High levels of female poverty, low female literacy and work participation rates, and high maternal and child mortality, indicate the extent of gender inequality in India. Women in rural parts of the country attend to their regular household care and other domestic activities (assumed to be feminine duties) and work in farms, either as paid or unpaid workers and caregivers.

Recently, I received an email from from a person who introduced himself as Ronny Krier, claiming to be an American cultural researcher. He said, he visits Counterview in a regular basis to read news about India, and thinks, “It's a great platform to break the information filter bubbles and hear different voice.” Then Kreir, who is on Twitter and Facebook , and calls himself “independent investigator, religion-politics researcher,” refers to a friend whom he does not name to point out how the Tibetan government in exile is failing to take care of refugees. Says Krier, “Under the pandemic, my friend, a Tibetan refugee who lived in Dharmsāla, had something to talk about the CTA (Central Tibetan Administration) in dealing with Covid-19 and current issues in the Tibetan community. I met him when I was travelling India, and recently he reached me and talked about it. He really wants to be heard by the Indian public and the global audience. However, he's still a bit cautious about h...

Quoting a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) report , “Amnesty Move To Strip Navalny Of 'Prisoner Of Conscience' Status Sparks Outcry”, a Moscow-based journalist, Fred Weir, whom I peripherally during my Moscow days (1986-93), has brought into the light problems in which such top human rights organisations like Amnesty International, find themselves in while defending what they called “prisoners of conscience. In a Facebook post , Weir, who is son-in-law of Prof Tatiana Shaumian, a veteran incisive Indologist, whom I used to meet for doing stories on Russian (then Soviet) perceptions on India and Indo-Soviet relations, points to how the recently arrested Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny “is an extremely problematic hero” and Amnesty dropping him as a "prisoner of conscience" is suggests the human rights group apparent “ignorance.” He asks, “Why do so many people in the West seem to believe in a simple Russia -- Putin bad, Navalny good -- and then th...

Are journalists being misunderstood even by well-meaning people? I was to kickstart by quoting an article published in theprint.in titled “ED (Enforcement Directorate) says NewsClick used Rs 30 cr ‘mystery remittances’ to ‘pay Navlakha, CPM IT cell member’.” This article has invited a wild comment from a person who is known to be editing a well-known left-leaning blog.  An old time friend since my college days in Delhi University, referring to this article, said on his Facebook timeline: “An absolutely unethical hatchet job by The Print against NewsClick that descends to unprecedented lows in ass-licking. But am I surprised? Yes, at those who still thought Shekhar Gupta is a journalist with integrity. This is him in his true colours. #StandbyNewsClick.” I am referring to the FB post as an example of where do activists, particularly Leftists, go out of the way while referred to “media”. When they refer to media, they mean corporate media, but they forget a major factor: That media i...

  By Our Representative  Despite tall promises, Jharkhand’s elderly, widows and disabled continue to be denied pensions, a civil society-sponsored public nearing (jan sunwai) on social security pensions has been told. On February16, hundreds of elderlies, single women and differently-abled reached Chaibasa (West Singhbhum, Jharkhand) to participate in the jan sunwai.

Ahmedabad police allegedly used brute force to break up an assembly of migrant workers demanding decent housing. Hundreds of workers had gathered before the district collector’s office, Ahmedabad, to submit a memorandum to the district collector demanding that their settlement be enumerated as slums and basic services like light and drinking water be provided.

The Coalition for Environmental Justice in India (CEJI), a civil society network, has said that it is “highly disturbing” that Disha Ravi, a young woman climate activist from Bengaluru was “picked up” in what is referred to as a “closely guarded operation” of the Delhi police. Disha, 21, has been remanded to police custody for five days after she was taken from Bengaluru to Delhi.

Pointing out that it is hard to fathom why state governments in India go back on their word and tearing up contracts awarded by them, “Mint”, in an opinion piece , has given the example of how Gujarat has “reneged” one of its own deals. “In one fell swoop”, the daily says, “Gujarat’s power procurement agency cancelled tenders for 700 MW of solar power generation given to a clutch of energy producers, citing lower tariff bids in a subsequent auction.” “The companies left staring at Letters of Award (LoAs) that might no longer be worth the ink they bear include Vena Energy, Tata Power, ReNew Power and O2 Power”, the unsigned opinion piece says, pointing out, “Last August, these firms had won contracts to put up facilities in Gujarat’s Dholera Solar Park through an auction process that yielded ₹2.78 per unit as the lowest bid for the supply of electric energy to a state-run power grid.” It adds, “In October, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd gave out duly-signed LoAs. The final power purchase ...

The “nationalist” Koo fever appears to have caught up with some Union ministers, BJP politicians, some right-wing actors, media and professionals. I too decided to try it out by downloading what is tom-tommed as a Twitter alternative on my mobile phone, thinking, perhaps it would give a little insight into right-wing news stories, which interest me. Immediately after downloading Koo, I found that I am being invited to “follow” Union ministers, BJP politicians, a few actors and topcops who have become famous for their closeness to powers that be. But that was expected. I decided not to follow any of them, as I knew what they would be saying. So, I looked up if any news media or journalists are there, whom I could follow. Yes, a few news media were there. I decided to follow Republic TV. I also clicked on the “follow” button for News 18 and CNBC TV-18. There were three or four others in Koo’s “offer” list – frankly I couldn’t recognise any of them, hence decided not to follow them. Then ...

The sanitation workers of Salem Corporation, Tamil Nadu, who had to go on a one-day strike on February 8, 2021, have demanded immediate payment of their three month dues, even as pointing out that the employee contribution deducted from the workers’ salary for the last five years has not been transferred to their respective Provident Fund (PF) accounts.

  Releasing a fresh video on the plight of two individuals belonging to highly neglected communities of Indo-Gangetic plains, Vidya Bhushan Rawat, a human rights defender, describes the plight of the family of Banarasi Mushahar, who was found dead on a road side about 200 meters from his house in the morning of May 24, 2020, and of his injured friend Rampreet Nat, lying unconscious across the road. While the village Pradhan Keshav Yadav called the police and got the panchnama done and the body of Banarasi was sent for postmortem, and Rampreet was sent to Gorakhpur medical college as he had severe head injuries, the police later made Rampreet as the main accused, and he is currently lodged in Deoria jail, says the video. Rampreet's wife is ailing and suffers from kidney ailment. Rawat’s video reveals, the family of Rampreet has no source of income. His children suffer from malnutrition as they have nobody to lean on. His father is a 'madariwallah' and earns through begging. ...

  The right to education is linked to right to life, a constitutional obligation. The Covid-19 pandemic and consequent government policies, however, have led to a steady violation of this right for children belonging to the marginalised community. The Union budget 2021 has only made things worse. This was the crux of discussions in a webinar organised by the Right to Education (RTE) Forum, in which over 300 activists participants.

Aruna Roy, Shailesh Gandhi Speaking at the western region consultation on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, whose two-day virtual session began on Thursday, Aruna Roy, formerly a member of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi-sponsored national advisory panel, has said that governments should recognise RTI has emerged as common citizens’ right to seek answers from authorities instead of seeing RTI pleas with suspicion.

  By Our Representative  The Assam-based youth and farmers organizations, including the Youth for Bokakhat and Jeepal Krishak Sramik Sangha (JKSS), in alliance with the civil rights organisations National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Delhi Solidarity Group (DSG), have insisted that that state authorities must immediately put a stop to continuing evictions in the name of expansion and addition of lands to the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.