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Showing posts from 2022

Celebrating new year in vacuum? Wishful thinking: 2023 to be better than previous yrs

By NS Venkataraman*  Dawn of year 2023 will be celebrated with people all over the world welcoming the year with bright illumination, bursting of fire crackers and exchange of good wishes, with sooth sayers and astrologers predicting the events in the forthcoming year and leaders of various governments across the world greeting the people promising an era of peace and prosperity. Of course, prayers are also offered in religious centres seeking prosperity and happy conditions. Events in the past several years show that such celebrations and wishes on the new year eve have not been followed by showering an era of peace and harmony but the world continued to be strife torn with conflicts and animosity between nations and individuals remaining undiminished. Of course, in the year 2023, there would continue to be spectacular achievements in the field of science and technology with greater reach in communication facilities and in variety of other fields . But, however, what

Asbestos kills: Trial of the billionaire who is accused of murder of 392 people

By Silvana Mossano  The release of asbestos fibres from the extensive area of 'eternit' roofs and the so-called improper uses of the material (attics, courtyard squares and playgrounds lined with compacted dust) in Casale exceeded those produced by the Eternit plant and the former Piemontese area where the open-air crushing of waste took place using a caterpillar. This is what the defence experts claimed at the trial taking place in Novara in the Court of Assize, where the defendant Stephan Schmidheiny is accused of the murder (with possible wilfulness) of 392 people from the Casale area, all mesothelioma victims. Claims were based on the scientific models and mathematical formulae, illustrated in past hearings. Are the defence experts right? Prosecutors Dr Gianfranco Colace and Mariagiovanna Compare asked the Court of Assizes to hear other consultants, in particular technical experts from the regional Arpa (The Environmental Agency) to assess the method and application of the

Pollution because of improper conduct of human activities in various sectors in NCR

By IMPRI Team*  A panel discussion on “Combating Air Pollution in National Capital Region” was organized by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), Ministry of Home Affairs, and #IMPRI Center for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies (CHURS), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi on 7th December, 2022. Inaugurating the session, Ms Fiza Mahajan, a researcher at IMPRI, welcomed the speakers and participants to the program with an introduction to the eminent panellists. M The session included Dr Rumi Aijaz, Senior Fellow and Head of Urban Policy Research Initiative, Observer Research Foundation, India as the chair for the event. The panellists included Prof Umesh Kulshrestha, Professor and former Dean, School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, Ms Bhavreen Kandhari, Founder, Warrior Moms, Mr Himanshu Shekhar, Senior Editor (Political and Current Affairs), New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) and Mr Vimlendu Jha, CEO, Green t

Modi govt’s unreal expectation: that India should have peace with China

By NS Venkataraman*  China has never concealed it’s hostility towards India in the last few decades. China initiated war against India in 1962 and is still occupying thousands of kilometres of Indian territory. Pakistan gifted some area in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir to China to spite India and China has gleefully accepted this region as it’s own, not bothering about India’s protest. After the 1962 war, there have been several times that Chinese forces have tried to enter Indian territory in Ladakh area. China now demands that Arunachal Pradesh state in India belongs to China. The recent clash between Chinese troops and Indian troops in Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh will not be the last military clash between India and China and many more similar clashes will take place in the coming years , as China would continue it’s efforts to subdue India in variety of ways and will provoke frequent clash with India. Certainly, the hostility between India and China would

Joma Sison's main weakness: soft-pedalling relations with revisionist parties

By Harsh Thakor  Professor Joma Sison expired in the night of December 16th. Joma died peacefully after a period of confinement in a hospital in Utrecht, The Netherlands last night at around 8:40 p.m. (Philippine time). He was 83.An irreparable loss of one of the great Marxist intellectuals and leaders of our times. Sison has departed but he has planted seeds for many roses to bloom. He propelled the Filipino people to shape the country’s future and achieve their aspirations for national freedom and democracy. The CPP declared ten days as a period of mourning for the entire Party in order to give the highest possible tribute to Joma. It decided to dedicate the Party’s upcoming 54th anniversary to Ka Joma’s memory, to celebrate his life and all the victories that we have achieved under his leadership and guidance.All units of the New People’s Army (NPA) have been ordered to stand in formation at the break of dawn of December 26 and silently perform a 21-gun salute by way of giving the

Despite tensions, rice emerges as favourite diplomatic tool for Myanmar, Bangladesh

By Tilottama Rani Charulata* There is nothing new about the impact food has on politics. In the old days, many kings practiced food diplomacy in entertaining their guests; from serving the best unique dishes that could have been created only by the royal house’s finest chefs. The tradition continues in the modern political world. Many leaders of political parties and presidents use food diplomacy to strengthen relationships between allies or diffuse tension with the opposition. Rice seems to have emerged as a favourite diplomatic tool for Myanmar and Bangladesh to build strong ties with their neighbors. The commodity is the staple diet for most people in countries like Indonesia, Thailand and also neighbouring country China, India. The agricultural sector is one of the most important and most strategic sectors for the survival of a country, without food the country could be in a position of chaos and bankruptcy. There are so many ways that the Bangladesh government does to maintain the

Developed countries exporting pollution to developing countries in several ways

By Bharat Dogra  It is well-known that life-styles in developed and rich countries are much more burdensome for environment compared to normal life-patterns in developing countries. However due to more power and resources, the developed countries are in a position to shift the burden of this on developing countries in several ways. The World Resources Report has stated, “The OECD countries and their industrial economies are directly responsible for many kinds of environmental stress – local, regional and global. In addition because they not only are heavy consumers of natural resources from developing countries but also tend to shift their pollution - intensive industries to those countries, the OECD countries also contribute indirectly to environmental stresses in developing regions.” Some years back a senior official of the World Bank Mr. Lawrence Summers had argued in an internal memo that there are many economic and social reasons to justify the shift of dirty industries from North

City reflections: Practitioner’s experience in urban governance amidst uncertain times

By IMPRI Team  An engaging and enriching virtual book discussion on ‘City Reflections: A Practitioner’s Experience in Urban Governance amidst Uncertain Times’ was held on the 22nd of October by the Center for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies (CHURS) at IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi. The session included an insightful discussion on notable urban practitioner Sameer Unhale’s latest book ‘City Reflections: A Practitioner’s Experience in Urban Governance amidst Uncertain Times’ delivered by the author himself, followed by a long and detailed discussion by speakers Prof. Mahalaya Chatterjee, Professor of Economics, and Co-ordinator, Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Management and Planning, University of Calcutta , Prof Manjula Bharathy, Professor & Dean, School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) , Mumbai and Sayli Udas Mankikar, Head, City Climate Alliance, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) , New Delhi and was chaired by Dr Ru

Unpacking yellow journalism in Bangladesh: Big tycoons, big lies

By Hasan Ibne Hamid*  As the National Election is approaching, the political climate in Bangladesh is rapidly changing with political heatwaves and social turmoil. Internally, pro BNP-Jammat civil society groups are fanning flames over media to tarnish the political horizon of Bangladesh. Whilst, externally, some major external players have launched their smear campaign to manipulate the public opinion and upcoming election results. However, there is another interoperable force, namely, the “Yellow Media” ‒ lying at the critical juncture between internal and external forces ‒ which are propagating, fabricating, and spreading misinformation, disinformation and false narratives to secure its vested political interests and financial objectives. In this regard, time and again, the names of the big media tycoons namely, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo ‒ are popping up as the precursor of the “yellow journalism” in Bangladesh. Recently, these vested media houses are corroborating as the spok

Pioneer in amplifying voices of women in self-employed and unorganised sector

By IMPRI Team  “Let diversity be maintained, grown, and flourish” -- Ela Bhatt The Gentle Revolutionary, a pioneer of the women working class, “Ela Ben” as she is dearly called, was an institution in herself, a changemaker who has transformed feminist discourse in India through her actions. Born in 1933, Ela Ramesh Bhatt founded Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA) in 1972, the only national union of women workers of the unorganised sector in India, and served as its General Secretary from 1972 to 1996. Bhatt started her career teaching English for a short time at SNDT Women’s University, better known as SNDT, in Mumbai. In 1955 she joined the legal department of the Textile Labour Association (TLA), India’s oldest union for textile workers. She headed the TLA’s women’s wing in 1968. She was the chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapeeth from 2015 to 2022. As part of its series The State of Gender Equality : #GenderGaps , #InMemorium, IMPRI Gender Impact Studies Centre (GISC) and I