India's Social Justice Bench Meets for the First Time
The Indian Supreme Court has established a “Social Justice Bench” to cover cases about social justice in a timely manner. A statement released by the Supreme Court explains, “In Supreme Court several cases relating to the domain of ‘social justice’ are pending for several years. Hon’ble the Chief Justice of …
Featured Social Change Partner: Akshaya Patra Foundation
In a few short sentences, what does your non-profit do? The Akshaya Patra Foundation works towards alleviating childhood hunger and illiteracy in India. Through partnerships with the Government of India, corporates and donors Akshaya Patra runs one of the largest school feeding programmes in the world. With the vision that …
The "Benevolent" Boss Myth: Cars, Apartments, and Diamonds on Diwali
The Hari Krishna company, a diamond polishing company, located in Surat, recently decided to give bonuses to its employees during Diwali. The total bonus value was 500 million rupees (over 8 million USD) and included diamonds, Fiat Punto Cars, and apartments. The gift was distributed among 1,200 employees who received …
Shiv Sena Offers Cash Reward for Families That Have More Than 10 Kids
Background Shiv Sena is India’s right wing Hinduvta organization that aims to increase the dominance of Hindus in India. They are known for causing communal problems with minority religions and de-secularizing India as much possible. The Uttar Pradesh branch of the organization (the political party of which is currently in power with the …
Social Experiment on Hunger and Giving
Even if the sample size is small, it is still heartbreaking to think that anyone would deny food to someone hungry, especially when juxtaposed with even one man who shared his food despite being impoverished himself. Sadly, empathy is a stronger force than sympathy.
We Refused to Tell People in This Bihar Village That They Need Help. It Worked Wonders.
There’s a village called Dom Tola in Kishanganj district, Bihar, where Project Potential, the NGO I founded, is working. The Dom caste is responsible for cleaning up trash, dealing with dead humans and animals, and cleaning human waste. Meanwhile, while walking, I always encounter black, hairy pigs rolling in their …
Indians Think the Greatest Danger is Religious and Ethnic Hatred
According to a recent study published by the Pew Research Center, Indians think that Religious and Ethnic Hatred poses the greatest threat to the world. This is no surprise coming from a country known to have its own set of religious and ethnic problems. The next highest were Inequality and Nuclear …
How a UPenn Graduate is Empowering the Untapped Potential of India
“The future of India lies in its villages.” This famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi is being threatened today with India looking towards a shining future in its cities and skyscrapers. However Zubin Sharma, a 24 year-old graduate of University of Pennsylvania, took Gandhi’s words to heart. After starting an organization …
Freedom from Darkness: A Village in Bihar Powers Itself With Solar Energy
Introduction Dharnai is a small village in Bihar (one of India’s poorest states) and has been unable to get government provided electricity for over 30 years. Greenpeace India has recently solved their problem to help power the village using solar energy! The Problem According to the organization, small shops in …
5 Reasons India's Mars Mission Is Actually Morally Wrong
The media has been infatuated the past couple days over India’s recent Mars mission. Most domestic journalists are taking a very positive stance on the mission, and most foreign journalists are criticizing India for its space program. The FirstPost republished a piece they had published when the Mars mission was originally …
