The Aadhaar story in East Godavari

by Amir Hamza Syed

Friday , June 14, 2013 at 18 : 31

At a time when the country is working to enrol 600 million Indians for Aadhaar by 2014, the East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh has achieved remarkable results. With over 99.50% Aadhaar enrolments as of 25th December 2012, the district administration has set a remarkable precedent for others to follow. They are now able to leverage Aadhaar to deliver rations (under the public distribution system or PDS) through the fair price shops leased out by the Government.

PDS process in India

Every year, the Indian Government spends nearly Rs.750 billion to provide food security to people below the poverty line, and yet 21% per cent of India's population remains undernourished. International Food Policy Research Institute notes that, despite an increase in food production by almost 50%, there is a little change in the proportion of undernourished in India.Read more...

Not losing sight of a few realities in the euphoria of Modi mania

by Monica Verma

Friday , June 14, 2013 at 12 : 10

Our generation is the Internet generation with access to a lifestyle which our peers across the world enjoy. An average young Indian who can afford university education also has access to English sitcoms and Hollywood movies on the telly and over the Internet. How do we feel about our country is to a great extent shaped by our exposure to this content. In casual conversations with my peers, they often recall films such as 'Forrest Gump' and 'The Pursuit of Happyness' as films which inspire them. Both the films are based on conservative themes with their protagonists going on to set up huge businesses even if they lacked formal education. It is with this India that Narendra Modi, as a leader, finds his appeal.

NaMo trends on Twitter whenever anything even remotely related to Modi comes in news. There is a link...Read more...

A few questions for Indian Muslims

by Zafar Sareshwala

Thursday , June 13, 2013 at 14 : 35

When we make a statement about young India and say that 65 per cent of Indian voters are below the age of 35, it becomes imperative to know the aspirations of these youths. And the aspirations of any Muslim youth are no different from those of the others belonging to any other faith. India has the largest aspirational middle-class in the world and the Muslims are very much a part of this. Muslims have always been in the minority in this country, even during almost 1000 years of Muslim rule in India.

Although Muslims are a minority community in India, the absolute number is so large that it cannot be neglected; at least when it comes to electoral mathematics. India is home to a whopping 180 million plus Muslims, which is second largest after Indonesia. Muslims in India have always carried the...Read more...

Why Gujarati Muslims are with Modi

by Zafar Sareshwala

Thursday , June 06, 2013 at 11 : 18

Whenever would-be prime ministerial candidates of the country for the 2014 elections is being discussed, it cannot be complete without mentioning Narendra Modi, who is, by far, way ahead of any other person across the political spectrum. It is also equally important to make an intellectual analysis as to why Modi, who took charge of a communally surcharged state being a non-starter as a politician in 2002, has reached this level of popularity across the country where no other politician has been able to reach.

You may hate him or you may like him but you cannot ignore him. The journey which Narendra Modi has covered - from being the most hated figure in 2002 to a probable prime ministerial candidate in 2014 - is astounding. Modi's approach has undoubtedly given him the status of a statesman and the architect of the Gujarat...Read more...

On laughter with a parent and the eternal bond

by Jayshree Misra Tripathi

Tuesday , June 04, 2013 at 17 : 29

"I am 26 and I laugh with my mother. I also chat with her nearly every day just like 80 per cent of millennials. As for rampant drug abuse honestly, it's is very hard to go on a week-long bender if your mother expects you to check in every day...The only risk factor that has increased with this generation is 'obesity'."

What wonderful sentiments expressed by Jennifer Wright in her article 'We are the lamest generation!' on Salon.com. Images of cliched uncaring young westerners are banished forever, with just these few simple words.

Yet how many of us would sit down and think of whether we actually do laugh with a parent, or grandparent, given our Indian traditions? We laugh easily with our friends, even chuckle at any age with closer friends and...Read more...

India should embrace UN's ambitious proposal to end poverty

by Shailey Hingorani

Tuesday , June 04, 2013 at 12 : 09

The Indian growth story has recently been marred by episodes of great violence against children, by reports of children dying of malnutrition, by stories of children going to bed hungry. And yet, the Indian government has shied away from fully engaging in global conversations that will determine the direction of development policies and aid across the world and eventually development outcomes for Indian children.

A special panel of world leaders has just handed in their recommendations to the UN Secretary-General on the future of global sustainable development and they, too, believe this can be our reality. It has been a shared global vision of millions of children across the world and now this shared vision can be a reality, by 2030. In our generation, we can end extreme poverty; live in a world in which no child is born to die; ensure...Read more...

A guide to how and under which laws, players, bookies and others guilty of fixing can be punished

by Desh Gaurav Sekhri

Tuesday , May 28, 2013 at 11 : 31

The ongoing situation regarding illegality around the IPL has led to much speculation regarding the scope and scale of those involved, as well as the possible punishment that could be meted out to each of the offending individuals or group of individuals. The guilt of each initial offender is yet to be determined, and prudence requires one to consider them innocent until their guilt is clearly established and proven. That said, there are certain factors that must be taken into consideration when analysing the situation from an enforceability perspective.

From what we know today, there are clearly five categories of potential offenders who are being scrutinised and who may at some point face charges: players who may be accused of spot-fixing or match-fixing; umpires who may be accused of altering...Read more...

Why India should be more like the IPL

by Karan Thakur

Monday , May 27, 2013 at 12 : 36

The media has got it all wrong. The overwhelming outrage over the IPL fixing-betting saga is all a tragic misunderstanding of facts and the Indian cricket fan and citizen is nothing but a giant ignoramus. The police, media and the fans must actually take a cue from the IPL and the BCCI to draw lessons on how India must become more like the IPL. The sterling examples set forth by this colossal experiment in human and sporting endeavour has not got its due credit. India must learn a thing or two from the IPL.

The IPL and the BCCI has taught us the true essence of peaceful coexistence and social harmony. Diverse people from every corner of the country, with varying political affiliations and social and linguistic backgrounds, come together and work together for the single-minded common goal of self-enrichment. Where in the...Read more...

Needed: debates that thrash out ideas, not trash them

by Karan Thakur

Friday , May 24, 2013 at 11 : 56

Damning revelations on the latest scandal on cable TV news, sordid tales of corruption in sports and politics in the newspapers and photos of hooded suspects too ashamed to face the outside world for crimes committed by the insides of a twisted mind. These and a few more images and stories complete the montage of our daily existence and provides fodder for water cooler discussions and mealtime conversations. The 'sensationalisation' phenomenon that has hit the very heart of the social and cultural discourse in the country has led to what can only be called a shock fatigue. Nothing shocks us, disgusts us or reviles us today and for whatever the media spews at us sensational or revelatory - is taken as a part and parcel of what is India today.

This sad and regrettable situation that we find our country in today...Read more...

Little things of joy: sipping chai in an ancient cave in Urfa castle

by Jayshree Misra Tripathi

Saturday , May 18, 2013 at 11 : 25

Chai or cay, what would we and the world be without it? From the sweet, milky, cardamom-flavoured repeatedly- boiled chai of our dhabas, here I am, thousands of miles away, sipping black Turkish cay in a cavernous enclosure, in the old castle fort of Urfa. I am seated just some metres away from the birthplace of Prophet Abraham, close to the holy pond with the sacred fish, which hundreds of visitors have come to visit this Children's Day. The Golbasi garden around the pool is alive with colour.

I listen to my colleagues talk. Records relate the ancient city of Urfa, in southeastern Turkey, to the 4th century BC. However, scholars pre-date it to 9000-11000 BC, which excavations, barely six miles from Urfa, underscore. The megaliths pre-date the Stonehenge by 6000 years. Called Gobekli Tepe, it has...Read more...