Devastating floods in uttrakhand once again draw our attention to the gross negligence we commit towards preparing better to deal with such tragedies. The state administration must be complimented for evacuating more than fifty thousand people already to safer places. They need all the support. But we must also learn from such disasters to prevent…
Most students have either proceeded on summer vacation or will be having holidays in a few weeks’ time. For school children, this is time to unwind, learn and grow. For many of the college students, this can be a time for engagement with their own inner self and also with the larger society. Let me…
Tremendous experimental ethic is evident among people while attempting local solutions. Some of the lazy intellectuals have tried to turn all frugal solutions as ‘jugaad’. A 250 USD ECG machine by GE, low cost health care by Naryan Hrudalaya, clay refrigerator by Manuskhbhai, etc., are all supposed to be ‘jugaad’!. Surely, a term used so…
A region from where Gandhiji steered the struggle for Indian independence, sitting in Sevagram Ashram could have so much of neglect and pathos was difficult to understand. Despite a large number of farmers suicide, frequent droughts and deprivation and indebtedness, the state can be so complacent. Some of the NGOs working with Sevagram and others…
The sun was about to set in the local craft market, where we had gone to experience art, culture and food. Kelli Ryan complimented my talk that I had given earlier this day at the inaugural session of the World Indigenous Network Conference WINC2013 in Darwin, Australia, and said that she was trying to do many things I had…
‘Take the Rs2,000, keep quiet, and thank god your girl is alive’–this can not be India in which we want to live. It is obvious that whoever thought that by merely making laws we will solve these problems was not close to reality. Police needs to be trained differently and also their responses to social…
Absorbing creative energy: India inclusive It was a week when I had a feast of ideas in a very wide range of domains Across the country. It was apparent that despite all the cynicism that headlines in newspapers may generate in the mind of common people, the effort to create new performance benchmarks continues.…
Impatient children: Indolent leaders Education is not just about learning facts or developing logical skills. It is also about empathy, imagination, inclusivity, collegiality, and playfulness. It is not surprising that large number of children who may be academically bright feel lost when faced with situations of ambiguity, ambivalence and uncertainty. IGNITE competition is organized by NIF every year…
why early childhood care is far more important than later stage care, why children deserve better attention from our policy makers and leaders of our society. why fifty per cent malnutrition among children is not some thing we can make a political football. Stress at early stage can cause irreversible disadvantage. some times, though there…
Agenda for mobilizing tech youth for transforming India: six challanges There are six challenges which tech youth is facing in reorienting not only its own motivations but also that of the larger society to use the talent and potential of youth far better than India does it today. There is a serious underutilization of this…