Till climate change related issues move from the periphery to electoral interest
Climate change is all about saving humanity and our ecosystem. The significant human cost due to failure to address the climate change related challenges is understood very well without any ambiguity.
For every 0.1 degrees of warming above present levels, about 140 million more people will be exposed to dangerous heat.
The high impact of climate change that causes rising global temperatures and heatwaves, fires, storms and floods hurting people today have been extensively documented by climate scientists. We are reading it everyday. So the awareness is there though it may not be enough.
Unfortunately, our climate scientists feel hopeless when they see that the responses from the politicians and the big corporations are not in the best interest of the common man. And yet, our climate scientists still passionately continue to do their job with a conviction that policymakers cannot say that they were not made aware.
The root cause that this impending catastrophe does not motivate politicians (policymakers) is that it is not an election issue. If policymakers are motivated enough, the big corporations will also act more responsibly. Elections are typically held every four to five years across the world, but the planning and execution cycles to contain climate change impacts are more than that. According to Stephen Humphreys, the politicians and the well healed won't be affected, even if there is a cataclysmic 3C rise, till there is civil disobedience.
Now India is no exception. During the ongoing 2024 parliamentary elections, no political party is explicitly talking about the devastating effects of climate crisis. Except the educated middle class and above, many of us do not fully understand the scientific phenomenon of climate change and its implications on our daily lives. This lack of awareness leads to climate change not influencing our voting decisions. But the issues related to its consequences, such as water scarcity, agriculture challenges, and economic impacts are being discussed aggressively.> Between 2016- 2021, climate extreme events caused damage to crops in over 36 million hectares, and a $3.75 billion loss for farmers in the country. If estimates from the report on ‘Loss and Damage Today’ by economist James Rising were to be believed, India lost 8% of its GDP in 2022.
Both the major political political parties, in India, have elaborately mentioned climate agenda in their election manifestos which are statement of intentions and not policy documents. However, Indian political parties tend to focus on immediate, emotive issues rather than long-term environmental concerns, which are not always seen as directly affecting voter in the short term. Environmental challenges and political priorities are consciously kept disconnected during election campaigns. No political party want to stir the hornet's best. Since meeting daily needs and economic growth are pressing concerns, the common people are prioritizing survival issues like employment, education, and healthcare over environmental policies.
The fate of climate change and politics is deeply intertwined. If climate issue fails to strike a strong resonance in the election campaigns across the globe, there is not much way forward.
I suggest that we watch the Indian movie The Broken Table. This compact masterpiece has a subtle and a profund message which left a lasting impression in my mind within a duration of 23 minutes and fifty two seconds. I do not want to reveal the details. Let the viewer discover the healing perspectives of our emotional dilemmas in this sensitive movie.
The movie has excellent English subtitles and, hence, language should not be a barrier. Since the film touches on the depths of the universal human experience, overcoming linguistic and cultural limitations, I am confident that it will appeal to the international audience.
Telangana, the youngest state in India, will vote on May 13. Will the INC be able to replicate its 2023 assembly elections victory in the Lok Sabha elections? What is at stake for the BRS and the BJP in the state in this election? The charts below explains these in detail.
We wanted to make something good tonight so we made Gatte Ki Subzi together ❤️
A Rajasthani dish made of besan dumplings in yogurt sauce, it is one of our favorite dishes.
We are thinking about doing something more elaborate like this every Thursday evening as a way to start the weekend a bit early (since we both have WFH on Fridays 😊).
Jindal was an MP from Haryana. Joined BJP and see what is happening. Also Saheb now doubts his aeroplane sponsors. #India#MastIndia@mastodonindians Can Shah and Omit-son shave the gaddi from Nagpur and Lucknow?
The political landscape in Maharashtra looks vastly different from what it was in 2019. While the BJP on paper is in alliance with the official factions of the 2 biggest regional parties in the state, the factions led by their founders stand against it. The charts below explains how BJP traded uncertainty for influence in Maharashtra.
Its now a common refrain in Indian politics that BJP has no qualms inducting leaders from parties that they have accused of misgovernance and corruption before. But are turncoats really a post-2014 phenomenon? I and Abhishek Jha attempt to answer to this question with the limited data we have available.
I thought #VanessaDougnac had a piece published somewhere in English that did the rounds here and elsewhere when she was forced to leave #India a few months ago, but I can't find it at all now. Does anyone else remember it?
(I can find lots of other stories talking about her departure, some with quotes from a statement she released, but what I thought I saw was a story, rather than a statement—though links to the statement also gratefully received!)🙏🧡
In another context, there was a discussion, in recent past, that some members of Indian government suggested taking the extreme measure of blocking Proton due to a hoax bomb threat that were sent through Proton Mail. Finally it did not happen.
I believe that that Meta will not pull out of India and the existing encryption standards of WhatsApp will not change for Indian users. With more than 500 million active users in India, the stakes are too high from either side.
As an Indian I am not surprised to learn from Robert Reich's post that the top 0.1% of Americans control $20 trillion in wealth and the bottom 50% control $3.7 trillion in wealth.
I have been haplessly observing the brutality of inequality since my childhood while putting my best efforts to remain on the other side.
Our estimates suggest that inequality declined post-independence till the early 1980s, after which it began rising and has skyrocketed since the early 2000s. Trends of top income and wealth shares track each other over the entire period of our study. Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration. By 2022-23, top 1% income and wealth shares (22.6% and 40.1%) are at their highest historical levels and India’s top 1% income share is among the very highest in the world.
In other words, the ‘Billionaire Raj’ headed by India’s modern bourgeoisie is now more unequal than the British Raj headed by the colonialist forces. It is unclear how long such inequality levels can sustain without major social and political upheaval. While there is no reason to believe income and wealth inequality will slow down by itself, historical evidence suggests that it can be kept in check via policy.
The root cause may be absence of appropriate policies through legislation.
The authors of the above mentioned paper lament that:> In line with earlier work, we find suggestive evidence that the Indian income tax system might be regressive when viewed from the lens of net wealth. We emphasize that the quality of economic data in India is notably poor and has seen a decline recently. It is therefore likely that our results represent a lower bound to actual inequality levels.
As an Indian I am not surprised to learn from Robert Reich's post that the top 0.1% of Americans control $20 trillion in wealth and the bottom 50% control $3.7 trillion in wealth.
I have been haplessly observing the brutality of inequality since my childhood while putting my best efforts to remain on the other side.
Our estimates suggest that inequality declined post-independence till the early 1980s, after which it began rising and has skyrocketed since the early 2000s. Trends of top income and wealth shares track each other over the entire period of our study. Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration. By 2022-23, top 1% income and wealth shares (22.6% and 40.1%) are at their highest historical levels and India’s top 1% income share is among the very highest in the world.
In other words, the ‘Billionaire Raj’ headed by India’s modern bourgeoisie is now more unequal than the British Raj headed by the colonialist forces. It is unclear how long such inequality levels can sustain without major social and political upheaval. While there is no reason to believe income and wealth inequality will slow down by itself, historical evidence suggests that it can be kept in check via policy.
The root cause may be absence of appropriate policies through legislation.
The authors of the above mentioned paper lament that:> In line with earlier work, we find suggestive evidence that the Indian income tax system might be regressive when viewed from the lens of net wealth. We emphasize that the quality of economic data in India is notably poor and has seen a decline recently. It is therefore likely that our results represent a lower bound to actual inequality levels.
Rat Trap- While doing this activity, many mishaps go unreported, which we cannot see from the outside. Their lives are devastating enough that they are called thieves in their own house, and during a case of mine collapse, they cannot even shed a tear or claim their loved ones’ body. This film narrates their daily life. The film was award the Satyajit Ray Silver Award for 2nd best film in the 6th South Asian Short Film Festival, Kolkata 2023. #mastindia@mastodonindians#indigenous
14 out of 28 constituencies in Karnataka will vote in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday. Past records show that the BJP has had an edge in LS elections over Assembly elections in the last 3 election cycles in the state. For Congress, the trend has been the opposite. Which way could Karnataka vote in 2024? Here are 3 charts which answer this question.