-The Hindu In his book on Bihar, M.R. Sharan provides a closely observed, scholarly, and empathetic account of the struggle to make constitutional promises a reality in rural India M.R. Sharan’s splendid book brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. The scene is a public meeting at “Narega Chowk” in Ratnauli village, Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. Activists of Bihar Manrega Watch (BMW) are helping resolve grievances. An old woman...
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Mandal vs Kamandal Redux? Caste Is Back as a Major Variable in UP Elections -Gilles Verniers and Christophe Jaffrelot
-TheWire.in BJP has now realised that Hindutva and identity politics by themselves are not enough to win. In post-Mandal India, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attempt to build electoral alliances tying upper castes and non-dominant OBCs is not new. This is a strategy the party used in the mid-1990s across North India to resist the consolidation of pro-Mandal parties and prevent the formation of large coalitions of “backwards”. Mid-1990s onwards, the BJP distributed...
More »Uttar Pradesh polls: A loophole in democracy -Shaikh Mujibur Rehman
-The Hindu Only if the Samajwadi Party-led coalition wins by a large margin can it be assured of government formation It is clear that the fierce electoral battle for Uttar Pradesh is mainly between the Akhilesh Yadav-led gathbandhan (coalition) and the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), even if it appears multi-Cornered on paper. The failure of unity among supposedly secular parties against the BJP once again demonstrates not just their half-hearted...
More »In Two Corners of Bengal’s Coast, ‘Fire’ and Water Hold Women Hostage -Soumashree Sarkar and Pawanjot Kaur
-TheWire.in A ground report from two fishing villages, one in East Medinipur and the other in the Sundarban, reflects how various expressions of climate change leave a mark on health and wellbeing, especially of women. Jharkhali/ Nijkasba, West Bengal: It is easy to consider the south of West Bengal as an unwieldy side of the world that is acutely stricken by the climate crisis. Buzzwords like ‘salinity’, ‘storm surge’, ‘water-level rise’ and ‘ocean...
More »Reliable data, good policy -R Srinivasan and M Vijayabaskar
-The Hindu The onus is on the government to ensure that there is a robust system of public data production and use When evidence-based policymaking becomes the Cornerstone of good governance, it is difficult to overstate the importance of reliable and timely public data. Such data have a direct bearing on the state’s capability to design and implement programmes effectively. Among the emerging economies, India is credited to have a relatively robust...
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