-Hindustan Times The BJP’s rise is remarkable. If the TMC still wins, it will offer a template on how to challenge a hegemon In West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the chief challenger to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has ruled West Bengal for 10 years. This, in and of itself, is a major change in Bengal’s politics, where the BJP had never been much of an...

-The Hindu Business Line/ NetworkIdeas.org The world has been preoccupied with the Covid-19 pandemic, and this has also affected policymakers everywhere. There is much more recognition today of the terrible effects of underfunding public health over decades and how this affects the resilience of economies and societies. Yet this official preoccupation with addressing the spread of infectious disease appears to have had an unanticipated negative effect: less policy attention to concerns...

-Down to Earth More than a dozen organizations from the hill state have come together to highlight dangers of climate change, exacerbated by exploitation of land, forests and water The glacial disaster in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district has a strong message for the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh, which has a similar geography, topography and climate: To rethink the model of development being followed, particularly with regard to the exploitation of its hydroelectric...

-CounterCurrents.org The tragedy in Uttarakhand has again highlighted the extreme vulnerability of dam workers who toil often in very hazardous conditions in very remote parts of the country, away from public gaze. In particular the hazards faced by workers are very serious at several dam construction locations in the Himalayan region. While better safety conditions for dam workers are needed everywhere, this need is particularly acute in the Himalayan region. In recent...

-The Indian Express Speaking to The Indian Express on her way to Chandigarh to meet an advocate at the High Court, Nodeep Kaur's sister Rajvir said, “We have started the process. The allegations against my sister are false.” Gurgaon/ New Delhi: Four days after a Sessions Court in Sonipat denied bail to Nodeep Kaur (23), a Dalit labour rights activist and member of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan in Sonipat who has been...