More than anything else, dignity seems to be in short supply the world over. Take dignity as a sum total of basic human rights, or the freedom to shape one’s future, and you will see why the world is angry, why the just concluded year witnessed so many street protests. Though ‘dignity’ seems more a state of mind than a piece of statistics, Social Watch Internati
There are two causes of dread in the gift-giving season. One is, gosh! What do I gift dear so-and-so, and its cousin, gosh! I hope dear so-and-so doesn’t give me that useless gift again. Then there is that unanswered philosophical question: when does the statute of limitation on the New Year end? Do you still stick out a hand, widen your eyes, put on a smile and wish everyone you meet a &
The standoff between the government and the civil society over the proposed Lokpal showed reluctance of the ruling establishment to design effective institutional mechanism to rein in corruption in the country. The recent discourses in development economics emphasise upon the importance of a good institutional environment that promotes transparency and accountability in administration, business
The world faces a growing dignity crisis, as many countries have not been able deliver on the basic indices of development like tackling hunger, infant mortality rates, malnutrition and poverty etc, says a new report released by Social Watch International. The “inaction” of the governments of these countries “and the mal-action of business as usual are amassing a
(This was first published in the September 16-30 issue of the Governance Now magazine. Given the way the debate on the Lokpal bill ended in the Rajya Sabha last night, we thought reviving this was timely.) "The parliament has spoken. The will of the parliament is the will of the people,” so said a visibly relieved prime minister in the evening on Saturday, August 27,
After 43 years of dithering on the anti-corruption bill, the Lok Sabha finally passed the newest version of the Lokpal bill late Tuesday. The bill, thus, is now past the first hurdle. However, an united opposition thouroughly lambasted the government in the house for bringing a `patently unconstitutional and deeply flawed bill` and for `violating the spirit of consenus. Going by
India is urbansing very fast and small towns are becoming cities, but the new urban centres are yet to put in place preventive measures to save lives and property from natural disasters, a World Bank report has wanred. “India’s growing cities will expose more people and property to hazards, with an estimated 200 million city dwellers likely to be exposed to storms and earthq
When Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, our former president, honoured the creative children from around the country on Nov 11 at the Ignite function at IIMA organised by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) and Honey Bee Network, he underlined the need once again for rethinking the pedagogy for future India. There is no doubt that children are generally born creative. Why should then schools and colleges
Many in India subscribe to the idea of unity in diversity for India. Unity presupposes reciprocity among the segments. One may ask if the supposed unity in the Indian context merely exhibits some semblance of institutionalised order. However, the term unity enjoys official patronage and it is particularly upheld by those who are the stakeholders of the policy of united India free from the
When it comes to social sector indicators, Himachal Pradesh is one of the best performing states. However, that has not been a rewarding point for the hill state, says chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. Talking to Trithesh Nandan in his Shimla office, the chief minister rues the rough deal the centre doles out to the state. Dhumal alleges that the UPA governmen
Amidst the verbal duels parliament witnessed on December 22 when the Lokpal Bill was tabled for discussion, the lone parliamentarian who stood out for his theatrics was Lalu Prasad, that irrepressible king of buffoonery. Lalu was busy stirring what he believes is `rustic charm` and `earthen wit` into the debate, launching a vitriolic broadside at social activist and Jan Lokpal crusader
Chief election commissioner Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi is bang on the job. A day after announcing dates for elections in five states (Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur), he is dead serious about dealing with electoral challenges of all kinds, not excluding even the perceived ones. In a statement (during an interview with PTI) which just fell short of bordering
While some claim India is an emerging economic superpower, we still have a long way to go before achieving the kind of growth that goes beyond numbers, that translates into better lives for millions. Growth has been given priority over development, gross domestic product over gross national happiness. Take nutrition for example. The international food policy research institute (IFPRI), an inter
India has not done enough to improve its human rights record. A submission by the Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR), a national coalition of human rights organisations and independent experts says the records continue to be `disturbing`. Released this month, the report presents a bleak scenario of the actual state of human rights across India. The report talked ab
India has not done enough to improve its human rights record, so it continues to be ‘disturbing’ according to submission made by the Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR), a national coalition of human rights organisations and independent experts. Released this month, the report presents a very bleak scenario of the actual state of human rights across Indi
On November 22, I addressed my column in The Pioneer to self-regulation bodies in the media space. I argued that via Colors, a fairly respectable TV channel, pornstar Sunny Leone is being heavily cross-promoted across the internet, mobile applications and the social media space. I did name Press Council chief Markandey Katju and News Broadcasting Standards Authority chairman JS Verma. But I rea
The news of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s death has been received with much speculation with questions related to the nature of political transition in this isolated country, their future foreign policy and the inside situation. Most importantly, the international community is watching closely the nation’s nuclear policy with raised eyebrows asking, “Who controls the Nukes
India has earned the dubious distinction of being South Asia`s most uncharitable country in 2011, if one goes by the ranking in the Charities Aid Foundation`s World Giving Index. In the South Asia region, India is the worst performer with a global ranking of 91. In 2010, India ranked at 134. Pakistan, which was ranked at 142 last year, has made it to 34th position this year. Sri Lanka i
Assuming that the committee that selected PJ Thomas as chief vigilance commission would have included the chief justice of India (CJI) too, how would it have impacted the judicial review of the decision? The answer to this query lies in the domain of ambiguity. But there is no denying the fact that it would have added a rather complex dimension to the appointments of functionaries whose assignm
Terming India`s nutrition policy half-baked, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), says that the country can provide nutrition security to its population only by 2043. “Countries such as China, Thailand, and Brazil have taken bold actions to successfully accelerate reductions in undernutrition and are on track to reach the first millennium development goals (MD
