Counterview

By Nava Thakuria*
Reporting turmoil and conflicts was order of the day for most of the Assam-(also northeast India) based scribes as the region was overshadowed by separatist militants with their disruptive activities till few years back. Media persons then faced two edged swords. Reporting would bring brickbats from government agencies, and aloofness could invite wrath from the armed rebels.

Counterview Desk
In their just-released study, “Inequalities in adolescent learning: Does the timing and persistence of food insecurity at home matter?”, Jasmine Fledderjohann, lecturer in sociology and social work, Lancaster University; Elisabetta Aurino, lecturer, Imperial College London; and Sukumar Vellakkal, Assistant professor, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, have sought to investigate inequalities in learning achievements caused by food insecurity by taking the sample of 1,911 Indian children ages 5, 8 and 12 years.

By Rajiv Shah
Even as political parties are fighting a pitched battle during the Lok Sabha elections, a recent study, 'Socio-Economic Conditions and Political Participation of Rural Women Labourers in Punjab', has made the stark revelation that “a very large majority of the rural woman labourers, i.e., 95.28 per cent have no interest in politics”, even as pointing out, “They do not read, listen and watch news.”

By Tanushree Gangopadhyay*
Gujarat’s first transgender candidate in the electoral fray, Jaysawal Naresh Babulal, will contest from the labour area of Ahmedabad East, but couldn’t claim her gender identity. Ironically, this vibrant constituency has fielded the largest number of crorepatis, numbering seven.

By Nalini Taneja*
From the vociferous political discourse in the media – both social media and channels – it seems Begusarai results will decide the fate of the nation, or at least the fate of social justice in this country. And, by this logic, if Kanhaiya Kumar somehow wins, it's the victory for upper castes and defeat of all marginalised, including the Muslims who constitute a sizeable section of the population in Begusarai.

By Our Representative
A "fact-finding" report by a Gujarat-based minority civil rights organization, Alpsankhyak Adhikar Manch (AAM), involving 13 communal incidents in 2018, has suggested how, following the 2002 Gujarat riots, in which more than 1,000 persons, majority of them Muslims, died, the saffron brigade has allegedly changed its tactic by seeking to spread of communal hatred and violence in rural areas and smaller towns.

Counterview Desk
Well-known environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar of the top advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has wondered as why, despite Gujarat having so much Narmada water this year, it is refusing to share it with drought hit and thirsty parts of the state. Analysing figures mainly provided by the Narmada Control Authority, Thakkar says, while water in enough quantity is being released from the upstream dams, Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat are being starved for unknown reasons.

By Mayank Aggarwal*
Sanjaybhai Machhi, 33, a resident of Bharuch in Gujarat, was a fisherman until a few years ago. He would earn enough from fishing in the Narmada river, to sustain his family. But now things have taken a turn for the worse and Sanjaybhai has had to switch professions to earn a living. With heavy pollution, seawater ingress and lack of release of water from the Sardar Sarovar dam, fishing in the Narmada is no longer a lucrative occupation. Sanjaybhai is now an auto rickshaw driver and his wife works as domestic help.

By Persis Ginwalla, Sagar Rabari*
Over the three agriculture census periods (15 years), one can see that there has been an increase in overall holdings and the area under irrigation, and a net decrease in the unirrigated holdings and area in Gujarat. Increase in the irrigation cover in Gujarat is certainly significant, and is rightly attributed as one of the major reasons for the agricultural growth of Gujarat.