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Sabarimala, and the quest for equality

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Sabarimala, it appears, could be our new touchstone for understanding liberals, especially from Kerala. The intellectual emptiness in the arguments of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao on the Sabarimala imbroglio require both investigation and introspection. Mr. Tharoor contends dangerously that “abstract notions of constitutional principle also have to pass the test of societal acceptance”. As pointed out by lawyer Suhrith Parthasarathy “This wasn’t a verdict based on abstract notions of equality. On the other hand, it gives meaning to the Constitution’s abstract guarantees.” Would Mr. Tharoor also recommend that the triple talaq pronouncement be rethought if conservative Muslims took to the streets in large numbers? And it scares me to think of what his position will be on the Ayodhya case if it does not satisfy his prescription. The court’s mandate The Supreme Court does not, and should not, take into account mystical notions and pr...
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Development of transport grid with waterways in the country required

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the country's first inland waterway terminus to the nation made in Ramnagar, Varanasi on the Ganges river.  This first terminal built at a cost of Rs 5,369 crore has been constructed under the Water Development Project with the help of World Bank by the Inland Waterways Authority of India.  This terminal is part of an ambitious project to promote inland water transportation as a cheap and environmentally friendly means of transportation.  This will easily carry one lakh tonnes of freight traffic from Varanasi to Haldia every month.  Made-up from Multi-Modal Terminal in Ramnagar will be available in many countries including Haldia and Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar.  It also expects one lakh 60 thousand people to get indirect direct employment. The government has set a target of 15% of freight traffic in the country through National Waterways.  Under this, plans are being made to transform 111 rivers into waterways....
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There are only two such countries in the world where Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gone for five times during his tenure - America and China  This year, he came on a two-way visit to China.  The question is, what was the result of their visits to China?  This question is not related to foreign and defense policies only.  It has serious financial consequences.  Instead of promoting our domestic production we are purchasing large amounts of Chinese goods.  Apart from this, a large portion of its prized foreign exchange reserves are also being spent in buying military materials and state-of-the-art equipment.  This week, top officials of the defense ministries of India and China negotiated under the annual dialogue in Beijing. In a statement issued by the Indian Embassy after 9th India-China annual defense and security dialogue in Beijing, it said, "Both sides agreed to increase the exchanges and dialogue through high-level visits between the def...
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Chabahar Port, India’s tit-for-tat for US’ rat-a-tat

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US President Donald Trump’s waiver to India for the ongoing project in Chabahar port in Iran was a relief to New Delhi. Especially because this waiver comes in addition to the six-month relief from sanctions on the import of Iranian oil granted to seven other countries. Chabahar has been belatedly recognised by the US State Department as another important gateway to Afghanistan that could reduce its dependence on Karachi in Pakistan. Even more surprising is that the US has still not reacted to India’s decision to buy the S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Russia, despite the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (Caatsa). Even though Trump has ominously declared a ‘wait’n’watch’, thereby hanging a sanctions sword above India’s head. So why is Trump being so generous? And what’s in it for the US? To say that this waiver is meant to enhance India’s role in Afghanistan – in accordance with the National Security Strategy (NSS) announced by Trump in December 2...
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The Paradox of Indian Poverty

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For the longest time, India had a lock on a dubious global distinction: it was home to the world’s largest pool of extremely poor people. No more. Earlier this year, Brookings Institution scholar Homi Kharas estimated that the number of Nigerians in extreme poverty – defined by the international benchmark of living on under $1.90 per day – had overtaken the number of Indians in a similar condition. According to the World Poverty Clock, an online database, Nigeria now houses 88 million extremely poor people compared with just 63 million in India, or 4.6% of the population. About 41 Indians escape extreme poverty every minute. This means that by 2025 less than 0.5% of Indians will be extremely poor. This will dwindle to a mere 0.1% of the population by 2030. Less than 90 years after the Bengal famine, a land that was a byword for poverty would have ended its most egregious manifestation. India’s achievement is creditable by any yardstick. But it occurs against a backdrop of rising ...
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Engage with youth to translate demographic dividend into democratic dividend

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The Narendra Modi government has taken important steps towards making the policy of maternity leave more liberal.  They should be welcomed.  Now women will get salary of seven weeks salary to the government employees who earn more than 15 thousand rupees per month.  Actually, the maternity leave was extended from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for working women in establishments with more than nine employees in the Maternity Benefit Amendment Bill,  It was only after the President's seal on this amendment bill in 2017 that the establishment of the private establishment could create problems in giving women maternity leave.  That is, there is a provision in this law that during the leave the employer will pay full salary to the woman.  But since most of the private establishments in the country are less on workers' interests and more emphasis on their profits.  It is evident, On the other hand, many types of free medical facilities are provided to pregnant ...
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Need of National Nomination Commission

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Marxist historian Prof.  Irfan Habib has sarcastically changed the name of Allahabad and Faizabad to Prayagraj and Ayodhya.  He hoped that he would welcome it, but like the common leftists in Habib, the opposition of Hindu-consciousness is the most prominent one.  Deletion of name imposed by foreign invaders and rulers has been happening in the whole world.  Even the forced nomenclature made by the native rulers have also been changed.  After the collapse of communism, in Leningrad in Russia, again St. Petersburg and Stalingrad became Volgograd.  In cities of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, numerous cities, roads, name changes.  In South Africa, more than one thousand places have been changed.  These are not only cities, but also roads, airports, rivers, mountains, dams.  There was a government commission called 'South Africa Geographical Name Council' on this subject.  In fact  Such names-changes have a deep cultural, political,...
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