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Dear Reader,
Amidst the gloom of human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the consequent challenges of climate change, comes an inspiring story from Rajasthan, where a single man’s effort transformed a 500-acre barren land, with just 30 trees, into a paradise brimming with 120 species of birds and 70 species of native trees. The first of a two-part series by Down To Earth captures the ‘Miracle of Dhun’.
As the Taliban is on the cusp of forming a government in Afghanistan, The India Forum argues that today’s Afghanistan is not what it was 25-years ago when the Taliban first rose to power. The human and infrastructure indicators have shot up – school enrolment for girls have dramatically increased, most Afghans have access to electricity, 70% have access to mobiles, one-third to the Internet; and per capita GDP has doubled. All these ingredients, along with the aspirations of today’s Afghans, will determine the character and nature of the Taliban regime.
It is not often that an impoverished citizen fights the system and manages to get her due. ThePrint brings this story from Andhra, on how a 62-year-old widow fought the bureaucrats for six long years to get compensation for her land which was taken over by the state. Persuaded by her plight, the High Court stepped in, fined and jailed the offending bureaucrats and called it a “classic example of the lethargy of the bureaucrats in attending to the problems of the common public”.
The government’s announcement of privatisation and the recent monetisation has created a buzz, with the latter alone estimated to bring in over six lakh crores into the coffers. However, Swarajya argues that the government’s record does not inspire confidence and the targets will be far from achieved if it continues at the glacial pace it has moved in the past.
And, in the recent High Court judgment in Dilip Pandey vs state of Chhattisgarh, the court decreed that a sexual act by a husband with his wife, even without her consent, does not constitute rape. However, Article 14 asserts that arguments against criminalising marital rape are flawed and there is an urgent need to preclude marital rape exception and criminalise it in the country.
For these stories and more from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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