Category: Opinion
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Bridging digital divide to accelerate India’s development
Gulf between those who have ready access to computing devices and Internet, and those who do not have, is generally known as digital divide. There is a digital divide between rich and poor in terms of use of computers. Digital divide denies half the world’s citizens access to digital education, work and participation in modern…
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World celebrates women’s day on March 8
International Women’s Day (IWD) is being celebrated all over the globe on March 8 every year. Theme of IWD-2022 is Break the Bias. Bias, whether deliberate or unconscious, makes it difficult for women to move ahead. It is not enough to recognize bias; action is required to level the playing field. Countries need to devise…
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The way Supreme Court caved-in
People assumed that after the judgment in ADM Jabalpur case in mid 1970s, the Supreme Court of India (SCI) would be a great bulwark standing in support of liberties and rights of people, but increasingly in recent years especially since 2014 on issues of critical fundamental constitutional importance like the Kashmir issue, electoral bonds, Habeas…
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चारा घोटाला और ‘साजिश का एंगल’
चारा घोटाला और ‘साजिश का एंगल’ { यह आलेख वर्ष 2018 में लिखा था, जब लालू प्रसाद को तीसरी बार चारा घोटाले के एक मामले में सजा सुनायी गयी थी. अब पांचवीं बार सजा मिलने पर भी, तब मैंने जो मुद्दे उठाये थे, अब प्रासंगिक हैं. इसलिए इसमें किंचित संपादन के अलावा किसी बदलाव की…
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हिजाब बनाम भगवा गमछा : यह ‘संतुलन’ है या और कुछ?
कर्नाटक में अभी हिजाब बनाम भगवा गमछा का एक नकली विवाद खड़ा कर दिया गया है। भाजपा शासित इस राज्य के कुछ स्कूलों में पहले तो मुसलिम लड़कियों के हिजाब पहन कर आने से रोक दिया गया। जब इसे धार्मिक भेदभाव बता कर इसका विरोध शुरू हुआ तो कुछ लड़के वहां गले में ‘भगवा गमछा’…
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Railway Budget in perspective
Railways annual budget bifurcated from the general budget since 1924-25 has ensured dedicated sustained growth and expansion of Indian Railways to provide efficient bulk passenger and freight rail services to the nation. Reasons for a separate annual rail budget included railways’ need for focused attention for its expansion and modernization as it is a heavy…
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India on the Republic Day 2022
India on the 72nd Republic Day presents a very grim picture with its secular constitutional pluralistic democracy not working. Country has changed politically, socially and economically. Current regime in the Centre has actively participated and aided communal and divisive forces in vitiating the harmony among religious and social groups for the ruling party to reap…
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Failure to curb crimes against women
Successive Union Governments have taken several administrative and legal measures to empower, secure women and minimize crimes against them. But unfortunately, crimes against women have been increasing year on year except in 2020 when such crimes came down by 8.3 per cent due to lockdown and massive job losses, according to the National Crime RecordsBureau…
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Ominous signs of India’s constitutional democracy
Outgoing year 2021 witnessed Prime Minister’s discerning political agenda perceiving selective human rights violation in certain incidents, while overlooking in certain others, CDS General Bipin Rawat’s (since killed in a recent chopper crash) shocking fillip to the growing menace of vigilantism endorsing the killing of persons believed to be terrorists by lynch mobs in Kashmir,…
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Railways under growing debt trap
Indian Railways (IR) has been mobilizing resources from freight traffic, passenger services, sundry sources, market borrowings, budgetary and extra budgetary support from the General Exchequer for its expansion, up gradation and modernisation. Borrowing arm of IR in the Ministry of Railways is Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC). In addition, Ministry of Railways also mobilises loans…
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एमएसपी कितना व्यावहारिक है?
तीनों कृषि कानून के रद्द होने का रास्ता अब चूंकि प्रधानमंत्री ने स्वयं निकाल दिया है…. तो एमएसपी (MSP) पर कानून भी स्वयं प्रधानमंत्री ही लायें- अब मामला यहीं अटका हुआ है और संयुक्त किसान मोर्चा आंदोलन से पीछे नहीं हट रहा है। चूंकि मामला खेती किसानी का है, इसलिए इससे संबंधित कोई भी आंदोलन एक सामाजिक-…
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Gross abuse of dreaded anti-terror law must end
Implication of 102 persons under the dreaded anti-terror law in the recent communal riots in the BJP ruled Tripura state has put spotlight on the gross abuse of the UAPA (the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967) as amended to date to suppress voices of dissent or banner of alarms against the repression of innocents. Tripura…
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Indian Railways on cost cutting spree
Ministry of Railways has begun implementing a report on right sizing the workings of Indian Railways by reorganizing its public sector undertakings (PSUs) including Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) through mergers of some units and closure of some others to avoid overlapping and to cut costs to effect economy of scale in rail services to the…
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Hunger Index May Have Limitations – But There’s More Than Enough Proof That India Has a Problem
Amartya Sen once told Mahbub-ul-Haq, with whom he developed the Human Development Index (HDI), that he can “do a single, one-number indicator, but it will be vulgar”. Mahbub ul-Haq replied: “Do an indicator that is just as vulgar as the GNP, but which will tell you more about quality of life than the GNP.” Sen…
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झारखण्ड के आदिवासियों का समाजवादी जीवन-दर्शन
सोवियत महल के विघटन के साथ ही समाजवाद का पतन शुरू हो गया और अब दुनिया के अधिकांश देशों से करीब-करीब विदा हो चुका है। संसदीय लोकतंत्र के आवरण में पूंजीवाद समस्त जगत में अपना पैंठ जमा चुका है। तथाकथित रूस और चीन जैसे साम्यवादी देशों से भी समाजवादी मूल्य गायब हो चुके हैं। मौजूदा…