the ground, particularly in some of the worst-affected areas of Supaul, Araria and Madhepura, as well as in all other affected districts in Bihar. They are organising volunteers, and are guiding Government agencies and getting them to heed the voices and needs of the affected.  

They are urgently calling for contributions, ideally in the form of cash to procure food, polythene sheets and medicine. SASG is co-ordinating an appeal in the UK. Please make cheques payable to South Asia Solidarity Group and and write ‘Bihar Flood Appeal’ on the back. Cheques should be sent to SASG, c/o Londec, 293-299 Kentish Town Road, London NW5 2TJ. Please also send your address so that we can send you a receipt.   

We also appeal to you, in addition to contributing to relief efforts, to sign the petition   to the President of India demanding effective intervention and a judicial enquiry into the deep-seated and long-standing institutional apathy and criminal negligence of Governments at both Patna and Delhi towards the floods which wreak havoc in Bihar every year. The petition explains in more detail the causes of the current disaster.

Please click on on:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Floods08/petition.html