Charlie Chaplin, the world’s most well-known comedian, hated Christmas – it reminded him of the grueling poverty of his childhood. As if by touch of a self-fulfilling prophecy, he died on the Christmas day in 1977. “He was obsessed with the poverty he came from,” Michael Chaplin, the 70-year-old son of Charlie Chaplin, told this reporter. Pe
When a group of upper-caste ‘cow protection’ vigilantes flogged four dalits for skinning a dead cow (and went on to even record a video clipping of the beating) in Mota Samadhiyala village near Una town of Saurashtra on July 11, it triggered an impromptu reaction across the state, now turned into an agitation led by Jignesh Mevani, a 35-year-old journalist-turned-social activist
I was still in civil services when economic reforms were introduced in 1991. A more dramatic event around that time [1992] was the demolition of Babri Masjid. In retrospect, one realises how important 1991 was and how much it would transform the destiny and course of this nation. The idea of a good state, when I joined IAS in 1980 and right up to the mid-1990s, was that it stood
The 122nd Constitutional Amendment (GST) Bill 2014, cleared on August 4 in the Rajya Sabha subsumes all other indirect taxes at the central and state levels to create one single tax – the goods and services tax (GST). The introduction of GST is claimed to be a significant step towards creating a ‘common national market’ and creating a harmonious tax system. This begs the
A mass mobilisation of dalits is now taking place across the country, a move that may well change the way they have been treated over the years. The dalits are upset, particularly after four of them were ruthlessly beaten up by cow vigilantes in Gujarat’s Una town. “We will be congregating in Delhi during the winter session of parliament. We will tell the national lea
The Rajya Sabha passed the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, on August 8. While the proposed law would usher in landmark changes in healthcare and rights of the mentally-ill, if cleared by the Lok Sabha, the endeavour to shield the mentally ill against prosecution under section 309 of the IPC (attempt to suicide) may ironically restrict the application of the penal provision mainly to acti
What is your assessment of the situation in Kashmir? The situation is very bad. What we see today is a complete breakdown of governance and law and order. We have an artificial sense of control over the areas where we have deployed security forces. The moment the forces are out, young people come from nowhere and set up their own nakas and security barrie
Mehbooba Mufti’s close political aide and education minister Naeem Akhtar spoke to Aasha Khosa in Srinagar. Excerpts from the interview: How do you see the current situation in Kashmir? It is a very sad but familiar turn of situation in Kashmir. We have passed through so many dark tunnels in the past;
PM Narendra Modi finally spoke about Kashmir. He talked of Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat. How do you view it? I wonder if the PM said anything important at all. It is all the old rhetoric about development, misguided youth in Kashmir etc. The reality is that the Valley is up in arms against India. There is a clear writing on the wall – lite
Dalit atrocity in Gujarat has highlighted the plight of people fighting with the social stigma even after seven decades of independence. In an interview with Jasleen Kaur, National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman PL Punia, a dalit leader from the Congress, says that with a massive cut in the budget allocation for the social sector, the government is systema
Medha Patkar and the movement led by her, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), evoke sharp responses. Many label them anti-development, anti-technology and in cahoots with those who do not want to see India racing ahead. On the other hand, many see them as the torchbearers of human rights and the first critics of the market-oriented economy. Opinions and prejudices ap
Burak Akçapar, Turkey’s ambassador to India, Nepal, and Maldives, has been a career diplomat since 1987. Before coming to India in 2011, he was deputy director general for political affairs, focusing on South Asia, at the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs for two years. With a doctorate in international law from the University of Hamburg, he has lectured extensiv
How can people divided into thousands of castes be a nation?” This was a basic question raised by Dr BR Ambedkar during the freedom struggle. According to him, without annihilation of caste, freedom of India had no meaning. As chairman of the drafting committee of the constituent assembly, Dr Ambedkar tried hard to make laws on atrocities against scheduled castes, but these
Dr Ajay Kumar, a noted urologist from Bihar who has been a member of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and chairman of its grievance redressal cell, has been named a board member of the National Board of Examinations (NBE). The body is entrusted with the task of conducting entrance exam for medical postgraduate and super-specialty courses. He is also heading
"If you have a problem, if you feel like attacking someone, attack me, not my dalit brothers. If you want to shoot anyone, shoot me, not my dalit brothers," declared Modi in his stentorian voice as he attempted to douse the fire of anger that had quickly spread among the dalits after four young men were ruthlessly beaten up by cow vigilantes in Gujarat. Now that Modi h
India’s claim to the full-fledged membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) comes at an opportune time when most of the nations in the international system are knocking at the door of the West-ordained disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation order for parity and equity with the rest of the nuclear haves. The NSG was formed in 1974 and did not entai
It was in 2011 that the demand for an effective anti-corruption and grievance redress legislative framework gripped the nation. Five years hence people of the country are still awaiting the instruments of accountability that they had so vociferously sought – the Lokpal Act, the Whistle Blowers Protection (WBP) law and a legislation to redress grievances of people. &nbs
Spearheading the cause of the poor and the marginalised for almost three decades, Aruna Roy recently concluded 100 days of the ‘jawabdehi yatra’ in Rajasthan, collecting grievances and complaints of people regarding government delivery of services. She tells why accountability of bureaucrats and politicians is necessary for implementing any kind of law.
Limp implementation of law seems to be the principal cause of the rising violence against dalits in different parts of the country with the situation now turning alarming. “The machinery is biased, corrupt and lazy. Perpetrators (of crimes against dalits) do not hesitate to systematically violate the law,” BJP MP Udit Raj told Governance Now. Condemning
The Lokpal law that was enacted after decades of debate and demand for an anti-corruption institution was dealt a severe blow as an amendment bill was introduced and passed by parliament in less than 24 hours. On July 28, parliament passed the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to amend Section 44 of the original Lokpal Act and the corresponding rule-making power
