|
Dear Reader,
The Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, founded by Mahatma Gandhi, where he spent 13 years of his life, is a sacred shrine. In its austere but graceful simplicity, it is a tribute to the Mahatma and to the memory of the millions of freedom fighters who gave India its freedom.
Now, however, as The Caravan chronicles, the government’s recent efforts to "redevelop” the Ashram to “international standards” at the cost of Rs 1,200 crore, have raised hackles. The fear among the trustees, and echoed by the Mahatma’s grandson Tushar Gandhi, who intervened with the Supreme Court against the move, is that it will destroy its “ancient character” forever through “arrogance and commercialisation.”
India’s almost broken credit culture is no secret. In less than a decade, public sector banks have been forced to write off nearly ten trillion rupees as uncollectible receivables. The India Forum argues that this public funding of defaulters should stop, and the CAG, and even the Supreme Court, should intervene.
The Probe reports from Lucknow, in UP, on the struggles of Female Sex Workers (FSW) -- a tragic tale of abuse, domestic violence, disappearances and murder. A situation that they are keen to change through forming networks and organising themselves but are finding the going tough.
Cases in Indian courts have rightly earned a reputation for being long and winded – taking years, if not decades, to conclude. Just recently, the Supreme Court turned this lore on its head by concluding the hearings in a case in eight days flat. Supreme Court Observer tells you how the apex court bucked the trend in this case.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
|
