The present delay in conducting the national census, when even some of our South Asian neighbours have conducted theirs, despite covid difficulties, is cause for concern.
Lessons From the Past: What India's Opposition and Youth can Learn From Gandhi and JP Movements
The young need not become another opposition. They could become an independent democratic force that questions every government but belongs to none; that protests when necessary but constructs continuously; that demands accountability from institutions while practising accountability itself.
Custodial Deaths Are a Blot on Bangladesh's Democratic Future
To what extent has the current BNP government been able to realise the vision that drove the 2024 mass uprising in Bangladesh? Will the BNP government, too, manipulate state mechanisms and law enforcement agencies to serve its own interests, much like the previous Sheikh Hasina regime, to suppress the opposition and silence critics? The government must therefore take serious steps to amend police laws and prevent deaths in police custody. This is one of the crucial reforms facing the administration.
India's Electoral Roll Revision Must Protect the Right to Vote in a Democracy
The Commission's authority rests ultimately on public confidence. Like Caesar's wife, the Election Commission must be above suspicion. It should welcome scrutiny and answer legitimate questions, especially when millions of voting rights are involved.
A Nation Stands Divided Over Charges of Electoral Manipulation and Brutal Police Crackdown
If the government and EC are confident, the answer is not a counter-letter but transparent data: a district-wise, gender-wise audit of deletions, restorations, reasons – all details to be placed on affidavit, as Lokur panel demands.
More on Governance, Public Policy, Politics and Law
Wildlife at risk in Bangladesh as infrastructure development disrupts protected forests
Bangladesh has two laws on forest protection, only one of which, the 2019 revision of the 1927 Forest Act, makes even a glancing mention of infrastructure projects inside forests. It prohibits making any changes to a restricted forest, and threatens violators with up to five years in prison and up to 50,000 taka ($490) in fines. That hasn’t stopped the state from building multiple-lane roads through protected forests.
‘Third World’ or ‘Global South’? Its time to redefine
‘Third World’ and ‘Developed Nation’ are terms that are derogatory and ethnocentric in concept. The terns 'Global North' and the 'Global South' can offer researchers, columnists, as well as development partners a politically balanced perspective.
In Covid wake, India caught off-guard over measles outbreak; exposes fragility of health system
Interestingly, strategies employed during the Covid pandemic are being replicated. Much like the Cowin app was used to track and monitor Covid vaccinations, the Indian government plans an app to monitor every eligible child to ensure that they are up to date with their vaccination schedules
Bangladesh's Matarbari Deep Sea Port offers new prospects for maritime connectivity in South Asia
The port can grow to be one of the key hubs of trade and business in South Asia as a result of its geographic advantages and deep-sea port capabilities.
Bangladesh is integral to the development of India's Northeast
If India focuses on improving bilateral economic and connectivity initiatives with Bangladesh, the economic development of this region is inevitable.
The bulldozing of the 'idea of India'
The manner in which bulldozers as tools of retaliatory State violence and punishment are being normalised now is akin to illegal 'encounter' (extra-judicial) killings which have now been normalised by police forces across the country.
Why I'm boycotting the World Cup in Qatar: FIFA stadiums built on the blood, sweat, and lives of migrant workers
I learned, too, that on average, the Gulf countries send half a dozen coffins a week to Nepal with the remains of somebody’s beloved family member. This didn’t just apply to Nepal — workers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and African countries faced a similar fate.
Sri Lanka's dire food insecurity: Need for a well-planned policy framework
The root causes behind the food insecurity status of Sri Lanka are two-fold. Short-sighted policies such as the chemical fertilizer ban imposed by the Rajapaksa government generated a domino effect on agricultural production. Additionally, foreign exchange constraints severely limited food imports.
The hypocrisy of COP meetings: Be the change you want to see
As Mahatma Gandhi said we should be the change that we want to see or in other words we should practice what we preach. That is never the case. So we heard pontification on how we should reduce the carbon footprint to make this world sustainable by people who never practice sustainable living in their personal life.
Greater Bangladesh-Northeast India engagement will be a win-win for both countries
If trade and cultural relations between Bangladesh and Northeast India improve, the picture of the entire region will change.
Teachers across borders: Connecting people, learning from each other
Writers of the three winning entries, one from Pakistan and two from India, read their works out online at the Spelt conference to a full auditorium. The meritorious list included four stories from Pakistan, three from India, two from Nepal and one from the Philippines.
India’s higher education on a neoliberal path: Rankings should not sideline dissent and diversity
The ranking process is a vicious circle wherein higher-ranking institutions can mobilize more resources and vice versa. Unfortunately, those institutions which are not part of this frenzy competition will eventually be excluded from the higher education space dominated by the current neoliberal discourse.
India Space Congress 2022: Space as the fourth frontier
The space industry is keenly looking forward to the Indian government's new space policy and hoping for ease of doing business to take a practical shape.
Climate change mitigation: Will world leaders rise to the occasion to save the planet?
What applies to India can also work for other nations. So one hopes that world leaders participating in COP27 will reach actionable decisions and obtain the funding already promised by the developed countries to make a serious start to creating a sustainable global environment and avoid further climate change within the next few decades.
