Issues that matter!!

   The idea of the start of an Asian Century believed to be started after the continuous rise of China on the world map and the relative decline of the west after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis that had changed the paradigm of global politics. This idea also bolstered the aspirations of India, as it rekindled the hopes for envisioning the power that India wielded during the medieval era, which had been on an upward trajectory in the economic and diplomatic realm since it opened up to the world outside. However, since the global politics has become more fraught and challenging due to continuous tug of war between the US and China as well as a growing external threat to India with the growing belligerence of China, it has become increasingly important to foresight the rise of India, at a time, when its domestic politics has blurred the lines between domestic politics and international politics and rhetoric are rife about India being projected as a ‘Vishwa Guru’, which lacks th...

  Sitting with his family while watching the news of the ferocious second wave of COVID-19 raging throughout India, Sohit- a college student- was exasperated by the gross negligence and mishandling during the COVID-19, which has been claiming thousands of lives every day. He said, “Alas! This country is heading towards a bigger crisis i.e., a crisis of misgovernance. Unless we change how we do our politics and encourage more young voices and people from all walks of life to be part of it, we are heading towards a bigger crisis.” Sohit’s concerns when looked at in the present context seems well-placed, from misperception to polarization to criminalization to inequity all has long been deeply ingrained into Indian politics. Our forefathers willfully adopted a liberal democratic structure with a parliamentary system to give voices to unrepresented sections of the society. Indian democracy has always been held as the “biggest democracy of the world” that is representative, just and...

  Gasping for oxygen, scrambling to get a bed in the hospital, fighting for pyres in the cremation ground, fear overpowering the minds leading to hesitancy to step out of the house and facing the odds with the surging cases of COVID-19, this defines the lives of an ordinary citizen of India, for whom, this COVID wave has opened the floodgates of misery and helplessness. “Why the god has chosen my mother?” asked one, “Why don't even the doctors helping us?” asked the other. In between these questions, the moot point is, what could have been done differently for a continued retreat of the virus? In my previous article , I delve into the problem that India is facing in the present context and what has led to this problem. However, the need is felt to write this article for the sole purpose of what ought to be done to deal with the current situation. The article is based on the two conflicting ideas- first , an argument between lockdown v/s no lockdown, or to put it differently in t...

  With the resurgence of the second wave of COVID-19 in India hitting new heights in terms of the number of cases and fatality, the debate over life v/s livelihood has resurfaced to the fore. Given the benefit of the knowledge of hindsight of the first wave, the recent announcement by PM Narendra Modi to consider Lockdown as the measure of the last resort seems a sensible move given the economic cost it inflicts. However, the question remains, what has gone wrong this time? Why the biggest manufacturer of vaccines around the world reached this point and what needs to be done to curb this problem? To understand the rise of coronavirus, we first need to look at the data of the first wave. During the previous wave, cases started plateauing around the mid of September after which a decline was seen. Given the fact that as cases started declining in September and started increasing again in March, four reasons contributed to this disastrous situation. First , complacency and laxness s...

  The assumption that India will become a global-power has a long history, with its own set of supporters and critics. The endowment of having the second-highest population in the world, a strategically positioned geography, growing economic might and its democratic credentials, all have been helping India, since its Independence, to ascend as a legitimate actor in the International political realm. The LPG reforms in the first half of the 1990s helped India to assert itself as the fastest-growing democracy in the world, and its performance in the backdrop of the financial crisis of 2008-09, getting out unscathed, compelled the IMF to praise India’s resilience in the tumultuous times. While the world has not stopped to woo over India’s indicators and eulogize it as the major-power in the making, four trends have emerged which are a cause of concern and needs continuous pondering to help us discern that, Is India on the path to becoming a major power or do we need a recalibration of...

  The controversy created by the three new farm bills, enacted by the parliament of India without due deliberation and consultation, has culminated in a widespread protest by the farmers of Punjab and Haryana, who are now joined by the farmers from all over the country. Whilst these bills were hailed as a watershed moment for the agricultural sector by the government, farmers, state governments and traders alike, feel the other way round. So, what is so controversial about these bills?  The three bills,   Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 (FPTC, 2020),   Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020  (ECA,2020), and   Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 (FAPAFS, 2020), tries to bring some radical reforms in the existing structure of our agricultural sector which hitherto was considered as hand to mouth activity in India. Thus, these bills are trying to make...

It all started with the clarion call of PM Narendra Modi on May 12, with slogans like "Aatma-N irbhar Bharat" and "vocal for local" to make India a self-reliant country and increase India's share in the global supply chain. Then came decisions to ban Chinese apps and Chinese investments. Next in chronology came the defence production and export promotion policy (DPEPP, 2020) which aims to increase India's self-reliance in the defence industry. Analysing how things are transpiring in this time of Pandemic and increasing Chinese belligerence, India's call for self-reliance looks hefty not just in numbers but also in its intent. India's reliance on imports in defence as well as in other areas has been pointed out many a time as unsustainable for India's growth but negligent to these calls, India's growth has been feeding onto this very idea. The call of an Aatma-nirbhar Bharat with no clear-cut policy and long-term vision coupled with an arc...

On 13 July the result of CBSE Class-XII was announced, which brought relief to students in these trying times of the Pandemic where they have been facing a crisis in their studies from late results to late admissions and even cancellation of some exams. The very next day, while reading the newspaper I came across those happy faces who were dull spending their time at home after the start of this ensuing crisis. Out of 12 lakh of students who appeared for the examination, overall 88.78%  of Children cleared the exam. I wondered if the result this time seems to be good, so I started reading further about statistical information. To my utter surprise, I came across some shocking statistics. A total of 38,686 students have scored more than 95% and above marks in aggregate of all subjects, up by 118.6% from the previous year in 2019. As many as 1,57,934 students have scored more than 90% and above, 67.48% higher than the previous year's tally. Adding jewel in the crown, I came a...