Following on from Part-I last week. First in this part, excerpts from Out of the fields, behind closed doors by Tasneem Nashrulla (emphasis mine). This gives some hope.
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Like most women who prefer to visit the ladies’ room together, the women of Sakhara village in Vidarbha’s Yavatmal district also answered their nightly nature’s call in groups. Except it wasn’t for midnight banter, but for their safety.
Because right till early 2005, the ladies’ latrine in this tiny hamlet, located about 753 km north-east of Mumbai, was an open …

Here is something to jolt you out of your mid-week complacency. In a two-part series on “hygiene & sanitation in India”, I will carry excerpts from various, recent articles on this subject to highlight this commonly seen but rarely discussed challenge.
In Part I, excerpts from Jason Gale’s article that remind us on the need to grapple with some very fundamental problems first before we can aspire to be a “super-power” or say “India Shining” with some conviction.
From India Failing to Control Open Defecation Blunts Nation’s Growth” by Jason Gale, …

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee:

I will teach them (Maoists) a lesson in the future…

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Full context of the quote:
Asked whether the State government, by agreeing to the swap (of tribals in exchange for a police officer), sent out a message to Maoists that abducting police personnel was a certain way for to secure the release of their sympathisers , he said: “If they learnt this lesson, they are wrong. I will teach them a lesson in the future.”
Related Post: On Naxals, Red Corridor and Operation Green Hunt
Past Quotes.

As I read the news yesterday about fresh attacks by Naxalites (including the burning of a school in Bihar), I was reminded of very animated discussion I had with about 20+ post-grad students of politics in Pune earlier this month.
The discussion – that happened the day after 17 policemen were killed in Gadchiroli – was triggered by my question on how to tackle “Naxal Terror”.
About 8-9 of the students in the group had first-hand and direct experience of living in a Naxal-affected area and I was stuck by two …

While clearing my (now very long) list of pending “To Dos”, I came across this report on the motion moved by Sharad Joshi to delete the word “socialist” from the Constitution as it was not part of its basic structure. This debate happened on 9th Dec ’05 in the Rajya Sabha. Excerpts below from this very thought-provoking debate which includes statements made by Sh Ram Jethmalani and Sh Jairam Ramesh. Unfortunately the source link that I had to the article is not working anymore Link found/updated above.
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Here is something to think about during the weekend: A stunning video from Dr HansRosling that looks at how the last 200 years changed the world.
Have a look…(it is about 5 mins long)

[ link ]
The interactive animations and corresponding documentation are freely available at GapMinder.
Two interesting (and important, I think) points:
1] Almost all of India’s growth has happened post independence (post 1940 – as you will notice from this chart – that also offers a fascinating perspective to compare different countries).
2] Although there is anecdotal evidence to suggest …

In one of his recent essays, Prof. Art Carden mentions one of the main reasons why political leaders routinely dismiss capitalism:
Under capitalism, the common man does not need an intellectual vanguard or a group of virtuous surrogates to make his decisions for him or to defend him against the rapacity of his fellows. He can do just fine without our help, thank you very much, and would be much obliged if we would go back to our ivory towers and leave him alone.
The idea that great statesmen are not needed …

Start the weekend with this fascinating piece on a flawed understanding of intelligence.
Move on to a persuasive piece by Swaminathan S Aiyar on why direct cash transfers may provide better relief  to the drought hit than NREGA.
Next, read Aseem Shukla on why Scotland’s myopic act of mercy in releasing Abdel Megrahi may cost the world dearly.
And finally, read RealityCheck on why  Below Poverty Level is not “Below Poverty Level”.
Enjoy the weekend. Stay Safe and Keep Healthty.
Excerpts from all the above articles below, as always.
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This is a very sad story. I first heard of this courtesy BarbarIndian and it shook me to the core. Here is a news-article from almost 8 years back, 18th Oct 2001 to be precise, headlined:
“Archana case: The longest legal battle“.
…The violent waves of the naxalite movement were gradually dying down and “special cell” of the city police were busy executing the mandate of uprooting this ultra-left movement, the chief target of state repression, by hook or by crook. But, never in their dreams, did these police officers think that …

Some of you might remember a poll on this blog from six months ago on “What should be India’s top developmental priority?“.
There were a number of choices I had offered, namely:

Access to good quality education for all?

Access to basic healthcare for all (I will include clean drinking water in this)?

Focus on the Girl Child (including her education and obviously, health)?

Other answer…

I was reminded of this poll again last week while reading something else and decided to revisit some of the issues that were thrown up in the comments section.
At the …