Governance

Sometimes we wonder why inclusiveness needs to be demanded. Can't it come naturally? This seems to be the moot question that was raised in the 11th Chennai Pride March, held on June 30th. The walk started at around 3:30 PM from Chitra Theatre and ended with festivities and celebrations, including a flash mob dance. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the first Pride March which took place in Kolkata in 1999. There are around 21 types of pride parades that happen annually, all over India and the Chennai Rainbow Pride is one of them which is held in…

“I can safely say 50 to 60 percent of Shimla youths are drug addicts, consumers and even peddlers,” said Gaurav, 40, who runs a Drug Rehabilitation and Counselling Centre in Shimla. Once an addict himself, Gaurav said in many cases parents are not willing to accept that their child could be an addict. In his own case, Gaurav credits his parents for helping him fight his drug habit by sending him to a rehabilitation centre in Punjab. Now, Gaurav is doing his bit for others who have fallen into the same habit. “Not all are lucky like me to be…

It is perhaps one of the worst healthcare crises to have befallen the state of West Bengal ever, with the impasse in state-run hospitals showing no signs of resolution even as the strike by junior doctors in Kolkata and neighbouring districts enters the fifth day today. In fact, ripples of what started on the premises of the Nil Ratan Sarkar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata are now being felt in cities and towns across the country, with doctors everywhere expressing solidarity with their counterparts in Kolkata. According to latest reports, the Indian Medical Association has called for a…

The process of getting things done at government offices is often so complex, tedious and time consuming that citizens are loath to even go there. It is perhaps for the same reason that the Tamil Nadu government launched online service centres, called eSevai centres, meant to offer ease of service to the user. What's best is that these centres are plenty and easily accessible, present in the remotest of villages and even in urban centres. In Chennai, as elsewhere, these centres can help you with several services that involve government departments and parastatals such as Revenue, TANGEDCO, TNEA, Corporation of…

What does it mean to be a doctor? To have a doctor in your family? For most people in the mainstream of India it is a matter of pride, a status symbol. Maybe a way to earn a lot of money. And of course a way to heal people, at a big hospital in a big city. Maybe open a clinic of your own. Maybe open a hospital of your own (if your parents can afford it). Most doctors in the mainstream prefer not to treat their own family members for various reasons. I have a doctor in my family.…

Unlike most people, I don’t think BBMP is an inefficient civic body. I feel they are very environmentally-aware and are always coming up with new ways to implement it. I know you might be thinking, “This is a crazy man? All our lakes are dying, and all the trees being cut down and all!” You have the right to your opinion, but hear me out. I was working on an article about a BBMP initiative called Roshini. With Roshini, BBMP schools across the city were going to get free Microsoft products. They were even giving free training to teachers. You…

The #MeToo movement in India gathered momentum in the south when playback singer Chinmayi Sripada exposed popular Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu for sexually harassing her during a show and threatened to end her career after she did not give in to his overtures. A dubbing artist too, Chinmayi was  expelled from South Indian Cine and Television Artistes and Dubbing Artistes Union following her allegations against Vairamuthu. She disclosed that she was slut shamed  and there was also a concerted effort to destroy her career in the film industry. More recently, the Justice S.A. Bobde in-house committee has given the Chief Justice…

Meet South Chennai MP elect: Thamizhachi Thangapandian promises to be a strong voice for women South Chennai had been a DMK bastion for a long time, until 2014. J Jayavardhan, son of AIADMK MLA, D Jayakumar became one of the youngest MP’s by winning against DMK’s T K S Elangovan. With the victory of first-time contestant Thamizhachi Thangapandian, DMK reclaimed South Chennai, which has had leaders such as C N Annadurai and Murasoli Maran. Thamizhachi Thangapandian secured over 5.6 lakh votes and won against Jayavardhan with a margin of 2.6 lakh votes. Hailing from a family with a political background,…

P C Mohan has emerged as the winner again from Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency, scoring a hat-trick. Bangalore Central comprises eight assembly constituencies – Rajajinagar, Chamrajpet, Gandhinagar, Shivajinagar, Shantinagar, Sarvagnanagar, CV Raman Nagar and Mahadevapura. The majority of voters in this constituency are linguistic and religious minorities. Large slums, the Central Business District, gated communities in newer areas like Bellandur and Whitefield, are all part of Bangalore Central. The voter turnout in the constituency was only 45.34 percent this election. Mohan won the seat with 50.35 percent of the vote share, which accounted for over six lakh votes. Rizwan Arshad…

An RSS swayamsevak and lawyer at the Karnataka High Court, 28-year-old Tejasvi Surya is the winning candidate from Bangalore South constituency. Known for being the General Secretary of the Karnataka state Yuva Morcha, Surya has also been part of BJP’s national social media team. He is also the nephew of Ravi Subramanya, the BJP MLA from Basavanagudi. Bangalore South parliamentary constituency is a BJP stronghold. For the longest time, it was held by six-time MP late Ananth Kumar. The seat had remained vacant since Kumar's demise last November. It was widely reported that BJP’s national leadership had chosen Surya over Ananth…