The Indian women farmer, almost never publicly acknowledged, reviled by superstition and patriarchy, and increasingly troubled by entrenched social and cultural mores and taboos bears the real burden of…
India is now the world’s fastest-growing major economy, but years of drought and a failure to create jobs for a burgeoning young population has left millions of rural Indians…
Farmers in India do a lot of talking about the weather—especially, it seems, when there is no weather in sight. During the month of May, when the land heats…
An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. ― Plutarch It has been said that women who are closest to the…
India spends more on programmes for the poor than most developing countries, but is not getting the expected dividends that significant public expenditure would seem to warrant, and the needs…
A decade or two ago, many in India’s development community acted with the best of intentions, but without the best of evidence. If households lack clean water—help build wells…
The large swathes of cotton farms in Central India have been the epicenter of a global crisis that has gripped the rural population in crippling debts and has driven…
Nagpur's oranges, which were the pride of the country, are fast losing sheen. Nagpur still retains the appellation of “Orange City” but the scene today is nowhere near the…
We live in a world in which women living in poverty face gross inequalities and injustice from birth to death. From poor education to poor nutrition to vulnerable and low…
The claims of microfinance are not necessarily dubious but then as the saying goes, there are three sides to every story—your side, his side and the truth. The good claims…
How many deaths will it take ‘til he knows That too many people have died The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind, The answer is blowin’ in…
This is the centenary year of the Champaran sayagraha (policy of passive political resistance) - the first experiment by Mahatma Gandhi of his epic philosophy .This tool was to…
Pride and dignity would belong to women if only men would leave them alone. Egyptian Proverb Gender inequality is not only a pressing moral and social issue but also a critical…
Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which…
Women are the mainstays of small-scale agriculture, the farm labour force and day-to-day family subsistence. The biggest myth is that the rural woman is part of her land’s wealth. …
I always believe that people can do wonders, if their energy is channelized and focused on a given task. Tomorrows are made by people. A lesson I learnt early in…
Any sensible government must learn to unleash the energy of its people and get them to perform instead of trying to get a bureaucracy to perform ―Verghese Kurien, I Too…
There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil. -Walter Lippmann In an ideal world, journalism is a profession of…
India spends more on programs for the poor than most developing countries, but it has failed to eradicate poverty because of widespread corruption and faulty government administration. India is not…
I often wondered why was it that when there were so many social programmes for the poor that poverty was yet so endemic and stubborn. Despite such vast investments there…
The perception that the poor do not have skills or would not be able to survive on their own is a myth. My experience with development finance has demonstrated…
Access to the right financial tools at critical moments can determine whether a poor household is able to capture an opportunity to move out of poverty or absorb a…
Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women ― Maya Angelou Over the years several strategies have…
Of all the world’s major ills – such as war, hunger, and natural disasters – none can quite compare to the millions of baby girls and female fetuses killed…
Today, microfinance -- an approach to financial inclusion based on providing small loans and other financial services to poor people, primarily women -- is a global multi-billion dollar industry with…
We live in a world in which women living in poverty face gross inequalities and injustice from birth to death. From poor education to poor nutrition to vulnerable and…
A decade or two ago, many in the development community acted with the best of intentions, but without the best of evidence. If households lack clean water—help build wells…
This woman, who is your beloved, is in fact a ray of His light, She is not a mere creature. She is like a creator -Rumi In recent years,…
If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones. ― John Steinbeck The Indian women farmer,…
We will have to sign off 2016 with a cultural baggage of a new vocabulary which elderly and illiterate Indians may not be comfortable with , but have to embrace…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1UiNHjS12Q Demonetization has left deep scars on the economy and, despite assurances from the government, the journey to normalcy may be slower and more painful than expected. The denudation…
daak laaya kushi ka payaam kaheen dardanaak laaya daakiya daak laaya …” —From the film Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein’ (1977) The Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini starrer 1977 film was…
In India, most development programmes for poor have been designed on the assumption that the poor need charities and they cannot afford to pay for the services .This is …
When I first initiated livelihood finance projects through women collectives called as Self Help Groups, more than two decades back, I encountered stiff resistance from the local elders who couldn’t…
The orange growers of Nagpur have now joined the fellowship of pain of their peers in the cotton farming community. Demonetization has dented the orange trade in Vidarbha. The orange…
Almost every farmer across India's arid cotton-bearing central plateau is a hostage, in one way or another, of the moneylender. The present demonetization has come as a blessing for the…
Microfinance continues to thrive despite being under fire from legions of critics. One plausible reason for the lingering faith in the power of microfinance is that it provides a convenient strategy…
The portrayal of Muslim women that we glimpse in the media is grim and somber. The public perception of them is one of stubborn stereotypes: supposedly powerless and oppressed, behind…
The best of you are those who are the kindest to their wives. Prophet Muhammad The Allahabad High Court has finally got the clock of judicial activism ticking by…
The Indian women farmer, almost never publicly acknowledged, reviled by superstition and patriarchy, and increasingly troubled by entrenched social and cultural mores and taboos bears the real burden of farm…
More than a billion people in the world are employed in agriculture, and in India, one out of four people are farmers or agricultural workers. Farm output contributes $325…
Worldwide millions of women have traditional responsibilities as food growers, water and fuel gatherers, and care-givers. In South Asia, women make up make up 43% of the agriculture workforce in…
The transformation of women’s roles is the last great impediment to universal progress. Indian women haven’t always had much by way of social agency or power whereby they could formulate…
Despite being the country with the second largest agricultural land in the world, hardly two fifth or forty percent of the agricultural land is irrigated. Also, even though the country…
It has been more than 20 years since the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts - termed as post-Independent India’s most revolutionary exercise in democratic decentralization and devolution of power…
If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman -Margaret Thatcher If we want to bring a truly transformative gender revolution, we must…
A mother is a school. Empower her and you empower a great nation. -Hafez Ibrahim, Egyptian poet The real tragedy of the poor, particularly the women among them, is that…
Money is the seed of money, and the first guinea is sometimes more difficult to acquire than the second million. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau The 21st century poses many challenges that require new…
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