All governments, in order to govern their subjects efficiently, convert the population into homogeneous categories and also try to transform people into statistics. These ‘statistics’ and ‘categories’ are tools of governance and the state also imagines them as the basis for planning for development. Since caste is a vital structure of Indian society, policy maker
An opinion poll conducted by the Chatham House on the both sides of Line of Control (LoC), reveals that only 2 percent of people from Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) favour joining Pakistan. The survey conducted in 2009 by the Britain based think-tank said that 44 percent of people in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) supported independence. But it was less in the Jammu and Kashmir, as only
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its latest report has given a thumbs-up for India and China’s economic growth and said two countries will lead the worldwide growth. The OECD countries economy will grow at 2.7 percent in 2010, more than the 1.9 percent predicted in November, said the Paris-based group. It also hailed non-members China and
Alcohol consumption kills 25 lakh people across the world annually, says a new report from the World Health Organisation. “Worldwide, alcohol consumption causes 2.5 million deaths (3.8 percent of total) and 69.4 million (4.5 percent of total) of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs),” the report statistics read. It says that the youth are the worst victim of consumin
When a prime minister talks, a nation listens. That’s what happened earlier today when Manmohan Singh addressed his first press conference in four years. But because prime ministers say so little, as did Manmohan this morning, it is what they don’t say that makes better news than what they say. And it is what they mean that makes better sense than what they say. So, h
The migrants who have shifted from rural to urban areas are more likely to suffer from obesity and diabetes in India, a study has found. “Migrants develop levels of obesity and diabetes similar to the urban dwellers they live and work with, but their rural dwelling brothers and sisters tend to stay less obese and have lower rates of diabetes,” says the study published in the PLoS Me
The 80-minute-long press conference by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh can be summarised in six words: he came, he saw, he prevaricated. Being only the second press conference addressed by the prime minister during his six years in office, it was expected to be eventful, if not path-breaking, coinciding as it did with the completion of the first year in his second stint. As expected, the
Raising alarm over situation of children in the conflict zone, the United Nations has expressed deep concern over recruitment and use of children and adolecents by the Maoists/Naxalites in India. In its latest report, the UN said, “The Naxals have claimed that children were used only as messengers and informers but have admitted that children were provided with training to use non-lethal
India faces huge shortfall of nurses, says a report released by the World Health Organisation. According to its report, “India will need 2.4 million nurses by 2012 to achieve the government`s aim of a nurse-patient ratio of one nurse per 500 population.” The WHO said that shortage of nurse is more in the developing countries than in the developed countries. &ld
I and two colleagues, working for Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF), a Delhi-based NGO, set ourselves on a search for a well-functioning gram sabha in late 2008. By the standards of ‘local self-governance’, a gram sabha should meet regularly and collectively decide all issues of development and social justice in its jurisdiction, leaving the elected and unelected panch
High industrial activity in India during 1994-2007 led to an increase of 58 percent in greenhouse gas emissions, says a report by the environment ministry. According to the report titled - India’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2007 “the total annual greenhouse gas emissions grew from 1.25 billion tonnes in 1994 to 1.90 billion tonnes in 2007.” Two countries - USA an
The centre and states usually have a very stormy relationship. I would want to draw attention of the readers of Governance Now to the different aspects of this relationship. We live in a federal structure of government with three levels; centre, state and the panchayati raj institutions. There are a number of legislative subjects that either belong exclusively to the centre or to the states, or
It was a bittersweet moment for the media recently when the Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court judgement and awarded life imprisonment to Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lal murder case. The case reached the Supreme Court and its logical conclusion only after the Delhi High Court fast-tracked it following uproar in the media. While pronouncing its verdict, though, the Supreme Court cautioned
April, 2010 - temperatures soared to a new high as the month became the warmest ever in recorded history. A study released by the America’s climate agency the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, “The combined April global land and ocean average surface temperature was the warmest on record at 14.5°C, which is 0.76°C above the 20th century average of
The more procedures, the less justice. Paraphrasing Cicero only states the fact, though, and does not even begin to unravel the sinister politics at the heart of the matter. The curious case of Mohammad Afzal, or Afzal Guru, is merely cloaked in procedures devised by ingenious governments in India to legitimise their designs to delay, thwart or subvert justice whenever they so choose. So Afzal
Are the residents of Delhi drink contaminated water? Yes, says a new survey. Contamination level is high even in potable water in Delhi, thus rendered unsafe for drinking, says the report released by Delhi based NGO Hazards Centre, Delhi. The study says that 38 samples had faecal contamination, 11 samples had iron above the permissible limit and 17 samples had arsenic above permissible limits.
To be fair to Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who handles the home portfolio, a decision on the mercy petition of Afzal Guru was destined from the start and has been nothing but a political question requiring the attention of her ‘elders’. She doesn’t have any significant role to play here except to do her elders’ bidding. So her reported ignorance of the um
The entire process related to commonwealth games has been marred with secrecy and unavailability of information, says the Housing and Land Rights Network in its latest report. It further says that India’s decision to bid for the games was not even discussed in the parliament. From the time of the bid to the allocation of budget, it seems lack of public participation and government
A few hours after Indian newspapers (and the rare television channel which isn’t obsessed with TRPs!) got excited over the new, incredibly gifted, IIT-trained dean of Harvard Business School, the Financial Times posted a sobering thought. “Amidst the euphoria, Indians generally celebrate the success of their overseas compatriots on the global stage, often equating the
Just about everybody in Himachal Pradesh seems to have heard of Dasmal, a small village 170 km from the state capital and 10 km off the Shimla-Manali highway in Hamirpur district. It has neither inspired Rudyard Kipling, who came visiting the state every year during his stay in India, nor is it home to Ruskin Bond. Tucked away behind tall deodar trees in the foothills of the Himalayas, it is no
