People may avoid migrating if they cannot insure themselves against the risk of a bad outcome. Governments can reduce the consumption risk faced by migrants by allowing them to access social protection programs in the destination. This study randomly informed around 62,000 households across 18 Indian states about a new …
No loudspeakers are now heard from over 10 Mahim mosques in Mumbai for the 5 am azaan (call for prayers). For the past one month, these mosques have voluntarily stopped using loudspeakers to abide by the Supreme Court (sc) order which bans the use of loudspeakers between 10 pm and …
"I took the responsibility of spreading water harvesting because of two reasons. One, it would have ensured water in the scarce areas," he says. For equally important for him was the "opportunity it gave me to mend my ill-doings". Today, his work has brought about a sea-change in the attitude …
Dada, as a child in a Marathi family, was a witness to the discordant practices. But unlike most people, he couldn't turn a Nelson's eye to existing conventions. Finally in 1958, he founded Swadhyaya (self-learning), an institution where faith, irrespective of religion, matters. From the motley group of 19 people, …
He shares his name with the father of the nation. But that's not where the similarity ends. If an incident in South Africa was to change Mahatma Gandhi's life forever, Gujarat's second Bapu's changed on the trip to the Netherlands in 1979. That's learning home truths in alien lands. Sadhu …
THINK saffron. Think sadhus and sants, communal frenzy, the Gujarat pogrom, of swords raised to the sky and the battle cry of kar sevaks and their adversaries renting a fresh spring morning. Now take a break. Picture a rishi meditating on the edge of a temple tank - say, a …
Modesty could very well be his second name. Seventy-one check dams, 55 percolation tanks, 33 ponds, 22 nullahs and 60 gully plugging - 241 rainwater harvesting projects in just nine months. But Pramukh Swami Maharaj is humility personified. His refrain: "This is not enough. We can do more." The mantle …
Village Hatiyaniki. Fifteen-odd people have gathered to discuss water harvesting activities in the vicinity. But there's just one face among the crowd, which is conspicuous enough to attract attention. Bereft of tact, his often-blunt interjections are received by a smirk from the other like-minded participants. But being unconventional only comes …
IN SAURASHTRA region of Gujarat, most farmers grow one crop per year. Around Junagadh district in the southern part of the state, peanut and castor are the main cash crops. Peanut gives the best returns, but will only thrive with a heavy monsoon. If the rains are weak, the more …
the familiar sound of conch shells (shankh) resonating during auspicious occasions may soon be a thing of the past, courtesy a recent Union government decision. The July 11, 2001, gazette notification by the Ministry of environment and forests has de facto banned the harvest, processing, stocking and sale of Xancus …
an international team of fertility experts has decided to clone human beings for the first time in the world. Despite opposition from scientific and religious communities, who contend that more than 95 per cent of the cloning experiments on animals have failed so far, the experts have decided to go …
the Washington Post has made damning discoveries on how foreign drugs firms, some of them based in the us , have been using African and Latin Americans as guinea pigs in testing risky drugs. The same paper had blown the lid on the administration of a drug, Trovan Floxacin, on …
a debate is brewing in Europe over the creation of human embryos for stem-cell research. A report recently suggested that European Commission's ( ec ) approval to such practices would be a "premature' decision. The report was prepared by a 12-member European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies …
the Indian Council of Medical Research (icmr) in collaboration with the us -based National Institutes of Health has recently released Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Subjects . The Central Ethics Committee on Human Research (cechr), headed by former chief justice, M N Venkatachaliah, has laid out these guidelines. …
Monks in Thailand have started a unique campaign to save threatened trees. At least 100 monks living in rural areas are trying to preserve the forests of the country. This is being done in the wake o some recent surveys, which have indicated that more than 70 per cent of …
the Supreme Court has, in a significant judgement, ruled that no religion prescribes or preaches that prayers are required to be performed through voice amplifiers or beating of drums and "in any case, if there is such a practice, it should not adversely affect the rights of others.' The court, …
In view of the increasing noise pollution in the name of religion, the Supreme Court (SC) has passed an order against the use of loudspeakers and drums for religious purposes. "Activities which disturb elderly persons, students or children cannot be permitted' and a pollution free environment is a natural right …
If you are a self-respecting Hindu, have deep religious feelings for the river Narmada, and are worried about what the Sardar Sarovar Dam might do to the river, you don't matter. At least not to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (vhp). But a dam on the river Ganga in Tehri is …
some right-wing religious groups of Pakistan have come out with statements that give an indication of a hate campaign against non-governmental organisations ( ngos). Media reports indicate that ngos are concerned about this as the Pakistan government has maintained a stony silence on the issue. A July 10 report in …
The Human Genome Project is not all about humans. It is also about mice, chicken, fish and flies. It is about primitive creatures most of us have never heard of. It is also about worms and weeds. As sequencing of these organisms proceeds simultaneously with the human genome, scientists are …
