By Amitabh Kundu* A reduction in the share of children and an increase in the adult population are important for achieving a high rate of economic growth since it will lead to an increase in the percentage of the working population. The “World Population Prospects 2019” has reported that India’s total fertility rate (TFR) has declined from 5.9 in early sixties to 2.4 to 2010-15. TFR is defined as the total number of children to be born to women in her lifetime by the current age specific fertility rates. By 2025-30, it will fall to 2.1, sliding further to 1.9 during 2045-50. As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), India’s TFR declined from 2.7 in 2005-6 to 2.2 in 2015-16. When the TFR touches 2.1, which is called replacement fertility level, we can say that the population is getting stabilised, subject to the momentum factor. India’s population was predicted to peak at 1.7 billion in 2060, declining to 1.5 billion by 2100. The faster decline in TFR, as reported by NFHS, sugges

By Anmol Rathore* Article 370 has been the Gordian knot when it comes to the politico-legal history of the State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and the recent Constitution Order (CO) 272, if anything, has further entangled this knot. CO 272, by abrogating in effect Article 370, has in fact stirred a storm that doesn’t seem to abate anytime soon, at least not unless the SC decides on it. Several petitions have been filed before the honourable Supreme Court (SC) challenging the CO 272 and the SC has referred the matter to a constitution bench. In the meanwhile, the order continues to be a burning issue, having the legal fraternity divided, with many going so far as to challenging the validity of the very accession of the state of J&K to India. While the quibble over the constitutionality of CO 272 continues, here is an attempt to analyse the different grounds for challenge to the order. However, before proceeding with the analysis of the CO 272, it becomes quite pertinent to clarif

By Firoz Bakht Ahmed* What is very heartening is that most of the religious festivals in India have become cosmopolitan in nature despite being harmoniously glued to their roots. Quite spiritedly, fervently and emotionally like the Ramlila, Muharram in India observes the victory of virtue over evil. It commemorates the martyrdom of Hussain, the younger grandson of Prophet Mohammed. Muharram, every year, reminds us of the most treacherous, heart-rending, testing and cruel time faced by Hazrat Imam Hussain owing to the tyrannical ways of Muawiyah and his son Yazeed. Muharram’s message and moral are the same as in how the virtuous Lord Rama fought against the tyrannical Ravana, the only difference being that Hussain was martyred while Rama slew Ravana. Etchings by Italian artist Bruno Cabrini show how Muharram processions had tazias (mausoleum like artifacts) in the shape of rathas (chariots) during the 18th and 19th centuries in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Even the Scindia rulers

By Venkatesh Nayak* Readers may remember the bold declaration that the Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions made about the NDA-III Government’s commitment to transparency while replying to the debate on the Bill to amend The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) in the Lok Sabha. On 22/07/2019 the Minister said: “Now, coming straight to RTI, as far as RTI is concerned, let me first make it clear this Government has been absolutely committed, as in other wings of governance, to ensure full transparency and full accountability” ( click here for the full text of the uncorrected debate of the day and scroll down to page 369 of the text/or page 128 of the pdf file for this part of the Minister’s statement). Sadly, this governance philosophy does not seem to have percolated downwards beyond the corridors of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) with which the Union Minister is associated. In June, 2019 I had sought detailed information about Electronic Voti