Articles
Jun 03 2007
GLOBAL WARMING
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Pricing carbon correctly
Under the Kyoto Protocol, it is possible for developed countries to simply buy off the cost of their pollution from less developed economies that do not put out their permitted quota of harmful substances into the atmosphere. This mechanism is fraught with both moral and practical difficulties, writes Darryl D'Monte.
Jun 01 2007
WOMEN
Land titles don't come easy for farm widows
WOMEN : Land titles don't come easy for farm widows
More and more land in Vidarbha has come under women's cultivation, but pressures of culture and family economics are still strongly against their title to land itself. But increasingly, women are coming out to assert their rights, reports Aparna Pallavi.
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May 31 2007
WATER MANAGEMENT
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Centre absent from water projects
New Delhi can easily develop the procedures needed to ensure that projects that have not been approved by either CWC or the Planning Commission do not get statutory clearances. Instead of using such powers, central agencies work more like agents for sub-optimal development. Himanshu Thakkar reports.
May 30 2007
AGRICULTURE
Burning down standing surgarcane crops
AGRICULTURE : Burning down standing surgarcane crops
Farmers in Datodi village in Yavatmal, Maharashtra, turned to sugarcane when the Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, called on the debt-ridden cotton farmers of Vidarbha to shift to the sweet cane last year. They are now paying the price, reports Jaideep Hardikar.
May 29 2007
AGRICULTURAL CRISIS
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Farmer's diet worse than a convict's
Several women in Karnataka's Mandya district like Jayalakshmamma, whose husband committed suicide four years ago, still stand up to the unending pressure with incredible resilience, writes P Sainath.
May 29 2007
OPINION
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A certain ruthlessness
The day the Uttar Pradesh election results came in, I was having lunch with a friend in Mumbai. "Mayavati appears to be the Jayalalithaa of the North," he said; the more I thought about it, the more the comparison made sense. Ramachandra Guha lists the similarities between the power women of the North and South.
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May 28 2007
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE
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No place for single women
Once, Andhra Pradesh's top leaders queued up at Bandi Lachmamma's home with promises. The debate on farm suicides hit the headlines when her husband took his life. Years later, she works as a coolie in Anantapur earning much less than the minimum assured by the NREGP - which turns away single women, writes P Sainath.
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May 27 2007
HIV/AIDS
The positive lives of Bagalkot
HIV/AIDS : The positive lives of Bagalkot
Bagalkot district in Karnataka is today emerging as a model for how AIDS awareness can make all the difference in stemming the disease. It is also showing how it is not impossible to create an atmosphere where HIV positive people can continue to live with freedom, dignity and hope. Ramesh Menon reports.
May 25 2007
BOOK REVIEW
A weak look at judicial reforms
BOOK REVIEW : A weak look at judicial reforms

A trickle-down approach that sees justice through the lens of economic growth is the basis for many of its arguments, omissions and conclusions. As a result, it is of use mainly to practitioners of the law, who encounter some of the issues raised in detailed ways. Bikram Jeet Batra reviews "Judicial Reforms in India: Issues and Aspects".
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May 24 2007
AGRICULTURAL CRISIS
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Farming: It's what they do
The agrarian crisis has seen over a lakh of women farmers lose their husbands. But survivors like Kalavati Bandurkar - with seven daughters - still run their farms, writes P Sainath.
May 24 2007
CHILDREN/HEALTH
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Death of new-borns and the Kerala model
38 babies died in one hospital in Thiruvananthapuram over the past four months, shocking a state which boasts of the lowest infant mortality rate in the country. The much discussed and extolled Kerala model of health development is ailing, reports P N Venugopal.
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May 23 2007
MAHARASHTRA : WATER AUTHORITY
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A flawed model for water regulation
Scrutiny of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority Act shows that the progressive promises of its wording are likely to be belied. Partly this is because of fundamental flaws in its structure, but it is also partly because it reinforces the standard World Bank pattern of reforms, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.
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May 22 2007
PUBLIC FINANCE/NARMADA
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The willful breaking of Narmada promises
Without an iota of public debate and due process, Gujarat had increased allocation of Narmada waters for industry five fold last year, eating into the share of drought affected villages. The Comptroller and Auditor General reported this in 2007, finding it untenable. Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.
May 21 2007
AGRICULTURAL CRISIS
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Suicides are about the living, not the dead
In society's eyes, Kamlabai is a `widow.' In her own, she's a small farmer trying to make a living and support her family. She is also one of about one lakh women across the country who've lost their husbands to farm suicides since the 1990s, writes P Sainath.
May 21 2007
AGRICULTURE POLICY
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Wheat imports: Subverting procurement
Despite the high price of imported wheat, the government prefers this option to paying Indian farmers a higher support price for their crops. Bhaskar Goswami says that this amounts to a covert policy of dismantling the procurement and price support mechanisms.
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May 20 2007
ENVIRONMENT
Ubiquitous, useful, and dangerous
ENVIRONMENT : Ubiquitous, useful, and dangerous
Polyvinyl chloride or PVC is all around us. It is one of most versatile of plastic materials and its global production is at 40 million tonnes a year. Yet, PVC products are being phased around the world, and India may need to follow. Rasika Dhavse has more.
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May 18 2007
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Many distractions hurt UP's SSA
PUBLIC EDUCATION : Many distractions hurt UP's SSA
While Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has managed to push centre-stage the key concerns of 'universal literacy' and 'elementary education for all', a spirited pitch for its implementation is necessary to ensure that it does not remain floundering in India's most populous state. Puja Awasthi reports.
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May 17 2007
FEMALE FOETICIDE
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Rock a bye, baby
The recently announced 'cradle scheme' is the central government's solution to stem the practice of female foeticide. The idea appears to be to encourage parents to leave their girl child in the care of the government instead of killing her. Swapna Majumdar finds out if it will work.
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May 16 2007
OPINION
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Attacking real democracy
For the sake of millions of voiceless women and marginalised groups, who were given a voice through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, it is important to challenge laws that attempt to take away grassroots participatory democracy as it has begun to evolve, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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May 14 2007
M.P. FIRING ON ADIVASIS
Scuttling the law, officials evict tribals
M.P. FIRING ON ADIVASIS : Scuttling the law, officials evict tribals
Why did police use force and evict tribal villagers in Ghateha, M.P. on 19 April, when it was clear by all accounts that their land claims had not yet been legally settled by the state government, one way or other? Aparna Pallavi investigates, even as villagers remain absconding for fear of persecution.
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