Child labour law: We have once again failed our children
Passed by Parliament, the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Bill fails our children, again India employs 4.35 million children between the ages of five and 14, according to Census 2011.(HT File Photo) Ten years ago Mehboob Hossain didn’t know the meaning of the word future. Ten years ago Hossain, now 20, worked in a zari sweatshop in Delhi’s Shahpurjat, embroidering glittery saris. “I know what it’s like,” he says about child labour. “We were beaten, abused, kicked and made to work 16 hours a day.” Ten years ago, Hossain got lucky when he was rescued by Kailash Satyarthi’s Bachpan Bachao…
We no longer hear the voices of our citizens in Kashmir Valley’s narrative
In the narratives we weave, Kashmiri citizens must be blamed for their own swift repression. In the Kashmiri narrative, the crackdown is yet another instance of the mainland’s immoral suppression of the natural Kashmiri longing for azadi. Neither side is prepared to hear the other A man injured during clashes in Srinagar, July 10(AP) At the time of writing, 37 people are dead in protests following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Hundreds of others have been injured, many with eye wounds from pellet guns that could cause them to lose their sight. Amongst them is a 14-year-old…
We no longer hear the voices of our citizens in Kashmir Valley’s narrative
In the narratives we weave, Kashmiri citizens must be blamed for their own swift repression. In the Kashmiri narrative, the crackdown is yet another instance of the mainland’s immoral suppression of the natural Kashmiri longing for azadi. Neither side is prepared to hear the other. At the time of writing, 37 people are dead in protests following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Hundreds of others have been injured, many with eye wounds from pellet guns that could cause them to lose their sight. Amongst them is a 14-year-old girl, shot by forces from within her house. As…
No law can bridge the gap of basic decency
On June 24, a software engineer Swathi was attacked by a man with a knife in Chennai. As she lay bleeding, not one commuter came forward to help. Partly it’s a reluctance to get involved in a long-drawn legal process including police questioning and court appearances. Partly it’s a fear that intervention could lead to suspicions about guilt S Swathy (24) was found dead at a railway station in Chennai on June 24.(AFP) “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing,” Albert Einstein. Juan Jasso…
No law can bridge the gap of basic decency
On June 24, a software engineer Swathi was attacked by a man with a knife in Chennai. As she lay bleeding, not one commuter came forward to help. Partly it’s a reluctance to get involved in a long-drawn legal process including police questioning and court appearances. Partly it’s a fear that intervention could lead to suspicions about guilt. “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing,” Albert Einstein. Juan Jasso on an early morning tram in Manchester, England did not ‘look on and do nothing’.…
Child labour law: We have once again failed our children
Passed by Parliament, the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Bill fails our children, again. Ten years ago Mehboob Hossain didn’t know the meaning of the word future. Ten years ago Hossain, now 20, worked in a zari sweatshop in Delhi’s Shahpurjat, embroidering glittery saris. “I know what it’s like,” he says about child labour. “We were beaten, abused, kicked and made to work 16 hours a day.” Ten years ago, Hossain got lucky when he was rescued by Kailash Satyarthi’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) and reunited with his family in Birsinghpur, West Bengal. It was his father, a marginal farmer,…
How we label a crime says a lot about our own priorities
A tragedy can be the starting point of change, and while changing laws don’t always immediately result in social change, scrapping Section 377 would at least be a beginning, and a fitting homage to 49 dead in Orlando. It would affirm their humanity — and ours India along with 74 other countries continues to criminalise homosexual activity.(AFP) In the week that his nation was celebrating his grandmother’s 90th birthday, Prince William was making his own bit of history by becoming the first royal to pose for the cover of a gay magazine, Attitude. To make clear his concerns, the prince…
How we label a crime says a lot about our own priorities
A tragedy can be the starting point of change, and while changing laws don’t always immediately result in social change, scrapping Section 377 would at least be a beginning, and a fitting homage to 49 dead in Orlando. It would affirm their humanity — and ours. In the week that his nation was celebrating his grandmother’s 90th birthday, Prince William was making his own bit of history by becoming the first royal to pose for the cover of a gay magazine, Attitude. To make clear his concerns, the prince also invited members of the LGBT community to Kensington Palace to…
Just ignore it and move on
HT Image The failure of the Supreme Court to recognise just how damaging criminal defamation is to free speech is only the latest in a series of assaults. The point about free speech that has been reiterated more than once is that it necessarily includes the right to cause offence The newest controversy to erupt over free speech is Tanmay Bhat’s tasteless spoof of two of India’s most famous icons, Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar. Coincidentally, I became acquainted with the standup comic only the previous week when I watched a video of him raging against those who claim not…
Offended? No matter. Ignore and move on
The failure of the Supreme Court to recognise just how damaging criminal defamation is to free speech is only the latest in a series of assaults. The point about free speech that has been reiterated more than once is that it necessarily includes the right to cause offence. MUMBAI, INDIA It’s ironic that we continue to be offended by films and spoofs and books, and in public discourse measure our response not in terms of absolute principle but on a case-by-case basis.(Satish Bate /HT) The newest controversy to erupt over free speech is Tanmay Bhat’s tasteless spoof of two of…
Offended? No matter. Ignore and move on
The failure of the Supreme Court to recognise just how damaging criminal defamation is to free speech is only the latest in a series of assaults. The point about free speech that has been reiterated more than once is that it necessarily includes the right to cause offence. The newest controversy to erupt over free speech is Tanmay Bhat’s tasteless spoof of two of India’s most famous icons, Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar. Coincidentally, I became acquainted with the standup comic only the previous week when I watched a video of him raging against those who claim not to be…
India, try living on a bucket of water a day
Nearly 540 million people are in the grip of drought. Here’s what you can do: Find NGOs working in drought-affected areas. Reach out to them with donations in cash, kind and your time. At the very least try empathy, listen to stories, embrace compassion Nearly 540 million people, 40% of our citizens in 11 states are in the grip of drought. Of these,160 million are children.(AP) On Facebook a friend asks: “But what can we in cities do?” I have just returned from a few days of heart-breaking reporting on the drought in Beed in Marathwada. In my ‘status update’…