Magsaysay award winners to Modi: CAA, NRC 'discriminatotory', violates Constitution

By A Representative
Indian recipients of the prestigious Magsaysay Award, Aruna Roy, Admiral (retired) Laxminarayan Ramdas, Bezwada Wilson, Rajendra Singh, P Sainath, Shantha Sinha, TM Krishna, Deep Joshi and Sandeep Pandey, have expressed their "deep sense of concern and anguish" over the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Government of India's decision to link it with the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Calling these "discriminatory and violative of all the guarantees of right to equality before law assured to all persons in the Indian Constitution, in a statement they have saed, "In its present form and intent, CAA, together with the proposed NRC all over India, appears to single out one community – namely the Muslims."
Asserting that the Act "links religion with the question of citizenship for the first time in our plural, secular democracy, and is clearly divisive and therefore unacceptable", the top Magsaysay awardees say, if earlier CAA and NRC had fanned the fires of insecurities in Assam, the North East", it has now engulfed "entire India."
They add, "We do not understand the need for introducing either CAA or NRC at this point in time, when there are several other urgent issues on hand."
Pointing out that "there is indefinite curfew and also shutting down of internet services in many states of the North East and elsewhere", the statement notes, "Students in their thousands are out on the streets – from all accounts with no political party affiliations or pressure."
Urging the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to "review the situation in all seriousness and protect the interests of peace, harmony and the well being of the people of India as well as those desiring to live in this country without any discrimination", they ask them honour "the tradition of India", upheld by "Swami Vivekanand in his famous speech at Chicago."

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.

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.

BAPS, the Eiffel Tower and the curious silence on secularism

By Rajiv Shah I was a little surprised to see how some of those whom I respect for taking a firm stand on patriarchal issues reacted to the manner in which they responded to the recent incident in Paris, in which women employees of the Eiffel Tower were asked to remain "invisible" on September 5 when 100 BAPS sadhus visited one of the world's top tourist destinations.

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