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Khudai Khidmagar India statement condemning the barbaric murder in Udaipur: Khudai Khidmagar India strongly condemns the brutal and barbaric murder in Udaipur and said such heinous savagery cannot be justified in any way. Constitution is the only way while taking the law into your own hands is a criminal inhuman act . Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa salaam) was indeed a Messenger of Peace and Compassion. He is an ideal human for mankind. The religion “Islam” which Holy Prophet (SAW) practiced itself bears the literal meaning ‘PEACE’ . Prophet also reminded the people that ‘All of mankind belongs to Allah’s family’. He further said to his followers that a Muslim can diminish hatred by showing their love towards people and also a Muslim can destroy the aggressiveness by spreading peacefulness. It is nurturing of hate and violence which brought us to this point. Hence, it becomes more important and ever relevant to continue efforts in the direction on non-violence, peace and hum

By Kaibalyapati Mishra, Krishna Raj* Inflation is a piece of bad news. In recent months, the pressure of hyperinflation that is galloping hope of the common man has stayed in the limelight with the fear of a continuous prevalence. The onset of COVID followed war trodden global equations and the resultant crude oil price menace, this ripping effect of inflationary tendencies has over-burdened the recovery process in India. With a surge of 15.08% in WPI and 7.79% in CPI, the turbulence has invited strict actions from the central bank in terms of hiking interest rates with an upward calibrated stance. Amongst these tumultuous situations, several structural questions have started gearing the discussion up in the academic and technocratic fora. Questions about the flaws of the existing framework of inflation targeting, its replication in real terms and possible viable alternatives are reasonable to be discussed. In this piece, we discuss the flaws of the inflation targeting framework in the

How is digital awareness propelling rural development in India? A note by S M Sehgal Foundation: *** John Rawls in his path-breaking book titled, A Theory of Justice, proposed the two following principles that can easily be extended to empowerment and development of all citizens of a country, and in this context, the diverse population of India. (1) Every citizen is entitled to equal rights along with basic liberties (2) Social and economic inequalities are to be balanced in a way such as to: (a) Provide the greatest benefit to the least advantaged, (b) Provide equality of opportunity for all offices and positions. Inclusive growth is a relevant policy goal for the people of India that will result in both growth and inclusion, and follow the Rawlsian “maximin” principle. The target should be to maximize the welfare of the poorest. As we complete 75 years of independence, the diversity and divide in India is still stark and negatively skewed. With a large population still dependent on a

South Asia Times, a Melbourne-based news site, says , Australia’s 2021 Census shows, there is ‘no religion’ surge in the country amidst religious diversity: The 2021 Census has revealed increasing diversity in the religions Australians identified, reflecting continuing changes in the country's social attitudes and belief systems. Christianity is the most common religion in Australia, with over 40 per cent (43.9 per cent) identifying as Christian. This has reduced from over 50 per cent (52.1 per cent) in 2016 and from over 60 per cent (61.1 per cent) in 2011. As in earlier Censuses, the largest Christian denominations are Catholic (20.0 per cent of the population) and Anglican (9.8 per cent). While fewer people are reporting their religion as Christian, more are reporting ‘no religion’. Almost 40 per cent (38.9 per cent) of Australia’s population reported having no religion in the 2021 Census, an increase from 30 per cent (30.1 per cent) in 2016 and 22 per cent (22.3 per cent) in 20

By Arup Mitra* The theory of mediocrity would suggest that the meritorious who are always small in number as a nature’s gift will be dominated by a vast number of mediocre as the latter cannot withstand the inferiority they suffer from. By subjugating the merit, they derive a pleasure of having established their superiority. Such processes are functional in all spheres in life though the field of art is the worst sufferer. An artist mind is most sensitive and those who are meritorious in this lot possess exceptionally different traits. This makes them more vulnerable and, on the other hand, it paves the path of the mediocre to cast their shadows all around. Unjust and strong criticisms are sufficient to detract many. In developing countries, the modes of subjugation are many. Individuals do not hesitate to take recourse to criminal means as the subconscious prevalent with vengeance, accesses easily the outlets for execution. The lack of civility and the power of money form a unique com

By Harsh Thakor* Naxalbari Movement in May 1969 ushered a new era in Indian history. The scenes were reminiscent of a spiritual renaissance with Marxist political consciousness elevating at an unparalleled scale. This year it was its 55th anniversary on May 25th. Similar to time of Naxalbari agricultural workers and the peasantry are enslaved with burden of debts and globalization has entangled them like an octopus.Corporates have virtually alienated tribals. Inspired by the Chinese Revolution and Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution Naxalbari movement upheld the concept of agrarian revolution protracted peoples War and New Democratic Revolution, revolting against the revisionism of the CPI and CPM. It formulated that India was still engripped by semi-colonialism and semi-feudalism since 1947, with landlordism only abolished on paper and economy bounded to service of foreign capital. Naxalbari inspired the peasantry and other oppressed sections that they could form their own organs of

By Harasankar Adhikari In India, does democracy become a matter of prescription, i.e., to follow the footpath left? Isn't it, in some ways, the adoption of certain prescribed procedures and mechanisms, such as timely election and populist schemes for the poor, etc.? In some cases, acts of government and governance turn democracy into a myth. It is full of political party-based agendas. This continuous hegemonic practise creates a conditional situation for the people of India. People elect their representatives who are not their representatives. They are only representatives of a particular political party that nominated them in the election. Democratic decentralisation of power is undoubtedly a unique step towards the grass roots. But a Panchayat member has no free will to act without the party’s instruction and approval. Michael Saward, a political philosopher, defines democracy as a matter of correspondence in state-society relationships. But India’s parliamentary democracy is un

Bharat Dogra Whatever moral they be seeking to propagate, two separate trends in Hindi cinema appear to be having particularly deleterious effect on youth, adolescents and children – those related with drug trafficking and horror. Drug-trafficking is a frequently mentioned crime in Hindi films and of course it is condemned by these films. In addition a number of Hindi films have taken up various aspects of drug addiction in its social and cultural context as well and not just as a crime. Some films which may be mentioned in this context include “Udta Punjab”, “Jalte Badan”, “Charas”, “Hare Ram Hare Krishna”, “Dum Maro Dum”, “Shaitaan” and “Paanch”. Certainly the overall context of the treatment of this issue of drug addiction is to express worry and concern over it, yet on the whole several popular movies are also likely to have attracted many more people, particularly youth, to the world of drugs because of the very attractive setting in which the consumption of drugs is seen to be ta

By IMPRI Team Highlighting  the issue of mental health and addressing the challenges involved, # IMPRI Gender Impact Studies Center (GISC) , IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi organized a panel discussion on Institutional Support for Mental Health and Wellbeing under the #WebPolicyTalk series The State of Gender Equality – #GenderGaps . The discussion was chaired by Prof Vibhuti Patel, Visiting Professor, IMPRI and Former Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai . The distinguished panel included – Prof Anuradha Sovani, Former Professor and Head, Department of Psychology, and Former Dean, Faculty of Humanities at SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai and National Core Committee member and Ethics Committee Chairperson, Association of Adolescent and Child Care India ; Dr Soumitra Pathare, Director, Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy at Indian Law Society, Pune ; Dr Swati Rane, Founder CEO at SevaShakti Healthcare Consultancy, Mumbai and Founder V

By Nava Thakuria* If one believes in the simple mathematical calculation and minimum political honesty by public representatives in the Indian Parliament and State legislative assemblies, the largest democracy on Earth is expecting a lady tribal President in New Delhi next month. As Draupadi Murmu, a simple Janjati family woman turned a teacher turned a politician, gets the recommendation from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government for the Presidential elections scheduled for 18 July next, her victory becomes almost imminent. Hailing from Mayurbhanj locality of Odisha, who taught in Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, the NDA’s Presidential candidate earlier served Jharkhand as its Governor and her own State as a minister. After arriving in New Delhi, Murmu has filed her nomination papers in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president JP Nadda, UP chief minis

By IMRPI Team The effects of climate change have been evident, and there have been a lot of debates around the changes to be made locally to help and save the earth. In this light, the nations met at the COP 26 conference recently. To discuss this further, the Center for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CECCSD) , IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi , organized a panel discussion on “COP 26 and Locally Led Adaptations in India and Bangladesh Sunderbans” under the #WebPolicyTalk series- The State of the Environment – #PlanetTalks . The talk was chaired by Dr Jayanta Basu, Director, Non-profit EnGIO, Faculty at Calcutta University and an Environmental Journalist, The Telegraph , ABP . The Moderator of the event, Dr Simi Mehta, CEO and Editorial Director, IMPRI , started the discussion by stressing the talk on the living conditions of people living in the Sunderbans Delta from both the countries, i.e. India and Bangladesh. According to the report

By Harasankar Adhikari The world of children has been changed. Due to the concurrent pandemic, both the micro and macro worlds get a new shape and a new definition. It teaches a child to restrict one’s relationships within the family and outside, even after there is less threat of coronavirus infection in a new normal situation. Learning and maturation in childhood are virtually controlled and managed. It was/is fully friendless and peerless without school (an institution for children's psycho-social, moral, and educational development along with cultural attainment). They are more comfortable with games on their handset (cell phone/smartphone) than games on the playground. The last two years were remarkably impacted by the childhood process. Education, games, and peer relations, etc. were home-based via an on-line system. A child used to eat, play, sleep, and dream with a cell phone/smartphone. They are very smart with their smartphones. Their joy, sorrow, anger and happiness are

Dr Anjusha Gawande* The Education sector in the globe is changing dramatically. Many manual jobs may be captured over by machines as a consequence of multiple spectacular advances in science and technology, including the machine learning, and artificial intelligence. A professional workforce, particularly one that includes mathematics, computer science, and data science, as well as multidisciplinary competencies in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, will be in incredibly popular. As a result, education must shift away from knowledge and toward teaching students, how to be creative and transdisciplinary, and how to innovate, adapt, and process information differently in innovative and rapidly changing sectors. The education development agenda at the global level is represented in Goal 4 (SDG4) of India's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted in 2015. Ministry of Education has announced the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) on 29.07.2020. In J