The real freedom fighting brigade Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut may have her own reasons to say that India acquired real freedom in May 2014, when Narendra Modi came to occupy India’s seat of power.  There was little to be amused by what she said, for, as many commentators have variously pointed out, her viewpoint was surely based on her little or no knowledge of the history of the Indian freedom movement. I wasn’t surprised, as most of the Bollywood “stars” are devoid of any sense of history; they appear to be more guided by their own circumstances when utter something. But what amused me was a Facebook post with a screenshot of a Guardian editorial dated May 18, 2014, which said virtually the same thing as Ranaut -- except that it didn’t call India achieving independence as “bheek” (alms) in 1947. I decided to search for a link – and I found it:  here  it is! The Facebook post which I have referred to expressed surprise over the Guardian editorial, stating, it’s...

A civil rights group Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) survey of temporary sewer workers working under contract in many areas of Delhi has found that contractors pay wages to the sewer worker only for four months, even though their tender is for six months. Worse, the contractors deduct 25-35% from the wages before giving these to the workers.

  Unilever, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Company emerge as the top international brands contributing to plastic pollution in India. Seven of the top 10 international brands --mostly fast-moving consumer goods – polluting India have consistently featured in the world's top 10 plastic polluters list based on the Break Free From Plastic's (BFFP) annual   Brand Audit report.

Children, despite being less affected by coronavirus, are bearing a disproportionate burden of the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic and it is not just affecting their physical health but also their mental wellbeing. The prolonged school closure and movement restriction caused fear, anxiety, stress and social bearings among children.

Dangerously high levels of mercury, a heavy metal and neurotoxin, were found in imported skin whitening creams being sold in Indian markets, Toxics Link, a well-known environmental research and advocacy non-profit, has said in its latest report “Dark truth of skin whitening creams: Presence of Mercury in skin whitening creams”.

An anti-Taliban protest in Afghanistan Bollywood poet Jawed Akhtar has surely triggered Hornet’s nest. By suggesting that some of RSS-BJP-Sangh Parivar’s ways are similar to the Taliban in Afghanistan, he has angered all those have adorned wear the saffron safa, including the Shiv Sena. While the saffron “anger” has been reported well across the media, every effort is also being made to minutely examine every movement, every step of the Taliban. One of them indeed amused me. The Hindustan Times  reported  on last Wednesday that the Taliban had “introduced” several 'conditions' to restrict protest in Afghanistan, which, the story predicts, will “raise eyebrows around the world.” In its latest diktat, the Taliban said permission “needs to be taken from the ministry of justice before any protest is organised.” While seeking the permission, the organisers would need to reveal the “purpose, slogans, place, time and all 'other' details of the protest” so that the authorities ...

Reacting to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)  response  to the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) tracker claim that, though five months to go, 90% of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) budget has been used up, even as this financial year 34% budget has been reduced, the top advocacy group has said, “Lack of funds has a direct bearing on delays in wage payments.”

  As Indian schools rush towards starting their “business as usual”, a top education rights advocacy group, National Coalition on Education Emergency (NCEE), has regretted that “State governments are reopening schools as if nothing serious occurred”. According to NCEE, India has suffered one of the longest school closures in the world for close to 18 months, with a whopping 265 million students having “not been to school.”