ASHA: India Together newsletter, June 1999 (fwd)

[Subramanya Sastry <sastry@cs.wisc.edu>]

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Date: Wed, 09 Jun 1999 00:14:58 -0700
From: news@indiatogether.org
Reply-To: indiatogether@hotmail.com
To: indiatogether@hotmail.com
Subject: India Together newsletter, June 1999

June 1999
India Together Newsletter Service
http://www.indiatogether.org/

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This newsletter is a free service of the India Together public 
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Dear Reader:

The June 1999 newsletter from India Together is presented here. Links
to new articles, as well as recent earlier ones, are included here. All
our articles are available for reading at the web site through links from 
the main page itself or from the archives. As always, India Together 
requests that you pass on this newsletter to any others who share your 
concerns and determination to build a better nation.

In this edition
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The Mobile Science Laboratory (MSL) project of Vidnyanvahini was conceived
to reach out to rural school children and to offer them the means of
learning science through laboratory experiments.  Thanks to
Vidnyanavahini, thousands of rural children in Maharashtra have had the
opportunity to experience the joy of science, and the growth that comes
with it. Luna Mercedes and Ashok Moghe profile Vidnyanvahini's learning 
in motion.
http://www.indiatogether.org/finish/stories/vahini.htm

The ongoing conflict in Kashmir is claiming the lives of servicemen fairly
regularly and in increasing numbers. This is a time for us to express
our support and thanks to the families of service who gives their lives
for our nation. The Army's Central Welfare Relief Fund facilitates
civilian participation in recognizing their sacrifices. India Together has
made this even easier, simply print your envelopes and send in your
contributions.
http://www.indiatogether.org/petitions/jawan.htm

It's a long road from untouchability to the rights of all citizens to be
treated as equals under the law. In the first of a series of profiles of
historical figures whose lives shaped modern India, Siddharth Gambhirwala
presents a short biography of Bhimrao Ambedkar, widely regarded as the
author of many of our constitutional provisions.
http://www.indiatogether.org/finish/people/ambedkar.htm

How do you solve a problem like dowry? Its wide-spread tolerance and the
social conditions in much of India have made this an entrenched malaise,
and the only way to defeat this is through systematic and comprehensive
solutions. Himendra Thakur examines the problem with some statistical
information, and introduces some of the first steps towards solutions.
http://www.indiatogether.org/nodowri/isadbbi.htm

Is expenditure on weapons and defense undermining the nation's ability to
fund primary education, health programs and other much-needed areas? Is
the huge disparity between budgetary allotments for education and weapons
reasonable? Have the weapons brought greater security? Or can we do
better? The Global Peace March, now on in India, is asking these and other
questions. An India Together report, plus links to the campaign, are
presented.
http://www.indiatogether.org/petitions/gpm-news.htm


Earlier Stories 
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Empowerment and development are as often about ability as they are about
compassion and concern. The weavers of Surajpur, especially the womenfolk
among them, have understood this well, thanks to their own perseverance and
the assistance of well-meaning organizations around them. In the process,
they have created a community that prides itself on the quality of its work
as well the empowerment it has made possible.
http://www.indiatogether.org/finish/stories/surajpur.htm

Even in a non-revolutionary social milieu, it is possible to initiate a 
mass literacy campaign and execute it with some degree of success. There is a
tremendous reserve of innate goodness and volunteer spirit among the people,
which can be catalysed, despite an overwhelming ambience of cynicism, if a
critical minimum core of committed activists and governmental support are
present. Shanmuga Subramaniam reviews Athreya and Chunkath's Literacy and
Empowerment, an evocative recital of development by those who made it
possible. 
http://www.indiatogether.org/finish/reviews/litemp.htm

Imagine a banking institution that could boast a 97% repayment rate on
its loans! That is precisely what Activists for Social Alternatives, a
microcredit lending institution in India, has achieved. In the process,
the organization has empowered hundreds of women in rural Tamilnadu, and
sent their children to school rather than work. Kumar Thangamuthu
profiles the organization that has made a lasting dent in chronic
poverty.
http://www.indiatogether.org/finish/stories/asa.htm

Sometimes, the dream is everything. Utopia is at best a faraway promise
in a book from another time, but if only in our mind's eyes, imagining it
is the first step. There is an idea of India that lives in many of us,
and from it we have often drawn inspiration to better ourselves, and
pride in the small ways we actually do. If we dare to dream of a better
nation, and ponder ways to make it happen, some part of it will come true
one day. Ashwin Mahesh imagines a different India.
http://www.indiatogether.org/finish/edits/ash.htm

For your convenience
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Thank you for your time. 
Sincerely,
______________________________________
INDIA Together: "we know, and we care"

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