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मुबारक मंडी की कहानी, जम्मू प्रति सौतेले व्यवहार का प्रतीक

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2019 का वर्ष भारत किए एकता और अखंडता के इतिहास में एक विशेष महत्त्व रखता है। धरा 370 को संशोधित कर एवं जम्मू - कश्मीर और लद्दाख को दो केंद्र शासित राज्यों का दर्जा देकर केंद्र सरकार ने इतिहास की एक बहुत बड़ी गलती को सुधारने की दिशा में पहला ठोस प्रयास किया। दशकों के अंधकार के पश्चात जब एक आशा की किरण दिखती है, तो संभवतः प्रताड़ित जनमानस के मन में असंख्य भाव जागते हैं, अपेक्षाएं जागती हैं। ऐसा ही कुछ जम्मू के लोगों के साथ भी हुआ, जो अंधकारमय तूफ़ान में आशा की किरण की प्रतीक्षा में खड़े रहे। जम्मू प्रजा परिषद् का आंदोलन हो या अमरनाथ संघर्ष समिति, हर अवसर पर जम्मू के लोगों ने "भारत माता की जय!" का उद्घोष करा और भारत की अखंडता के लिए बलिदान दिए। अलगाववादी सोच वाले चरमपंथी नेताओं के दबदबे के विरूद्ध सदैव खड़े रहे, और विचारधाराओं के टकराव में बराबर की टक्कर देते रहे। कितने कुठाराघात के बावजूद जम्मू के जनमानस ने भारत, उसके संविधान और उसके न्याय तंत्र में अपना अटूट विश्वास नहीं छोड़ा - तब भी जब उन्हें कश्मीर घाटी के अलगाववादी नेताओं के साथ जोड़कर देखा गया। किन्तु ३७० के संशोधन पश्चात् जम्मू...
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Blurring the Boundary - To What End Will Local Traditions be Ignored

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People visiting DC Office in Kullu to register their protest against eco village (courtesy: ETV Bharat) In the cacophony of daily news, once again stories that we would be concerned about have been buried. Stories that should have gained attention and made you wonder if it is okay to test the boundaries and limits on bending traditions in the name of development rarely get discussed in the national media. Asking questions of late have become a matter of abuse and vilification of people of the region, with accusations of selfishness coming forth. Protests have started in Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh against an upcoming tourist resort in Kasol. The bone of contention is the diversion of the water from the natural hot springs of Manikaran towards this “eco park” , a harebrained idea that only a typically deracinated system and its machinery can conceive. Ecological challenges are clearly not thought of, but what is worse is that the hot springs, believed to have associations with Shiva...
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The Puzzle of Affordable Housing in India - What Do We Need to Understand About it to Solve It

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Affordable housing is a subject that can generate a lot of passion from every walk of society. Yes, affordable housing is a need. But what is it needed for? Who is it needed for? Where should it be? No one seems to be able to answer it properly. What constitutes affordable housing? What is the paradigm through which it should be seen? These are questions that fundamentally need to be addressed. Housing is a function of demand and supply, or so is the thinking usually. However, it is not so simple. Housing is a response as well to the economic functioning of any city. Economic geography’s Bid Rent Theory, despite its limitations, points out that housing prices decrease with distance from a city center due to competition for prime land. This theory came up to explain the lack of affordable housing in the city centre, and was primarily linked to the idea of a “Central Business District (CBD)” driving a city’s economic growth. On the surface, it seems a fair theory, and one may assume that...
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