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.
.

Articles by KumKum Dasgupta

The divine couple

Ramayana mapped through scrolls, puppets, masks at a Delhi exhibition

Ravana is a key character in the story of Rama

cities

Updated on Dec 15, 2017 03:02 PM IST

Hindustan times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

The Danes are back: How a Bengal town is restoring its European legacy

Serampore, near Kolkata, was an important 18th century Danish colony. A grand heritage restoration programme is underway in the town to restore its major landmarks to their former glory

Serampore, near Kolkata, was a Danish outpost for 90 years (1755-1845). The 210-year-old Lutheran St Olav Church’s restoration was completed in 2015. The project won the Unesco Heritage Award of Distinction in 2016.(Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)

india news

Updated on Dec 13, 2017 12:23 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

10 years of Kindle: Physical books get a makeover to combat competition from ebooks

The Kindle was launched in the US on November 19, 2007, spearheading a new revolution in digital reading. In 2012, Amazon first made the device available in India. Over the years, publishers of physical books have tried different ways to combat competition from ebooks and to attract new readers - better-looking book covers, special editions, movie tie-in covers, anniversary editions and more

Physical books are doing brisk business, despite the growth in ebook presence.(Image courtesy Shutterstock)

india news

Updated on Nov 20, 2017 08:29 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

India’s students are angry, and that’s good news for India, a new film finds

Campus Rising, a documentary by Yousuf Saeed, goes behind the scenes of the many student agitations of the past year and finds a new respect for their struggle for freedom and justice.

A still from the documentary, Campus Rising. Filmmaker Yousuf Saeed spoke to students from seven universities and found himself reversing his own views on the issue of politics on campus. ‘I realised that political participation by students is critical,’ he says.

india news

Updated on Oct 22, 2017 08:21 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Housefull: Tent cinema is a dying tradition but is still one of the ways of going to the movies in the hinterland

Due to individualised modes of watching films, travelling cinemas have all but disappeared. A unique photography exhibition captures the dying tradition

Taking photos inside a dark tent isn’t an easy job. Madheshiya sat facing the audiences. Amit Madheshiya did not use any external light or a flash because he did not want to intrude into this “intimate moment” -- instead, he photographed them as their faces glowed in the light of the screen(Photos courtesy: Amit Madheshiya / PHOTOINK and Galleryske)

lifestyle

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 02:26 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Not just words: Why hundreds of India’s regional and tribal languages are dying

India is one of the 10 most linguistically diverse countries in the world. But a new report says we have been losing several languages due to political marginalisation.

A 2000-rupee note. From 1926, languages that had scripts were counted and the ones without a script did not get their own states.(Representative image)

opinion

Updated on Sep 18, 2017 04:50 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByKumKum Dasgupta

‘Deadline for granting tribals land rights will not solve FRA execution issues’

In an interview with Hindustan Times, activist Shankar Gopalakrishnan says setting a target date for granting land rights to tribals under the Forests Rights Act (FRA) is likely to become, in practice, a cut-off date after which the state and central governments will declare – without any basis - that THE fra implementation is “complete”, and then proceed to shut down implementation entirely.

Tribal students of Ranchi University, August 31, 2017(Hindustan Times)

opinion

Updated on Sep 13, 2017 10:47 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Political art - from Egypt’s Tahrir Square in a Delhi gallery

A ringside view of history

Egyptian photographer Laura El-Tantawy at the Triveni Kala Sangam in New Delhi.(Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Aug 26, 2017 04:45 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Weekend treat: a northeast film festival in the capital

A focus on young talent plus the last film of famous docu-maker Altaf Majid.

A still from the film Loktak Lairembee (Lady of the Lake, Manipuri) on a fisherman who suddenly gets hold of a gun by director Haobam Paban Kumar(Photos courtesy: IIC)

entertainment

Updated on Aug 19, 2017 11:12 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Why metro rail expansion and new flyovers won’t decongest Delhi

The Delhi Metro is about 218Km long and carries about 28 lakh passengers per day. But buses in Delhi carry around 50 lakh passengers per day.

The Delhi Metro is currently about 218Km long with another 240 Km under various stages of construction in the Capital and carries about 28 lakh passengers per day. Buses in Delhi carry around 50 lakh passengers per day.(Hindustan Times)

analysis

Updated on Apr 25, 2018 03:56 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Walk back to the past: Take a tour of the Harappan civilisation in a Delhi museum

Delhi museum guided tour on the glory days of Harappa

A painted burial jar on display at the Harappan Civilisation Gallery at the National Museum, Delhi.(Arun Sharma/HT PHOTO)

lifestyle

Updated on Jul 29, 2017 08:53 AM IST

ByKumKum Dasgupta

Why India is failing to minimise monsoon flood destruction

India must improve its flood forecasting capability hugely to minimise loss of lives and property

People sit in a tractor trolley as they move out of a flooded neighbourhood after heavy rain in Ahmedabad, India, July 24, 2017.(REUTERS)

analysis

Updated on Jul 26, 2017 06:16 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Farmer protests: India’s acute groundwater crisis is fuelling distress

We have looked at water from a narrow engineering perspective, while water is in every sense a multi-dimensional resource requiring an understanding of many other disciplines for its sustainable management. So we have to bring in the social mobilisers and agronomists centrestage, so that farmers can effectively come together to manage their water in an equitable and sustainable manner

Farmers throwing vegetables on a road during a protest as part of the Maharashtra bandh, Nagpur, Maharashtra, June 5, 2017(PTI)

opinion

Updated on Jun 13, 2017 03:31 PM IST

ByKumKum Dasgupta

Chandigarh’s Sukhna and Nainital’s Naini lakes are going dry. Here’s why

Lakes are at present under different departments including public health engineering, water supply, fisheries, irrigation, urban development, tourism and forests, public works department and forest and environment. Similarly the catchments are controlled and used by different agencies.

The Nainital Lake has touched an abysmal level of 14 feet below normal this season, a clear indication of impending ecological disaster. According to the Centre’s draft State of the Environment report, 2015, loss to the Indian economy from water resource depletion is pegged at 6% by 2050 if the country continues to manage its water the same way(HT Photo)

opinion

Updated on May 23, 2017 01:10 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Summer woes: Heat wave kills, but only 9 states have an action plan

Only nine of the country’s 29 states and seven union territories have drawn up heat action plans (HAP) to deal with the killer weather.

A man selling air coolers rests at a market on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad.(Reuters File Photo)

india news

Updated on Jun 01, 2017 11:04 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByKumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi

IISER student suicide: Two contradictory versions

Sagar had problems. His professors and friends say he struggled with English since he was from a Bengali-medium school. He suffered from depression and exam phobia.

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata.(IISER)

opinion

Updated on May 07, 2017 08:14 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

‘Pehlu Khan, a cattle smuggler’: BJP must stop this awful victimise-the-victim game

BJP has near-perfected this strategy. It helps the party to keep control of the political narrative and also consolidate its support base at the cost of social peace and cohesion.

opinion

Updated on Jul 16, 2017 07:20 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

By dodging SC ruling on highway bars, states sending out a wrong message

While states have been re-designating national highways and state highways as city roads, developers have also been doing their bit”: Many have made cosmetic structural changes such as shifting the entrance to a corner of the building farthest from the highway, hoping to squeeze in a few extra metres and beat the law.

In a significant clarification of its December 15, 2016, judgment banning sale of liquor within 500 metres of highways across the country, the Supreme Court on March 31 said the ban extends not just to retail liquor outlets but also to bars, pubs and restaurants located on highways.(Hindustan Times)

opinion

Updated on Apr 18, 2017 03:28 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

With stiff target for building toilets under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, states are flouting citizens’ rights

With the target for making India open defecation free (ODF) by 2019 under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) programme, states are tripping over themselves to meet the deadline, even at the cost of violating citizens’ right to food or privacy.

With the target for making India open defecation free (ODF) by 2019, states are tripping over themselves to meet the deadline.(HT File)

india news

Updated on Apr 03, 2017 01:39 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Suicide-proof fans and hooters cannot end coaching hub Kota’s problem

The Kota hostel association is obviously keen to save lives (and keep their flourishing business intact, maybe not in that order), but isn’t it incredibly sad to think that a room --- a home away from home for a young adult struggling to fulfil her dreams --- has an built-in mechanism (suicide-proof fans) that would actually remind them in a roundabout way that there is no place for ‘failure’ in our society and suicide is actually an option. That a spring-fan is the only thing standing between them and death.

Kota, once part of the Rajput kingdom of Bundi, developed into a coaching hub in the late 1980s and over the years acquired a reputation of having a “high success rate”. The town has about 40-plus big coaching centres with a thriving Rs 2,000 crore industry(HT)

opinion

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 07:22 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Notice to JNU’s social exclusion centre forged, says UGC. Is there more to it?

Many have already criticised the “move”, saying that closing these centres goes against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘Dalit outreach’ during the 125th anniversary celebrations of Dr BR Ambedkar

India is celebrating BR Ambedkar’s birth centenary this year with fanfare. Yet, the few spaces dedicated to study his vast contribution to making of a modern India continue to feel threatened.(Hindustan Times)

opinion

Published on Mar 21, 2017 04:48 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

How can we save India’s ecosystems? By paying for it!

The destruction in the name of “development” happens because nature’s economic worth is invisible. But today many economists are trying to point out that a nation’s progress should include its natural capital base

opinion

Updated on May 05, 2017 12:04 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

On gender crime, is Uttar Pradesh the worst state?

A politicians spar over violence against women in the poll-bound state, an analysis of 14 years’ data reveals grim facts

BJP women activists protest against state goverment after the Badaun rape case, Lucknow, June 2, 2014 )(Hindustan Times)

india news

Updated on Feb 21, 2017 12:25 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi

Muzaffarnagar riots: Three years on, no conviction in gangrape cases

In 2013, communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in and around Muzzaffarnagar and Shamli districts in UP led targeted sexual violence against women. Seven Muslim women came forward to report that they had been gang raped by men from the Jat community. However, to date, there has not been a single conviction in any of the cases, said a new Amnesty International India

A view of Kailawada village in Muzaffarnagar on February 05, 2016. A new Amnesty International India said there has not been a single conviction in gangrape cases that surfaced after the 2013 communal riots.(Sanjeev Verma/ HT photo)

india news

Updated on Feb 10, 2017 05:30 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

A combination of aspiration and desperation is fuelling migration in India

Taking cognisance of this increasing mobility, the State should consider making social and political rights of citizens portable

Between 2011 and 2016, close to nine million migrated between states annually, up from about 3.3 million suggested by successive censuses, says the latest Economic Survey.(AP)

opinion

Updated on Feb 07, 2017 08:43 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

On yoga and patriotism,the NDA needs to show some flexibility

There is nothing wrong per se in introducing yoga in schools since its benefits are known. But forcing it down the throats of students is unfair and is designed to make many uncomfortable.

Students of Rao Ram Singh School perform yoga during the full dress rehearsal of 68th Republic Day function in Gurgaon, January 24, 2017.(Hindustan Times)

opinion

Updated on Feb 07, 2017 11:33 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Mr Amit Shah, UP needs better policing, not an anti-Romeo squad

If the BJP comes to power, it will surely have loads to do. This kind of dim-witted plan should not even be raised for consideration.

Students at government PG College discussing key election issues ahead of state polls in Uttar Pradesh, Noida, January 17(HT)

opinion

Updated on Feb 01, 2017 09:32 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Manipur blockade: The Congress and BJP must stop shadow boxing

With elections round the corner, the blockade is not just a simple blockade anymore. Both the ruling Congress and the BJP, which is eyeing for the state, are trying to exploit the impasse politically.

Manipur chief minister has also accused Union home minister Rajnath Singh of double standards, alleging that he has not at all conveyed to state BJP leaders to give the CM concrete proposals on the UNC economic blockade(HT)

analysis

Updated on Dec 12, 2016 10:56 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

To end gender violence, India must adopt a ‘She+He’ approach

A new ActionAid report says that more than four in 10 women in India experience harassment or violence before the age of 19. The battle against gender violence cannot be won unless men are involved

While laws, education, funds for women-related programmes are important, we must not forget to engage with men because they too have a huge role in stopping discrimination against women

analysis

Published on Nov 25, 2016 05:30 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta

Over 4 in 10 women in India experience harassment before the age of 19: ActionAid

The findings by the NGO also shows that how it is now becoming common for women to take steps in their everyday lives to guard against the threat of harassment and violence. More than 8 in 10 women (82%) in India said they have taken steps to protect themselves against harassment

ActionAid’s four-nation survey revealed that women around the world experience harassment for the first time at a shockingly young age with 6% experiencing harassment before the age of 10 in India.

india news

Updated on Nov 26, 2016 12:11 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByKumKum Dasgupta, New Delhi

Copy

Whatsapp Twitter Facebook Linkedin

KumKum Dasgupta

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

Ramayana mapped through scrolls, puppets, masks at a Delhi exhibition

Serampore, near Kolkata, was an important 18th century Danish colony. A grand heritage restoration programme is underway in the town to restore its major landmarks to their former glory

Campus Rising, a documentary by Yousuf Saeed, goes behind the scenes of the many student agitations of the past year and finds a new respect for their struggle for freedom and justice.

Due to individualised modes of watching films, travelling cinemas have all but disappeared. A unique photography exhibition captures the dying tradition

India is one of the 10 most linguistically diverse countries in the world. But a new report says we have been losing several languages due to political marginalisation.

A ringside view of history

A focus on young talent plus the last film of famous docu-maker Altaf Majid.

The Delhi Metro is about 218Km long and carries about 28 lakh passengers per day. But buses in Delhi carry around 50 lakh passengers per day.

Delhi museum guided tour on the glory days of Harappa

India must improve its flood forecasting capability hugely to minimise loss of lives and property

Lakes are at present under different departments including public health engineering, water supply, fisheries, irrigation, urban development, tourism and forests, public works department and forest and environment. Similarly the catchments are controlled and used by different agencies.

Only nine of the country’s 29 states and seven union territories have drawn up heat action plans (HAP) to deal with the killer weather.

Sagar had problems. His professors and friends say he struggled with English since he was from a Bengali-medium school. He suffered from depression and exam phobia.

BJP has near-perfected this strategy. It helps the party to keep control of the political narrative and also consolidate its support base at the cost of social peace and cohesion.

With the target for making India open defecation free (ODF) by 2019 under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) programme, states are tripping over themselves to meet the deadline, even at the cost of violating citizens’ right to food or privacy.

Many have already criticised the “move”, saying that closing these centres goes against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘Dalit outreach’ during the 125th anniversary celebrations of Dr BR Ambedkar

The destruction in the name of “development” happens because nature’s economic worth is invisible. But today many economists are trying to point out that a nation’s progress should include its natural capital base

A politicians spar over violence against women in the poll-bound state, an analysis of 14 years’ data reveals grim facts

Taking cognisance of this increasing mobility, the State should consider making social and political rights of citizens portable

There is nothing wrong per se in introducing yoga in schools since its benefits are known. But forcing it down the throats of students is unfair and is designed to make many uncomfortable.

If the BJP comes to power, it will surely have loads to do. This kind of dim-witted plan should not even be raised for consideration.

With elections round the corner, the blockade is not just a simple blockade anymore. Both the ruling Congress and the BJP, which is eyeing for the state, are trying to exploit the impasse politically.

A new ActionAid report says that more than four in 10 women in India experience harassment or violence before the age of 19. The battle against gender violence cannot be won unless men are involved

The findings by the NGO also shows that how it is now becoming common for women to take steps in their everyday lives to guard against the threat of harassment and violence. More than 8 in 10 women (82%) in India said they have taken steps to protect themselves against harassment

Join Hindustan Times

Create free account and unlock exciting features like

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