Paris

Participation a ‘trendy’ trend

Every once in a while a trend is born. Its genesis is almost always unclear. Nonetheless there is merit to its inception which ensures that it continues to remain in fashion and is appropriated into other contexts. The only contention however is that its appropriation is not always done in keeping with the values which … Continue reading "Participation a ‘trendy’ trend"

Paris

Singham: Restoring the roar of the Indian Police

Recently, I sat through 3 hours of a movie by Rohit Shetty called Singham. Dubbed a retro-kitsch movie by Times of India, the movie has nonetheless gone on to become the second highest revenue-earner of this year. Clearly, the movie’s simplistic storyline of an honest policeman’s fight against the forces of corruption and political interference … Continue reading "Singham: Restoring the roar of the Indian Police"

Paris

Field notes from Lucknow

Since May 20th, we have been in Lucknow participating in the ‘PAHELI’ workshop organized by PRATHAM. ‘PAHELI’- People’s Audit for Health, Education and Livelihood, is a rapid assessment of the prevailing status of human development in a district. The highlights of PAHELI are its participatory approach, focus on basic indicators, simple tools and easily replicable … Continue reading "Field notes from Lucknow"

Paris

School Management Committees (SMC’s) – The guardian institution for elementary education at the village-level

As an intern working with Accountability Initiative on PAISA project, I went on 4 days field visit to Chaksu block in Jaipur district, Rajasthan. The objective of the visit was to get an initial understanding of the School Management Committees (SMCs). This visit was the first step in the process documentation of SMC: their structure … Continue reading "School Management Committees (SMC’s) – The guardian institution for elementary education at the village-level"

Paris

Whatever happened to administrative reforms?

Can we resolve corruption without administrative reforms? I have been struck by how silent the current debate on anti-corruption has been on the question of administrative reforms. Even the far more complex and arguably controversial issue of political and electoral reforms have found place in the debate but no one seems to be talking about … Continue reading "Whatever happened to administrative reforms?"