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Aakar Patel Page-7

The key provision of AFSPA is the sweeping empowerment of individuals from the police and the military and the paramilitary forces to open fire 'if he is of the opinion that it is necessary so to do for the maintenance of public order'. (Representational Image/ DC File)

Aakar Patel | Should AFSPA be repealed, or stay? The case: For and against

Later this month the Nagaland Assembly will convene a special session to demand that the law be suspended in that state

14 Dec 2021 3:01 AM

Twenty-three crore Indians fell into poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic and the unemployment rate, which had already reached a post-1947 high of six per cent by 2018, remains there. (Representational Image. PTI)

Aakar Patel | From Dec 2019 to Dec 2021: A time of trouble, problems grow

The state today has no democracy and is the only Indian state/Union territory without an elected government

07 Dec 2021 1:57 AM

Bangladesh has managed to improve manufacturing’s share of GDP in recent years from 16 per cent to 20 per cent while India’s has fallen from 15 per cent to 12 per cent since 2014. (Representational Image. DC File Image)

Aakar Patel | South Asia will be compelled to change as world gets a makeover

In terms of their Human Development Index, India is ranked 133rd in the world, Bangladesh at 135th and Pakistan at 154th

30 Nov 2021 3:11 AM

The compulsory use of Aadhaar to access subsidised grain has meant that many of the poor cannot get their entitlement because connectivity is bad or their fingerprints have been eroded from labour and differ from the record. Representational Image. (PTI)

Aakar Patel | Why farm law recall miffed some in middle class, media

What some of us think are strong, bold and firm decisions are cruel, harsh and unwanted for others

22 Nov 2021 3:26 AM

Aakar Patel | If Indians focus on trivia, ignore hard reality, the future is bleak

On every meaningful measure, life for Indians compares poorly with those in other democracies

16 Nov 2021 11:42 AM

Changing faith or propagating one’s religion: Is it a right or a crime in India?

India allows Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist dalits access to Scheduled Caste reservations but not Christian and Muslim dalits

02 Nov 2021 12:06 AM

Till February 2021, India had ordered only 11 crore doses while it required 200 crore doses for the eligible population, or 270 crore doses for all Indians, including those under 14, assuming there was no wastage. Representational Image. (PTI)

Aakar Patel | The real story behind India’s success in 1 bn vaccine doses

On August 7, 2020, the SII, the country’s largest private vaccine manufacturer, signed an agreement with the global vaccine alliance GAVI

26 Oct 2021 1:35 AM

India went behind Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal on the Global Hunger Index. (AP file photo)

Aakar Patel | As India’s rank falls in Global Hunger Index, govt is in denial

In 2015, India’s ranking on the Global Hunger Index was 55. Last year, in 2020, it fell by 39 places to land at 94.

19 Oct 2021 1:40 AM

It appears that terrorism is not going down because we have de-operationalised Article 370. Representational Image. (PTI)

Aakar Patel | How has ending Art. 370 helped Kashmir, or India as a whole?

That Article 370 was the root of separatism, terrorism, nepotism and corruption

12 Oct 2021 2:47 AM

Several states which had declared 100 per cent ODF in March 2018 were found by the survey conducted six months later to not have achieved this. (Photo: Twitter/@Swachh_Jalaun)

Aakar Patel | Why focus on sanitation is essential for a cleaner India

This focus on littering and rubbish is what separates Swachh Bharat from the two other programmes for sanitation that were run earlier

05 Oct 2021 7:54 AM

All individuals in Assam had to submit to the government documents which showed that their ancestors had been in Assam as citizens before 1971. (Photo: DC File)

Aakar Patel | ‘Presumption of guilt’ violates a key principle of common law

The State now assumes that you have done something wrong, and it is for you to demonstrate your innocence

28 Sep 2021 12:21 AM

On December 30 last year, the Narendra Modi government agreed to drop the amendments in the Electricity Ordinance (Point 4) and to exempt farmers from the stubble burning penalty (Point 6). (Photo: PTI)

Aakar Patel | Why not do the obvious thing? Repeal 3 laws, end farm stir…

On January 12 this year, the Supreme Court 'stayed' the implementation of the farm laws

14 Sep 2021 2:39 AM

Aga Khan Museum has produced a three-part documentary series called Searching for the Blues on the musicians with material shot and recorded by the two men’s record firm, Amarrass. (Twitter)

Aakar Patel | Some good news from Raj… Why can’t we do more to boost culture?

Lakha Khan is only one of the many men and women from Rajasthan that the documentary series exposes us to

07 Sep 2021 2:05 AM

In February 2020, during US President Donald Trump’s visit to India and just some weeks before the Ladakh crisis began, Mr Modi committed India to this agreement, essentially ranged against China. (Representational image: PTI)

Aakar Patel | Are India, US in military pact? It’s not quite clear

With no discussion in Parliament, PM Modi began drifting India into a strategic partnership and military alliance with the United States

31 Aug 2021 7:03 AM

Aakar Patel | Don’t we care that India’s in a mess, and its growth halted?

The other interesting aspect of recent years is the introduction of new laws that have taken India in a particular direction

24 Aug 2021 4:23 AM

Those parties for whom Indians voted but are not part of government are treated with disdain, as if their voters are irrelevant. Representational Image. (AP)

Aakar Patel | What India will we leave for future generations? Some thoughts on I-Day

The people are useful for the State as they give it legitimacy, but they are also seen as a nuisance that gets in the way of government

17 Aug 2021 2:52 AM

It’s not fully depleted, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that solving the problems of 2020 and 2021 will require something special which at the moment is not on view. (AFP)

Aakar Patel | Does Modi govt know what to do to tackle 2020 & 2021 problems?

The most significant aspects of this period were the nationwide lockdown

10 Aug 2021 2:07 AM

Pauline Schaefer-Betz, of Germany, performs her floor exercise routine during the women's artistic gymnastic qualifications at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 25, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP)

Aakar Patel | The reasons why world’s interest in Olympics is falling are many

Yet another aspect of the decline of the Olympic Games is the ending of hostility between nations on a global scale

03 Aug 2021 12:02 PM

China’s Premier Li Keqiang has developed an index which measures real GDP growth through three indicators — railway cargo volume, electricity consumption and loans disbursed. Representational Image. (PTI)

Aakar Patel | The middle class is not growing… What does future hold for India?

The government is run like a kingdom and the elected leader does not need to respond to questions or hold press conferences

27 Jul 2021 2:28 AM

No entity could receive foreign aid even as medicines or equipment to save lives, without being registered under the NGO law, called the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Representational Image (Twitter)

Aakar Patel | To widen ease of biz in India, lift draconian curbs on NGOs

NGOs, or non-governmental organisations, are the third largest workforce in the United States

20 Jul 2021 10:15 PM

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Bhopinder Singh