bengaluru

A Mathematics teacher at Corporation Malleswaram High School teaching a 9th standard class. Pic: Shamsheer Yousaf What can we do to improve public schooling, tangibly? Ever since the terrible PU results came out showing more children failing than passing, I've got a lot of letters asking what can be done about this. To my understanding, we need to do at least the following three things, to have any chance of intervening swiftly in the lives of millions of children. Increase the funding levels for education I know we are perfectly capable of wasting money, but even so, without proper investment…

Traffic rearrangement at Adugodi and Madiwala. Pic: BTP Facebook page The new one-way system around Madiwala market introduced by the traffic police in response to the growing challenges of mobility in the area shows how, when we don't have a macro plan, we end up making a series of small adjustments, maybe out of necessity, but not always connected to each other. Here is the link to the image showing the new plan.  Traffic rearrangement at Adugodi and Madiwala Bengaluru traffic police have introduced a one-way system in Madiwala and Adugodi traffic station limits to avoid the traffic congestion and…

Traffic rearrangement at Adugodi and Madiwala. Pic: BTP Facebook page The new one-way system around Madiwala market introduced by the traffic police in response to the growing challenges of mobility in the area shows how, when we don't have a macro plan, we end up making a series of small adjustments, maybe out of necessity, but not always connected to each other. Here is the link to the image showing the new plan.  Traffic rearrangement at Adugodi and Madiwala Bengaluru traffic police have introduced a one-way system in Madiwala and Adugodi traffic station limits to avoid the traffic congestion and…

Republic Day is a good time to think about citizenship, and the responsibilities it carries. The basic premise of a democracy is that the people imagine it, create it, shape it and sustain it. There are no 'others'. But in fact, what we find is that most people go about their lives without any of this. There are many reasons for this, but one important reason is misconception about what is needed. A lot of people think doing things for the public good is a 'major' commitment, and that they cannot achieve much by giving a few hours a week.…

Republic Day is a good time to think about citizenship, and the responsibilities it carries. The basic premise of a democracy is that the people imagine it, create it, shape it and sustain it. There are no 'others'. But in fact, what we find is that most people go about their lives without any of this. There are many reasons for this, but one important reason is misconception about what is needed. A lot of people think doing things for the public good is a 'major' commitment, and that they cannot achieve much by giving a few hours a week.…

If you wondered why there was no special write up from Citizen Matters for the new year, here’s our excuse. Well, we did have a spectacular plan, however all the folks who needed to be on the same page as us, didn’t really come onboard. So this was our plan - to talk to key people involved in city administration and get them to look back on the past year and share with us their wish list for 2015. This turned out to be much more challenging than we thought. We had identified around ten eminent personalities and began a…

If you wondered why there was no special write up from Citizen Matters for the new year, here’s our excuse. Well, we did have a spectacular plan, however all the folks who needed to be on the same page as us, didn’t really come onboard. So this was our plan - to talk to key people involved in city administration and get them to look back on the past year and share with us their wish list for 2015. This turned out to be much more challenging than we thought. We had identified around ten eminent personalities and began a…

The recent tragic story of a three-year-old’s death after receiving dental care under local anesthesia in Bengaluru is heart-breaking. I am a surgeon who treats patients and performs procedures everyday. I am also a father of a three-year-old and an eight-month-old. The aftermath of the incident would have been unpleasant for the doctor and the family. I am sure this incident sent shivers down every patient that walked into a healthcare facility. I have received and delivered health care in India and in the United States. Where is it safer? What does quality mean? What does informed consent mean? How…

The recent tragic story of a three-year-old’s death after receiving dental care under local anesthesia in Bengaluru is heart-breaking. I am a surgeon who treats patients and performs procedures everyday. I am also a father of a three-year-old and an eight-month-old. The aftermath of the incident would have been unpleasant for the doctor and the family. I am sure this incident sent shivers down every patient that walked into a healthcare facility. I have received and delivered health care in India and in the United States. Where is it safer? What does quality mean? What does informed consent mean? How…

On October 2nd, Prime Minister Modi announced Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Mission Clean India. In his speech, he appealed to Indians to devote 100 hours every year towards the cause of cleanliness. He also stated, “It is our social responsibility as citizens of India to help fulfil Gandhiji's vision of Clean India, by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.” Since then, the media has been reporting of clean-up drives across the country, involving bigwigs from the industry, celebrities, politicians, NGOs and what not, almost on a daily basis. Why, some politicians even arranged for garbage to be littered, so that they had…