Editorials

The law should be enforced vigorouslyto eliminate manual scavenging in its entirety The death of five young men who were employed to clean a septic tank in an upmarket residential community in New Delhi is a shocking reminder that India’s high-profile sanitation campaign has done little to alter some basic …

This newspaper always draws the line between news and views A reader wrote to us wondering whether discussions on technological disruptions and their impact on the news ecology are a ploy to deflect attention from the failings of the news media. He listed a set of “non-stories” — speculations at …

Reinvigorate the crop insurance scheme to provide social protection to every farmer Excess rains and floods in Kerala, deficit rainfall in eastern and north-eastern India, and associated large-scale crop losses have again highlighted the need for providing social protection to poor farmers. A highly subsidised Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana …

The Kerala model can be implemented across India with the same secular and gender-sensitive spirit Kumari died on September 1. She had contracted leptospirosis while doing relief work in Kerala after the floods, away from her own home which had not been affected. She was a health volunteer and prominent …

There are several moderate but effective instruments available to the government to help the rupee find an equilibrium The travails of the rupee have dominated newspaper headlines over the last fortnight. Its value has fallen precipitously against the dollar, and is now hovering around the 72 level; it was just …

The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity. — George Bernard Shaw I’m no chef. But I’m passionate about food — the tradition of it, cooking it, and sharing it. I cook whenever I’m excited, …

Sustainable development will be an impossibility without the potential contributions from women The very notion of gender equality entails the belief that injustice is associated with the very definition of the concept. It is imperative that we reflect on this association. Injustice arises out of society’s inability to accept the …

Whenever we have guests at home, hardly do they leave without asking why we don’t have a television set at home. Not able to afford one will not be taken for an answer with two decently earning software engineers at home. I tell them, instead, that the best way to …

I crept into the kitchen slyly to check the amount of money available in the mustard box. I was looking through all the tiny boxes neatly arrayed on the kitchen cupboard. My mom’s mustard box was a favourite of all the family members. At month-end, whenever we were in need …

Looking at the weighing scale tilting to the extreme right is undoubtedly a ghastly sight. You straight away get transported into the world of depression, sensing the gravity of the situation. You tend to search various websites for sure-shot and miraculous remedies that would bring you back in shape as …