Articles
- R K Pachauri: Carrying 6 billion hopes
- Dr. RK Pachauri, the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is leading the international campaign against Climate Change for his services to the environment he has recently been awa......read more
- India's Climate Change crusader: Mr. Jairam Ramesh
- India is a fast developing nation but this development comes at a price, the environment. Our interview with him made us aware that Mr. Jairam Ramesh, the Union Minister of State for Environment and F......read more
- He does not deserve the nobel
- I have developed the art of using money in creative ways to a point where it has become scientific. The deeply unfortunate occupational hazard that accompanies this rather fulfilling pastime is that m......read more
- US & Co
- I have experienced three kinds of news. There is American news, which although accurate, skims past the destruction caused by their troops. There is PAkistani news, which tells us of their 'power' and......read more
- Jaswant Singh on people, politics and partition
- One of India's longest serving politicians, Jaswant Singh's controversial book on Jinnah and India's partition sparked both criticism and praise from people across India and Pakistan. His bold decisio......read more
- Statue-tory warning: Your narcissism is injurious to national health
- At a time when Maharashtra's notorious Vidarbha region witnesses one farmer suicide every 8 hours, when the entire state is frequented by power cuts as a result of the rains playing truant and the sta......read more
- Try
- I am 17 years old. I go to school. I come home. I eat, sleep, study.
I go out on the weekends, avoide my parents and am addicted to facebook.
By a broad standard, I am normal.
Can I c......read more - Theplas in Thailand & pickles in Paris: Say hello to the Indian tourist
- The Indian tourist seems to have earned himself a global reputation. He may don many avatars, but the stereotype he has earned for himself remains like an unsightly splotch on Indians' reputation aboa......read more
- Red tapism in India
- "The Common Man walks into the Passport office for the fifth time in ten days. He is sick of standing in the heat. He is sweaty. He is tired of the never ending trips to try and procure his passport. ......read more
- Naxalites - a burning problem
- The Maoists-Naxalites have been in the news lately. These little understood, much maligned groups, with a common leftist ideology, have been the cause of long-standing violence, arson and disruption. ......read more
- Unity in diversity?
- With hundreds of different ethnicities, myriad religions, thousands of languages, and an infinite set of values, (some of which are diametrically opposite) India could easily be considered the most di......read more
- Every One
- India is a country that is progressing at an astoundingly rapid rate. It has proved itself to be a country to watch out for. Its economy is booming, and its people are continuing to prove their abilit......read more
- The Indian Judiciary: Does the pillar of strength need to be strengthened?
- Do judges in India need to be policed and to what extent? There has recently been focus on the Indian judiciary system. The question has arisen on whether Indian judges need to be policed. The Union C......read more
- Defence, Development & the Indian Economy
- India today occupies a unique position on the world stage. We are perhaps the only country trying to juggle a rapidly advancing economy, an extraordinary array of infrastructural develoments, an inher......read more
- 26/11
- A year on, an overview of the city of Mumbai yields a result no different then what one would have expected. The city continues to be a bustling, shining beacon of India's ascent to global success, w......read more
- Wake up and smell the carbon
- Few years ago, there was only one problem the world had to deal with - the nuclear bomb. Today's youth are growing up in the shadows of three bombs any of which can go off any moment, leading to a rad......read more
- Apocalypse - impossible? Think again!
- 2050, India-a young boy stares at the barren landscape of his hometown, where rising tempartures and water scarcity have made living life a burden. The ganga river has dried up, the once snow capped p......read more
- Congress ka 'raj' Thackeray
- For anyone who doubts that politics is a dirty game, the recent Maharashtra State Assembly polls was an eye-opener. With cousins standing against each other in a family feud of epic proportions and th......read more
- Change after 26/11
- On 26th November, 2008 a catastrophe stuck the city of Mumbai. While the elite class of South Mumbai was dining at 5 star hotels, The Taj Mahal Hotel and the Trident, and the commuters were......read more
- The future of Mumbai
- Milind Deora's victory for the second term in a row has silenced all his critics. In a candid discussion, Mr. Deora spoke to us about the Maharashtra elections, the MNS, chqanges since 26/11 and of hi......read more
- VOTE INDIA
- Over the last few weeks, the nation has been keenly observing the movements of a new found political scion, Varun Gandhi of the BJP. Gandhi's radical views, to say the least, have "shocked" some and "......read more
- 26/11
- Are we so naive that we cannot see that some of the problems are from within our country? We don't see the greater good but act in our own selfish and devious ways......read more
- Arun Jaitley-a candid discussion
- An interview with the General Secretary of the Bhartiya Janta Party, Arun Jaitley gave us an insight into the mind of strategic planner and mast head of this election's opposition party. After years o......read more
- The Criminalisation of Indian Politics
- India boasts of being the largest democracy in the world; with an estimated 671 million eligible to vote for the 15th General elections to be held in April - May 2009. However, over the last 61 years ......read more
- Democracy: As we are made to see it
- What do you think about putting 1.147 billion puzzle pieces together? Indian democracy is just that. It is not as simple and sinless as a puzzle, but putting 1.147 billion thoughts together, fixing th......read more
- Goolam Vahanvati - the youth's role in India's future
- Mr. Goolam Vahanvati, one of the best lawyers in India, tells us we as the youth need to look beyond corruption, he tells us to a look at the larger picture. He says, "You must believe that this is a ......read more
- Indian National Congress: The way forward?
- We citizens of India are not in the mood to listen to comments like "Bade bade sheharo mein chotte chotte cheese hote rehte hain". The youth want to see some degree of accountability in the entire pol......read more
- Jyotiraditya Scindia-India's tomorrow
- We arrived at 27 Safdarjung Road, home to one of the most promising and visionary leaders in this country. Part of the Congress youth brigade Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia, having studied at Harvard and St......read more
- Omar Abdullah - our hope for change
- Mr. Omar Abdullah one of the few leaders in this country who commands respect and does not demand respect, speaks to us about his vision for India. He is one of the most protected men in India with si......read more
- PAKISTAN: at the brink of destruction?
- Two twins, India and Pakistan separated at birth due to numerous complications, travelled through a long journey since partition. This difficult path took off in August 1947, when, after having surviv......read more
- Third Front - an illusion?
- We the youth of India desire change and to some the Third front is the only option to provide this change, which makes the Third Front seem as a serious contender. On the other side of the spectrum mo......read more
Article of the month
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Every One
India is a country that is progressing at an astoundingly rapid rate. It has proved itself to be a country to watch out for. Its economy is booming, and its people are continuing to prove their abilities in every field in the global arena.
Text: Zahra Vakil
Before we know, India is going to transform into a global superpower. But behind this façade of a shining new India, our country still continues to be morally backward. What good is this progress if it is not reaching the masses and is only focused on helping Corporate India add another zero to their pay checks? Today India has the highest child mortality – 20% of the global total. Every year 2 million children die before they reach their fifth birthday. This number is more than in any other country. Its record on newborn and child mortality(72 per 1,000 live births) is worse than that of neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh(61 per 1,000) and Sri Lanka (21 per 1,000).It accounts for one-fifth of deaths of newborns. Of course our population is larger then our neighbours however, this cannot be an excuse for the high child mortality rates.
One out of three malnourished children lives in India. These figures persist, despite nearly a decade of high economic growth– which has not translated into improved healthcare and nutrition for the majority of children. This is the true status of our so called shining new India. Information and hard facts such as this should make any Indian ashamed and inculcate in us a passion and drive to do something about it. Save the Children’s new campaign EVERY ONE allows us to do exactly that - wake up to this ugly truth and do something about it. Many people are cynical about the possibility of doing anything about child mortality. Some believe that it would cost too much; others, that reducing child mortality would further accelerate population growth on an already overcrowded planet.
Many believe that attempts to improve children’s health and nutrition will inevitably be thwarted by corruption and misgovernment in the poorest countries, and that there is little benefit in keeping children alive if the future ahead of them is one of desperate poverty. These claims are completely redundant and baseless. Every child – no matter where or to whom they are born – has an equal right and deserves an equal chance to survive. And every one of us has a responsibility to act and help save them.
Even the smallest gesture makes a difference like joining the Save the Children’s Thumbs Up campaign and pledging your support to the initiative. It is the least anyone can do. You cannot possibly be happy to sit around when the diseases causing the deaths of two million children in our country are easily curable and yet are not changed. Pneumonia and diarrhea are the biggest killers of children under the age of 5, despite the fact that both these diseases can be treated by antibiotics and easily administrated oral rehydration. The deaths of children are not random events beyond our control. To a considerable extent, they are the outcome of policy and political choices taken by governments. We have been given the right to choose our government but what good is that right if only 43% come out to vote? If I tell you now that voting for a certain political party and its policies might help save the life of a child, a child just like yours who plays and laughs, has dreams and emotions, who is the apple of some one’s eye, would you now think that waiting in that line for an hour might just be worth it.