Sudhirendar Sharma Yoga, as it is beamed through television channels today, is not what was written by Patanjali in the first centuries of the Common Era. Yoga, as it is beamed through television channels today, is not what was written…
Category: Columns
Statesmanship: The case of Bangladesh
Sinha M. A. Sayeed Dearth of statesmen in a political party may be minimised for a while but poverty of statesmen can barely be minimised for a long period to keep pace and rhythm with time, space and dimension in…
Peace lessons: How to reduce violence
Robert J. Burrowes If you are interested in learning more about the meaning of, and the relationships among, direct, structural and cultural violence and how one peace studies scholar suggests we use the integrative power of nonviolence to address violence…
21 climate change fighters
Danielle Nierenberg Recent reports from both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and theNational Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have confirmed 2014 as the hottest year on record. Average global temperatures and sea levels are on the rise, and…
City’s double life
Sudhirendar Sharma To strike a balance between religious obligations and human desires, a majority of Tehranis are forced to lie to ensure survival Life in a city is about survival, and Tehran is no different. Survival is as much an…
Supporting future farmers
Danielle Nierenberg Young people are the farmers and food system leaders of tomorrow. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), young people are increasingly abandoning agriculture and rural areas in search of better prospects, which makes creating opportunities…
Effective water governance: Need of the hour
By Ermelinda Dias Water is identified as 3rd largest risk in the World Economic Forum Risk Report, 2015. Water resources are constantly under pressure due to increasing population and changing lifestyles, pollution and overuse. A growing population pressure on finite…
Legacy of War
Robert J. Burrowes As the world continues to engage in various commemorations in relation to World War I, Australia approaches the centenary anniversary of a defining event in the nation’s history: ANZAC Day. On 25 April 1915, and for many…
20 Earth Day superheroes
Danielle Nierenberg April 22nd is the 45th anniversary of Earth Day—an important opportunity to highlight solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges. On a planet in which hunger and food waste coexist, where crops feed…
Teesta should be dealt with holistically in any deal
Mostafa Kamal Majumder The recent 4-day visit of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee to Dhaka at the invitation of the Prime Minister on the occasion of the21 February ‘Bhasha Dibas’ attracted much media attention in Bangladesh. This was because…
Enter now: Fix the food system
Danielle Nierenberg Young people and their innovative ideas have the power to change the food system. The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) Young Earth Solutions! (YES!) program was established in 2012 to encourage young people—specifically, students under the…
Diffusion of agricultural innovation
Professor M Zahidul Haque In developing countries whose mainstay is agriculture, technology generation and diffusion is a crucial factor to eradicate hunger and poverty through attainment of food security and increase of farm income. Small farming, particularly in countries where…
Will everyone get a Ferrari one day?
Even if everyone were to get a Ferrari, it will only be the Fiat of its generation. It is tough to imagine ‘de-growth’ as an idea of our times. One would argue that resisting growth is to risk economic and…
Saving passengers of the good ship Titan… Earth
Robert J. Burrowes On 15 April 1912, the Titanic, the largest ship afloat at the time it entered service, sank in the North Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage. The large and unnecessary death toll –…
The Iran nuclear deal: Step in right direction
By Chandra Muzaffar There is no guarantee that the preliminary agreement reached in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 2nd April 2015 between Iran, on the one hand, and the United States and five other world powers, namely, Britain, China, France, Germany and…
Investigating cheap food
Danielle Nierenberg Imagine if the price you paid for a hamburger included factors such as heart disease, the number one cause of death worldwide; or the runoff of manure spread on fields from concentrated animal feeding operations; or injuries to…
Conceptual understanding of the Chinese dream
Dr. Sinha M. A. Sayeed ‘Dreams inspire and propel us. Philosophers, politicians, writers and musicians have been saying so for centuries. “Hope is a waking dream,” Aristotle once wrote. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only…
A conservator Governor in Northeast India
By Nava Thakuria Assam finds a conservator of wildlife in its Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, who has made it clear that unlike other Constitutional heads, he would not be a mute spectator in respect of protecting the great Indian one-horned…
Food Tank’s spring reading list
Danielle Nierenberg This week, Food Tank has hand-picked books that have educated, inspired, and informed us. They highlight kitchen gardening, the future of food, stories of food heroes, delicious recipes, and family farming. From A Little Piece of Earth: How…
Yemen — No military solution
By Chandra Muzaffar There is no military solution to the Yemen crisis. It is essentially a tussle for power between various political actors. The solution has to be political. Military air-strikes helmed by Saudi Arabia, and supported by most of…
Vykom: Strategic nonviolent action against untouchability
Robert J. Burrowes Why does nonviolent action work? And how good was Mohandas K. Gandhi as a nonviolent strategist? If you want high quality evidence in your search for answers to these two questions then I encourage you to read…
Sponsored terrorism leading Bangladesh to astray
Mohammad Zainal Abedin, from NY One of the major techniques of our government is to vehemently condemn political foes for committing such activities what its members did in the past and even does at present. It is known to all…
Achieve more with less water, conserve the precious resources
Danielle Nierenberg World Water Day is a day to celebrate one of the planet’s most precious resources, fresh water. But that resource is being rapidly depleted. “The world is thirsty because it is hungry,” reports the U.N. Food and Agriculture…
How power can be cleaned
by Sunita Narain Coal is an environmentalist’s bugbear. The use of coal to generate energy is the key reason the world is looking at a catastrophic future because of climate change. Recognising this, global civil society has given a rousing call for coal…
Venezuela- A Threat?
By Chandra Muzaffar The most absurd political pronouncement of 2015 was made on March 9. The US President issued an Executive Order that declared ‘a national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and…
Prescribed living invites doctors’ prescription
Sudhirendar Sharma Mass production, mass consumption and resultant mass monotony has resulted in mass depression. Realizing that the French people would judge him for how happy and satisfied they felt with life during his presidency, Nicholas Sarkozy had hired some…
Violence against women: why we keep getting it wrong
Robert J. Burrowes With the passing of another International Women’s Day, during which much attention around the world has again been focused on tackling violence against women, I would like to explain why none of the initiatives currently being proposed…
Women farmers making it happen
Danielle Nierenberg March 8th is International Women’s Day, and this year’s theme is “Make it Happen.” All over the world, there are innovative women inspiring us at Food Tank. International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the success and…
Tale of two cities: Monologue obstructing dialogue
Mostafa Kamal Majumder A round-table held at a hotel in Dhaka city on Saturday underlined the need for dialogue but only after what its participants are reported to have said the end of ‘violence’. As reported, the speakers have called…
The king who never forgot he was a king
Sudhirendar Sharma Had he been born a century later, he would undoubtedly have found his career in the film world. For different reasons, the lives of the Indian Kings and Princes have been intriguing both for the historians as well…