An estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017, or one every five seconds, mostly of preventable causes, according to the new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group on Tuesday. The report …
Read More »Daily Archives: September 18, 2018
The Reform Scheme
The Secretary of the Bengal Branch of the Anglo-Indian Empire League, in a letter [from Calcutta] to the Governor, says that on the whole his Council are of opinion that the reform scheme is suited to the present needs of India. After thanking H.E. the Viceroy and the Secretary of …
Read More »Unveiling of Busts.
With a view to popularise the Y.M.I.A. and bring the members into closer bonds of friendship with each other, the Executive Committee have arranged for a series of social gatherings and lectures. The first of these was held yesterday evening [September 17] in the Gokhale Hall [in Madras]. In response …
Read More »The origins of alcohol
Beer-brewing practices existed earlier than assumed How important was alcohol to early humans? Since when did human beings think it worth investing time and energy in preparing it? Was humanity genetically primed to enjoy alcohol? A 2014 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences argued that a …
Read More »Brexit state of mind
The politicians conducting Brexit negotiations are as ill-informed and ignorant as the rest of the population British attitudes to international affairs have changed greatly in the past half century and the current plans to leave the European Union represent a crucial element of that change. Those plans also reflect British …
Read More »Himalayan divide
India must fix its lines of communicationwith Nepal and arrest the drift in ties Despite several attempts at a reset, ties between India and Nepal continue to be a cause for concern. The disconnect between the two governments was most visible at the seven-nation Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral …
Read More »Saving rivers
As a first step, the capacity of treatment plants along all rivers must be urgently expanded The finding of the Central Pollution Control Board that the number of critically polluted segments of India’s rivers has risen to 351 from 302 two years ago is a strong indictment of the departments …
Read More »No land’s people
Cooperation among governments and tolerance among citizens will help us find a solution to the refugee crisis A large number of people in the world today are stateless and are thus deprived of the rights that the majority enjoy. This problem is particularly significant in the Indian context now — …
Read More »The progressive way
Enacting just laws is more desirable than tinkering with personal laws for the sake of ‘uniformity’ In a consultation paper released recently, the Law Commission of India has boldly said that a uniform civil code (UCC) is neither feasible nor necessary at this stage. The response must come as a …
Read More »When Dravidianism and Hindutva met
Political parties in Tamil Nadu today must heed Periyar’s message in rejecting Hindutva overtures In 1944, an unusual meeting took place between the pre-eminent leader of the non-Brahmin movement, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, and a major leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, Balkrishna Shivram Moonje. Periyar and Naidu’s friendship On September 19 …
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