Mainstream Weekly

Swachh Panchayat, Swachh Bharat: A Testimony of Twentyfive Years of Decentralisation

Bidyut Mohanty — 2018-08-16T15:10:00Z

The year 2018 is being celebrated as the twentyfifth year of decentralisation at the grass-roots level all over India.
The 73rd Constitution Amendment Act 1993 was enacted with a vision of achieving three objectives through the path of participatory grassroots democracy:
a. Equitable economic growth. By this, it was envisaged that all sections of the Indian society, irrespective of caste, creed, gender, and religion will get relatively equal share of the fruits of growth.
b. (…)

- 2018

Women, Right to Food and Role of Panchayats

Bidyut Mohanty — 2014-10-11T20:27:41Z

WOMEN‘S WORLD
Background: Need for Food Security
The Indian state has the responsibility of raising ‘the level of nutrition and standard of living and to improve the public health'1 in terms of Article 47 of the Directive Principles of State Policy. But, in spite of having a relatively high growth rate of the economy in recent years, India's performance in eradicating hunger and malnutrition is quite dismal compared to even the Sub-Shaharan region of Africa. In the Sub-Sahara region, the (…)

- 2014

Report of a Survey on National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Panchayats

Bidyut Mohanty — 2013-02-26T16:35:00Z

The following is the report of a survey conducted by the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi on the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Panchayats.
Introduction
Just like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is another rights-based and flagship programme, which was introduced from 2005 to 2012 in 18 States to improve the health delivery system in rural areas. It was introduced by the Ministry of Health (…)

- 2013

Odisha: Panchayat Election Results and their Meaning for the Assembly Poll

Bidyut Mohanty — 2012-07-15T12:41:58Z

This article reached us quite sometime ago but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons.
A State, known for having the highest proportion of the poor in the country and a large number of districts under Maoist influence and where many movements are going on against mega-mining projects, has just completed the panchayat elections relatively peacefully. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, has been ruling Odisha for the last twelve years: it has once (…)

- 2012

Goddess Lakshmi and Cultural Traditions of Rice: Implications for Status of Women

Bidyut Mohanty — 2011-12-27T15:51:52Z

WOMEN'S WORLD
There is a worldwide concern at the falling proportion of the girl child in developing countries, especially in China and India, which are countries making news as rising economies. The recent census figures present an alarming anti-woman trend. In the case of China, the proportion of the male population stood at 110 per every hundred females in 2000 which increased to 118 in 2010 showing an increasing gender gap. India may show a slightly better situation but she too (…)

- 2011

Swine Flu, Panchayats and NRHM

Bidyut Mohanty — 2009-09-12T15:28:52Z

Introduction
Nowadays the swine flu has created a health scare among the Indian population. It is still confined to the urban areas. But eventually it is likely travel to rural areas. Given the background of villagers' apathy in health matters the flu in all probability will take a larger toll. Since the local government institutions are functioning well and programmes like the National Rural Health Missions are working in conjunction with panchayats it will be worthwhile to start the (…)

- September 2009

Working of NREGA — Voices from Panchayats

Bidyut Mohanty — 2009-04-01T22:55:19Z

Introduction
Bureaucratic implementation of the NREGA has bypassed the Panchayati Raj Institutions which were intended to play an important role in planning and executing this flagship programme to respond to the local needs of the people. As a result several problems ranging from corruption to poor planning and the arbitrary management of the scheme have crippled the potentially valuable measure to provide sustenance to the rural poor. This was the tenor of the deliberations of some 1200 (…)

- March 2009

Malati Chaudhuri — First Wave Feminist

Bidyut Mohanty — 2008-03-16T22:31:50Z

The following article, sent quite sometime back, could not be used for unavoidable reasons. it is now being published on the occasion of Malati Chaudhuri's tenth death anniversary.
Malati Chaudhuri (Numa) was born on July 26, 1904 in Kolkata and died on March 15, 1998 in Orissa. She was born in a Bengali middle class Brahmin family. She lost her father very early. Her mother was a teacher in Bethune college in Kolkata and had a sympathetic bend of mind towards Gandhiji's ideas. Numa's (…)

- March 15, 2008