Even as Yakub Memon’s body has been allowed to be claimed by his family for conducting the last rites in Mumbai, the debate on whether capital punishment should be abolished continues in India. While the humane angle of this is undeniable, a blanket rule for all crime is unfair. Let’s face the reality, we do not live in a utopian land free of crime but rather a land that has […]
When we talk of responsibility, it essentially means being accountable for our OWN actions in alignment with our core values and beliefs. It is about our words, our actions, our thoughts, not anyone else’s. What others say, do or think is none of our business. For most people, the word “responsibility” denotes “blame”, as in “who is responsible for this?” When things turn out well, it is easy to accept […]
A heart-stopping public service advisory by American communications company AT&T is winning rave reviews and scorching the charts on video-sharing sites worldwide. Discouraging people from using phones while driving, the ad tells a deeply personal story of four protagonists – a young child riding a bike, a man who is trying to his family back on their feet, a mom who is taking her daughter to her first day of […]
As mainstream media increasingly relies on citizens contributing content, it raises questions of ethics and responsibility, risks and safety. Should media houses be morally bound to protect interests of those whose work they thrive upon? The dreadful events of the 7/7 London bombings marked a pivotal moment in the history of journalism. Much of what we know of the event is through citizens’ eyewitness accounts and mobile phone images. Since, […]
He is not a wealthy man and has no other business. Like most of us, he has a family to look after. His wife is a yoga teacher and both his daughters are in college. He has little savings. One would expect a man like him to constantly think of ways to develop his business and make more money. That’s what ‘normal’ people would have done anyway. But 50-year-old Venkatraman […]
People laughed and made fun of him but he just continued with his work for 22 years. This was Dashrath Manjhi, famously known as the Mountain Man who single-handedly carved a path through a mountain. He gave 22 years of his life to his village and made a difference in the lives of the people of this small village in the state of Bihar. Using only a hammer and chisel, […]
Sunil Mantri: Could you please tell something about yourself? Shailesh Chowatia: Being a religious person, I have always been more sensitive towards mute souls (animals and birds), as a child I was always taught to help Distress souls. And being so close to the Nature, […]
An impoverished Indian father plans to sell his own kidney to fund life-saving treatment for his three morbidly-obese children. Sisters Yogita Rameshbhai Nandwana, 5, and Anisha, 3, and their 18-month-old brother Harsh, are among the world’s heaviest young children. Weighing 34kg, 48kg and 15kg respectively, the food they eat in a week is […]
Teenager Sindhura Devalaraja is on a mission to provide sanitary napkins for all. Meet 17-year-old Sindhura Devalaraja, who dreams of a future in India where menstruation is not a taboo subject and where all the young girls have access to sanitary napkins. This youngster who lives with her parents in Boston, USA is currently in Hyderabad and talks about the experience in Tirupati that changed her life. “We went to […]
LONDON :(Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Just $160 per year for each person living in extreme poverty would eradicate world hunger by 2030, the United Nations said on Friday, recommending the money should be delivered through both cash transfers and “pro-poor” investments. Eliminating hunger is one of the U.N.’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), new objectives set to replace the eight expiring U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The SDGs will be finalised […]
