South Asia Citizens Web

At the forefront of the fight for labour and union rights in Sri Lanka’s garment factories is the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZ&GSEU). Anton Marcus, the General Secretary, says: “The EU says Sri Lanka now meets labour and human rights standards but core ILO conventions still aren’t implemented through legislation, let alone practice. The only people benefiting are the same as always, and there is nothing done to ensure workers benefit at all.”

Freedom of expression has been the core value which accompanied the struggle for India’s Independence. The British did attempt to stifle the voices of dissent but the freedom fighters did see this as a crucial mechanism of rooting democratic ethos in the society. At heavy cost the major leaders had to face the wrath of British colonialist powers for upholding the foundation of a democratic society through freedom of expression.

Video recording of a lecture delivered by Prof Reetika Khera at Institute for South Asia Studies UC Berkeley on October 17 2017. Aadhaar, India’s ambitious biometric ID project, was portrayed as one that would enhance India’s welfare efforts by promoting inclusion and reducing corruption. From being a voluntary ID, it has become de facto compulsory for most welfare programmes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Public Distribution System (PDS). Despite early warnings of its limited role in its stated objected, successive government’s have ramped up its use. Using a variety of data sources, this paper reviews the impact of Aadhaar on welfare programmes. Far from being inclusive and reducing corruption, Aadhaar is becoming a tool of exclusion, with little evidence of an impact on corruption in NREGA, PDS and pensions, etc.

The Story of Kashmiri Pandits (on Hum Log - a hindi TV programme anchored by Ravish Kumar for NDTV)

Nala Ponnappa responds to news report regarding a fatwa that bans Muslims from posting pictures on social media sites