Policy paralysis and spectacular corruption have become by-words for the UPA-2. Against this backdrop, the Congress party has bleak chances of being voted to power, despite a populist agenda and the freebies on offer, writes Dr. B. Ramesh Babu, as he analyses the party’s draft manifesto. “Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they are today.” — Mahatma Gandhi As the prescient observation of the Father of the Nation indicates, “corruption and hypocrisy” are not new ills afflicting the country. However, over the last six decades and the successive elections, the familiar old hypocrisy has…
Author: oiop
Students tell us what they will look for in a candidate/party before casting their vote. [columns] [column size=”1/3″] Raghav Seth (21) Area – Prabhadevi “I believe in one man army” [/column] [column size=”2/3″]Do you feel it is important to vote? As a citizen of the largest Democratic Republic in the world, I accept the “Right to vote” as a privilege, where one is entrusted with the responsibility of deciding the future of one’s own nation. How do you decide who to vote for? What are the credentials you will look for? In today’s time, it is not strongest of the…
A mare and its foal lived in a beautiful meadow, with plenty of sweet grass and fresh water and lots of space to gallop around in. But the foal wasn’t happy and kept begging his mother for a change. “Let’s go to another place,” he said, tossing his little mane. “I am sure we’ll find better grass, clearer water and an even bigger space for stretching our legs!” His mother would patiently tell him to enjoy what he had, but he wouldn’t listen. Finally, tired of the pestering, the mother decided to move. All day long, they walked. The two…
Shoma A. Chatterji narrates the story behind the much acclaimed ‘Gulabi Gang’, a group of pink sari-clad women led by Sampat Pal, through a successful documentary made on the subject. Bundelkhand in central India, a region notorious for its rebels-turned-armed bandits, is witnessing a new kind of rebellion with an unusual cast of characters. These are the pink sari-clad women of the Gulabi Gang, who use words as weapons to demand their rights, submitting petitions and haranguing corrupt officials. They travel long distances by cart and tractor, bus and train, to wrest justice for women and Dalits, undeterred by sneering…
Corbett, the oldest national park in India is exceedingly special, which makes you feel alive and exudes an indescribable vitality. At first, I thought a vehicle ahead of us had leaked gear oil onto the road. It was a little before noon and we had almost reached the turn off to Gairal on the main tar road that leads from the Dhanghari gate to Dhikala. I stopped the vehicle, wondering how I could mop up the oil when, in the dappled light of the sal forest, the stain that had looked jet-black from a distance took on a distinctly scarlet…
Pooja Parvati proposes a people’s manifesto based on the millennium development goals. It’s election season in India. Political parties of all hues are out to impress the voters, tom-tomming their achievements, promises and presenting their vision of what challenges confront India today. As a civil society campaign that has been advocating for a more socially-just, equitable and rightsbased development frame since 2004, Wada Na Todo Abhiyan has been engaged in scrutinising the election manifestos and has recently launched a nation-wide campaign to develop a People’s Manifesto, for political formations to take note of. In this regard, a related advocacy initiative…
BMN Murthy recounts the birth of Arthashashtra through Dr. Rudrapatnam Shamashastry who was titled ‘Arthashastra Visharada’ by the Maharaja of Mysore. There was a misconception in the western world till about the 20th century that in ancient India everything was moved by other-worldly considerations and that the society was ignorant of statecraft, social affairs and administration. If there was one turning point which removed this misconception, it was the discovery of Kautilya’s book ‘Arthashastra’ in Sanskrit which, though written 2,400 years earlier, was discovered as late as the 20th century. The singular credit for discovering this rare and monumental manuscript…
Prakash Bal Joshi spells out the likely manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seen as the strongest contender in the 2014 general elections. He says, some contentious issues and promises made in the 2009 manifesto are expected to be repeated in the 2014 manifesto, which will have the NaMo stamp. Even in the days of coalition politics, a manifesto by a political party just before the general elections has not lost its importance, as it reflects what way the party wants to take the country ahead in future, what would be its priorities and policies. The document also gives…
It is very important to harness the energy, creativity, enthusiasm and intellect of the youth to give this nation a more meaningful future and change the regressive and archaic status quo that it is existing in, writes Shivani Gupta, as she presents a youth manifesto. In 1965, Lal Bahadur Shastri gave us the famous slogan “Jai Jawan! Jai Kisan!.” This slogan came about in the context of India-Pakistan war, but even today the slogan holds true in a country like India which has one of the youngest populations in the world; jawan here being the youth, young population of India…
Transparency and accountability in governance, social security, guarantee of their rights, preservation of environment and promotion of sustainable development are some of the expectations of the Adivasis, one of the most neglected sections of our society, writes Dr. Joseph Marianus Kujur. Every five years the worth of the Adivasi voter is realised by the political parties just before the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. These Adivasis, the so-called Scheduled Tribes (STs), who constitute 8.6 percent of India’s total population (Census 2011), are not in the consciousness of the nation, with a few exceptions. Their collective histories and contribution to nation…