Articles by Editors

A reader wrote to us: "This article clearly violates the principle of Oorvani foundation (of non-partisan reporting)... this article from Mount Carmel event is clearly to support Rahul Gandhi as a politician." No. First, the article was not a staff report. It was the 'voice' of a student who reacted to media reports, basing her judgement on what she observed. It's the voice of a Bengalurean, and we believe every one of us has a right to express that, as long as it is articulated and reasoned. Read: Did the Mount Carmel students really stump Rahul Gandhi? Citizen Matters does not…

We know the very end of the year is near and that you may have already picked some calendars for your home or office. Still, Citizen Matters is tempting you to buy another, one with a special Bangalorean flavour. These four calendars have six awesome photographs of Bangalorean scenes you must keep. Perhaps you can gift a special someone!No profits, please note: Funds generated from your purchases will go to Kilikili, a city-based group working to create inclusive public play spaces that are accessible to children with disabilities. So go ahead and take them away! PRICES & SIZES A5 Desktop…

Dear Nandan,The central government recently appointed you, a Bangalorean, as the head of the ambitious Universal Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), and you accepted. Congratulations. Please address one key question to set the right expectations amongst citizens early on.In your book, Imagining India, you have rightly recognised that we are a country full of random, disconnected procedures for IDs and ‘ID proofing’. Everything from passports, to phone lines to ration cards to driver licenses, voter rolls, water connections, BPL cards, gas connections, bank accounts and more involves citizens interacting with a local, state or central government agency, PSU or private…

Very often, complicated social problems are left to activists and NGOs to battle governments for resolution. But our politics being where it is, these issues never get settled with the clarity and force that they merit, and in turn they come back to bite us at the local level.This week’s lead story on the Hijra problem at JP Nagar is a clear case of such a felt-and-seen local ‘irritant’. Shopkeepers are tired of shelling out money to groups of Bengaluru’s Hijras day after day. Commuters at intersections have their own encounters to report. However, the Hijras are themselves ostracised in…

Manjushree Abhinav, one of our writers has written a book, A Grasshopper's Pilgrimage. The book is being released in Bangalore by well known actor Tom Alter at the Crosswords bookstore tomorrow on 16th of May, 6.30 PM. The event is open to all. Tom Alter and first-time author, Manjushree will both read from the book, which is a story of a young woman who happens to be tugged by the spiritual call and jumps about, trying to avoid it. It is classified as spiritual fiction. One review describes the book thus: "A Grasshopper's Pilgrimage spirals in directions unpredictable as it…

As stewards of this local publication, we are often at the intersection of a variety of public voices, energies and attitudes. This fortnight, we’ll present to you three different sides to one larger emerging story.One, is the usual scenario of frustration. The unending delays and ubiquitous inefficiency in any public works projects appears to draw only a feeble response.The pushy few complain that their fellow citizens are full of apathy. The only pressure citizens appear to able to put on local authorities is repeated phone calls, and a closeddoor meeting or two. There are isolated successes, and life moves on.…

Citizen Matters, Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine is happy to announce the first of a series of Citizen Journalism classes, on Saturday, 9th of May. Classes are open for all Bangaloreans. Please note the details in this post and confirm your attendance by Wednesday May 6th evening 4pm. SMS confirmations are welcome. Date: 9th May, 2009Location: Adarsh Business School, South End Road, Next to Police (Additional Commissioner's) Office, South End Circle, Jayanagar. (Map)Parking: In the basement Time: 2.30pm - 5.30pm.Contact for the class: Raghavendra, Citizen Matters, 9611106477.Seats will fill out quickly so please do not wait till the last minute and…

Citizen Matters Magazine - Vol 1 Issue 7 Dear Readers, Covering the elections anywhere in the world gives journalists a good, close look at the candidates and their campaigns. Here are some slices of our analysis from the Bengaluru contests.First, the debates. Unfortunately, most candidates did not make use of the opportunity to respond as lawmakers, let alone lawmakers with vision. Many serious questions did not invite thoughtful, reasoned answers from the candidates of the major parties.For one question on communal violence, Krishna Byregowda, INC candidate for Bangalore South, mouthed away a textbook response: “Hatred is the source of all…

Citizen Matters Magazine - Vol 1 Issue 6Dear Readers, Let’s cut to the chase. Election campaigning has started in Bangalore. On April 23, voters from the city’s four parliamentary constituencies will elect their MPs. With the rising interest in voting amongst the educated classes, there will likely be many opportunities for you to directly engage the candidates when they come knocking. But what would you ask the candidates? Should we ask them to make our cities more liveable (which is largely a local government issue) or grill them on grave issues like economic slowdown, terror and communal violence? Or both?…

Citizen Matters Magazine - Vol 1 Issue 5Dear Readers, Happy Ugadi to you all! Elections are around. Well they’ve always been around you might say. After all our democracy is over 60-years-old now. What’s different this time? No, not really, it’s not the politics. It’s not the policy promises either. It’s the interest in voting amongst the middle and upper classes -- the groups who are usually scorned by politicians and NGOs as too aloof to dirty their hands with ‘running to file a form’ or ‘going to the booth to stand in line to vote’. Scores of hitherto non-voters…