Articles by Vimal Balasubrahmanyan

There are Taslimas and Taslimas. They reject what they regard as unfair. Some are believers some are not. But only the latter are publicised, and hounded. And thus is born a stereotype of the bold, brass blasphemist.

Conscientious Activist Vimal Balasubrahmanyan THE gender-and-development people refer to a contrast in approach for meeting 'practical ' vs 'strategic' gender needs. The former tries to 'make life easier by fulfilling perceived necessities without challenging gender roles or social structures. The latter tries to tackle injustices stemming from gender-based differences.

by those such as Lutyens, brought the pro cess started by Lutyens to its logical culmination in the coercive Operation Demolition of 1975-76. While adopting some of the practical aspects of Geddes' approach, Jag Mohan seems to have missed out on its basic essence People are the centre-point for Ceddes while Jag Mohan's central concern is a respectable place for the nation, the city, by attain ing development standards set by the modern dominant west. Expressed to some extent in Geddes own words Town-planning is not mere place- planning, nor even work-planning. If it is to be successful it must be folk-planning. This means that its task is not to coerce people into new places against their associations, wishes, and interest as we find bad schemes trying to do. Instead its task is to find the light places for each sort of people; places where they will really flourish. To give people in fact the same care that we give when transplanting flowers, instead of harsh evictions and arbitrary instructions to move on', delivered m the manner of officious amateur policemen [8], This narrative leads one to conclude that the town planning concepts and technological models suggested by Ged- des with his humane, ecological approach were ignored during the colonial develop- ment of Delhi. With the taking over of the state apparatus from the foreign rulers by the Indian elite there was perceptible change. Comprehensive development for all became the goal. Many practical aspects of Geddes work were incorporated in Delhi's planned development. However the attitude of the ruling elite towards the general populace and the poor in particular remained the same. The people around whom the development was to occur were still to be governed'. They were to be baited into doing what was considered necessary for development of the city and nation by the 'masters' failing which they were to be made to do so by force.

that the government-specified minimum wages (at that time Rs 10 or 5 kg of un- husked foodgrains in addition to a 'breakfast' on the field, equivalent to Rs 2) was not being paid in as many as 85 per cent of the villages of Jehanabad. And in 20 per cent of these villages the actual wages were found to be as low as 1.5 kg of rice and a meagre breakfast.

Vimal Balasubrahmanyan There is a very definite difference between promoting traditionally non-commercial crafts for commercial purposes and the Gandhian principle of not allowing machines to deprive professional craftspersons of their means of sustenance.