GDP growth is not the true indicator people's well being: Gujarat activists release manifesto

By A Representative
Fifty-odd Gujarat-based academics and social activists, many of them well-known Sarvodayists who had played a major role in the fight against Indira Gandhi-imposed Emergency, have released a people's manifesto at a gathering in Gujarat Vidypeeth, the university founded by Mahatma Gandhi, declaring that even seven decades after India became independence, people haven't tasted freedom in true sense.
Prepared under the directions of top academics Prof Ghanshyam Shah and Prof Rohit Shukla, and veteran social activists Prakash N Shah and Indukumar Jani, the manifesto, running into 72 pages of incisive analysis on issues that directly affect the marginalised sections of society, including education, health, environment, Dalits, tribals, minorities, farmers, working classes, women and children, the manifesto insists, GDP growth is not the true indicator people's well being.
Pointing towards rise in inequalities, the manifesto wants those who will take over reins of power after the ensuing general elections to work for social justice and not wait for a mass uprising. It regrets, lately the government has been increasingly privatising all aspects of governance, making them out of reach of the common people.
Seeking investigation into stupendous rise in the income of elected representatives, the manifesto seeks complete transparency in the use of funds by political parties, the manifesto wants those in power not to resort to political propaganda using public funds ahead of elections.
Seeking a series of reforms -- judicial electoral, media, health system, educational, agricultural, police and banking -- the manifesto regrets lack of freedom of expression, use of law and order machinery for political ends, insisting, the authorities should stop harassing and intimidating activists, writers, and artists.
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Click HERE to download the manifesto

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram* About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

Ahmedabad world’s least climate resilient major city: AlphaGeo study

By Rajiv Shah A new study has ranked Ahmedabad as the least climate-resilient major city in the world , highlighting a dangerous gap between the city’s extreme physical vulnerability to climate hazards and its capacity to adapt. Cited by The New York Times , the analysis, conducted by geospatial artificial intelligence firm AlphaGeo , places the Indian city at the top of a list of global urban centres most exposed to climate risk.

India has spent billions on skilling. Where are the jobs?

By Vikas Gupta India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.

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