Chetan's Musings

Government of India, Act 1: THE RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO FREE AND COMPULSORY EDUCATION ACT, 2009 Chapter II, Section 3 (i) states: "Every child of the age of six to fourteen years shall have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education." Chakkarpur Village is in the heart of Gurgaon, surrounded by malls, five-star hotels, and gated condominiums Reality Check: In the urban village of Chakkarpur, embedded in the heart of the sub-metropolis of Gurgaon, and home to thousands of migrants from Bengal and Bihar, at least 1000 children of school-going age do not attend school. This, despite the existence of a large government school in Chakkarpur. Since most of these children are from Bengal, they are unable to adjust to the school environment, are forced to drop out, and the authority's apathy ensures they stay away. Government of India, Act 2: THE NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT, 2005 (NREGA) Ch...

"The Poor are the spiritual reserve of the world." I've just spent two illuminating days at an international conference on Migration at Ahmedabad. Titled "Migration Practice - Pushing Borders", the conference had civil society representatives working in the field of migration from China, USA, Germany, and India. It was organized jointly by Transatlantic Forum on Migration & Integration and Aajeevika Bureau . That Migration for the sake of furthering livelihood is a global phenomena is well known; yet getting to know about the issue from an international perspective -- and how different nations are dealing with it -- was enriching, to say the least. Over the two days, I learnt about the challenges the European Union faces in its free-border policy, of how there's talk of Schengen Visa rules being rolled back. I got a glimpse of the massive rural to urban migration happening in China over the last decade and a half, and of the desperation of Centra...