Solutions to Change

Sam Thomas and Gazi Hassan The year 2020 will go down in history as the year where an invisible virus brought the world to its knees. It started off with Wuhan gaining international attention for spreading the COVID-19 pandemic, to banning international flights, lockdowns of cities and religious institutions and finally ending with the visuals of the American President and President-elect being vaccinated for the virus on live television. The discussions over the development of vaccine took precedence in the latter half of 2020 and so did the nuanced notion of vaccine diplomacy. The conferences on Health and Sanitation were already underway since the time Cholera and Yellow fever were first known to mankind. The Oslo Ministerial Declaration in 2007 was the year when global health became a part of foreign policy of various countries. Global health diplomacy has since then been categorised as core diplomacy , where negotiations between nations lead to treaties; a multi-stakeholder ...

Varshini Sridhar To Indians, nothing can bring more tears to the eyes than an onion price hike. After all, it has led to the fall of governments and inflicted debilitating losses on farmers in the last few years. But what really baffles policy analysts is its recurring nature and most importantly, consumer sensitivity to its price hikes. Onion, like any other item, derives its price through market forces . Typically in the event of a shortage, the increase in demand would be fixed by a rise in price and a change in consumption patterns. However, in the Indian case, that is not allowed to happen. Every time when there is a price increase, the government steps in to distort the market price by imposing stock limits and export bans, thereby preventing t he market from functioning as it is.    The government’s excessive market intervention creates two types of distortions, one on the demand side and the other on the supply side. At the demand level, consumption choices are ...

  Sakshi Gemini and Gazi Hassan “We will never bow to banditry on our continental shelf, nor will we pull back in the face of sanctions and threats,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan once while talking about his country. Erdogan, a Turkish politician serving as the current President of Turkey, has also served as Prime Minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison for instigating hatred and bigotry, after reading out verses of Ottoman Islamist Poet at a public event. After this event, the constitutional court of the country suspended his Welfare Party on the grounds that it was “threatening Turkey’s Kemalist existence”, especially targeting its secularity. The Kemalist nature of Turkey includes forming a new state with relatively stable foundations, being perpetually cautious against enemies inside and outside. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the founding father of the Republic of Turkey) with his party support — a...

Rebecca Rose Varghese The Communist Party of India-Marxist [CPI(M)]-led Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) sweeping win in the local body elections this year was a morale booster for the ruling government, and foretells a clear edge for the incumbent in the upcoming Assembly elections. If the front could repeat its performance in the State Assembly elections scheduled to be held in May 2021, it will be a rare incident in the Kerala election history of a ruling alliance retaining power despite the conventional tendency of the Kerala voters to bring down an incumbent government. With the results of the Local Self Government (LSG) election now out, it is clear that the environment lacks any kind of anti-incumbency vibes and all that the LDF has to do is to keep up the momentum till the Assembly elections. What led to victory of the Left front in the LSG election? With an exception in the 2010 local body elections, the LDF has always had an upper hand in local body elections, especially w...

By D Dhanuraj A PDS Discussion (May 23) One could see long queues these days not only in front of the BEVCO outlets but also in front of the Ration Shops (PDS). As a public policy researcher, I was curious to understand the reasons for such a long tail in front of these shops. I could see people come by car (even in premium cars) and two- wheelers and stand in the line holding an umbrella (it was drizzling at that time). I talked to a few and got a mixed response. Some of them believe that it is their right to buy ration when the provisions are given free by the government; some are not sure about their income in the coming months, hence, storing it in case of adverse situations; some people want to buy these provisions to acknowledge and thank Chief Minister and the Kerala Government for their excellent work; some think it is a superb work of the Prime Minister and the Union Government and so particular not to give room for the State machinery to sell them in the black market later; s...

Image source: vox Rakesh Neelakandan Democracy is government by discussion. The India Government, in announcing the nationwide lockdown in response to the global coronavirus blitzkrieg, appeared to have rewritten this definition. It now reads: democracy is government by action. This invariably leads to two questions: Action as to what end? and Action as to how? On March 19, the Prime Minister requested citizens to observe a day-long nationwide janata curfew on March 22 , a precursor to the lockdown. He exhorted the citizens to voluntarily remain indoors for a duration of 14 hours to arrest the spread of the virus. Evidently, this measure was planned ahead of the curve and it did not jolt the common man and provided him with time to prepare for a holiday. But it was a miniature construct of what was to expect and what was to come. On the day of the curfew, people, especially it being Sunday, adhered to the curfew and made it a grand success. Meanwhile, on March 19, a...

Image source: Forbes India Anandhakrishnan S The agriculture sector in our nation has always enjoyed the privilege of being a vital part of our economic structure and with almost 160 million hectare of land under cultivation, the sector employs the majority of our population. Though the GDP contribution of agriculture is only 14 per cent, with the sheer number of people it employs and its importance in maintaining food security and controlling inflation rate, the sector holds a significant position while formulating the policies concerning our nation. While talking about the different elements which control the sector, the availability of water holds primary position in influencing the outcome and impact concerning agriculture. It has been estimated that, of the total water used in our nation, more than 80 per cent goes into agricultural activities. Almost 65 per cent of the total water is drawn from the ground and we are dependent on rainfall and other sources such as ri...

Dipika Mohinani, Image source: Boston University Diminishing readership of the print media and the entry of smartphones have strengthened social media’s role in shaping political narratives. In a way, it has become a linkage between the governing body and those who are governed, with people feeling increasingly that they can connect on an individual basis with their chosen representatives. In recent years, many politicians have taken to social media to connect with the general masses. Sites like twitter and Facebook have managed to change the political culture setting new trends in politics and also being used as spaces for open debates. Agendas are progressively being mobilised through tweets, posts and visual effects that are designed specifically to diverge a person’s attention to a specific narrative. The activities on social media, despite being engaging and informative, are unregulated. There is close to negligible surveillance of the information spread over the ...

Manas Kakumanu Image source: newshiksha.com The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has gained a lot of attention because of various ongoing trade wars around the world. The agreement can even bolster ties among the participating nations. So, does India’s withdrawal from the RCEP affect its Act East Policy? India’s withdrawal from the RCEP is significant and is based on its national interest. The RCEP agreement certainly raised questions on India’s credibility as a reliable economic and strategic partner. India because of its strategic geographical location, huge market and being one of the largest spenders of defence in the region has been a prominent player in the region. With liberalisation and globalisation, India has emerged as a player with the potential of changing balance of powers in the international system and cannot be ignored by the international conglomerates. India’s withdrawal from the RCEP can have overarching impact on its Act East Po...

Gazi Hassan When one hears the word ‘critical thinking’, the first thing that comes to the mind may be the negative connotations attached to it. This is because the focus is on the word and one assumes that thinking critically must be negative, requiring to criticise or be critical of something one reads, hears or watches. Critical thinking should not be assumed to be synonymous with criticising. Once a person learns to think critically, he/she might criticise an argument or claim but the thinking will be thoughtfully reasoned, considerate, quick and not reflexive. The term critical thinking refers to a way of thinking, an analytical stance one takes with regards to assessing claims that he/she has read, heard or seen. It is “the careful application of reason in the determination of whether a claim is true.” “Judicious reasoning about what to believe and therefore, what to do.” It requires a careful intentional thinking using reason and logic and applying that to real-worl...