As politicians and policymakers make speeches at the United Nations during a high-level summit next week to assess the lack of progress on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, people’s leaders representing some of the world’s most marginalised communities will come together just across the UN Headquarters in New York to highlight the governments’ failings and present[Read More…]
Asia currently accounts for more than half of the world’s new and confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, with India, Indonesia and the Philippines being among the hardest-hit. Combined, WHO regions Western Pacific and South-East Asia reported 1,140,000 new cases and increases of more than 20% in hospital and ICU admissions reported in several countries. These figures are widely considered as[Read More…]
Ban Ki-Moon, Helen Clark, Joyce Banda, Joseph Stiglitz, Winnie Byanyima join scores of leaders in open letter three years into the COVID-19 pandemic. Inequity of vaccine rollout led to one preventable COVID-19 death every 24 seconds in first year of vaccination alone. Governments must embed equity and human rights in pandemic preparedness and response after COVID-19 left “a scar on[Read More…]
Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia: Wednesday 16/11 : Rich countries have delivered seven times more doses of COVID-19 vaccine per head than low-income countries[1], civil society groups have warned, as the G20 summit continues its session in Bali. The groups have called on the G20 governments to address the intellectual property barriers that have frustrated the sharing of vaccine and treatment technology.[Read More…]
New York, 23 September 2022 – Seven years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals – almost halfway to the 2030 deadline – the visionary promise of social justice and a rights-based, equitable and ecologically just world for all appears to be a distant dream. 1300 participants from groups who have historically been marginalized and excluded as well as civil society[Read More…]
On the International Women’s Day today Global Call To Action Against Poverty (GCAP), a global civil society campaign working in 58 countries, in a statement expresses deep concern over the war in Ukraine and especially the security and survival of women and girls in Ukraine and in all conflict-affected countries like Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan. Women and girls are facing[Read More…]
Amid the talks of a five trillion dollar Indian economy, there is still an India where people struggle to arrange two square meals a day. Many strive hard for basic needs of food, health and education. Often unheard and ignored, these voiceless people mostly don’t matter to the mainstream media. This book, through various ground reports over a decade and[Read More…]
Across Asia, a surge in coronavirus cases is prompting fresh restrictions and pushing people further into poverty. While fast-moving vaccination drives are allowing developed economies to bounce back, most Asian countries have managed to vaccinate less than 10 percent of their populations. As the WTO TRIPS Council meets for talks today, the Peoples Vaccine Alliance-Asia has called upon leaders of[Read More…]
If you do a google search, “Ramp Show” you get about 2660 million links. Ramp shows are quite popular across cities in the world and have well engulfed the minds of both young and old. Everyone wishes to be ‘up-to-date’ on fashion clothing – seasonally changing the costumes. And, this of course maintains your flamboyance! Or at least that’s what[Read More…]
The crisis emerging out of the threat from Coronavirus is herculean. Several civil society actors in Odisha have risen to the occasion in different ways to intervene on behalf of the poor and the destitute. On March 25, this reporter found some homeless people starving in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha due to the lockdown and shared their plight[Read More…]
Migrant Workers’ woes: Please address the nation to assuage their fear, Dear Prime Minister To Shri Narendra Modi Honourabe Prime Minister of India Respected Modi Jee, You have received accolades from the World Health Organisation, the opposition party leaders and from several other quarters for your statesman-like approach in dealing with the emergency situation arising out of the threat from[Read More…]
300 people from 80 countries and 203 civil society organisations participated in the People’s Assembly 2019 on 24-25 September in the UN Church Center in New York. There were many representatives from social movements fighting for justice at the local level. They analyzed the people’s perspectives and challenged heads of state attending the UN SDG Summit across the road in the UN[Read More…]
On 7th September, thousands of people gathered at the Raj Mahal square in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha and protested against the implementation of the newly amended Motor Vehicle Act, 2019. Under the amended law, implemented from September 1, the police are collecting hefty penalties from common people for the violation of traffic rules e.g. not wearing helmets, not[Read More…]
The United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) commences from 9th July and will continue till 18th July in the UN headquarters in New York, which will, among other discussions, review the working of the much touted Agenda 2030, also known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and suggest course corrections so that we achieve 17 ambitious goals by 2030.[Read More…]
The study done by HelpAge India titled, “Elder Abuse in India: Role of family in care giving – challenges and responses” brings about some glaring facts about the state of care to the elderly in our society. The study, among other things, found out that 35% of the caregivers never felt happy looking after the elderly. Caregivers here mean mainly[Read More…]
“Social exclusion, malnutrition and degradation in quality education are the major challenges and break the speed of development process. Grassroots level development needs inclusion of all the stakeholders like civil society organizations, policy makers, government officials, academia and community based organizations, said Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Government of India during the OdishaVikash Conclave 2018 held in Bhubaneswar[Read More…]
On August 17, 1988, the then President of Pakistan General Zi-Ul Haq died in an air crash. It was termed as an accident then. But was it really an accident? A very important person of the time Johan Gunther Dean, the then Ambassador of US to India did not agree. Is he suggesting that Zia was killed? Who killed Zia[Read More…]
A 6-14 year old minor girl could be an‘object’used for dispute settlement between two parties. No matter how absurd it may sound, this practice, known as “Swara” (http://bit.ly/1PWTLKm), is prevalent in some parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, mostly in tribal belts. This is a 400 year-old tradition based on principle of “blood for blood” for dispute settlement where virgin girls[Read More…]
India is going to host the 8th BRICS Summit in Goa on October 15-16, 2016 as part of India’s chairmanship of BRICS this year. BRICS is the acronyms of its member nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, all of which are fast growing developing economies. The formation came to existence in 2009 but South Africa was taken as[Read More…]
Let’s Stop Slapping! OR If India were a Classroom! 
The emergence of Bangladesh: Dynamics of people’s cultural and political struggles – Part I 
Flagging Support: Zelenskyy Loses Favour in Washington 
Scandal of A Ukrainian Nazi Waffen SS Soldier Honored in Canada’s Parliament: Part Two 
The Kenya Resistance Archives Adds the Missing Links to the History of Kenya 
Review of Immanuel Ness’s Migration as Economic Imperialism 
Artsakh Almanac: Ancestral History, Memory and Place in Subjugated Artsakh 
Ignorance and Egoistic Leaders Destroying Mankind and the Living Earth 
Rights of Older Persons must be fulfilled! 
Lies about the Green Revolution Having Saved India from Hunger Can be Very Harmful for Policy 
Manipur needs healing touch and Trust building – Not AFSPA 
Mass migration from Nagorno-Karabakh continues as breakaway republic dissolves 
Commemoration of Swaminathan Calls for a Revisit of Green Revolution 
Antarctica Hits Records as Global Heat Looms Large for 2024 
Book Review: Building A Just World Order 
Canada Needs Urgent Reforms to Bring Long-Delayed Justice to its Indigenous People 
Ukraine: Peace Comes through Mutual Respect 
Canada’s Proclivity To White Wash Its Nazi Citizenry & Nazi Affiliation Past 
Clamour for Teachers Grows in Jharkhand – Parents Write to CM 
Rifts in INDIA Alliance 
At the Brink? Contemplating the Unimaginable Costs of a Nuclear War 
Cruel Prerogatives: Braverman on Refugees at the AEI 
The Perilous Path From Western Domination to De-Dollarization 
From the Contemporary History of the Balkans: Greece and Slavo-Macedonians (1913-1993) The Ethnic Violence in Manipur, India, Explained 
New Report Exposes Grave Injustice to Villagers in the Name of Expanding Tourism and Parks in Tanzania 
Ending Opioid Addiction and Deaths through Creative Strategies 
Solitude: A Source of Empowerment 
Dr.K.S.Sharma Turns 90 
The Unholy Origins of Castes in India 
Union Health Ministry placing a cap on new medical colleges in States on the basis of the population criterion violates federalism 
Reflections on the Revolutionary Legacy of Makhan Singh in Kenya 
Armenian civilians flee Nagorno-Karabakh after new offensive by Azerbaijan 
Manipur: a statement of concern and suggestions for peaceful resolution 
Global Leaders Plead for Peace in Ukraine at UN 
Ghosts of the Past: For Israel, War on UNESCO is an Existential Battle 
Keeping Cattle on Public Land Is Bad for People, Cows, Wildlife, and the Planet 
The United States in the World: Making Sense of the Past Forty Years (1981-2023) 
Canadian Youth At Risk and the Discrimination of Marginalized Demographics 
While Searching Worldwide for Terrorists, Uncle Sam Should Also Look in a Mirror 
My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
