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Voter Name Deletions, Denial of Voting Rights Blot on India's Elections

Only a peaceful, Gandhian ‘feet on the ground’ movement can save our 1950 compact. The values embedded in that 1950 compact: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Justice, Secularism, can be defended only by that. Each one of us must decide and work for rescuing the republic and the Idea of India. Keep in mind that everyone who lives in this land owns this country. It’s not owned by any one denomination, religion, caste, creed, region, colour, eating and dressing habits and traditions. It’s owned by everyone.

Why India Has Modest Presence in Global Citrus Trade: Agricultural Export Policy Must Move Closer to Ground Realities

This is why citrus should not be treated as a narrow commodity issue. It reveals a larger problem in India’s agricultural development model. India wants to move from being a large producer to becoming a reliable supplier in high-value agricultural trade. But that transition cannot happen through production alone. It requires farm-to-port systems designed around perishability.

Jammu & Kashmir's Drug-Addiction Crisis is a Multidimensional Threat: Joint Civic and Institutional Campaign Against it has Generated a Sense of Shared Responsibility

A particularly noteworthy initiative has been the implementation of the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (NMBA), the national de-addiction campaign. In Jammu and Kashmir, this national mission has gained remarkable traction. The recently conducted 100-day intensive campaign under NMBA has created widespread awareness and engagement across all districts. It has mobilized stakeholders from all sections of society, including educational institutions, law enforcement agencies, civil society groups, and community leaders.

Indian Elections: Big Changes and Some Bigger Questions

At the end of the day, this is a political battle that shows the BJP to be an unstoppable steamroller, now controlling power across the North, the West and the East. The Opposition parties, which have been unable to come together with a cogent way to stand up and fight the political fight for the long haul, will have to once again think of the road ahead. It is clear that the BJP of today will stop at nothing in doing the deals it needs to take power

More on Public Policy and Governance

Can IMF’s good-governance conditionalities bring Pakistan economic stability?

Peace and progress go hand in hand. To stabilize the economy, Pakistan needs a conducive political environment to focus on investment, education and health care. Whatever the economic challenges, the solutions would have to come from within. External funds, loans, debts are only temporary solutions

Twin nations that chose different trajectories: A Pakistani perspective

The very idea of Pakistan was based on the Two-Nation Theory which emphasized Muslims’ different way of life from that of the Hindus in the subcontinent. However, the mere religious identity of a nation without reconciling Pakistan’s diverse ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups was not enough to hold it together. 

To rebuild Bangladesh interim government needs to reconcile rival ideological camps

Bangladesh is home to people of different religions and cultures, both in the hills and plains. The extreme polarization of thought and ideology between opposing ideological groups is impacting Bangladesh's social fabric. 

Policy reversals and lessons for the Modi government

The BJP is not really taking on the immense political challenge of explaining and then persuading the people to go with the right-wing turns in policies it seeks to implement; it is sneaking it in, and in that it is being met with defeat after defeat.

How the world failed Afghanistan: Three years since the Taliban's return to power

When the world descended on Afghanistan in 2001, Afghans believed it was about them, about a better life for them. It never was. It never is, writes senior reporter Kathy Gannon, who has covered Afghanistan since the 1980s. Looking back at the second Taliban takeover in 2021 she looks at why the ironically named ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ of 2001 failed and how the aspirations of Afghans have been ignored.

Is Sri Lanka’s state sector inefficient? Facts point to the contrary

Sri Lanka’s current HDI score stands at 0.78 and is the highest in South Asia.

India's healthcare institutions need more women at the helm

A message from the Kolkata case is to rebuild our healthcare workplaces with the intent of making them safe and gender inclusive.
 

India's discredited coaching centres: Can they redeem themselves in the eyes of students and aspirants?

The exams for IITs, IIMs, Civil Services, in particular, are strong pointers on how traditional pedagogy and mindset of our educational institutions towards learning is found severely inadequate and deficient, and call for a paradigm shift towards critical thinking and building wider perspectives.

Hasina destroyed Bangladesh’s economy; caretaker government needs to handle it well to restore people's confidence

Many of the oligarchic business syndicates that formed around the deposed Sheikh Hasina are now on the run. But their vast industrial establishments remain. It is essential to sustain these industries. Millions of people are working in these establishments that are playing a critical role in the production sector of the country. These industries cannot be shut down because of the crimes of their leaders. 

Threat of sexual violence will deter Indian women’s participation in workforce

After the Nirbhaya case in India, the laws were tightened against sexual violence. We also have stringent laws against child abuse. Yet the laws have not stopped reported sexual crimes from growing as the NCRB data shows.

Changes in visa rules will impact Indian student flow to Western countries

Indian students comprise a significant percentage of the global international student community in not just Canada, but the US, UK and Australia. Some of the changes introduced by Western governments will create challenges in the short run, but they may be good in the long term.

Indian Armed Forces' stellar role in Wayanad disaster relief: Serving the nation in crises

What became a reason for special attention was that the Madras Sappers were led by a woman officer, Major Sita Ashok Shelke. This single-woman officer in a 150-strong team worked hands-on with the locals during the construction,  planning the move of stores, approving the design and ensuring a safe, speedy launch. If the men kept awake for two nights, her responsibility required an even longer spell without sleep.

Violence against Hindus in Bangladesh is a boost to Islamophobia in India

Now, the two important power centres in Bangladesh are the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus and the students who led the protests. Both are stressing the inclusive character of Bangladesh and taking a strong position on the protection of Hindus and other minorities.

Bangladesh in transition: Much to learn from Prof. Yunus and his philosophy

Yet, this will be a delicate task that may test India much more than Bangladesh. This is because the secular credo of Yunus and a pro-poor agenda that has defined his work and his life pose a unique political challenge to the agenda of right-wing politics that holds centre stage in India.

Is the Ganga water treaty between India and Bangladesh at risk?

Thus, the renewal of the Ganges water treaty is much more dependent on the bilateral relations between the two countries. Under the present conditions, there are politically driven ideological differences between both countries that may carry adverse consequences for the Ganga treaty.