Political parties across the spectrum get into a tangle over an innocuous cartoon in a school textbook THE textbooks of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) are in the news again. This time, it is not history but political science textbooks that managed to get almost all Members of Parliament on their feet on an emotive issue and for reasons that defied logic. One day before the 60th...
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The Politics of food for the hungry-Aruna Roy & Neha Saigal
The 28th of May, marked as “World Hunger Day,” has come and gone but for Pannu Bai Bhil, every day is hunger day. How does someone dealing with chronic hunger view a day marking her plight? Let those of us who overeat at least take stock of a hungry India pitted against bumper crops, number crunching, technologies for profit, markets, and growth rates. The solution for hunger lies in proper...
More »Will quit if coalgate charges against me are proved: PM Manmohan Singh-Sachin Parashar
ON BOARD PM'S AIRCRAFT: An emotional Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday hit back at Team Anna's allegation of corruption against him in coal block allotments, saying he would give up public life if charges levelled by the activists were proved. "I will give up my public life even if there is an iota of truth in allegations levelled against me, and the country can give me my punishment. My long...
More »It'll take more than markets to build a green future-Ashish Kothari
In August 2010, the U.N. Secretary General set up a “High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability,” to formulate a “new vision for sustainable growth and prosperity” for the world. Co-chaired by the Presidents of Finland and South Africa, the panel submitted its detailed report in January 2012. The report is under consideration in the Secretary General's office, and will be a key input to the upcoming U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development...
More »Through the Lens of a Constitutional Republic The Case of the Controversial Textbook by Peter Ronald deSouza
The textbook controversy is an opportunity for us to explore some of our core constitutional principles, especially the relationship between Parliament and freedom of expression. Parliament is certainly the space to discuss complaints of “offensive material” but should exercise its option of withdrawal of the textbooks in the “last instance” not in the “first instance” as has been done in this case. Peter Ronald deSouza (peter@csds.in) is the director of the...
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