-The Business Standard The right to food is finally becoming a lively political issue in India. Aware of the forthcoming general elections, parties are competing to demonstrate - or at least proclaim - their commitment to food security. In a country where endemic undernutrition has been accepted for too long as natural, this is a breakthrough of sorts. The food security Bill is a modest initiative. It consolidates various food-related programmes and...
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A wrong diagnosis
-The Business Standard NAC shouldn't have seen growth as the enemy of welfare For the nine years of the United Progressive Alliance government, the National Advisory Council led by Sonia Gandhi and including many well-known people from the corporate and non-governmental organisation world - mostly those with a left-of-centre perspective - has been the focus of much attention. The conventional narrative is that the NAC represented Sonia Gandhi's socialist instincts, and regularly...
More »The Neglect of Health, Women and Justice-AK Shiva Kumar
-Economic and Political Weekly A report on the 2013 deliberation of the Kolkata Group at its 10th workshop which focused on healthcare, the status of women and social justice in India. A K Shiva Kumar (akshivakumar@gmail.com) is convener of the Kolkata Group workshops which are organised by Pratichi (India) Trust, the Harvard Global Equity Initiative and UNICEF India. At the 10th annual Kolkata Group workshop in February this year, 40 policymakers, development practitioners,...
More »Pass food Bill even without amendments: Sen-Gargi Parsai
-The Hindu Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is upset that disruption of Parliament has held up passage of important legislation including the UPA's flagship National Food Security Bill. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is upset that disruption of Parliament has held up passage of important legislation including the UPA's flagship National Food Security Bill. He feels that if the Bill is not passed - even if without amendments - several hundred children will go hungry...
More »An open letter: Adivasis need speedy and impartial justice
-The Times of India To the Government of India, Members of the Judiciary, and All Citizens, One of the most disastrous consequences of the strife in the tribal areas of central India is that thousands of adivasi men and women remain imprisoned as under-trials, often many years after being arrested, accused of 'Naxalite/ Maoist' offences. The facts speak for themselves. In Chhattisgarh, over two thousand adivasis are currently in jail, charged with 'Naxalite/Maoist'...
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