Society

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsLGX74M128 (Interviewed by Laasya Shekhar) Among the various portrayals of illegal drug smuggling in Tamil movies, the more realistic depictions are actually seen in the film Kolamavu Kokila, a fact endorsed by none other than the Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), A Bruno. In a real incident reminiscent of one of the scenes in the movie, a recent tip off received by the NCB passed on information about a bus driver and conductor who tried to smuggle cocaine in a tiffin box by handing it to a woman commuter for safekeeping, hoping to avert suspicion. Unlike in…

India sustains 16 percent of the world population with only 4 percent of the world’s water resources. With the rapid growth and expansion of metro cities like Chennai and Bengaluru in South India, providing safe drinking water is one of the biggest challenges that the region faces today. One of the major challenges to tackling water stress is the ongoing mismanagement of resources that has led to the overexploitation of water resources, particularly groundwater.  It has been predicted that in South India, climate change would affect water resources in terms of, increase in both drought-like situations and flood events, change…

This edition of Kaikondrahalli Kere Habba enters its sixth year. Kere Habba is a sunrise to sunset event that celebrates the gorgeous Kaikondrahalli Lake. It hosts a variety of sessions ranging from fitness to traditional art and crafts, for adults and children alike - all talking the same idiom of ecology and environment. The day starts with a bird walk at 6am followed by a 5 km run on the jogging track around the lake. Special medals made of lake reeds will be awarded to all registered participants and finishers of the run apart from 5 lucky draw prizes. Kere…

In the summer of 2019, we thought of renting a house within walking distance of our son's new school. Around our home, Sarjapur road traffic was getting worse and he was getting stuck in traffic a lot. The new school was right next to a large, upscale apartment complex in the IT neighbourhood in Bellandur. Hence we considered moving there; maybe we could walk our son to school. In the first few days of our search, we found a flat we liked there, surprisingly, within our budget. The owner said we could move in within a month, as soon as…

Vasudev Sharma, Executive Director of the NGO Child Rights Trust (CRT), who has overseen the growth of the child helpline 1098 in Bengaluru, has an anecdote about its reach. Once, his team members saw a family at Patna railway station with a child who looked as if he didn’t belong. They called Sharma, and he organised help from Patna’s 1098 team. The boy was rescued and reunited with his own family, and was not forced into child labour. That's just one example of how Childline can play a decisive role in the rescue of vulnerable children. Currently, 1098 is the…

In the last few years, from Nirbhaya to Disha, from Delhi to Hyderabad — with Kathua, Unnao, Chennai, Jaipur and countless others in between — the spate of gender crimes seems to continue unabated. What, and who, then, can we rely on for long-term solutions to this huge threat to the security and safety of women, that we seem to be unable to eliminate or even reduce? Earlier this month, we focused on ‘Safety of women in Indian cities’ as part of our special project. We explored the topic in depth through reportage, data, interactions and op-eds.  We looked at…

Commencing her teaching career in Indraprastha College, New Delhi in 1970, Uma Raman chose to continue her calling even after she resigned as the Principal of Naval Public School, New Delhi in 1997 and relocated to Chennai. She is currently an education consultant in English Language curriculum planning, teacher training and the creation of English language teaching materials.  “I started writing textbooks while in Delhi but when I moved to Chennai, that became my main work,” says Uma. She has authored a number of widely-used textbook series in English. Recently, she was a member of the committee for revising the…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The Sexual Harassment (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 was passed by Parliament to address gender specific discrimination in the workplace. The law codified the  Supreme Court’s guidelines in the Vishaka v. Union of India case, but has been marred by implementation and compliance challenges. Sexual harassment of women continues in the workplace, remains under-reported and when reported, is not immune from failed dispute resolution processes managed by the employers.. The reasons for the law struggling to deliver redressal to its intended beneficiaries are many.  But what…

Translated by Vadivu Mahendran குழந்தைகள் பாலியல் துன்புறுத்தல் பாதுகாப்பு  சட்ட (திருத்தம்) 2019 இன் படி அதில் மிக முக்கிய அம்சங்களானக சேர்க்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகள் ஆபாசக் காணொளி தடுப்பு மற்றும் பாலியல் குற்றவாளிகளுக்கு மரணதண்டனை போன்றவை பலராலும் வரவேற்கப்பட்டது. முக்கியமாக வழக்குகளை விரைந்து முடிப்பதன் மீதான உத்தரவே பெரிதும் ஆமோதிக்கப்பட்டது. இதனை நடைமுறைப்படுத்த சட்ட அமைச்சகம், நாடு முழுவதும் இருக்கும் குழந்தைகள் மற்றும் பெண்களுக்கெதிரான 1.66 லட்ச குற்ற வழக்குகளை விரைந்து முடிப்பதற்காக 1023 சிறப்பு விரைவு நீதிமன்றங்களை நிறுவுவதைப் பரிந்துரைத்தது. உண்மையில் போக்ஸோ சட்டமானது சம்பவம் நிகழ்ந்த ஒரு வருடத்திற்குள் சட்டரீதியான நடைமுறைகள் எல்லாம் முடிந்திருக்க வேண்டியதை அவசியமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது. எப்படியாயினும், பெரும்பாலும் இந்த விவகாரங்கள் எல்லாம் ஏட்டளவிலேயே உள்ளது. சென்னையில் மட்டும் நூற்றுக்கணக்கான போக்ஸோ வழக்குகள் வெவ்வேறு நீதிமன்றங்களில் உள்கட்டமைப்பு மற்றும் செயல்முறைக் குறைபாட்டால் அதிகளவில் தேங்கியுள்ளது. உதாரணமாக, சென்னையில் ஹாசினி வழக்கில் செங்கல்பட்டு நீதிமன்றத்தால் ஒரு…

Even as it celebrates the centenary of its creation, Shimla’s iconic natural ice skating Rink is not just losing its old world charm, but changing weather patterns is affecting the once popular events that the Rink hosted. After last week’s heavy snowfall, ice skating sessions had to be stopped.  Even last year, just a little over 40 sessions could be held. Scheduled competitions had to be cancelled due to uncertain weather. Listen to Peter Ta Tung 56, a veteran ice skater, as he recalls activities at the Rink in the 60s and 70s. Tinged with nostalgia and a touch of…