Society

As a former capital of many important kingdoms and sub-continental empires, Delhi is a city of outstanding historical significance. The sites that mark important dates and periods of its past are scattered around the city and its hinterland, and widely visited and studied. The architectural breadth of monuments at these sites, and the town planning concepts evident in places around them, have also received a lot of attention. But there is another, less known, side. Diverse historical, cultural, and environmental exigencies, over hundreds of years, have given the city a unique syncretism of cultures. As each dynasty and ruling establishment…

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The pandemic has deepened the difficulties and dangers faced by sex workers in gaining and maintaining clients. Lockdowns and lack of relief have wrecked any semblance of financial stability they previously had. Moreover, while sex work is not illegal in the country, police violence against women categorized as ‘prostitutes’ continues unabated.  Such public sentiments and aggressive policing are rooted in a long history of brutally criminalizing sex workers. In fact, it has resonance in various legal and medical regulations enacted during British rule of South Asia. Historically, British authorities painted sex workers not only as purveyors of disease but as…

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Bombay’s pivotal role in the Independence movement and particularly in the Quit India movement has not been recognized enough, according to Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, who is also the Managing Trustee and Honorary Director of Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum in Byculla. What can be done about it? “We strongly feel that our museum should now take up this subject,” she added, recalling that institution was once a British museum and its origins are reflected in the collection. It was established in 1872 as the Victoria and Albert Museum. It got its current name only in 1975. Mehta was…

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The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the gaps in emergency response coordinated by the government. Large amounts of emergency items from beds, oxygen tanks, concentrators, medicines, vaccines, masks and food needed to be bought and delivered. With shortage of labour and a lockdown, the supply of these critical needs posed a challenge to overcome. Shortage of labour, created by a combination of reverse migration and affliction of the disease, also contributed to the logistical challenge. At this point, civil society stepped in and relieved an overwhelmed government apparatus which is not built for such calamities.  The first lockdown saw…

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Uyali* was among the 220 garment workers fired by Slam Clothing Private Limited in January 2020. Two months later, the textile manufacturer situated at Mahindra World City in the outskirts of Chennai shut down operations, citing ‘irrecoverable losses due to the COVID-triggered lockdown.’ More than half of the workers haven’t received their dues from the Provident Fund (PF) yet. Like hundreds of her colleagues, Uyali is still waiting. “My salary of two months remains unpaid to this day. I had to hunt for a job in the middle of a pandemic when I did not even have the money to…

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Popular imagination would have it that campaigns begin and go on until their objective is achieved or rejected; and then they wind up. Not quite, says Tara Krishnaswamy, a veteran of several civic campaings in Bengaluru. Campaigns are seldom linear and their chronology is almost always chequered. Tara was among many citizen activists who had pushed for the bus priority lane (BPL) along the Outer Ring Road (ORR). That was back in 2017. The world over, giving priority to public bus movement -- through dedicated bus lanes or more complex systems like BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit Systems) -- is acknowledged…

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நாம் பெருந்தொற்றோடு வாழப்பழகி ஆண்டுகள் இரண்டு ஓடி விட்டன. நம்மில் பலரும் பல இழப்புகளைச் சந்தித்திருக்கிறோம்.  எனினும், மீண்டெழுந்து இன்னும் அதிக முனைப்புடன் செயல்பட்டு வருகிறோம்.  மானுடம் இத்தகைய பெருந்தொற்றுகளையும் பேரிடர்களையும் தொன்றுதொட்டே சந்தித்து வந்திருக்கிறது. அந்த அனுபவங்கள் தந்த ஆற்றலைக் கொண்டு அடுத்த நிலைக்குத் தன்னைக் கொண்டு சென்றிருக்கிறது.  பெருந்தொற்றின் பாதிப்புகள் குறித்த பல்வேறு விஷயங்களை ஆராய்ந்து தகவல் பரிமாற்றம் செய்து கொண்டிருந்த அந்த பரபரப்பான நேரத்தில்தான் நம்மையும் தொற்றியது, கொரோனா.  சற்றே அசட்டையாக இருந்ததின் விளைவே அது. அறிகுறிகள் தென்பட ஆரம்பித்ததும், எச்சரிக்கையானோம்.  ஆனால், அடுத்த ஓரிரு நாளில் தொற்று தன்னிருப்பைத் தெளிவாக உணர்த்த ஆரம்பித்ததும், பரிசோதனைக்கு உட்படுத்திக் கொண்டு அதன் முடிவு வருவதற்கு முன்னரே, மருத்துவரிடம் கலந்தாலோசித்து வீட்டுத் தனிமைப்படுத்தலுக்கு நம்மை உட்படுத்திக்கொண்டோம். அந்த நேரடி அனுபவத்தையும் அதைக் கடக்க உதவிய நல் உள்ளங்களைப் பற்றியும் பகிர்ந்து கொள்வதே இக்கட்டுரையின் நோக்கம். இதன் மூலம் நாம் கற்றுக்கொண்டவற்றையும்…

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In a country like India it is impossible to live without community animals. Our thoughts, culture and religion do not consider humans as mutually exclusive from community animals, which include cattle and stray dogs and cats. I reside in Chennai and am associated with People for Animals, an organisation working for the welfare and rights of street animals. As animal caretakers, it is deeply saddening and horrific to witness an alarming number of cases of cruelty in our city and communities against street and pet animals. Often it does not stop there, but is in in fact extended to animal caretakers…

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“Every thought plants a seed to one of your actions. Every good action will yield a consequence. The person who takes good steps every day, cannot help but reap a harvest of awesome results.” This quote by Robin Sharma stayed with me for a long time after I read it. It is true that a thought can be powered by positive action, to yield far reaching results. In fact, a recent volunteer-driven initiative in Chennai, the Chennai Volunteers COVID Resource Guide epitomises how citizens can come together, virtually, and create a movement to support fellow citizens in their time of need. Chennai Volunteers Resource…

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Thanks to the pandemic, traditional big fat Indian weddings have now become small, muted family events. As social distancing and restriction of movement became the norm in the COVID era, weddings changed too. Many couples have still gone ahead with their matrimonial plans over the past few months, and more plan to tie the knot in the weeks and months ahead but even they must adhere to the current COVID protocol for weddings as laid down by the states.  Even though lockdown norms have been eased in Chennai, things are not entirely back to the old normal. Citizens must be…

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