As social media emerges as a source of legitimate news and as Indian corporates muscle their way into media ownership, public trust in the fourth estate is only dwindling further. Shortly after taking over as Press Council chairman in 2011, Justice Markandey Katju made his views about journalists clear. Sensational, superstitious, anti-people and so on. […]
Public trust in fourth estate is dwindling Read More »
If a farmer hangs himself in his farm where there are no TV cameras, has he killed himself? If a farmer hangs himself in his farm where there are no TV cameras, has he killed himself? The cliché, life is stranger than fiction, was never truer than on Wednesday when farmer and father of three,
Farmer suicides: A tragic issue made into a spectacle Read More »
A festival tells those who are not of our religious persuasion who we are and what moves us. Why do we fast or dance. Religion at its best embraces, not excludes which is precisely why we need to invite and not dis-invite those who don’t practice our beliefs. If the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has its
Many degrees of separation Read More »
Through the 1980s when dowry deaths were routinely passed off as kitchen accidents, Satya Rani Chadha was the face of the anti-dowry movement. To a generation of connected, social media-savvy users, Satya Rani Chadha will not be a familiar name. But this was the name that launched the anti-dowry movement in Delhi and across India.
Satya Rani Chadha: The face of India’s anti-dowry movement Read More »
Chanted as a mantra by nearly all parties, but always preceded by other priorities, the issue has so far failed to translate into political reality. India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking for a big idea, he might want to look no further than women’s empowerment. Chanted like a mantra by nearly every political party in
A big idea for Modi: women’s empowerment Read More »
If Narendra Modi’s ego is as large as his detractors claim, then he will want to be remembered as a great prime minister, better even than Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To do that he will have to focus on growth and development. At the end of this interminably long election of fear and loathing, three questions:
What sort of prime minister will Modi be? Read More »
Women candidates account for a paltry 8% of the total tickets distributed in the first 7 phases of the election. Despite all the talk of the need for greater representation and women’s empowerment by major political parties, women candidates account for a paltry 8% of the total tickets distributed, according to data released by the
Women get a raw deal from parties in ticket distribution Read More »
With a sex ratio of just 877, permitting such marriages in Haryana is less radical shift and more pragmatic solution. Hisar: The winds of change are gently blowing through Haryana, but, ironically, it is the state’s skewed sex ratio rather than social revolution that is making this possible. In a state where men are increasingly finding
Khap inter-caste marriage ruling a sign of compulsion, not reform Read More »
73 farmers in Marathwada have killed themselves after a freak hailstorm ruined their crops, and the number is mounting. Aurangabad: Dattu Narayan Shewale looked at the hailstones that submerged his crop of onion. Wordlessly he returned home and told his wife that their crop had been destroyed. He made a list of all the people he
Death and despair in hailstorm-hit Marathwada Read More »
A slim optimism lies in the start to a conversation of a changed India, an India where women outnumbered men as voters in all five of the recently held assembly elections. A slim optimism lies in the start to a conversation of a changed India, an India where women outnumbered men as voters in all
A very tiny stepping stone Read More »
Women’s groups argue for a more humane approach to survivors that focuses on holistic treatment. New Delhi: News reports of a ban on the so-called two-finger test and the issuance of national guidelines on dealing with sexual assault cases by the ministry of health are wrong and misleading, say women’s groups. The file on this has
Medical examination norms for sexual assault cases await nod Read More »
Redemption really came in the final segment of the show when Aamir Khan interviewed two remarkable rape survivors. In the two hours that it took to telecast the first episode of Star Plus’ second season of Satyamev Jayate, over five women and girls would have reported rape somewhere in India. In a country where a woman
Lounge Review | Satyamev Jayate Episode 1: The rape roadmap Read More »