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Kalpana Sharma

Rejuvenating India's Small Towns

Vol - XLVII No. 30, July 28, 2012 | Kalpana Sharma

Visits to seven small towns in north India reveal how paucity of funds, slipshod planning and a dearth of capabilities have contributed to poor civic services and inadequate infrastructure. Citizens in some areas have organised themselves into neighbourhood committees to tackle problems that the urban bodies neglect, but this has its limitations and cannot substitute for efficient local government. The keys to tap the rich potential in these small towns are purposeful research, participative planning, responsive governance and healthy finances.

Citizens of an 'Undercity'

Vol - XLVII No. 17, April 28, 2012 | Kalpana Sharma

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (New Delhi: Penguin Books), 2012; pp 254, Rs 499.

In Search of Common Ground

Vol - XLVI No. 52, December 24, 2011 | Kalpana Sharma

Uncommon Ground: Dialogues between Business and Social Leaders by Rohini Nilekani (New Delhi: Penguin Books), 2011; pp 250, Rs 499.

Wounded Mumbai

Vol - XLVI No. 30, July 23, 2011 | Kalpana Sharma

The 13 July bomb blasts in Mumbai have posed questions once again about the vulnerability of the city to terrorist attacks. But everyday life is itself terrifying for the majority in Mumbai. It is a terror to which you get inured; you do not even think of it as terror. One of the key issues in dealing with the vulnerability of Mumbai is of enhancing a sense of citizenship in all residents, and not just the privileged. It is the erosion of that sense of association with the city, exacerbated by divisive politics, that needs to be addressed - not to deal just with external terror attacks, but to tackle the terror of people's daily lives.

The Potential of 'Common Pool Resources'

Vol - XLVI No. 05, January 29, 2011 | Kalpana Sharma

The 13th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons that was held in Hyderabad earlier this month discussed the idea of the "commons" in its manifestations, from the physical to the digital.

Media and the Stereotyping of Muslims

Vol - XLIV No. 31, August 01, 2009 | Kalpana Sharma

Muslims and Media Images: News versus Views edited by Ather Farouqui

Governance Failures and the Anti-Political Fallout

Vol - XLIII No. 49, December 06, 2008 | Kalpana Sharma

The terror attacks in Mumbai that began on 26 November revealed a failure in governance on many fronts. The city has been victim to a string of disasters and crises in recent years, yet the emergency response was once again abysmal. A multiplicity of agencies was handing out information which was often incorrect. The people of Mumbai are very angry, but unlike in the past this anger shows little sign of being channelled into serious debate that will lead to constructive action. Instead the anti-political rhetoric that is being drummed up by the media will have a negative fallout and threatens to open the door for fascist tendencies.

The Real Media Explosion

Vol - XLII No. 32, August 11, 2007 | Kalpana Sharma

Headlines from the Heartland: Reinventing the Hindi Public Sphere by Sevanti Ninan;

Between the Lines-Women s Issues in English Language Newspapers

Vol - XXVI No. 43, October 26, 1991 | Ammu Joseph and Kalpana Sharma

Women's Issues in English Language Newspapers Ammu Joseph Kalpana Sharma The increased attention to women and to women's issues in the media in the last decade has not been free of blatant sexism and/or subtle distortions, partly as a consequence of overt biases and partly due to the very structure of the media. This article looks at the coverage of all issues concerning women in the English language press between 1979 and 1988 focusing on five landmark issues

Misusing the Term Green

Vol - XXV No. 3, January 20, 1990 | Kalpana Sharma

Kalpana Sharma THE ninth Lok Sabha elections fieraided a new phenomenon