-IDROnline.org/ TheWire.in "The problem with Indian democracy is that despite the presence of millions of voters, the pool of decision makers get smaller and narrower at the top." Aruna Roy is a social activist and founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS). Her work and leadership led to the enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005—a landmark act that empowers citizens to demand transparency and accountability from government institutions....
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Meet the Dalits who are using online platforms to tell stories of their community -Danish Raza
-Hindustan Times Rather than feeling ignored by the mainstream media or disgruntled by the ‘biased’ coverage, Dalits are using digital space to publish news and opinions. On December 31, when violence spread in Pune on the 200th anniversary of the Bhima- Koregaon battle, it was the first time many people in other parts of the country got to know about the encounter between the army of Peshwa Bajirao II, and a...
More »Social damages might have more lasting impact on economy than wrong policies: Economist Kaushik Basu
-PTI India is a society that is poor, but is respected for its scientific temper and research, and "we should not backtrack on that," the former World Bank chief economist said. Mumbai: Amid a debate over incidents of lynching, noted economist Kaushik Basu has warned that social damages could have a long-lasting impact on the economy than some wrong policy moves, “such as demonetisation”. Delivering the 23rd Lalit Doshi memorial lecture here...
More »In Tamil Nadu’s Vazhavur, another story of Dalit death and prejudice -Arun Janardhanan
-The Indian Express Denied access to public road for funeral procession, Dalit mourners helpless as police forcibly take bodies, bury them. Madurai: WITH A straight face, M Karthikeyan says his grandparents, who died recently, received “the distinction of a state burial”. “They were buried by police, only the 21-gun salute was missing,” said the 30-year-old Dalit from Nagapattinam. Behind the dark humour, is a chilling story of how caste divisions in a Tamil Nadu...
More »Fighting silence with dignified dissent -Shiv Visvanathan
-The Hindu In returning their awards, Nayantara Sahgal and Ashok Vajpeyi have reminded Modi of two duties he has neglected — that of upholding a citizen's right to life and of protecting an artist’s right to creativity. Their angst is also directed at the silence of fellow writers and literary institutions.A writer not only seeks to reform a particular injustice in society. She is a tuning fork, a warning signal about...
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