India barely found the inclination to celebrate its independence from Britain on August 15, 1947. Communal riots and a massive influx of refugees following Partition threatened to fragment the fledgling country. Broke and traumatised, it had nothing like the Marshall Plan to cope with the challenges it faced, despite significantly …
Read More »Editorials
A reality check on India’s renewable energy capacity
Addressing the plenary session of the World Environment Day celebrations on June 5, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated, “We are engaged in a massive push towards renewable energy generation. We have targeted [the] generation of 175 GW of solar and wind energy by 2022. We are already the fifth-largest …
Read More »A playing field for political violence
Why Bengal witnesses large-scale political violence is a question that is often asked. The answer is complex and multi-layered. The people in Bengal, mainly the poor, developed a sense of entitlement, largely as a result of the Left’s long rule. Many argue that such entitlement is what shaped people to …
Read More »Envisioning Ladakh’s future as UT
Will a greater centralisation of decision-making help the region’s already-fragile terrain? Amidst the babble of voices on the sudden abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)’s special constitutional status, the simultaneous transformation of Ladakh into a Union Territory (UT) has not received much attention. During last week’s parliamentary debate on this …
Read More »Assam’s humanitarian conundrum
With the final date for publication of the National Register of Citizens drawing near, the dividing lines are becoming sharper. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been expressing doubts about an “error-free” (read Bangladeshi free) NRC, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and minority organisations such as the All …
Read More »Many die in Sino-Soviet clash
China and Russia to-day [August 13] accused each other of intruding into their territory in the Sinkiang area. Both said the intruding forces had killed several of the defending soldiers. China claimed that “Several hundred” Soviet mechanized troops, under cover of helicopters, tanks and armoured cars, have crossed the border …
Read More »Deliberate, don’t disrupt
One of the most unedifying sights in public life is lawmakers taking to organised disruption of legislative business. Such displays became common in Parliament in the past decade as political parties and legislators demonstratively advertised their points of view without recourse to debate. A number of crucial bills have taken …
Read More »War within war
The Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen is proof of how things can go wrong with an ill-conceived, poorly strategised and geopolitics-driven military interference that cares little about human lives. After four years of war, the Saudis have not met their declared goal — pushing back the Shia Houthi rebels from …
Read More »Biodiversity in the time of deluge
In mid-August 2018, Kerala experienced severe floods and is still struggling to deal with their devastating impact. It is a matter of deep concern that, a year later, the State is facing a similar situation. This only shows that there is a considerable human-induced natural imbalance in the State, making …
Read More »Balancing T.N.’s growth model
Nearly three months into the southwest monsoon, the water crisis hasn’t abated in large parts of Chennai. This scenario, for sure, will haunt the city again next summer with an even greater vigour, as freshwater supply hasn’t overcome the rising demand.This demand-supply asymmetry has rendered traditional solutions such as rainwater …
Read More »Writing out a clean Bill on health
Over the past few days, there have been expressions of concern in various fora over a few clauses of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, now enacted. Even medical professionals have protested. According to media reports, there are five primary concerns. These pertain to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)/National Exit …
Read More »Sanguine amidst slowdown
Any major country in the world would give an arm and a leg for a growth rate of 6% per annum. But, in India, we lament such an achievement as a ‘slowdown’. This is because, somehow, today we perceive any growth below 7% to be unsatisfactory. And not so long …
Read More »The contours of the Kashmir move
The government has defended its twin decisions to revoke operative portions of Article 370 of the Constitution and dividing Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories as “internal policy” that warrant no international comment. While the Prime Minister’s moves have a domestic basis, their manner, or “Modi’s vivendi” as it …
Read More »Great expectations
Ending commercial surrogacy will not be possible without regulating ART clinics It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that surrogacy needs to be regulated by law. There is no argument about whether an issue such as surrogacy fraught with bioethical issues aplenty requires regulation: it does. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, …
Read More »Open clash at CPP meeting
The simmering inner party differences erupted into an open clash between the supporters and opponents of Mrs. Gandhi at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting this evening [August 6]. The meeting, called to hear appeals from the Prime Minister and the Congress President to vote for Mr. Sanjiva Reddi in the …
Read More »Open obsession
An ingrained gun culture and patchy regulations set off hate crimes in the U.S. Two American cities, El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, more than 2,500 kilometres apart, witnessed lethal shootings resulting in mass fatalities over the past weekend, with at least 31 people dead, many injured, and a nation …
Read More »The bus to better transport
Buses need an image makeover and cities need several thousand of them, of good quality The great cities of the world use one guiding principle in planning services for residents and visitors: working with finite space. In big cities, new roads are not possible, and no new land is available. …
Read More »The hard realities of India’s fast-track courts
Many of them are understaffed and under-resourced Fast-track courts are in the limelight yet again. Smriti Irani, Minister for Women and Child Development, informed the Rajya Sabha that the government has proposed to set up 1,023 fast-track courts to clear the cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences …
Read More »The pitch for a second term
The Trump strategy seems to focus on internal progress and in pursuit of peace abroad in unconventional ways Today, there is expectation that U.S. President Donald Trump will not only complete his term but also win a second term in 2020. But not so long ago, the demand to impeach …
Read More »Kashmir has been cut to the quick
The Centre is riding roughshod over Kashmiri public opinion already beset with disaffection In the face of a massive security build-up in Kashmir at the close of July, a seasoned journalist conjectured, “This is just the right time when militants and their masters in Rawalpindi could do with a terror …
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