KumKum Dasgupta is with the opinion section of Hindustan Times. She writes on education, environment, gender, urbanisation and civil society.
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Articles by KumKum Dasgupta
Respect our soldiers, stop parading them at Wagah
A blast at the Wagah border has put the spotlight on the Beating Retreat ceremony conducted by soldiers of both India and Pakistan. I wonder if anyone has ever asked BSF soldiers how they feel to put up this act day after day, writes KumKum Dasgupta.
Updated on Nov 04, 2014 02:25 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
No ordinary crime: What's behind Trilokpuri riots
It's time we should stop seeing communal violence as a simple law and order problem. Authorities should instead identify the deeper causes that lead to such clashes, writes KumKum Dasgupta.
Updated on Oct 29, 2014 06:06 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
Lessons from Hudhud: States must step up to tackle natural calamities
If there is one big lesson that Hudhud has for India, it is this: coastal cities need to plan and implement climate risk management strategies as an integral part of their development, writes KumKum Dasgupta.
Updated on Oct 14, 2014 12:13 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
Kailash Satyarthi’s crusade to save childhood continues; 60 mn still need him
Kailash Satyarthi has been a relentless crusader of child rights and his organisation, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan has fought child labour by creating domestic and international consumer resistance to products made by bonded children, as well as with direct legal and advocacy work.| Nobel for Malala and Satyarthi binds India, Pak
Updated on Oct 11, 2014 11:49 AM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
When water rises, everyone gets wet
A lesson from the Kashmir floods: Indian cities must become climate-resilient, not just stop at being smart, writes KumKum Dasgupta.
Updated on Oct 09, 2014 04:14 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
Why do you want to boycott Haider?
It is true that Haider does not depict the Indian Army as a benevolent force that can do no wrong. But it's high time that people accepted the reality that places like MAMA II (interrogation centre) existed in Kashmir and its variants still flourish in other parts of the country.
Updated on Oct 07, 2014 07:01 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
Mamata, remember Delhi gangrape protests and beware of Jadavpur
When Trinamool Congress head Mamata Banerjee took over as West Bengal’s chief minister in 2012, the reigning theme was ‘poriborton’ (change). But two years down the line, Banerjee can hardly be called an agent of change.
Updated on Sep 23, 2014 12:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
Uttarakhand to Kashmir: We are a disaster when it comes to disasters
Many hoped that the Uttarakhand tragedy would be a valuable lesson to the states and government-funded institutions that tackle such disasters. But regrettably, as we see in Jammu and Kashmir, no lessons were learnt, writes KumKum Dasgupta.Let-up in rains, army airlifts engineers to set up wireless units | VOTE: Should India treat disaster management as a priority?
Updated on Sep 09, 2014 03:33 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
Think clean and then build toilets, let's not flush the opportunity away
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to fast-track the building of toilets is commendable. The target of achieving total sanitation by 2022 has now been revised. The government wants to reach the target in 2019, writes KumKum Dasgupta.
Updated on Sep 04, 2014 01:24 AM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
Controversy sells, but is Modi overdoing it?
I don’t know what the PM is going to say on September 5. But I think if he really wishes to do something for our rickety education system, he should promise something substantial to the teachers on September 5, writes KumKum Dasgupta.
Updated on Sep 02, 2014 10:02 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
Attenborough's Gandhi: The movie and the idea of India
This October 2, we must organise a special screening of the movie for our lawmakers. Let's see how many turn up, wonders KumKum Dasgupta.
Updated on Aug 26, 2014 12:43 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
Listen to Irom Sharmila- repeal AFSPA
Irom Sharmila's release underlines once again something that the state or the Centre has been unable to grasp: she is not keen on taking her life, she is making a political point which is to repeal the AFSPA, writes KumKum Dasgupta.
Updated on Aug 19, 2014 11:12 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
A learning experience for Smriti Irani: education isn't just Yale degree
The ferocious debate over the HRD minister's educational qualification and whether she is fit to be the Union HRD minister has been on since the day she took over the ministry. Is her CV impressive enough for the job she holds?
Updated on Aug 12, 2014 02:10 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
A riot of rumours: What UP can do to stop communal violence
Though the Meerut administration has deployed extra force to defuse communal tension, it will be not be enough to stop violence: they have to think of innovative ways to quell rumours because rumours have the capacity to ignite further trouble.
Updated on Aug 05, 2014 02:21 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
This too shall not pass: Saharanpur riots may go unpunished
The best way to judge an administration’s abilities is not by how quickly they impose curfew and control the situation but how well they prevent such incidents, writes KumKum Dasgupta. Saharanpur: Curfew relaxed for 2 hours, Muslims offer Eid prayers
Updated on Jul 29, 2014 02:09 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
Comfortably numb? Badaun cousins' rape, murder didn't shake up India
While it is difficult to say what moves people to react in the way they did after December 16, the sheer lack of interest on what is happening in far-flung areas of the country is absolutely galling.
Updated on Jul 22, 2014 11:36 AM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
The sting in the tale: How Tripura is grappling with an outbreak of malaria
A sudden outbreak of malaria has ravaged Tripura. HT travels to Dhalai, the epicentre of the problem, to find an unprepared state government coming to grips with the crisis.
Updated on Jul 21, 2014 03:11 PM IST
Move on, pass the buck: how rape in Bangalore school reflects on us
The National Crime Records Bureau data shows every 20 minutes, a woman is raped somewhere in India. And, crimes against women have increased by 7.1% nationwide since 2010, and child rape cases have increased by 336% in the last 10 years.
Updated on Jul 18, 2014 02:08 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
Why people go to shariat courts, khap panchayats
If Supreme Court wants to fulfil the aim of its judgments on extra-constitutional authorities, it must make the legal system less time consuming, cheaper and easily accessible to the poor.
Updated on Jul 08, 2014 12:59 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
Busting his bravado: how to stop politicians like Tapas Pal
The 56-year-old actor-turned-politician was caught on tape threatening to let loose rapists on his opposition if they don't fall in line. The Trinamool Congress should suspend him for a while. Pal deserves it. Poll: Do you think Pal will get away unpunished?
Updated on Jul 01, 2014 02:47 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
What makes a corporate consultant opt to work in the rural interiors?
HT spoke to few young professionals who are a part of a government fellowship that’s attempting to bring change to the countryside. Almost all of them agreed that they now realise that governing a country as diverse as India is not an easy task.
Updated on Apr 27, 2014 01:49 AM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
Adani plant pushes voters to mull NOTA option
The anger against APPL, the BJP-led state government and the sitting MP, Congress’ Kamal Nath, is so deep that the residents of the five villages have decided to opt for NOTA in the April 10 elections in Chhindwara.
Updated on Apr 08, 2014 10:14 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, Chhindwara (mp)
Eyeing turnout ‘SVEEP’, Election Commission woos voters in unique ways
Through the SVEEP plan, which comprises a range of policy initiatives and activities that aim to improve people’s participation in the electoral process, the EC wants to tackle problems like youth disconnect, urban apathy and push for ethical voting.
Updated on Apr 01, 2014 12:03 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, Seoni (madhya Pradesh)
EC special: SVEEP mushairas, Holi for voters
From mushairas to discounts for voters at retail outlets, innovative methods are being used to ensure maximum voter participation in elections 2014.
Updated on Mar 30, 2014 04:04 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, Seoni
They are not merely complaint boxes
Governance is a buzzword this election. But then why isn’t anybody talking about the dismal state of our statutory panels?
Updated on Mar 23, 2014 10:35 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta
The Act of Killing: finally, history catches up
Even though The Act of Killing did not win the coveted Oscar this year, the movie is a winner because the director has been successful in forcing the Indonesian government to acknowledge the massacres. KumKum Dasgupta writes.
Updated on Mar 05, 2014 11:37 PM IST
Guidance is key
Government schools offer syllabus-based education, but not any mentoring process. The five finalists aim to provide adolescent underprivileged girls such mentoring relationships to help them achieve their goals.
Updated on Mar 03, 2014 06:07 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
Health is (national) wealth
Statistics show that for every dollar spent on interventions for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, about $20 in benefits could be generated. The six finalists are trying to ensure that girls have the right information on issues like nutrition and health and reproductive and sexual health.
Updated on Mar 03, 2014 06:06 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
Back to school
India’s enrolment numbers have gone up, yet many girls don’t end up going to school for various reasons. The six finalists in this category aim to bring such adolescents back to the classrooms.
Updated on Mar 03, 2014 06:07 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi
Girls are essential agents of change in breaking poverty and deprivation cycle
There are 113 million adolescent girls in India, accounting for nearly 11% of the population. But a large chunk of this segment never realises its potential because of socio-economic barriers. KumKum Dasgupta writes.
Updated on Mar 03, 2014 06:00 PM IST
Hindustan Times | KumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi