Category Center for Human Dignity and Development

firecracker

Firecrackers as Symbols of Social Class Domination

The rich make competitive noise, pollute the air, switch on their air purifiers and air conditioners, and leave the less well-off to choke, wheeze and sicken

Diwali is no longer the gentle festival of lamps, gifting, good food and shared celebration. Diwali is a now a raging battleground of class aggression, in which the rich compete to show they are one up on their neighbours, bursting more copious amounts of crackers and setting off ever more spectacular fireworks. They have their hours of fun, and withdraw indoors to feast and party in rooms where air purifiers and air conditioners do double duty to scrub the air of the filth they have just injected into it.

urban

India’s New Urban Landscape: Capital, Surplus Labour, and the Persistence of Poverty

The story of urbanisation in the Global South – and particularly in India – is not one of industrial expansion or prosperity. It is a story of pauperisation. Cities today are swelling not because factories are hiring, but because the countryside is expelling. This new urbanisation is driven by desperation rather than development – by the push of agrarian collapse, not the pull of industrial promise.

Trump

Trump’s “Make It in America” Push Is Falling Flat

The most momentous event of the last week has been the Gaza ceasefire. It has brought respite for Palestinians from genocidal slaughter and famine, and brought 20 hostages back home to Israel. The peace deal is still fragile, and could unravel.

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The Language of Inclusion: Intersectionality Needs Power, Not Just Representation

Across international conferences, UN assemblies, and foreign policy statements, the language
of inclusion has become familiar. Governments and global institutions now speak of
“diversity,” “empowerment,” and “intersectionality” with confidence. On the surface, it
appears that the world has finally started acknowledging the complexity of women’s lives.
But when we look closely, a gap emerges between what is promised and what is practiced.

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From Reproductive Rights to Global Responsibility: Why India’s Feminist Foreign Policy Must Center Women’s Bodily Autonomy

The term “Feminist Foreign Policy” (FFP) is frequently discussed in various global capitals.
While countries such as Sweden, Canada, and Germany have adopted it, the discourse often
centers on issues like representation, aid, and trade. However, for FFP to be genuinely
transformative—particularly for an emerging global power like India—it needs to address a
fundamental issue: bodily autonomy.

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Fight for Survival and Quest for Dignity: Gazan Women Under Occupation

The heart-wrenching pictures of the amusement park in Khan Younis capture a devastating
contrast, where vibrant echoes of children’s laughter are replaced by screams of horror, a grim depiction of how Israeli bombardment has left Palestine, particularly Gaza, in ruins.

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