It is now widely recognized that the South Asia region in general and the coastal belt of the Bay of Bengal (southern parts of Bangladesh, West Bengal and Orissa) in particular, will suffer heavily in socio-economic terms from global warming. In recent years, the countries on the Bay of Bengal delta have been enjoying high
READ MOREAsia Pacific region is home to some of the world's largest urban areas. Indeed, of the world's top 20 megacities-those with populations of 10 million or more-half are in Asia. (Urban agglomeration 2009, UNDESA). Of these, the fastest growing is Dhaka: between 2005 and 2010 its population increased over 16 per cent. (UNDESA 2010. World
READ MOREBangladesh, 40 years after gaining independence in a brutal civil war, is holding a tribunal to prosecute alleged war criminals. But the apparent lack of due process could undermine the tribunal’s credibility, leaving the ruling Awami League party vulnerable to accusations of political retribution. The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT) has, in the last
READ MOREThere has been an on-again off-again war between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and the “Naxalites” (the general term given to the Maoist affiliated parties which are conducting armed struggle against the state) for more than three decades in the Indian state of Paschimbanga (the new name of “West Bengal” in western India).
READ MOREThe internet, improved travel, and a 24 hour news media have made the incidences of gross violations of human rights around the world feel more immediate to us, and thus less tolerable. The overreaches of the American security state notwithstanding, those of us living in consolidated democracies might feel somewhat insulated from these abuses. They
READ MOREIndia is a nation engrossed in confronting terrorism and suppressing intermittent local rebellions. It is also witnessing a surge in human rights violations, which the government seems to be happily lackadaisical in preventing. The Asian Center for Human Rights has documented a jump in cases of custodial deaths by 41.66% over the last decade, including
READ MOREThe former Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer was murdered by a religious extremist. The late Governor sought to initiate positive changes in Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law, introduced by late General Zia-ul-Haq, the former military dictator who sent populist President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to the gallows and used Islam to legitimize his autocratic rule. Urdu press
READ MORENear the end of February in Down To Earth, I wrote about a fatal disconnect between the elite club exercising global economic governance, and the realities afflicting the global village itself. I noted The World Economic Forum—the gathering of power glitterati each year in Davos—had assessed the top risks the world faces in 2011. According
READ MOREIn our last issue’s lead story, Professor Muhammad Yunus dwelt on the “blinding conceptual flaw in the existing theory of capitalism” that’s given rise to paradoxes in globalization, and exposed crises in global economic governance. In this issue, the lead story by Ms. Sunita Narain points out the “fatal disconnect” between ground realities in an
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