By NS Venkataraman*  In the recent COP 26 Glasgow Climate Meet, all the Prime Ministers and Presidents of various countries who participated in the meeting, expressed deep concern about the global warming and pledged to limit the emission of carbon dioxide and other noxious gases in their regions, to save the global climate from possible disaster. Different countries promised and pledged that they would bring the emission to zero level in their regions with different target dates. United States has set a goal of 100% clean electricity by the year 2035, that would result in a crucial foundation for net-zero emissions not later than the year 2050 in USA. China informed the UN General Assembly that it would aim for peak carbon emission before 2030 and would reach carbon Net Zero by 2060. Japan declared that by 2050, Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero. Russian government has drafted a new decarbonisation strategy that sets a 2060 net zero emissio

Senior activists* represent to the Telangana Governor on GO Ms 69 dated 12.4.2022 issued by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD), Government of Telangana: ‘...restrictions imposed under para 3 of said GO Ms 111 dated 8.3.1996 are removed...’: *** Ref: GO Ms 111 dated 8.3.1996: ‘To prohibit polluting industries, major hotels, residential colonies or other establishments that generate pollution in the catchment of the lakes upto 10kms from full tank level as per list in Annexure-I...’ We come to your office with grievance that GO Ms 69 dated 12.4.2022 issued by Government of Telangana not only contains false information issued ‘By Order and in the name of the Governor of Telangana’ , without any scientific or expert reports, but also that implementation of the said GO is detrimental and can be catastrophic to the Hyderabad city as two 100 year old reservoirs Osman Sagar and Himayath Sagar were constructed as dams on river Moosa and river Esa, with the first and

By Bharat Dogra  Economist Abhijit Sen passed away on the night of 29 August, 2022. He was 72. For a long time he has been regarded as one of India’s leading agricultural economists who made a very important contribution to government policy, particularly in the context of public distribution system. India’s structure of food security has been created to a considerable extent on a system of procurement food crops at a higher price from farmers and supplying at a lower, subsidized price to consumers. It is ideas and scholarship such as those of Prof. Abhijit Sen which contributed much to this. He emerged as a firm advocate of universal public distribution. Those who were doubtful about this said that it will be difficult to go on for long with these subsidies. Sen countered this criticism by arguing that it is certainly possible at a fiscal level to accommodate a genuinely fair procurement price for farmers with an affordable price for consumers. This brought him closer to the food righ

By Osman Sher*  The basic character of Hinduism is “all the things to all the people all the time.” It gives freedom to every individual to establish a personal relationship with God and seek salvation in his own ways. He is free even to choose his favorite dewata and be his bhakt. Unlike other religions, it has no binding doctrines. In such a sea of liberalism, however, it appears ironic that the caste system (untouchability is a byproduct thereof), which in no case is a pleasant phenomenon for an enlightened society, is persisting with full force even today. E. J. Rapson has written in the New Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, Chapter II, that the broad distinction between conquerors and conquered is no doubt natural and universal, but with the change of time such man-made social barriers have been either weakened or done away with in other societies. However, they have remained firmly ingrained in India which means that the human institutions have received the sanctions of a relig

By Ram Puniyani*  Indra Meghwal a nine year old student of Sarswati Vidya Mandir, Jalore in Rajasthan was beaten by his teacher on 20th July 2022. The crime of this boy, was that he drank from the water pot reserved for his upper caste teacher. This is the version of Indra’s parents and classmates. Another version is being floated that the boy was beaten as he had a tiff with another schoolmate. The truth seems to closer to what the deceased’s parents and other school children say. The eradication of untouchability, the struggle for getting right of access to public drinking water run parallel and have gone through various phases. The teachings and travails of Mahatma Jotirao phule revolved around facilitating the education for dalits, something forbidden by Hindu Holy Scriptures. Ambedkar stood tall among all the social reformers who strove for social justice. On August 4, 1923 The Bombay Legislative Council opened the state funded schools, watering sources, dharmashalas, Courts and d

By NS Venkataraman*  It was reported that respected the Dalai Lama reached Delhi after visiting Lhasa. It was surprising that Indian Prime Minister Modi has not met His Holiness the Dalai Lama for more than three years now. Some months back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kushinagar international airport in Uttar Pradesh, that connects the key Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India. Kushinagar is believed to be the final resting place of Gautam Buddha and therefore, is an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination A large contingent of Buddhist monks from different countries were invited for the inaugural programme of Kushinagar airport. However, His Holiness the Dalai Lama , the renowned Buddhist monk , was not invited for the meeting. Obviously, Mr. Modi has not met the Dalai Lama for several years and has not invited him for the Kushinagar airport inauguration programme, fearing China’s reaction. In viewing these incidents , one gets an impression that Mr. Modi does n

By Jay Ihsan*  Independence is a mouthful of a word. Even more difficult is to ensure its execution remains impartial, healthy and more importantly, meaningful. Be it Malaysia or India, when flying the national flag becomes “compulsory” to reminisce independence day, it begs a second look at the elephant in the room. Why the lethargy or reluctance to voluntarily raise the national flag at residences and business outlets? Is there a relation between a country's leadership and the people's desire to embrace the nation’s most pertinent identity ie. the national flag? For the longest time now, Malaysia has been struggling to request its citizens to fly the national flag known as Jalur Gemilang. The interest has always been dismal, so much so that this year a fine of RM250 awaits business premises in Malaysia’s city of Ipoh whose owners refuse to fly the national flag to celebrate August 31, the country’s 65th independence day. Ipoh mayor Rumaizi Baharin was quoted by English daily

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The international debt trap is a product of colonial and neo-colonial plunders, imperialist hegemony and neoliberal economic policies imposed by developed countries on developing world. The Asian, African, Latin American and even the capitalist west is suffering from debt due to the dominance of Westphalian capitalist system that controls world economic and politics. However, the reactionary and capitalist ideologues, their mouthpiece mass media, writers, journalists, consultants, think tanks, leaders and their propaganda machines are on a relentless campaign to defame, delegitimise and diminish Chinese achievements. The core idea of this consorted anti-Chinese propaganda is to undermine the alternative development model pursued by China. The Chinese economic and political engagement in Asia, Africa and Latin America is challenging the debt dependence development model and questions the very foundation of western debt trap designed to exploit natural resource

By NS Venkataraman*  Signals from China clearly indicate that the Chinese government has evolved a strategy and action plan , to be partly implemented in medium term and the rest to be implemented in long term and emerge as the most dominant country in the world. Obviously, it’s aim is to emerge as single super power in the world , effectively dislodging USA from the present super power status and significantly reducing the influence of Russia and European union in the world. One cannot but miss the fact that China’s methodology for implementing it’s strategies have two approaches. One approach is to economically bring several under developed and developing countries under it’s heels. The additional approach is to use it’s military force to invade the territories in the nearby regions to expand it’s territorial base. Territorial expansion plans under execution: China occupied Tibet using it’s military force several decades back and China’s aggression was not challenged effecti

By Neel Preet  The book “The Soul of Islam” is a compilation of articles authored on varied facets of Islam by Moin Qazi. They have earlier been published in various newspapers and journals. The collection is titled “The Soul of Islam”. It gives an insight into various faiths and how they have influenced the lives of their adherents. Much of these concepts have been examined in the context of Islam and Muslim culture. The purpose of the book is to reinforce the bonds of tolerance between people of various faiths, ideas and philosophies. The author strongly believes that this is easily possible if we all understand and accommodate each other. There are several misconceptions in the minds of people on account of the absence of exposure to the authentic literature of various faiths. Most people come to know about other faiths not by personally studying them but by what is being discussed and commented upon in public discourses. Their genuineness is a matter of speculation and conjecture.

By Hafizur Talukdar*  The Russia-Ukraine war has started amidst the economic losses of the Corona epidemic. Western countries have imposed various sanctions on Russia. This has had an adverse effect on the economy of Bangladesh. Transportation costs have increased due to increase in fuel oil prices in the international market. It has increased the price of all kinds of products. Food shortages and abnormally high prices have led to famine in many countries. Various international organizations are expressing fear that the situation may deteriorate further. This wave has also started to be felt in Bangladesh. The government has already adopted austerity policies in all sectors of the economy. In terms of imports, initiatives have been taken to narrow down areas such as luxury goods, foreign food and expensive cars. The implementation of all projects which are unnecessary or not necessary are being stopped. The government has decided to set office hours from 8am to 3pm, for all government

S olidarity letter in support of Bilkis Bano by Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) faculty and staff, addressed to the Chief Justice of India: *** We, the undersigned faculty and staff members of IIM Bangalore, in our personal capacity, stand in solidarity with Bilkis Bano and her fight for justice. The crimes committed by the eleven men granted remission were no ordinary crimes. They were accused and convicted of gang rape and murders of the most depraved and inhumane kind. The Supreme Court itself upheld their conviction in 2008. Bilkis Bano, who survived to tell the tale, fought for justice for over seventeen years. This remission is not only a denial of justice but also presents a real and immediate danger to Bilkis Bano and her family. The sympathetic treatment these convicted men have received is shocking. What kind of a nation are we turning into if Bilkis Bano is left to defend herself while her violators are given a hero's welcome? We are stunned and deeply a

By Narasimha Reddy Donthi*  Corona had severe impact on handloom sector and weaver livelihoods. Most of them have slipped into poverty. Unfortunately, there is no change in the budget for handloom sector, from the previous interim budget. It is a mere Rs.495.32 crores. Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, a woman Union Finance Minister, who wears handloom sarees and has a good understanding of handloom products, failed to increase handloom budget allocations on par with the expectations. In a year, where economic recession was accepted, employment has spiraled down, purchasing power has taken a dent and rural consumption has nosedived, there were expectations that this budget would infuse funds into rural economy. Raising handloom budget was one route for this infusion, stabilizing economy, employment and environment. Economic thinkers probably forgot about the importance of handloom sector in terms of employment potential (especially in rural areas), its positive impact on environment (thus respon

Delhi Union of Journalists statement on Adani takeover of NDTV, signed by S.K.Pande and Sujata Madhok, President and General Secretary, respectively: *** The Last News Bastion Crumbles The Delhi Union of Journalists is shocked at news reports that NDTV is being bought up by the Adani Group. It is evident that the two oligarchs of the Indian economy have decided to parcel out the entire media industry between them, leaving no room for independent players. TV media has increasingly become the voice of the corporates and certain political parties. Cross media holdings and media monopolies ensure that the views of the government and big business are replicated without deviation across channels. So blatant is the bias that during every people's movement there is open rejection of certain TV channels and their anchors. Both during the CAA protests and the farmers' struggle, people loudly questioned the propaganda blitzkrieg by these channels. We regret the biased role played by som