Mainstream Weekly

Nigeria's Missing Daughters

Sunita Vakil — 2014-06-21T16:42:06Z

When nearly 300 girls were abducted from a government senior secondary school in the north-eastern district town of Chibok a month ago, the mass kidnapping failed to make headlines. This is a stunning example of the use of women as the “spoils of war” around the world and nobody cares. The incident is also a reminder that women are always a soft target, bearing a disprop-ortionate burden of any conflict regardless of its nature. It took nearly a fortnight and severe international outrage for (…)

- 2014

Uttarakhand Disaster: Development at What Cost?

Sunita Vakil — 2013-07-21T04:05:09Z

The devastating fury unleashed in the form of heavy rains, cloudburst, landslides and flash floods in Uttarakhand have taken a heavy toll on human lives and property. Thousands have been devastated and many structures have been swept away. Though the official figure of people who died in the tragedy has been put around 3000, the actual number may be much higher. The unprecedented tragedy has forced us to re-examine how the fragile ecology of the Himalayas has been exploited in the name of (…)

- 2013

Indo-Pak Trade Ties

Sunita Vakil — 2012-03-20T18:24:18Z

After much procrastination, Pakistan on February 29 decided to switch to the negative list approach for trade with India indicating its resolve to improve relations with its regional rival despite opposition from Islamic groups. This came soon after Commerce Minister Anand Sharma's visit to Pakistan which gave a much-needed boost to India-Pakistan bilateral trade paving the way for full liberalisation of trade between the two countries, eventually culminating in the granting of the Most (…)

- 2012

Death For Honour : Khap Panchayats are a National Shame

Sunita Vakil — 2011-06-09T08:06:37Z

This is a ruling that couldn't have come a day sooner. The Supreme Court's directions to rein in Khap Panchayats for their bizarre edicts is a welcome step towards dismantling the clutch of these medieval community courts. This landmark judgment not only delegitimises caste councils which have become a law unto themselves but also conveys that nobody is above the law. The verdict is a bodyblow to Khap Panchayats that administer Taliban-style justice to promote caste-based politics in (…)

- 2011

No Honour in “Honour Killing”

Sunita Vakil — 2010-04-19T18:31:00Z

It is a matter of national shame when arguments condoning crimes like “honour killings” come in the form of tradition.
A. Marten says: “If we would know the political and moral condition of a state we must ask what rank women hold in it.” It needs no reiteration that patriarchy runs deep in Indian society and crimes like female infanticide and foeticide still haunt the country. It is therefore not surprising that different societies in India are increasingly facing the problem of (…)

- 2010

India Steps Up Climate Change Efforts

Sunita Vakil — 2009-11-28T01:28:42Z

India's commendable action of promoting environment friendly economic development provides more hope for the Copenhagen climate talks.
As the countdown to Copenhagen has begun, India is fast positioning itself as a resourceful and responsible leader ready to meet the climate change challenges head on. The fact that the country has already set up a Ministry to promote alternative sources of energy and has targetted to cut carbon emissions by 2020 demonstrates that it takes the climate (…)

- November 2009

The Sharm el-Sheikh Sell-out

Sunita Vakil — 2009-08-16T14:06:09Z

The monumental blunder committed by India at Sharm-el-Sheikh is likely to weigh it down in all future Indo-Pak negotiations.
“A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed,” says Ibsen. Notwithstanding the fact that Islamabad has so far failed to match its words with deeds by not bringing the 26/11 culprits to book, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has surprised many by meekly agreeing to the Pakistani demand for delinking the talks from terrorism. As a matter of fact (…)

- August 2009

Election time or tamasha time?

Sunita Vakil — 2009-05-18T10:54:36Z

Let's face it. Every five years or even sooner we are subjected to a new circus called ‘'elections''. Election time is mela time for politicians who have left no stone unturned to convert politics into a free-for-all political circus. Once on the electoral platform, they will do anything to shift focus from the real issues weighing on the voter's minds. They will make funny speeches, raise heady slogans and make inflammatory and indecent remarks as a ploy to attract votes. We also see them (…)

- May 2009