Mainstream Weekly

Chomsky in India | Jean Dreze

Jean Dreze — 2025-07-12T13:17:34Z

Sometime around 1991 I wrote to Noam Chomsky and invited him to give a few lectures in India. It felt like wishful thinking

- 2025

The rural wage rule GOI must relinquish | Jean Dreze

Jean Dreze — 2023-06-02T16:04:14Z

by Jean Dreze
Making Aadhaar-based payments compulsory for NREGA has severely undermined workers' rights. Rural development ministry should retract its January 30 order:
The poor history of wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act took another wrong turn earlier this year. On January 30, the rural development ministry issued an order making Aadhaar-based payments compulsory for all NREGA wages from February 1, 2023 – just two days later. This has led (…)

- 2023

India and the US in 'nuclear deal' - The Tribal and the Moneylender

Jean Dreze — 2007-09-26T14:09:14Z

Those who applaud India's “nuclear deal” with the United States would do well to read Gopinath Mohanty's beautiful novel Paraja, where hapless tribals often make “deals” with the local sahukar (moneylender), who has overwhelming power over them. For instance, young men go to the sahukar when they are in dire need of money to get married (bride-price was customary among the Parajas of Orissa), and agree to work as bonded labourers until the money is repaid. But the sahukar keeps shifting the (…)

- September 22, 2007