News / Author / Kumkum Dasgupta

KumKum Dasgupta

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

India’s forest guards, the unsung climate warriors | Analysis

To appreciate the work of the guards, one needs to understand the why forests are important. A report by the ministry of environment says India’s forests absorb 11.25% of greenhouse gases, which are responsible for the climate crisis.

Dimbeswar Das is a forest officer at the Kaziranga National Park, Assam. The 53-year-old is the 2019 Earth Hero Award from the Royal Bank of Scotland.(RBS)

analysis

Updated on Dec 07, 2019 08:13 PM IST

ByKumKum Dasgupta

Indian states and cities don’t have adequate funds to tackle climate crisis

Cities in India are the largest consumers of resources, including energy and water. They are also large generators of waste. As climate change impacts are now more pronounced through increased droughts and floods, cities are now facing a visible brunt of it. Moving to renewable sources of electricity reduces their reliance on fossil fuels — is something now that is now well-embedded in the Indian electricity sector.

Schoolchildren hold placards as they participate in a protest against the inaction to curb global warming and climate change, Connaught Place, New Delhi, March 15, 2019(Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

analysis

Updated on Nov 26, 2019 01:45 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Italy will have climate education in schools. India must follow suit

Despite its impact on every facet of our lives, from social to economic, the issue is still languishing on the margins of our lives. The general public is still not talking enough about what we can do at a personal level to tackle the climate’s challenges

analysis

Updated on Nov 13, 2019 12:04 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

To build urban resilience, we must empower the city | Analysis

India’s city governments are weak, and departments work in silos. To tackle climate change, this needs to change

A view of a flooded area in Kochi, October 31, 2019. A study by Climate Central, a US-based climate think tank, said that if spiralling emissions are not brought under control, parts of Mumbai, Surat, Chennai, and Kolkata, will be either underwater or ravaged by recurring floods by 2050.(PTI)

analysis

Updated on Nov 06, 2019 08:35 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

‘To clean rivers, Indian must learn to reduce waste’

The University of Chicago’s Water-to-Cloud (W2S) system provides for high-resolution spatial and temporal monitoring of rivers to gain insights that may be missed with the traditional approach.

Local fishermen row their boat in Yamuna, Noida, October 16, 2019(Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

opinion

Published on Nov 04, 2019 04:49 PM IST

ByKumKum Dasgupta

Diwali’s visual archive - lights on the canvas

Indians have celebrated Diwali with lights, but also with art of all kinds (from folk art to miniatures), reflecting the different forms the festival takes in the country

Lakshmi - a Chitera painting. In this genre, there is a profusion of figures of gods, goddesses, animals, birds, flowers and celestial bodies.(Photo courtesy: IGNCA)

lifestyle

Published on Oct 25, 2019 05:43 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

India’s students have poor learning levels. Can foundational education help them?

To focus on foundational learning, the draft National Education Policy proposes new curricular and pedagogical structure, with 5+3+3+4 design, covering the children three-18 years. Under this, pre-primary and grades 1-2 is considered as foundational stage; grades 3-5 as preparatory stage; grades 6-8 as middle stage and grades 9-12 as secondary stage.

Developing foundational skills is a complex issue as there are a large number of factors that impact a child’s ability to learn: Gender, race, place of birth, or the social and economic condition of their family – all of these lead to wide disparity in children’s capabilities and levels of exposure.(HT PHOTO)

analysis

Updated on Oct 13, 2019 06:40 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Plastic will choke India in the long run. Tackle it | Analysis

What is most troubling is not the plastic challenge in cities because they would still have the first access to information, technology, funds, and expertise to tackle the problem. The real challenge lies in smaller towns and kasbahs

Instead of a no-ban on SUPs, the least the Centre could have done was ban six SUPs — plastic bags, cups, plates, small bottles, straws, and certain types of sachets — and then others in a phased manner.(Getty Images)

analysis

Updated on Oct 05, 2019 04:54 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Five years of Swachh Bharat: India still needs a policy that promotes toilet use

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2 said rural India has declared itself defecation free. In the past four years, India has built 100 million toilets in about 0.6 million villages, and another 6.3 million in its cities. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is now in its second phase, and there will be a new set of challenges that it needs to tackle for its long-term sustainability.

Women hold placards with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a cleanliness drive, October 1, 2015. Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission, to modernise sanitation within five years in 2014.(REUTERS)

analysis

Updated on Oct 03, 2019 10:24 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

‘I kept feeling that Bapu would wake up any minute’: Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee

Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee spoke about her father’s stint in Hindustan Times, her grandparents, and the changing face of Delhi

Tara Bhattacharjee at her residence in New Delhi.(Amal KS/HT)

Private sector should take the lead in investing in SDGs

Companies need to look at their SDG strategy because there has been an increase in regulatory pressure, push from investors and banks, and media to align their polices with the global goals

It was clear from the beginning of the SDG journey that the world will not reach the ambitious goals without the active participation of the private sector because national governments don’t have the wherewithal to reach the goals on their own.(SHUTTERSTOCK)

analysis

Updated on Oct 01, 2019 04:27 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

To save India’s rainforests, we must first value them

The ‘development-at-any-cost’ model doesn’t work. There is a growing urgency to protect this ecological heritage.

The Amazon fire provides an opportunity to review the status of India’s rainforests, which are restricted to the Western Ghats, and the Northeastern Himalayas(Bloomberg)

analysis

Published on Aug 30, 2019 09:55 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Comfort food: When you’re hungry for nostalgia

There is a strong link between scents of food and emotional memory. And so, our learning history predisposes us to enjoy certain food that improves the mood and produces feelings of social connectedness, say experts.

lifestyle

Published on Aug 24, 2019 07:23 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Leh must not become another Shimla

The people of the brand new Union Territory are happy. But they should be apprehensive too. The Indian tourist army may ravage the ecologically fragile region

A paper Urbanisation and socio-ecological challenges in high mountain towns: Insights from Leh (Ladakh) by Juliane Dame et al of the Heidelberg Center for the Environment, Heidelberg University, Germany, gives a detailed assessment of the uncontrolled urbanisation of Leh. According to the study, between 1969 and 2003, the number of new buildings constructed was 9,400. The pace has gathered so much that the town added the same number between 2003 and 2017.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

analysis

Updated on Aug 17, 2019 08:31 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

The Bengal ‘cut money’ issue goes beyond politics

India’s welfare delivery system has improved. But, as the corruption controversy in Bengal shows, it’s not foolproof.

With the BJP making deep inroads into West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee is keen to quickly douse the flames of discontent over corruption(Ajay Aggarwal / Hindustan Times)

analysis

Published on Jul 18, 2019 08:14 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Why local quota in private sector is not a good idea

A better way to engage with the private sector would be to make the youth of a state employable with proper investments in education, health and skill development

While the impulse of politicians is understandable, local reservation in the private sector may not be the ideal solution to tackle the unemployment crisis; in fact, it can deter the corporate sector from investing in states that come up with such a rule.(SHUTTERSTOCK)

analysis

Updated on Jul 17, 2019 04:13 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Is that burnout or are you just tired?

In a report released in June, the World Health Organization defined burnout as a chronic process of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy due to an imbalance between job demands and the resources available to meet them

The World Health Organization recently recognised occupational burnout as a medical condition.(Shutterstock Image)

lifestyle

Updated on Jul 13, 2019 11:32 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Friends with benefits

Dogs are good for our well-being. For doubters, here’s scientific evidence

lifestyle

Published on Jun 21, 2019 06:31 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

The political response to India’s water emergency is tepid

This water emergency, however, is not just about the lack of availability of the natural resource. It is much more severe than that: Our rivers are polluted, traditional water harvesting systems are gone, catchments are deforested, groundwater water levels are depleting and ponds and lakes are disappearing at an alarming pace.

People wait for their turn to fill their containers, Sanjay Colony, Okhla Phase II, New Delhi, June 12(Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

opinion

Updated on Jun 14, 2019 08:17 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

The three-language formula is a bad idea

This will be a very heavy cognitive burden on a young child of five to seven years as each of the Indian languages has a very large number of visual units (aksharas) between 400 and 700, to be mastered in two to three years’ time. This formulation is developmentally inappropriate for young children and cannot be allowed to form part of the final policy.

On June 3, an expert panel submitted the draft New Education Policy (NEP) to the human resource development (HRD) ministry. The draft required students from non-Hindi states to study Hindi and English apart from the regional languages. This move led to a controversy, with several political parties from the south and Maharashtra protesting the move.(HT FILE PHOTO)

analysis

Updated on Jun 03, 2019 05:12 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Cyclone Fani: The worst is over, but picking up the pieces won’t be easy

The natural calamity is a warning for cities: Learn to be climate resilient or the consequences would be severe

Fallen utility poles are pictured after Cyclone Fani hit Puri, Odisha, May 3(REUTERS)

analysis

Updated on May 08, 2019 09:26 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Why India needs a climate warrior like Greta Thunberg

A fresh, young voice like that of Thunberg’s, I feel, can help bring much more attention to the issue, put pressure on the new government to meet its climate promises, and also push citizens to be partners in that effort. India is a young country, and who best to take charge of the future than the young themselves?

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg joins Italian students to demand action on climate change, Piazza del Popolo, Rome, April 19, 2019(REUTERS)

analysis

Updated on Apr 27, 2019 08:35 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

How to get kids to love maths and science? Tell them a story

Stories are one of the most effective ways of teaching kids about the world. Now many schools are harnessing this activity by seamlessly weaving it with the syllabus to help kids learn better.

Students at Katha Khazana School at Kaljaji, New Delhi, in the middle of a storytelling session.(Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

lifestyle

Updated on Apr 17, 2019 01:52 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Is climate change fuelling political conflicts globally?

There is increasing academic evidence that climate change is leading to conflicts but national governments are yet to come up with policy prescriptions

In August 2018, severe floods affected Kerala due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century.(HTPHOTO)

analysis

Updated on Apr 05, 2019 09:29 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Why MP is one of India’s top tiger states

The MP forest department was fortunate to have committed forest officers with long and stable tenures. For example, between 1970 and 2007, the Kanha National Park had only four park directors. Second, unlike many states, the forests have had decent political support which helped committed officers to create a large number of protected areas since the 1970s.

Wildlife experts say that Madhya Pradesh has the potential to have more tigers and better quality wildlife tourism. To ensure that, the forest department needs more staff, including senior officials who are interested in wildlife management.(HT File Photo)

analysis

Updated on Mar 13, 2019 09:50 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

This Jaipur king so loved photography, he even took photos in the zenana

Like any enthusiast, Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II took his camera everywhere and ended up capturing his city, people and palaces in ways never seen before.

Ram Singh photographs of women in the zenana section of his household were path-breaking, given that these women were meant never to be seen by the outside world. Through the photos, he also offered snapshots of a world very different from the common conception of the time that these women were idle, deviant and oppressed.(Photo courtesy Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, City Palace, Jaipur / ACP)

lifestyle

Updated on Mar 02, 2019 06:39 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

India’s school textbook content needs a rethink

There is a strong need to create processes and capacities to develop curriculum material in local languages.

The 2018 report shows that students, especially those in elementary school (Classes I-VIII), are not learning enough. To cite one metric, only half (50.3%) of all students in Class V can read texts meant for Class II students.(Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

analysis

Updated on Feb 18, 2019 07:38 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Why India lags behind in electric vehicle revolution

The industry should have been given a clear road map to follow, so that the government could effectively implement a carrot-and-stick policy. Without a stick the carrot loses its charm.

Visitors during the inauguration of Electric Vehicle Expo 2018, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, December 21, 2018(Sushil Kumar/HT PHOTO)

analysis

Updated on Feb 11, 2019 01:00 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

To clean India, invest in water conservation

The Northeastern part of India is doing well in the Swachh Bharat Mission. But an emerging water crisis in the Himalayas could reduce the gains made

A groom comes out from a toilet as brides stand at the venue for a mass wedding ceremony, Ramlila Ground, New Delhi(REUTERS)

analysis

Updated on Feb 06, 2019 04:25 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Look beyond classrooms to improve learning levels in State schools

For the first time, the ASER report has captured the state of sports and physical education structure in India’s rural schools. It is important to start talking about this data set because the links between physical activity and education is well established

In the case of sports equipment available inside schools, nationally, almost two thirds of the schools visited seemed to fulfil this objective of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to Class 12, which was announced in the last Union budget.(Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

analysis

Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:01 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

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KumKum Dasgupta

KumKum Dasgupta is with the opinion section of Hindustan Times. She writes on education, environment, gender, urbanisation and civil society. .

To appreciate the work of the guards, one needs to understand the why forests are important. A report by the ministry of environment says India’s forests absorb 11.25% of greenhouse gases, which are responsible for the climate crisis.

Despite its impact on every facet of our lives, from social to economic, the issue is still languishing on the margins of our lives. The general public is still not talking enough about what we can do at a personal level to tackle the climate’s challenges

India’s city governments are weak, and departments work in silos. To tackle climate change, this needs to change

The University of Chicago’s Water-to-Cloud (W2S) system provides for high-resolution spatial and temporal monitoring of rivers to gain insights that may be missed with the traditional approach.

Indians have celebrated Diwali with lights, but also with art of all kinds (from folk art to miniatures), reflecting the different forms the festival takes in the country

What is most troubling is not the plastic challenge in cities because they would still have the first access to information, technology, funds, and expertise to tackle the problem. The real challenge lies in smaller towns and kasbahs

Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee spoke about her father’s stint in Hindustan Times, her grandparents, and the changing face of Delhi

Companies need to look at their SDG strategy because there has been an increase in regulatory pressure, push from investors and banks, and media to align their polices with the global goals

The ‘development-at-any-cost’ model doesn’t work. There is a growing urgency to protect this ecological heritage.

There is a strong link between scents of food and emotional memory. And so, our learning history predisposes us to enjoy certain food that improves the mood and produces feelings of social connectedness, say experts.

The people of the brand new Union Territory are happy. But they should be apprehensive too. The Indian tourist army may ravage the ecologically fragile region

India’s welfare delivery system has improved. But, as the corruption controversy in Bengal shows, it’s not foolproof.

A better way to engage with the private sector would be to make the youth of a state employable with proper investments in education, health and skill development

In a report released in June, the World Health Organization defined burnout as a chronic process of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy due to an imbalance between job demands and the resources available to meet them

Dogs are good for our well-being. For doubters, here’s scientific evidence

The natural calamity is a warning for cities: Learn to be climate resilient or the consequences would be severe

Stories are one of the most effective ways of teaching kids about the world. Now many schools are harnessing this activity by seamlessly weaving it with the syllabus to help kids learn better.

There is increasing academic evidence that climate change is leading to conflicts but national governments are yet to come up with policy prescriptions

Like any enthusiast, Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II took his camera everywhere and ended up capturing his city, people and palaces in ways never seen before.

There is a strong need to create processes and capacities to develop curriculum material in local languages.

The industry should have been given a clear road map to follow, so that the government could effectively implement a carrot-and-stick policy. Without a stick the carrot loses its charm.

The Northeastern part of India is doing well in the Swachh Bharat Mission. But an emerging water crisis in the Himalayas could reduce the gains made

For the first time, the ASER report has captured the state of sports and physical education structure in India’s rural schools. It is important to start talking about this data set because the links between physical activity and education is well established

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KumKum Dasgupta is with the opinion section of Hindustan Times. She writes on education, environment, gender, urbanisation and civil society.
.