Blogs

Archive One of the defining moments in 2020 was the farmers’ protest near Delhi borders. As the end of year was approaching, Delhi became the theatre of a public protest; this time by farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana over the three farm laws brought out by the government.It means that the problems faced by farmers are by no means the same across India. Although the government dismissed their claims, it failed to convince them that the new farm laws were long-standing and beneficial reforms for them. The three laws are: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

Rapid, tumultuous change has come to our homelands in my lifetime. In fact, I travelled only with my family only by dog team on the ice and snow the first ten years of my life. So you can appreciate and imagine what that—that changes have happened so very quickly in our homelands in the Arctic. And, of course, that kind of tumultuous change, together with historical traumas, have created an incredible breakdown of our society in the Arctic. And we rate one of the highest suicide rates of our young men in North America. And so, this is the backdrop in which all these other new changes on the new wave is happening. The first wave arrived in my lifetime,

COVER STORY As we read, six months of the year 2020 have been recorded in the history books. Future generations will read this part of human civilization, with a tinge of sadness and pain. The first death was reported on January 11, 2020, in China. Many around the world have lost their loved ones since then. More than 380,000 deaths, were reported to WHO in June first week. The fight is on… It was around the first week of this year in January; a World Health Organisation (WHO) statements highlighted that globally, novel coronaviruses emerge periodically in different areas, including SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

The United Nations’ International Day against Nuclear Tests observed on August 29 every year brings public awareness and education about the effects of global nuclear weapon tests. The day aims to end nuclear testing and to promote peace and security. The history of nuclear testing is one of suffering, with the victims of more than 2,000 nuclear tests often from the most vulnerable communities around of the world…. The devastating consequences – which were not confined by international borders—encompassed impacts on the environment, health, food security and economic development.“The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has an essential role within the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. It fosters international peace and security by constraining the development of nuclear weapons. Our collective security demands

Despite a Parliament Act and Supreme Court order, existence of bonded labour points to the lack of awareness on the ground, reports IMMANUEL CYRUS The International Labour Organisation (ILO) along with Australia-based Walk Free Foundation (WFF), recently published a report titled ‘Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage 2017’, that said that nearly 1.4% of India’s population or nearly 18 million people were in some form of slavery. Although India has condemned the survey which was conducted in 2016 but published in late 2017 as “politically motivated”, the findings thrown up by the report still leave a lot of questions to be answered. Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits and criminalises human trafficking and forced labour. Parliament

NEWS Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India. The development of India-Russia relations has been a key pillar of India’s foreign policy. The signing of the “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership” in October 2000, provided additional impetus to bilateral ties and contributed towards the enhancement of cooperation in almost all areas of the bilateral relationship. The strategic partnership between the two countries has promoted the development of institutionalized dialogue mechanisms at various levels in order to strengthen bilateral interaction and follow up on activities related to cooperation in different areas. During the visit of the Russian President to India in December 2010, the Strategic Partnership was elevated to the level of a “Special and Privileged Strategic

NEWS Millions of people took to the streets on 22nd April, 1970, in the US, to protest the negative impacts of 150 years of industrial development. Smog was becoming deadly and evidence was growing that pollution led to developmental delays in children. Biodiversity was in decline as a result of the heavy use of pesticides and other pollutants. Earth Day is now a global event each year, and more than 1 billion people in 192 countries now take part in what is the largest civic-focused day of action in the world where people march, sign petitions, meet with their elected officials, plant trees, clean up their towns and roads. Corporations and governments use it to make pledges and announce sustainability

NEWS Peace must return to Jammu and Kashmir, which has been on the boil for several decades. The growing role of non-state actors has only worsened the condition over the years. The inability of our successive Central and state governments in blocking the flow of aid to separatists from abroad and within the country has always provided a kind of financial and moral cushion to the unscrupulous forces to carry out their anti-India activities in the Valley. When the BJP came to power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the nation hoped that things would improve in the strife-torn Valley. The hope further got a boost when the BJP decided to be a part of