The book highlights the root cause of human trafficking and analyses how factors of vulnerability affect the marginalized, especially during and after a disaster. Human trafficking like other studies on disaster research, needs to be tackled from various perspectives such as empowering the vulnerable people, creating awareness, strengthening the disaster risk reduction measures and creating a common platform to fight the vicious circle by breaking its continuity and making strategies victim centric and people friendly. The book adapts a multidisciplinary approach embedding concepts from political, social, economic and anthropological perceptions. The discourse in the book revolves around the emotional and psycho-social stress factors including weak implementation of laws and policies at various levels. The content weaves around three themes -- magnitude and interlinks between disaster and human trafficking; policies and protocols on disaster risk reduction and human trafficking and community participation and institutional support. Through these themes, the volume works on identification of the vulnerable areas which are not in compliance with the Sendai Framework of Action, 2015 in the backdrop of the Disaster Management Act of India, 2005. The volume will be of immense interest to a wide range of practitioners, researchers, academicians, policy makers, political leaders, gender experts, international organizations, disaster management authorities, civil society organisations, and scholars working in the area of human rights in general and trafficking in particular. Note: This research was funded by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). Human Trafficking is complex, layered and lies at the intersections of multiple vulnerabilities, gender being among the most significant ones. This gets exacerbated during both natural and human made disasters. Any attempt to either understand or address it will be fraught with challenges if women and girls' unique vulnerabilities, as well as their needs, voice, choice, agency and safety is not centre-staged in any effort. Mondira's book does exactly that...it succinctly and in simple words explores the compounding discriminations, including structural inequalities, that cause and result in women and girls differential gendered vulnerabilities to being trafficked during disasters. Once this is understood, the solutions can be specific, gender responsive, and sustainable. - Anju Dubey Pandey, Gender Responsive Governance and Ending Violence against Women Specialist, UN Women, New Delhi, India

The book highlights the root cause of human trafficking and analyses how factors of vulnerability affect the marginalized, especially during and after a disaster. Human trafficking like other studies on disaster research, needs to be tackled from various perspectives such as empowering the vulnerable people, creating awareness, strengthening the disaster risk reduction measures and creating a common platform to fight the vicious circle by breaking its continuity and making strategies victim centric and people friendly. The book adapts a multidisciplinary approach embedding concepts from political, social, economic and anthropological perceptions. The discourse in the book revolves around the emotional and psycho-social stress factors including weak implementation of laws and policies at various levels. The content weaves around three themes -- magnitude and interlinks between disaster and human trafficking; policies and protocols on disaster risk reduction and human trafficking and community participation and institutional support. Through these themes, the volume works on identification of the vulnerable areas which are not in compliance with the Sendai Framework of Action, 2015 in the backdrop of the Disaster Management Act of India, 2005. The volume will be of immense interest to a wide range of practitioners, researchers, academicians, policy makers, political leaders, gender experts, international organizations, disaster management authorities, civil society organisations, and scholars working in the area of human rights in general and trafficking in particular. Note: This research was funded by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). Human Trafficking is complex, layered and lies at the intersections of multiple vulnerabilities, gender being among the most significant ones. This gets exacerbated during both natural and human made disasters. Any attempt to either understand or address it will be fraught with challenges if women and girls' unique vulnerabilities, as well as their needs, voice, choice, agency and safety is not centre-staged in any effort. Mondira's book does exactly that...it succinctly and in simple words explores the compounding discriminations, including structural inequalities, that cause and result in women and girls differential gendered vulnerabilities to being trafficked during disasters. Once this is understood, the solutions can be specific, gender responsive, and sustainable. - Anju Dubey Pandey, Gender Responsive Governance and Ending Violence against Women Specialist, UN Women, New Delhi, India

We are on the eve of the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, that were promised and pledged in the year 2000 by 189 nations of the world. It was envisaged to overcome extreme poverty and multiple deprivations existing in the society. With barely less than three years left to reach 2015, it would be interesting to study if there is a growing equality of opportunity between people and among nations. This is an issue that now dominates every discourse on development debate in the third millennium. The pace of development has been accompanied by rising disparities within nations and between nations. The most significant of these being gender disparity. Despite a relentless struggle to equalize opportunities between women and men, the issue remains an unfinished agenda and eludes the much desired change. This book could not have come at a more appropriate time. This publication consisting of contributions across Central Asia and South Asia adds to the slender collection of literature in understanding the present challenges and concerns that grip these regions in achieving the millennium development goals by 2015. It highlights sharp gender inequalities and the barriers to social and economic development that grip the region. This book will be a great source of information in helping scholars and researchers and also will contribute significantly in framing policy recommendations by the concerned countries.

This book essentially draws on a collection of articles presented at the two day International Conference on Reconstruction Process in Afghanistan, held in New Delhi, on April 23-24, 2008. The conference was sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and was attended by scholars, activists, NGOs practitioners, government officials, diplomats, ambassadors and the ministry of external affairs. Covering a wide range of issues ranging from Economy and Society to Strategic and Security Concerns, the book gives a deep insight into the ground realities of Afghanistan. India has been one of the fore runners in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan and is among the top five countries who are actively participating in the reconstruction process. India's pledge towards Afghanistan's reconstruction process has now reached to the tune of 1.2 billion US$. Nevertheless human security continues to be a haunting problem in Afghanistan even today. The tremendous loss of lives, the continued food insecurity, the displacement of approximately six million people and the disabling of three million, in addition to the severe reduction in social services, continue unabated. It is exactly seven years since the Bonn agreement was signed. What are the ground realities today? How far have the objectives been met with? How secure is Afghanistan today? What are the major security concerns and how to address these? These were some of the issues which were deliberated at the international conference and have been captured through articles meticulously presented by international and national scholars of repute.