October 21st, 2007
Pulkit Vasudha
Ahmedabad, October 21 A Man with amputated arms sits at an easel, dips his paint brush occasionally in a palette and sweeps the canvas with strong stokes, all the while gripping his brush firmly between his teeth.
A mentally retarded teenager holds open a file folder with the colours of the Tricolour striped across on its front. Two blind women sit on the floor weaving rope in warps and wefts to make mats.
These are just some examples of these differently abled persons engrossed in their art at an exhibition-cum-sale organised by Jagriti Foundation here. Among these handmade products, there was a range of delightful things to take home, all made by individuals with mental or physical handicap. From mobile covers, candles, photo frames, paper pads, diyas, to decorations, people with special needs have come from across the State to participate in this annual event. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:ahmedabad, Development, disability, education, handicap, jagriti foundation, junagadh, mentally retarded | Categories: Health, Odes, Smiles, The Indian Express | 1 Comment »
October 18th, 2007
Pulkit Vasudha
Ahmedabad, October 17 Several women organisations from across Gujarat joined hands and appealed to political parties to increase the candidature of women in the coming Assembly elections. They also requested that they promise to address issues concerning women in their manifestos. Over 150 NGOs working for women, represented by Ahmedabad Women Action Group (AWAG), Alliance of All Gujarat (AAG) and Gujarat Mahila Federation, presented a charter of demands to all political parties in a meeting held on Wednesday.
“For the first time, women organisations in in the State are urging political parties to include women’s problems in their election manifestos to make them accountable to the public if they are voted to power,” said Ila Pathak, president of AWAG.
The organisations want the future government to resolve to implement these demands under the State’s Gender Policy and Nari Gaurav Neeti. They also want it to rethink over legislative actions, taken during Modi’s rule, which are against the well-being and security of women. This includes Marriage Registration law 2006, relaxation of prohibition law and the two-child norm essential for candidates contesting local body elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:Ahmedabad Women Action Group, Alliance of All Gujarat, Congress, Gujarat, Gujarat Mahila Federation, Ila Pathak, Nari Gaurav Neeti, prohibition law | Categories: The Indian Express, Women | No Comments »
October 15th, 2007
Pulkit Vasudha
Ahmedabad, October 15 While parties like Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are making their first forays into Gujarat’s political battleground, there is another party — the New Socialist Movement (NSM) — that is sending ripples trough the masses. Though the NSM was formally registered barely five months ago, Jan Sangharsh Manch, the civil rights organisation, which gave birth to the party, has been fighting against human rights violation for almost thirty years now.
Praveen Mishra is a young filmmaker, artist and photographer. He is among that section of the literati including artists, scientists, advocates, IT professionals, activists, students and teachers — that is perhaps for the first time, entering the political arena as a formal party, ready to fight the coming elections, and determined to win it too. Nineteen candidates of NSM will be pitted against the dominant political parties — the Bharatiya Janta Party and the Congress. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:bahujan samaj party bsp, human rights violation, mukul sinha, new socialist movement, nsm, ram vilas paswan, socialist movement | Categories: Activism, Politics, The Indian Express | No Comments »
October 13th, 2007
Express News Services, Pulkit Vasudha
Ahmedabad, June 6:A Philanthropic idea that germinated during the Gujarat riots has now taken shape in the form of a swanky school for the Muslim children in Salam area of the city.
Fearing that the children of the community may face discrimination in other schools and could miss out on posh schools due to financial constraints, the Nawabkhan Abbaskhan Charitable Trust decided to establish a school which was not only affordable for the Muslim children but also provided facilities which were at par with some of the best schools in the city. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Activism, Children, Smiles | No Comments »
October 12th, 2007
Pulkit Vasudha
Adesar (Kutch), October 12 “In this profession, it is not the degrees and the qualifications that matter. What matters is experience,” says Ghanshyam P Gohel, injecting a six month old baby. “Though I did not study beyond the primary school level, I have been the most trusted doctor in all of Rapar for the last twenty years.”
Gohel is a ‘doctor’, and a widely revered one on at that in the villages of Rapar taluka in Kutch and Adesar, the small town where he practices. “Rural people want to be cured overnight. They need to go back to the fields the next morning to earn their livelihood. They come to me because I can guarantee them that cure,” says Ghanshyam. “I tell my poor patients, if you are cured tomorrow, come back and give me the money, and most of them do return.”
Quacks have a flourishing business both in rural and urban areas in the state. For all its ambitious plans to upgrade and modernise, public health faces stiff resistance from thousands of unregistered, often dangerous ‘medical’ practitioners who have a roaring undercover business.
Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Development, Health, Rural Development, Teardrops, The Indian Express | No Comments »
October 10th, 2007
Pulkit Vasudha
Ahmedabad, October 10 WITH Ahmedabad going mall-a-mall, retail mania seems to have gripped Navratri shoppers, too. More and more women are preferring to walk into well-lit, concept stores to buy chaniya cholis than jostling with the junta at Law Garden, which until now had been the most preferred place for Navratri shopping.
A major share of the business of chaniya cholis in the organised sector comes from non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) who descend in thousands during the Diwali season.
“Many years ago, women preferred to buy fabric from the local market at Rani ka hajira and get it stitched. Over the years, street vendors in Law Garden became very popular because they sold readymade chaniya cholis in both traditional and modern patterns. Now, there is a clear shift towards organised sale of Navratri garments,” says Shyamly Shah, who owns a designer showroom in Vastrapur. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:ahmedabad, cholis, designer showroom, diwali, navratri, season, street vendors | Categories: Of the people, The Indian Express, Women | No Comments »
October 4th, 2007
Pulkit Vasudha
Ahmedabad, October 04 If you thought withdrawing money from your nearest ATM is not rocket science, think again. At the World Space Week exhibition organised at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) campus, scientists are busy explaining to children and adults how technology, which we often take for granted, uses space science.
“When a person inserts his debit card into an ATM machine, the machine sends signals to a satellite stationed 36,000 kilometres above the earth’s surface which establishes contact with the headquarters of the bank in any city in the world. The bank processes the client’s request and shoots the required data back to the satellite which sends signals to the ATM machine. These signals are flashed across the screen in the language selected – all in a matter of microseconds,” explains Dr PS Thakkar, in-charge of the exhibition.
On its first day of the week-long celebrations of the World Space Week, the exhibition saw almost 150 visitors. School and college students turned up in groups to see the exhibits and a video show about the Indian space science programmes. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:aryabhatta, atm machine, campus scientists, chandrayaan, communication technology, communications, Development, India, indian space research organisation, isro, rocket science, satellite models, space crafts, space missions, space shuttles | Categories: Children, Development, Rural Development, Science and Technology, The Indian Express, Urban Developement | No Comments »
October 3rd, 2007
Pulkit Vasudha
LAST year, several Muslim women’s organisations from across the country came together under an umbrella organisation, the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. The unique initiative demands equal status for Muslim women in society, rejects everything unconstitutional and forms a democratic, secular organisation for liberal and progressive thought and action. Zakia Jowher, the woman behind the Andolan, speaks to correspondent Pulkit Vasudha in a freewheeling interview.
Q: How did the idea of a Muslim women’s collective come about?
A: When I was working among riot-affected families, I realised that the number of Muslim women turning up for any demonstration or relief-related activity was far greater than the number of men. Even burkha-clad women were taking to the streets to fight for their rights and were very vocal about it. T
here has always been a void in civil society for democratic, secular and progressive-thinking leadership from among Muslim women. After over a year-and-a-half of brainstorming with other small organisations working in different parts of the country, we came up with the idea of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, India, Sachar Committee, Zakia Jowher | Categories: News, The Indian Express, Women | No Comments »
September 28th, 2007
Pulkit Vasudha
Thousands of fish have been swept up the shores of Gujarat in recent years. The incidents have become more common in the last few months. Here’s a quick recap at the latest incident of fish deaths along the shores of Nirmal Gujarat.
September 2005: Lakhs of fish die after immersion of Ganapati idols in Kankaria Lake
April 2006: Hundreds of birds turn up dead along Sabarmati river
June 2006: Hundreds of fish die in Daman due to the industrial pollution from Vapi
November 2006: 300 turtles found dead in the Nabhoi-Narmada canal
19 September, 2007: Lakhs of dead fish are washed ashore in Dumas chowpatty in Surat
20 September, 2007: Over a tonne of dead fish found in Ubhrat and Dati in Navsari district Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:Environment, fish, ganesh idols, Gujarat, oil spill, shores | Categories: Development, Environment, The Indian Express, Urban Developement | No Comments »