As India staggers through multiple crises, there is a desperate search for solutions to the problems of unemployment, social and cultural strife, ecological collapse, and erosion of democratic rights.
The last few years have seen a worsening situation. The recent desperate attempt by unemployed people to draw attention to their plight by gatecrashing Parliament, the sinking of Joshimath and the dam burst in Sikkim, the conflict in Manipur, the attempt to stifle democratic voices by slapping false cases against activists and journalists and lawyers who dare to speak up, or by suspending Opposition Members of Parliament en masse are indicative of the growing malaise affecting India. We are not alone, for crises are engulfing other parts of the world.
Hope lies in the many initiatives to resist the forces of destruction, and to construct alternative pathways of meeting human needs and aspirations. Some of these come from governments and businesses, many are by communities and people’s collectives. There is a growing demand for basic policy level shifts to support such alternative approaches.
