2022

Abstract
At a time when India’s one million Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), who were at the forefront to battle the COVID 19 crisis are facing humiliation, hostility and neglect from the government authorities have left them without recourse, the conferment of Global Health Leaders Award to these frontline health workers provide a ray of hope to these unsung warriors. Meanwhile, the Award alone will not put an end to the sad plight of these ASHAs as they have to overcome (…)

The modern Indian state, with such vast tracts of land and a massive population of 1.3 billion, is unique in history. Before 1947, or even after partition, a single government with absolute sovereign power from one national capital did not rule the country’s entire population. Not even the British Governor General ruled as many people as the present Prime Minister of India rules. However, even with a modern democratic constitution, the massive number of people living in such a vast land may (…)

by Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder *
The Supreme Court (SC) order on GST Council recommendations in (Union of India and ANR versus M/S Mohit Minerals) on May 19, 2022, held:
“The ’recommendations’ of the GST Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and States. They are recommendatory in nature. To regard them as binding edicts would disrupt fiscal federalism, where both the Union and the States are conferred equal power to legislate on GST”.
The SC ruling can (…)

by Gopal Krishna
The 15th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (COP-15) is underway with the 10th Conference of Parties to the Rotterdam Convention and the 10th Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention from 6 to 17 June 2022 in Geneva. These meetings are focused on the theme: "Global Agreements for a Healthy Planet: Sound management of chemicals and waste". Prior to the COP-13 of Basel Convention Union (…)

IMSD supports free speech; condemns hate speech, death threats
Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) deplores the divisive and hate-driven politics behind the statements made by the now-suspended spokesperson of the BJP, Nupur Sharma, but it unequivocally condemns the threats to her life. IMSD also strongly condemns Al Qaeda for threatening retaliatory terror acts.
IMSD believes that democracy is inconceivable without the freedom of speech, a freedom that is enshrined in the Indian (…)

UNITED CHRISTIAN FORUM
For Immediate Release
United Christian Forum alarmed at sharp rise in violence against churches and worshippers; demands urgent action by government and leaders
New Delhi – 13 June 2022
The United Christian Forum (UCF) has demanded urgent judicial and government intervention to check the rapid rise in incidents of violence, coercion and false arrests, traumatising the community. This persecution is most acute in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, (…)

Statement by Constitutional Conduct Group
We are a group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Services who have worked with the Central and State Governments in the course of our careers. Our group has no affiliation with any political party, and we, as its members, believe in impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Constitution of India.
On May 11, 2022, a chorus of appreciation greeted the Supreme Court’s interim orders on a batch of cases which had challenged (…)

Leaders, Politicians, Citizens: Fifty Figures Who Influenced India’s Politics; by Rasheed Kidwai
Hachette India; Pages: 348; Price: Rs 499
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It is amazing to know that Narendra Modi is not the only politician in India who rose from humble beginnings to ride high in politics.
As a young man, N.T. Rama Rao struggled to make ends meet as he cycled long distances every day to supply milk to households, hotels and other business establishments. After his mess in Mumbai failed, he was (…)

Kala Pani Crossings: Revisiting 19th century Migrations from India’s Perspective
Co-edited by Ashutosh Bhardwaj and Judith Misrahi-Barak
Routledge
2022
242 p. ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1032332328 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1032332321
available via amazon.in
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Edited excerpts from the introductory essay by co-editors
When used in India, the Kala pani reference is often associated with the cellular jail in Port Blair where freedom fighters and other dissidents were sent by the British (…)

by Musaib Rasool *
Context
The current full scale war by Russian forces over the Ukrainian territory is not the result of only a single foreign policy failure on the part of a particular state in a given time period. Rather, a number of historical as well as contemporary factors have contributed to the present crisis, even escalating it beyond the control of the key players involved in the conflict. Richard Sakwa traces the systemic root causes of the conflict and argues that the (…)