Satyagraha – The Force of Truth

YE! NAVDANYA – Young Ecologists

Dear Prime Minister, Dr.Manmohan Singh & Rahul Gandhi, Vice President of Congress,

We as the youth of India want a nation free of pollution – the pollution from fossil fuels that is destabilizing our climate, the genetic pollution from GMO's that threatens our biodiversity and pollution of power that threatens our constitutional rights, our health and our entire ecosystems. We are deeply concerned that the recent decisions are aggravating the two big crises that threaten human survival, species extinction and climate chaos.

India has never had a strong environment ministry but now we are dismantling the week structure of environment protection. Under the influence of the biotech industry you first got rid of environmental minister Jairam Ramesh who listened to scientists and the public on Bt.Brinjal and imposed a moratorium. You have now got rid of Jayanthi Natarajan because she was doing her duty under the environmental protection act to not allow field trials of GMO's until robust structures for biosafety were put in place as recommended by the Technical Expert Committee appointed by the Supreme Court.

You have appointed Veerappa Moily to take two anti-people and anti-environment steps. The first is to manufacture consent to rush through GMO field trials against all scientific advice and democratic demands. The second is to undo the policies of protection of the fragile biodiversity of Western Ghats and North East. Veerappa Moily heads the oil ministry and his appointment as environment minister violates the principle of avoiding conflict of interest. The 10 year moratorium on GMO's as recommended by the Technical Expert Committee by the Supreme Court must be implemented. We urge you to not subvert our rights as guaranteed by our constitution and our laws. You seem to be forgetting that your economic policies that are blind to your constitutional obligations, the people's rights and the environment has been the primary reason for the weakening of economy, the weakening of democracy and the recent electoral defeats of the congress. Your removal of the environment ministers just to push GMO's will only reinforce this self-destructive trend for yourselves and the country.

We as youth, working for resurgence for a sovereign and safe India demand that -

1) Veerappa Moily not to be appointed as the environment minister
2) The GMO moratorium be maintained and supported in the Supreme Court

In case of your failure to protect our right to safe food, we will undertake a Satyagraha following Gandhi’s footsteps to reclaim that which is rightfully ours.

In solidarity,
YE! Navdanya
Young Ecologists! Navdanya

Vandana Siva says “For 26 years Navdanya has been working for a GMO free India through the practice of Bij Swaraj and Anna Swaraj by the strength of YE! Navdanya, Young Ecologists.”

*image retrieved from Jeffery Smith: The World’s Poster Child for Corporate Manipulation and Deciet