The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) held a Conference on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances in South Asia on the eve of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances (30 August). Lawyers and activists who attended the conference called on South Asian States to immediately criminalize […]
International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 30 August Enforced disappearance has frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within the society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole. Enforced disappearance […]
Air pollution takes years off people’s lives. It causes substantial pain and suffering among adults and children alike. And it damages food production at a time when we need to feed more people than ever. This is not just an economic issue; it is a moral one. Air pollution can be produced both outdoors and […]
Are India’s policies fizzling out because of too much paper-work? A new study says it’s a possible reason: the bureaucracy uses reams of paper to cover its … um.. back! ‘Paper Tiger’ by by Cambridge anthropologist Nayanika Mathur is what we’re talking about. One of the surprising things is this: what prevents schemes from being […]
The north-eastern Indian state of Tripura is in the middle of an acute fuel crisis. Monsoon rains and landslides have badly damaged a highway that connects the remote region to the rest of the country. A huge shortage of petrol and diesel has forced the shutdown of key services for nearly six weeks now. This […]
There is a very fine line between tradition and culture. If tradition is the flower then culture is its fragrance. Our tradition conveys ‘what we are’, and culture shows ‘what we have’. Problems occurs when tradition and culture do not complement each other. Pollution is one of these problems. Our tradition springs from the worship […]
In Karnataka, a young teenager, Mallamma did not eat for three days. Why? Her parents did not want to build a toilet in the house. At Danapur, in Gangavati district, she started a hunger strike for a toilet in her house, getting inspired by her teacher at school. At home, when her request for a […]
Did you know that your local post office is actually a government owned e-commerce outlet? And, it’s selling ‘holy water’! You’ll get authentic Ganges water between 15 to 35 rupees! Along with regular mail, Indian post offices have started selling Gangajal, or water from the Ganges River, considered auspicious by the Hindus. The new service […]
Wait listed on a Rajdhani train? No sweat, just Super-Save! Fly AIR INDIA at the same prices! Right now, wait-listed passengers on Rajdhani trains can fly on the national carrier on first class AC fares, but more is to come! Aiming to attract more fliers and achieve higher seat occupancy in its flights on trunk routes, Air India […]
The Jesuits have seen the training of religious and lay people as core to their mission for more than 400 years. The order’s form of education is based on the experience and life of the Spanish founder of the order, Ignatius Loyola. A lay Catholic, he developed the “Spiritual Exercises,” a devotional guide to a more […]
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation petition seeking a complete ban on messaging platform WhatsApp. Well, that’s one more attention seeking chappie being shown his place, but this entire episode does smell somewhat like a basket of not-so-fresh sardines! A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur asked an […]
LUCKNOW( UP): As large drought-devastated India desperately waits for the monsoons to arrive, Gangnauli village in dry, hot Uttar Pradesh has more than enough water. But the villagers fear the water supplies with heavy metals, underscoring the weighty challenges facing the world’s second most populous nation. They suspect their groundwater has been polluted by waste […]
