-Outlook A crusader for Dalit rights, Bezwada Wilson, on reclaiming for the Dalits a life of human dignity in a structurally apathetic society. On many occasions, the Ramon Magsaysay Award has been bestowed on individuals of various ilks and ideological persuasions. For the first time, perhaps, it speaks to an issue that touches the lives of millions of people because an award for Bezwada Wilson (50) is an international acknowledgement of the...
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Why are Dalits in Narendra Modi's India angry? -Soutik Biswas
-BBC Four years ago, a group of upper-caste men arrived at Mehul Vinodbhai Kabira's modest two-room home in Gujarat and threatened to burn it down. Bhayla is a nondescript village of around 450 low slung brick-and-Cement homes straddling a highway dotted by pharmaceutical, engineering and bio-tech factories. Most of the homes in this dense village are owned by land-owning upper castes, but around 70 belong to Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) like Mr...
More »CAG picks holes in coal auctions -Anupam Chakravartty
-Down to Earth The report highlights that there are inaccuracies and inconsistencies in valuation of auctioned mines In a report tabled in the monsoon session of the Parliament, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India states that despite auctions, multiple bids by corporate groups through joint ventures or subsidiaries did not ensure that potential level of competition had been achieved in the first two tranches. The report highlights that there are...
More »A River Comes to the People -Manu Moudgil
-TheWire.in/ India Water Portal Nanduwali in east Rajasthan started flowing again when the villagers decided to work with nature and not against it. The river is now lifeline to those settled on her banks. Gajanand Sharma is excited about the monsoon this year. He is building an anicut on the small stream that runs through his farm. “After the rain, the land will be filled with water and then I will sow...
More »Hunger games in West Bengal elections -Aniruddha Ghosal
-The Indian Express The reasons for TMC's confidence that their 'rice politics' in the state will surmount all other criticism are rooted firmly in history. It is hunger that dominates discussions about elections in West Bengal. Starvation doesn’t need to be imagined in Bengal, it’s not a distant memory — the word still conjures up images of gaunt ribs, filthy rags and lethargic limbs with unnerving clarity. The reasons for TMC’s confidence...
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