काउंटरव्यू

Excerpts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) brief, “COVID-19 Impact on International Migration, Remittances, and Recipient Households in Developing Asia”, by Aiko Kikkawa Takenaka, Economist; Raymond Gaspar, Consultant; James Villafuerte, Senior Economist; and Badri Narayanan, Consultant, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, ADB:   *** 

Reproduced below are excerpts from "Letter from Kashmir: Valley of Unrest", by Sonia Faleiro , published by “Harper’s Magazine” (July 2020) with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Faleiro (born 1977) is an Indian writer of narrative non-fiction, and has been acclaimed for her novel “The Girl” (Viking, 2006), followed by “Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars” (2010), and “13 Men” (2015). This article is on her impressions of Kashmir Valley around the events that took place around August 5, 2019: *** 

By Anjali Bhardwaj, Amrita Johri* The post of the Chief Information Commissioner of the Central Information Commission (CIC) has fallen vacant with the retirement of Bimal Julka with effect from August 27, 2020. This is the fifth time in the last six years that the Commission has been rendered headless. Four posts of information commissioners are also vacant in the CIC. Currently more than 35,000 appeals and complaints are pending in the commission resulting in citizens having to wait for months, even years for their cases to be disposed, thereby frustrating peoples’ right to know. Since May 2014, not a single commissioner of the CIC has been appointed without citizens having to approach courts. The failure of the government to make timely appointments of commissioners is a flagrant violation of the directions of the Supreme Court. In its February 2019 judgment, the apex court had categorically stated that if the CIC does not have a Chief Information Commissioner or required strength

By Madhu Chandra* “Commission for Minority Religion and Linguistic Minority” known as “Misra Commission” was setup by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in 2005 to study and report on socio-economic condition of Christians and Muslims converted from Scheduled Caste origins. The Justice Misra Commission report was submitted on May 22, 2007. Since then UPA Government has delayed to give its consent that Supreme Court of India could give its verdict to 60 years denial of constitutional Rights to 20 million Indian Christians from Scheduled Caste origins. The commission report has suggested to De-link Religion from Scheduled Caste and Dalits who, irrespective of their religion, suffer caste stigma and Scheduled Caste status to should be given all Dalits irrespective of their religions. UPA Government did not give its consent as per the recommendation of Misra Commission, then why was the Commission asked to study the socio-economic condition of Dalit Christians? Thereafter the den

Reproduced below is the chapter “Enterprise runs Aground” in the 125-page report “Kashmir’s Internet Siege”, published by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) , calling the communications blockade as an act of “digital apartheid”, a form of a form of “systemic and pervasive” discriminatory treatment and “collective punishment”: *** 

Freelancer and social worker based at Hyderabad,  Madhu Chandra,* writes: *** “Commission for Minority Religion and Linguistic Minority” known as “Misra Commission” was setup by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in 2005 to study and report on socio-economic condition of Christians and Muslims converted from Scheduled Caste origins. The Justice Misra Commission report was submitted on May 22, 2007. Since then UPA Government has delayed to give its consent that Supreme Court of India could give its verdict to 60 years denial of constitutional Rights to 20 million Indian Christians from Scheduled Caste origins. The commission report has suggested to De-link Religion from Scheduled Caste and Dalits who, irrespective of their religion, suffer caste stigma and Scheduled Caste status to should be given all Dalits irrespective of their religions. UPA Government did not give its consent as per the recommendation of Misra Commission, then why was the Commission asked to study the s

By Moin Qazi* Among the many challenges that have gained urgency in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, housing requires a highly creative response. The huge exodus from cities to villages was necessitated on account of lack of proper housing in cities. Expanding access to affordable housing is essential not just for equitable development but also social stability. When residents don’t have proper places to live, the stress on families and neighbourhoods can create severe social implications. Coronavirus has been referred to as a “housing disease” because of the strong links between overcrowding, poor housing conditions and higher mortality rates. The disease spreads quickly when households live in cramped spaces without access to water and sanitation. COVID-19 has highlighted the high social and economic costs of this gap in the safety net. People living in poor-quality, overcrowded, or unstable housing cannot follow directives on safe shelters or maintain social distancing. As a

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The right-wing henchmen and their liberal brethren provide moral justifications for extra judicial deaths during colonial plunders and imperialist wars. From Iraq wars to the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and from honour killings to domestic violence, police encounters, and custodial deaths around the world are part of the same genealogy, that justifies violence on moral grounds. Colonialism as civilising mission, imperialist wars for democracy and human rights are products of unfounded moral discourses shaped by the ruling class propaganda. The moral arguments continue to provide justifications to institutionalise violence and patronise it in the name of nationalism, religion, community and caste honour. The masses fall into such false intellectual narrative and celebrate such extra judicial, structural and institutionalised violence as justice. It has shaped the Orwellian proverbial expression.“Those who live by the sword die by the sword. Those who do not die

By Moin Qazi* While a global pandemic has been a looming risk for decades, COVID-19 has sent shockwaves through societies, economies, health systems and governments around the world. The pandemic has revealed both the fragility of our social security and welfare delivery systems and the need to come up with resilient, long-term solutions and more robust systems. It has exposed fundamental weaknesses in the current economic models, namely the fact that they do not benefit everyone equally. This has been true for a very long time, but apathy allowed those that benefit from the current system to stand by as spectators to growing global inequality. The idea of globalization has changed on its axis with some of the largest outward-looking economies now becoming inward-focused. The crisis has exposed how many people, even in some of the world’s richest countries that boast enviable gross domestic product’s (GDP) live in inadequate housing, without reserves of cash or food and face difficulti

A series of RTI applications were filed in mid-June 2020 seeking information regarding the deliberations related to setting up of PM Cares Funds and allocations and use of funds from these PM Cares Funds. A summary of the RTI applications and replies and key observations about each one, compiled by Anjali Bharadwaj:   *** RTI 1- Prime Minister’s Office An RTI application was filed to the PMO seeking a copy of all files held by the PMO related to the PM CARES Fund. The PMO refused access to information citing that “PM CARES Fund is not a Public Authority under the ambit of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005.” Click here for copy of RTI application and reply. Observation:   The PMO is obfuscating the matter by providing an incorrect and misleading response. The RTI application explicitly sought a copy of records related to the PM CARES Fund HELD BY the Prime Ministers Office (PMO). The PMO is a public authority under the RTI Act and is statutorily obligated to provide information. The i

By Martin Macwan*  “Education is fundamental for achieving full human potential, developing an equitableand just society, and promoting national development”. This is the opening line of New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of India. This is a positive statement which underlines the fact, though not clearly articulated, that India is still at a distance from developing an equitable and just society. Unfortunately, critical analysis of the present status of education, which can be the basis for planning interventions in India, does not follow in the 62 page document of NEP 2020. Let us imagine presenting budget without economic survey! Constitution of India attached importance to education. Article 46 of Indian Constitution as part of the Directive Principles of State Policy says: “The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and, in particular, of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes and shall protect them from