With 16.50 lakh crores wiped out from the economy and all mercantile activity at a standstill, the government would find it difficult to meet its projected revenue targets. The lockdown has failed. There is no other way of saying it. No amount of statistical jugglery, clever by half graphics and downright sophistry, if not whataboutery, […]
Category: #NationalPolitics
Why Revenue Flows At The Cost Of Public Health Between Liquor Shops And Alcoholism?
We need to ask ourselves this question, why people are ready to risk their lives without fearing the pandemic to satisfy their addiction? After the relaxation of rules amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, the country witnessed thousands crowding in front of liquor shops across the country, deliberately violating the social distancing norms and mocking the […]
They Are Dying Everyday, Does Anyone Care?
The long march home was stopped by police lathis and oppressive measures, and as suddenly as the poor of India exploded on the streets so they disappeared. The middle class and above could breathe a sigh of relief, and settle back indoors as those impinging on the dregs of a collective conscience had been pushed […]
Is #Covid Pandemic Changed The Face Of Indian Labour?
Should the erosion of worker rights come without debate? Why are state governments and businesses leading the charge, using COVID-19 as a shield? Labour Day is typically meant to highlight the protection of worker rights. This year, it came at a time when labourers are struggling to survive and their rights need protection more than […]
Is ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ A Variant Of Islam?
Until the most recent political controversy in India over Tablighi Jamaat, a transnational Islamic revivalist movement, the organisation had existed in obscurity, far from the political imagination of the nation-state. It was in March this year that the spotlight fell on Tabligh after reports on its role in the spread of the novel coronavirus surfaced […]
Why Taxi-Aggregators Offer ‘Lockdown Charity’ From ‘Public Donations’ To Few Drivers?
The Billion dollar startups Ola and Uber have helped barely 5 percent of their drivers despite asking users for donations to contribute to their relief funds during the #Covid lockdown crisis. Since several weeks, Uber users have been inundated with push notifications seeking contributions for its drivers; almost all of whom have been out of […]
No Takers For Modi’s ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ In Telangana
The much-touted ‘one nation one ration card rolled out by the Centre allowing people from other States to avail ration in any part of the country seems no takers in Telangana. According to the State Civil Supplies department officials, the ‘one nation one ration card is being implemented in Telangana along with several other states […]
The Intricate Dance Of Politics And Power During A Pandemice
Every crisis, man-made or natural, is pregnant with political possibilities and politicians will take policy decisions based on their assessment of how their choices promote their political and personal power. A commonplace adage of the post-Cold War era of globalisation used to be that while ‘all economics is global, all politics is local’. The implication […]
How Islamophobia Is Hurting India’s Battle Against Coronavirus?
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) relentless campaign against India’s 140 million Muslims, and a lack of transparency on the part of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-run Delhi government, is compromising India’s attempts at containing the novel coronavirus, members of the community say. On Friday, 3 April, surveyors from Delhi’s health department were chased out […]
Why Govt Delays To Provide Doctors ‘Protective Gear’ And PPE In #Corona Hospitals?
The Modi government delayed framing proper guidelines and standards for the manufacture of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) — meant for health workers and first responders treating coronavirus patients — in India. The delay is one of the reasons that health workers in India are now facing a severe shortage in high quality protective suits, the […]