Sachin Tendulkar’s comment has generated some controversy (read, some people decided to call it a controversy). Here is what Attitude Speaks has to say about it:
Amitabh Bachchan to Sachin Tendulkar, all have borne the tongue-lashings of this man, who is a self-proclaimed protagonist of the interests of the Marathi “manoos”. Little does he realize that [...]
Archive for the 'Democracy' Category
Mumbai belongs to Indians
Published by November 20th, 2009 in Democracy, Politics and Prejudice. 0 CommentsThe News is for sale……
Published by November 11th, 2009 in Democracy, Government and Media. 1 CommentFour News items of your choice and your profile costs only between Rs 5 to 20 lakh depending on the page of our newspaper.If you are rich enough we will publish for you a special supplement about your achievements for only Rs 1.5 crore.”
Charakan describes the rates for sale of newspaper columns to affordable candidates [...]
Justifying reservations
Published by October 15th, 2009 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Human Rights, India, Justice, Politics and Society. 2 CommentsWinnowed argues for caste-based reservations:
In my opinion, purely caste-based reservations do perpetuate caste divisions in the short term. However, they also uplift untouchable and backward castes, to a large extent, though it is at the expense of the upper castes. If (social and economic) upliftment of the lower castes is the sole objective behind reservations, [...]
Remembering K.Balagopal
Published by October 14th, 2009 in Activism, Adivasi, Capitalism, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Development, Feminism, Human Rights, Justice, Politics and Poverty. 4 CommentsA site dedicated to the memory of human rights activist Balagopal who passed away recently.
Anand Teltumbde recalls his association with his ‘dearest friend and comrade’:
I knew Balagopal since 1980s and admired him for his sharp intellect and deep commitment to human rights. Not many in the movement knew that he was a brilliant mathematician and [...]
R.I.P. Dr.Balagopal
Published by October 10th, 2009 in Adivasi, Capitalism, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Development, Government, Human Rights, India, Justice, Policy, Politics, Poverty and Violence. 0 CommentsAditya pays tributes:
A relentless crusader for human rights for three decades now, Andhra Pradesh HC lawyer Balagopal has fought cases from extra-judicial killings of political dissenters to atrocities against Dalits and women. And he has often suffered personal attacks for his efforts, by the police and others shamed by his exposes. But he has never [...]
India and HDI ranking
Published by October 8th, 2009 in Democracy, Development, Economy, Education, Health, Human Rights and India. 4 CommentsLekhni is ‘rapidly coming to the conclusion that 15 minutes of fame’ is all the UNDP’s Human Development Index list deserves:
But the last part is the best – the report says they take an average of life expectancy and literacy and GDP, and compute the average HDI for that country.
This means that if you have, [...]
The Indian State’s contradictions
Published by September 3rd, 2009 in Activism, Democracy and Government. 0 CommentsVikram explores the contradictions within the flailing Indian State. He explains that the Indian state (i.e. the Union and State governments, various government departments, police etc.) is as confusing as the nation it represents and controls. Whereas on the one hand there are reports of its agents engaging in gross human rights abuses, it goes [...]
Back to Mayawati’s statues
Published by August 18th, 2009 in Dalit, Democracy and Politics. 2 CommentsGarga Chatterjee understands the rationale behind the act but does not approve it.
Having said this, one also has to note the deep hypocrisy in the propriety argument. Both Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Panditain Indira Gandhi were made the Bharat Ratna when they were prime ministers. I am not judging these acts but can only say [...]
E-Campaign for Patient Rights
Published by June 30th, 2009 in Activism, Democracy, Health, Human Rights, India, Justice, Policy, Recommended Links, Regulation and Society. 1 CommentAditya’s 3 year old son was prescribed a drug overdose by a pediatrician for the recurring fever. This led to very severe consequences and the child needed ICU care for 3 days and a painful process of recovery due to this excessive medication. Aditya wanted to register his complaint against the pediatrician and the hospital [...]
Want to file an RTI ?
Published by June 27th, 2009 in Democracy, Development, Government, India and Justice. 1 CommentYou want to know why or on what basis some decisions were taken or not taken by a public authority. In other words you want to exercise your right to seek some information but do not know how.
Ankur tells you how to file an RTI.
it makes them accountable to the public and makes it hard [...]
Ordinary crime
Published by June 22nd, 2009 in Democracy, Human Rights, India, Justice, Media, Policy, Politics, South Asia and Violence. 0 CommentsAjay Govind spends what seem to be ten not-so-ordinary days in Kashmir:
But the words that caught my attention were from the title of that piece. ”I’ve learnt how ordinary crime becomes an issue”. Here were his ‘exact’ words from the interview itself “…It’s a case study for me to understand how if not handled right, an [...]
Right to Indifference
Published by June 20th, 2009 in Democracy, Development and Government. 0 CommentsQuirky Indian feels that the Indian bureaucracy has a sense of humour: while everyone from international watchdogs to the Maoists give them a bad rating, the babus think they know better.
Lalgarh, like Nandigram and Naxalbari, has become another addition, courtesy West Bengal, to our socio-political lexicon. Here’s an article where one of the Maoists has [...]
Lohia and the ‘People’s Movement Left’
Published by June 18th, 2009 in Activism, Capitalism, Caste, Democracy, Development, Economy, History, Politics, Science & Technology and Theory. 0 CommentsAmit Basole evaluates Lohia in a ‘time of crisis’ in the Indian left movements:
Along with the question of Eurocentrism, the question of the type of economic development was Lohia’s most fundamental theoretical challenge to Marxism. Marxists have been by and large unwilling to confront the possibility that industrialism and not capitalism may be the primary [...]
Iran’s lost generation
Published by June 16th, 2009 in Democracy, Politics, Religion and World. 0 CommentsAddicted to Friends reflects on recent events in Iran:
It was Khatami’s second term, a time when hopes of rapid social liberalization were fading. Despite that the impression you gained was of a society that assumed change would occur, if only more slowly than many people wanted. That the change could come from within the system [...]
‘Politics will become even less accountable’
Published by June 15th, 2009 in Democracy, Economy, Policy and Politics. 1 CommentVipul Tripathi asks: is there a way of getting more women into politics that will get everyone’s support?
There are voices both in support and opposition.
Those supporting the move just have to point to India’s position on the gender-related development index (GDI) — 138 among 156 countries.
Nearly everyone says more women are needed in the legislatures. [...]
The same little featherheads?
Published by June 15th, 2009 in Caste, Democracy, Policy, Politics and Women. 0 CommentsSneha Krishnan finds the debate on women’s reservations ‘immensely entertaining to watch’:
The debate on reservation for women, as most constitutional debates in India, is as old as the tome itself. In 1949, however, the Assembly’s female members rallied against this move, saying that women in India had never demanded special privileges. Ironically, the only voice [...]
Many objections to quota for women
Published by June 14th, 2009 in Democracy, Policy, Politics and Women. 0 CommentsSubramanyam lists out a string of objections to the Women’s reservations bill:
3. This bill assumes that all women are underprivileged and all men are privileged which is exactly not the case. This is a gross generalization and is extremely discriminatory. The very concept that “a women representative in parliament/state assembly represents the women of the [...]
The General hasn’t retired
Published by June 11th, 2009 in Democracy, Politics and South Asia. 0 CommentsQalandar sees in Musharraf’s recent pronouncements, on the centrality of the military to Pakistan’s national project and on other such issues, signs that should worry Pakistan’s democrats:
Such image-making is par for the course in many countries — but given the context of Pakistan’s hard won electoral freedoms, and the enduring influence of the military-intelligence apparatus(es) [...]
Illusion of Democracy
Published by June 9th, 2009 in Democracy, Education, Government, Human Rights and India. 0 CommentsDr.T.Prasad opines that democracy in India is an illusion:
Moreover, the instrument of governance used by such a ‘democratic government’ for delivering the services to the people remained the same which was designed and used for systematically exploiting a colony and is thus totally anachronistic and unsuitable for democratic governance. This renders the constitutional declaration of [...]
Rohit Nambiar offers suggestions on how to find impartial people for certain posts like the Lok Sabha Speaker etc.,
If parties are really serious about being bi-partisan and appointing impartial leaders, then we need to look at some constitutional amendments for these key posts (That of a President, Speaker and Governor) that are critical to the [...]
More MPs from St.Stephens?
Published by June 9th, 2009 in Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Policy, Politics and Women. 0 CommentsFrom social point of view, from the view of representativeness this is the worst parliament in the last few decades (it is a painful realization. There are 20 odd MPs who have passed out from St Stephen, delhi!. Surely we are back to 1960s). Frankly this blogger saw it coming, when they were making hullabaloo [...]
Different perspectives on the quota
Published by June 8th, 2009 in Dalit, Democracy, India, Patriarchy, Policy, Politics, Prejudice and Women. 1 CommentAbantika Ghosh on the proposed quota for women: Let’s at least have the good sense to feel ashamed of it.
Because in the end the need for women’s reservation arises in the mindset and after all the promises of universal education and compulsory primary education, somehow women, as young girls, always seem to miss out on [...]
Women’s reservations bill
Published by June 7th, 2009 in Democracy, India, Patriarchy, Policy, Politics, Prejudice and Women. 3 CommentsRaghav Parthasarathy thinks this is the right time for the bill:
We recently heard Sharad Yadav saying that he would kill himself if the bill was passed. The BJP has indicated that it is willing to support the bill. Its leader , Shri Advani has clearly indicated that the 15th Lok Sabha will see a new [...]
Quota for women
Published by June 5th, 2009 in Caste, Democracy, Patriarchy, Policy, Politics and Women. 0 CommentsThe debate has just started, and I hope it picks up.
Sunny likes the idea of reservations for women in parliament. Churumuri offers a nice picture of poison to Sharad Yadav. The blogger seems, like Mr.Yadav, ‘unwilling to concede, comprehend or come to terms’ with what those who hold opposing points of view are talking about. [...]
Women’s representation in parliament
Published by May 26th, 2009 in Caste, Democracy, Gender & Sexuality, General Elections 2009, Human Rights, Justice, Patriarchy, Policy, Politics, Prejudice, Society and Women. 0 CommentsDeepali Gaur Singh writes on the unfinished business of women’s representation in parliament:
India ranks 115th of 162 countries in terms of gender development. Lack of representation directly translates into a de-sensitized political leadership that is completely cut-off from the issues facing half the population of the country. It also results in disproportionately less legislation empowering [...]
Recent Comments