Mind Musings

  T he Indian Constitution establishes the framework for delineating fundamental political codes, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, as well as fundamental rights, directive principles, and citizen responsibilities.  It is the longest written constitution of any country in the world.             Making a constitution is never an easy task, but given India's turbulent situation at the time, it was especially difficult. It was a daunting task to deal with a newly independent country with a very unequal social structure, especially considering the repercussions of partition.             While everyone remembers Dr. B R Ambedkar as the Father of the Constitution and other pioneering male members who assisted in the drafting of the Indian Constitution, the contribution of the fifteen female members of the Constituent Assembly is oft...

     Originally published: https://girlupmukti.wixsite.com/theredpartofpink/post/gender-disparities-climate-change Globally, women and men experience life differently because of their social status. While men and women both build, live, work, and share the environment, they do it in different ways. Women and men experience life in extremely different ways due to disparities in living situations, duties, and relations, i.e., their gender differences. Access to resources, social status, and resilience are all gendered and so influence individuals differently. Climate variability affects men and women differently, and they deal in different ways with it and shifting climate patterns. In response to economic pressures, calamities, and conflicts, men and women have different motives and options for relocating. As a result, when discussing policy formulation, decision-making, and mitigation and adaptation methods, a gender-inclusive approach is critical. Since gender equalit...

  For the first time in 20 years, the Taliban has won an unexpected and complete victory over the now-defunct Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in August 2021. It comes as yet another shock to the long-suffering Afghan people, whose economy is on the verge of collapsing as it was already plagued by insecurity, COVID-19, corruption, government mismanagement and drought. The Afghan economy will face a slew of new challenges as a result of the Taliban's takeover and the international community's clampdown on aid and assistance. The coffers are empty because of the disruption in Afghan government revenue and aid, and so the Finance Ministry will have difficulty meeting basic expenses and providing social services. Gettty Images: Taliban fighters pictured in Laghman Province. They began a lightning offensive earlier this year. The previous Afghan government and its core institutions are in shambles, and the country is experiencing a severe “brain drain” of qualified technical an...

By Shilpa Ann Thomas  In comparison to other academic disciplines, economics isn't known for being tolerant of changes to it’s "mainstream" core principles or theories. However, now, a huge shift in the economic perspective of the world is taking place, and it is likely to have far-reaching consequences for many years to come.   Astonishingly, as this new doctrine does not have a particular individual or group associated with it like John Maynard Keynes with “Keynesian economics” or Karl Marx with “Marxism”, many people are still unaware that such a change is taking place. External influences and pressures, such as the desire for economics to be "relevant" to current policy challenges are driving this gradual change. So, what is this subtle, often unrecognized, but potentially profound shift in economic thinking? In simple terms, the age-old concept of the "economic system" has undergone an irreversible transformation. We no longer regard the produc...

One essential tool to help understand historical thinking and factual knowledge is art.   Art is used as evidence to learn about the culture and mentalities of people in the past. Paintings are considered as important primary and secondary sources of information. Primary sources are first-hand accounts by participants of a particular event or materials produced at the same historical time period. Secondary sources are works that discuss a subject, but which are written after the time that the event has occurred or works that explain or interpret primary sources. One important record of the revolt of 1857 is the pictorial images produced by the British and Indians which include paintings, pencil drawings, etchings, posters, cartoons, bazaar prints etc. This drawing is a recreation of a sketch by J F Weedon made in early 1960s for a magazine and reproduced by the Direct Photo-Engineering Co. Limited. The theme of the artwork is similar to the famous p...