India's First Dictatorship

Author(s):  
Christophe Jaffrelot ◽  
Pratinav Anil

In June 1975 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of emergency, resulting in a twenty-one-month suspension of democracy. Jaffrelot and Anil revisit the Emergency to re-evaluate characterisations of India as the ‘world’s largest democracy.’ They explore India’s first experiment with authoritarianism, which resulted in a constitutional dictatorship with an unequal impact across states. The impact was felt more strongly in the capital, its neighbouring states and in the Hindi belt than in states ruled by the opposition—the North East and South India. This was largely due to the resilience of federalism and local socio-political factors in these regions. India’s First Dictatorship focuses on Mrs Gandhi and her son, Sanjay, who was largely responsible for the mass sterilization programs and deportation of urban slum-dwellers. However, it equally exposes the facilitation of authoritarian rule by Congressmen, Communists, trade unions, businessmen and the urban middle class, as well as the complacency of the judiciary and media. While opposition leaders eventually ended up in jail, many of them—especially in the RSS—tried to collaborate with the new regime. Those who resisted the Emergency, in the media or on the streets, were far and few between. The Emergency accentuated India’s political culture, which is reflected in the current zeitgeist, as the illiberal aspects of Indian democracy yet again resurface with the rise of Hindu nationalist authoritarian populism. This episode was neither a parenthesis nor a turning point, but a style of rule that is very much alive today.

2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 766-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inessa V. Averyanova ◽  
S. I. Vdovenko ◽  
A. L. Maksimov

Natural and climatic conditions of the environment of Northeast Russia and particularly Magadan region are the very factor mostly influencing adaptive responses by individuals inhabiting the region. Compensatory and adaptive responses in indigenes and newcomers of the region can be assumed to have their specific features. In 2009 there was executed the examination of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and gas exchange in 392 cases aged of 17-19 years, including Europeans (Caucasians) born in the North in the 1st-2nd generation and indigenes. The methodologically similar study was carried out in 2014 in 265 persons, referred to the same cohorts of North-born Caucasians and Indigenes from the Magadan region. The results of the study executed in 2009 testified to a small number of physiological parameters that were reliably different in Caucasians vs. Indigene subjects. In 2014 no difference was found between the two examined cohorts throughout the observed parameters. The revealed changes in gas exchange, external respiration and cardiovascular systems demonstrated by modern young Indigenes of Northeast Russia testified to the fall in the effectiveness of their breathing. All that makes them farther from the classic “polar metabolic type” and their morphofunctional status becomes closer to European male subjects of Northeast Russia. Thus, we can observe a clear tendency towards “convergence in programs” of the adaptive changes between populations of the North residents undergoing similar natural, environmental and social factors.


Finisterra ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (62) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Pike ◽  
Mário Vale

The industrial policy in the UK and in Portugal, as in most EU countries, seeks to attract new investment capacity, to create jobs and to promote the impact of the so-called "demonstration efect" of "greenfield" development strategies pursued in the new plants of inward investors on existing or "brownfield" plants. This industrial policy focus is particularly evident in the automobile industry.This paper compares the industrial policy oriented towards the automobile industry in the UK and in Portugal. Two recent "greenfield" investments are analised: Nissan in the North-East region (UK) and Ford/VW in the Setúbal Peninsula (Portugal), as well as three "brownfield" plants: Ford Halewood and GM Vauxhall Ellesmere Port in the North-West region (UK) and Renault in Setúbal (Portugal). The first part starts with a discussion of industrial policy in the automobile sector, the role of "greenfield" development strategies and the "demonstration effect" on "brownfield" plants. Then, the limits of new inward investment are pointed out, basically their problems and restrictions. Afterwards, the structural barriers to the "demonstration effect" within "brownfield" plants are outlined and some possabilities for alternative "brownfield" development strategies are presented.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002422
Author(s):  
Donna Wakefield ◽  
Elizabeth Fleming ◽  
Kate Howorth ◽  
Kerry Waterfield ◽  
Emily Kavanagh ◽  
...  

ObjectivesNational guidance recommends equality in access to bereavement services; despite this, awareness and availability appears inconsistent. The aim of this study was to explore availability and accessibility of bereavement services across the North-East of England and to highlight issues potentially applicable across the UK, at a time of unprecedented need due to the impact of COVID-19.MethodsPhase 1: an eight item, web-based survey was produced. A survey link was cascaded to all GP practices (General Practitioners) in the region. Phase 2: an email was sent to all services identified in phase 1, requesting details such as referral criteria and waiting times.ResultsAll 392 GP practices in the region were invited to participate. The response rate was 22% (85/392). Twenty-one per cent (18/85) of respondents reported that they do not refer patients, comments included ‘not aware of any services locally’. A total of 36 services were contacted with 72% responding with further information. Most bereavement specific support was reliant on charity-funded services including hospices, this sometimes required a pre-existing link with the hospice. Waiting times were up to 4 months.ConclusionsAlthough multiple different, usually charity-funded services were identified, awareness and accessibility were variable. This survey was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, where complex situations surrounding death is likely to impact on the usual grieving process and increase the need for bereavement support. Meanwhile, charities providing this support are under severe financial strain. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between need and access to bereavement services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e000409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Wood ◽  
Bob Brown ◽  
Annette Bartley ◽  
Andreia Margarida Batista Custódio Cavaco ◽  
Anthony Paul Roberts ◽  
...  

In the UK, over 700 000 patients are affected by pressure ulcers each year, and 180 000 of those are newly acquired each year. The occurrence of pressure ulcers costs the National Health Service (NHS) more than 3.8 million every day. In 2004, pressure ulcers were estimated to cost the NHS £1.4–£2.4 billion per year, which was 4% of the total NHS expenditure.The impact on patients can be considerable, due to increased pain, length of hospital stay and decreased quality of life. However, it is acknowledged that a significant number of these are avoidable.In early 2015, it was identified that for the North East and North Cumbria region the incidence of pressure ulcers was higher than the national average. Because of this, a 2-year Pressure Ulcer Collaborative was implemented, involving secondary care, community services, care homes and the ambulance service, with the aim of reducing the percentage of pressure ulcers developed by patients within their care.The Breakthrough Series Collaborative Model from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement provided the framework for this Collaborative.In year 1, pressure ulcers were reduced by 36%, and in year 2 by 33%, demonstrating an estimated cost saving during the lifespan of the Collaborative of £513 000, and a reduction in the number of bed days between 220 and 352.


2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Hualde ◽  
Miguel Angel Ramírez

The signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 led to the formation of a social and economic area characterized by marked asymmetry between its members: the USA, Mexico and Canada. Seven years later the results in terms of salaries, employment and labor standards are not very positive, although they have not produced the catastrophic results foreseen by some. In Mexico several hundred thousand jobs were created, especially in the maquiladora export industry, but this has been associated with falling living standards and rising poverty. Migration from Mexico to the USA has increased. Poor labor standards and illegal employment have led to collaboration between NGOs and trade unions on both sides of the frontier.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e029261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Lynch ◽  
John Browne ◽  
Claire Mary Buckley ◽  
Orla Healy ◽  
Paul Corcoran ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo understand the impact of emergency department (ED) reconfiguration on the number of patients waiting for hospital beds on trolleys in the remaining EDs in four geographical regions in Ireland using time-series analysis.SettingEDs in four Irish regions; the West, North-East, South and Mid-West from 2005 to 2015.ParticipantsAll patients counted as waiting on trolleys in an ED for a hospital bed in the study hospitals from 2005 to 2015.InterventionThe system intervention was the reconfiguration of ED services, as determined by the Department of Health and Health Service Executive. The timing of these interventions varied depending on the hospital and region in question.ResultsThree of the four regions studied experienced a significant change in ED trolley numbers in the 12-month post-ED reconfiguration. The trend ratio before and after the intervention for these regions was as follows: North-East incidence rate ratio (IRR) 2.85 (95% CI 2.04 to 3.99, p<0.001), South IRR 0.68 (95% CI 0.51 to 0.89, p=0.006) and the Mid-West IRR 0.03 (95% 1.03 to 2.03, p=0.03). Two of these regions, the South and the Mid-West, displayed a convergence between the observed and expected trolley numbers in the 12-month post-reconfiguration. The North-East showed a much steeper increase, one that extended beyond the 12-month period post-ED reconfiguration.ConclusionsFindings suggest that the impacts of ED reconfiguration on regional level ED trolley trends were either non-significant or caused a short-term shock which converged on the pre-reconfiguration trend over the following 12 months. However, the North-East is identified as an exception due to increased pressures in one regional hospital, which caused a change in trend beyond the 12-month post reconfiguration.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-40
Author(s):  
Michael Jopling

The article is an opinion piece which examines the extent to which rhetoric about a North–South divide in performance between schools in England is justified. Starting with the catalyst, Sir Michael Wilshaw’s final annual Ofsted reports in 2015 and 2016, it traces how the divide rhetoric has been assimilated into popular discourse by the media and subsequent policy reports, notably in connection with the Northern Powerhouse agenda. The article uses regional school performance data to examine whether claims about the divide are convincing, focusing on the North East, which has been recognized as an outlier in both primary and secondary performance. It concludes that the case for a North–South divide is not proven, and with an appeal for more contextually sensitive and flexible approaches to assessing local, regional and national school performance to counter the negative effects of this divisive rhetoric.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERGI HERRANDO ◽  
LLUÍS BROTONS ◽  
MARC ANTON ◽  
FERRAN PÁRAMO ◽  
DANI VILLERO ◽  
...  

SUMMARYIn Europe, and particularly in the Mediterranean Basin, the abandonment of traditional land-use practices has been reported as one of the main causes of decline for open-habitat species. Data from large-scale bird and butterfly monitoring schemes in the north-east Iberian Peninsula were used to evaluate the impact that land abandonment has had on local biodiversity. Species’ habitat preferences, along a gradient from open to forest habitats, were significantly related to population trends: for both birds and butterflies, open-habitat species showed the most marked declines while forest species increased moderately. Multi-species indicators for tracking the impact of land abandonment on bird and butterfly populations were developed using habitat preference estimates and population trend indices. The patterns shown by these indicators were in line with the changes occurring in forest cover in the monitoring sites. This study reveals that multi-species indicators based on monitoring data from different taxonomic groups (here, birds and butterflies) may usefully be employed to track impacts of environmental change on biodiversity.


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