How prepared are we to tackle a human crisis? | Losing our rivers to grand plans | Malnutrition - A national disgrace

CURRENT AFFAIRS

REFUGEE TRAIN How prepared are we to tackle a human crisis? As the refugee crisis deepens in Syria, visuals of millions of people hoping to catch a train to a better life fill the media space. Shalini Bhutani reflects on the state of refugee policies in the South Asian region while remembering her own father’s experience weeks before the India-Pakistan partition.

NEW NATIONAL WATERWAYS Losing our rivers to grand plans As per the National Waterways Bill recently introduced in the Parliament, 101 stretches of rivers in the country will be declared as National Waterways. There are many advantages of waterways but these advantages will be realised only when certain conditions are met, and only under certain circumstances says Shripad Dharmadhikary.

MALNUTRITION AMONG CHILDREN Malnutrition - A national disgrace When malnutrition among children is widespread, the government is slashing funds allocated to the mid day meal scheme that covers most of the vulnerable children. Questioning this approach of the government, E S Ramamurthy started a petition to raise the funding for mid-day meals to cover minimum nutritional needs of a child.

GENDER VIOLENCE

VIOLENCE AND ACTIVISM Manipuri mothers want an end to the killings The International Day of Peace, celebrated on September 21 every year, has little meaning for people living in conflict areas. Like the Manipuri women, who feel that decades-old violence in Manipur has not only increased but taken many different forms. Anjulika Thingnam speaks to some of the feisty women of Meira Paibi (women vigilante) groups of Manipur to find out more.

REVIEW

THE PARSI STORY The path of Zarathustra The traditionalists and the liberal Parsis have an never-ending debate on how to keep their community and faith alive. Recently released feature film The Path of Zarathustra directed by Oorvazi Irani looks at this debate and more. Shoma Chatterji reviews the movie and talks to the director.

PANEL DISCUSSION

In defence of Pandit Nehru Darryl D’Monte talks about his recent participation in a discussion on Nayantara Sahgal’s book on Nehru, which delves into Nehruvian policies, his cherished dreams, his lasting legacy and its importance in today’s time.

OP-ED

BLOG: RESISTANCE AND RECONSTRUCTION

Ladakh in the throes of change The pristine and idyllic pictures of Ladakh do not tell the true story. In recent past Ladakh has been losing its rich cultural heritage and natural resources, and sadly there has been no sincere concentrated official effort to stop this deterioration. But hope is on its way, says Ashish Kothari who visited the region recently.