Pace of development in India is coming at a cost - to its forest and the people whose survival depends on it. These are people who live in the fringes of the society and the much-touted development has hardly touched their lives. And quite understandably they feel let down. As a result, they oppose the model of development which we celebrate. The indigenous people and the tribals are thus locke
China has proved it once more that it is always a step ahead of India. This time, the leap is in the healthcare sector. Recently, Chinese legislators were allowed to grill the ministers on issues of public hospitals’ reform and the session was made public through the Xinhua news agency. This was least expected of the communist China, which is facing problems in the healthcare not
Trudging through the treacherous, pock-marked road winding amidst the majestic Aravalli ranges, our ramshackle Tata Sumo took about three hours to reach Madri, a picturesque village in the Tribal Udaipur district of Rajasthan. Setting out from Udaipur we had travelled to this far flung region to meet Jagdish Meena, the sarpanch of Madri panchayat of Jhdol block, 50 km from the city.
Illegal working women hostel and paying guest accommodation have mushroomed in the city in the past few years. All thanks to the so-called strict policy and regulations of the authorised hostels for providing accommodation. Take for instance, All India Women Conference (AIWC) hostel on Bhagwan Dass road. Out of the several policies they have one is that they don&rsqu
The Radia tapes has once again thrown open the debate on privacy. Ratan Tata has approached the Supreme Court seeking to protect his privacy but the subject is not new to India. The apex court has dealt with the issue of privacy and phone tapping in a number of cases. It has also given guidelines on phone tapping which have taken the form of rules under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
Struggling to bring down the whopping over 3 crore pending court cases in the country, the Law Ministry proposes to soon place before the Union Cabinet a comprehensive National Litigation Policy which aims at disposing of cases within three years. The proposed policy aims at reducing government litigation which forms a substantial chunk of pending cases. "The
The corporate world has donated to all the major parties and the BJP received the highest amount, Rs 297 crore, during 2007-08 and 2008-09, according to data obtained by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). “Bharti Electoral Trust has contributed Rs 17 crore to the parties, which is the highest amount by any of the corporate houses. In total they have made five co
The curtains may have come down on year 2010 but it has not done any good to my sense of anguish and hopelessness as a citizen of India – India that apparently has become corrupt to the core. Year 2011 may have dawned but it has not helped my new found belief that my country has lost its conscience completely. Wait. It has nothing to do with the rise of the Rajas and the Radias. T
Pune streets fall woefully short on pedestrian infrastructure, managing only a score of 54 out of 100 points, says a new survey prepared by Parisar, an NGO working for the sustainable development of the Maharashtra city. The report notes that footpaths of Pune, where available, are unwalkable and crossings difficult. According to the report, “It scored poorly on availabilit
Sitting here in Dubai I am stunned to hear that a person in New Delhi suffered a cardiac arrest and could not reach the hospital because they closed the roads for the PM’s cavalcade. Awesome. Technically, under any law of jurisprudence, the PM and his convoy are accessories before the fact and guilty of contributing to a death that may or may not have been avoided. Ergo, th
“We will be back tomorrow with more direct questions,” the man signed off in his characteristic combative tone. “Bhai, how come we always see this man on this channel?” my 11-year-old cousin Soofiyan asked, “Are they short of people on their staff?”
The Gurgaon administration recently launched auto rickshaws exclusively for women. On its front and rear parts is written `keval mahilaen` or `women only`. Partly coloured in pink, the 10 such rickshaws operating in the city are an eye-catcher even for a passerby. But it’s more a window dressing than an intercity transport facility. Though reserved for women, such rickshaws
In Israel, former President Moshe Katsav has been convicted of "rape, sexual harassment, committing an indecent act while using force, harassing a witness and obstruction of justice" by the Tel Aviv district court. The eighth president of the country, who served from 2000 to 2007, has been found guilty of raping an employee in 199
Dear Professor Manmohan Singh, I hope you don’t mind the temerity of this letter. It is written as one scholar to another, one citizen to another. I know you are a PM and people like me may not be influential. However some things must be said and said clearly. I was aghast to find that Doctor Binayak Sen has been given a life term for sedition. Let me put it simply. I thin
Independent bodies like the Lokayukta can check systematic corruption in the healthcare delivery systems under strong leadership, says a report released earlier this month on the role of the Karnataka Lokayukta (KLA) and the vigilance director. The study was conducted jointly by the University of Leeds, Karuna Trust and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. An article published on
The central government has scaled up its plan to open common service centres, from one lakh villages in its original vision for e-governance to a centre in every village across the country. These centres are meant to make government services available to the common man. So the decision to scale up seems a step in the right direction. But the fact remains tha
Justice is undone. Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra, to be precise. Not by a sentence, by a mere phrase - a loaded one which would make the country`s only woman judge in the supreme court seem somewhat medieval, and a great deal sexist. She listed the `marriages` of her two daughters as liabilities in a declaration of assets. Liabilities, wherever they may lie, are not the burden of one sex or the oth
The parliamentary standing committee on information technology, which also deals with the information and broadcasting ministry, has invited comments from stakeholders, professionals, experts, organisations, associations and public in general on various aspects relating to ‘Paid News’. Here is a comment Jagdeep Chhokar (Association for Democratic Reforms - ADR), Nikhil Dey and R
“Don`t let schooling interfere with your education,” said Mark Twain. This surely does not apply to Indians. Looking at the nursery admissions scenario this year, it seems education has everything to do with schooling and schools – especially after the guidelines issued by the Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi which leave the process and criteria of admission to be decid
