View Articles

Handwashing have been one of the most effective recommendations to prevent infection and spread of COVID-19. However, 3 in 10 people worldwide could not follow this recommendation during the pandemic because they did not have water in their homes to do that. They remained safe only because the pandemic could not reach them while their governments failed them in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programmes. The situation is now changing fast. COVID-19 is spreading and knocking at their doors, while the governments are still not willing to inject sufficient funds to provide even safe and sufficient quantity of water putting them at greatest risk not only from COVID-19, but also from several other infectious diseases.

In the government’s initiatives to counter the economic and social impacts of Covid pandemic, education seems to have received the least priority, as this sector has been considered as most expendable because the impact of such neglect is not immediately discernible. The response of the government, educational institutions as well as educators to the crisis appeared to be totally confused, and the continued disruption of academic activity due to the pandemic has meant that there has been little improvement in the situation. The most vulnerable segment is school education.

The relentless search for a modern-day Chanakya has seen union home minister Amit Shah being projected as his contemporary avatar, even though there is much more to the Arthashastra than a “power at all costs” mantra. Now, after his role in the Bengal triumph, Prashant Kishor, the Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s prime election strategist, has been portrayed as a political Chanakya. Which might partly explain the buzz around Kishor’s three meetings with Maharashtra leader Sharad Pawar. Is there a plan to craft a new political alternative that could challenge the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024?

Chilean Communist Party candidate Daniel Jadue has emerged as the front-runner ahead of November’s presidential elections, with a number of opinion polls predicting he could sweep to power. If that happens, that will be the beginning a new chapter in the polity of the region after the victory of the self styled Marxist Castillo in the presidential elections last month.

Over 60 per cent of the world’s adult population have been facing a threat to their survival. They are about two billions in number. They are informal workers, working chiefly in informal sector. Informal workers working in formal sectors may add millions to this figure. COVID-19 had hit them hard, particularly in developing countries, being not covered by existing social protection schemes. The urgent need is to provide a lifeline to them, bringing them under social security cover, temporarily providing minimum basic income guarantee during the continuing pandemic, and reducing informality in the long run.

The doctrine of colourable legislation, also known as a fraud on the Constitution, is based on the Latin maxim, “Quando aliquid prohibetur ex directo, prohibetur et per obliquum,” which means you cannot do indirectly what you cannot do directly. The notification issued by the Government on 28th May, 2021, has brought this doctrine to the forefront for many.

It is heartening to see that the spirit of federalism and nationalism has conjured the two Uttar Pradesh based people, Ranjana Agnihotri, a lawyer, and Jitender Singh, a social worker, both owing allegiance to the BJP, requesting the Supreme Court to impose President’s Rule in Bengal, the state nearly 2500 kms away from Lucknow, as nearly 15 BJP workers have lost their lives in the post-poll violence in the state.

These days of covid-19 eyes open and first thing in the morning the search begins with keywords ‘covid’, ‘delta’, ‘cowin’, ‘vaccine’… Oops, there aren’t any free vaccines available even today, daddy. Nope mama, you’re wrong, delta is on a scorched earth binge in some quarters of the globe. In Houston, Texas, children under 12 have been detected with the highly contagious delta. The rest of the United States has scores of delta dens and “wear masks indoors” is back in fashion.

Political observers and strategy framers have begun preparing for the decisive political battle in 2024. With time, they have evolved their strategy in a rather professional cum speculative manner. Their paid and unpaid services have already made inroads in to the political and organizational structures of parties, mainly of those from political right. The whole electoral process has been going through drastic changes as big money and super rich hold the strings. The CPI and the left have always been concerned about its impact on free and fair elections in our country.

The prime minister attended G7 outreach summit virtually. Known for giving mantras and acronyms frequently, prime minister pitched for ‘One Earth, One Health’ at this rich countries exclusive club. This is ironic since the same prime minister had remained on-committal for the longest time in ensuring evenly priced COVID vaccines for the people of his own country, instead making states pay a much higher price and allowing for those super profiteering amidst the pandemic.