Articles
May 12 2007
OPINION
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Patriot, not chauvinist
Although much amended and bent, the Constitution of India is still a charter for a democratic republic of men and women. But a recent experience made me realise that we are in danger of ceding highly resonant words to the men on our right, writes Ramachandra Guha.
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May 11 2007
BIODIVERSITY
Storm continues over Silent Valley
BIODIVERSITY : Storm continues over Silent Valley
The Kerala government is proposing to construct a new dam only a few kilometres from the site of one of India's great environment struggles in the Silent Valley National Park. But cooked data and ignored court orders have once again invited the wrath of conservationists. M Suchitra reports.
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May 10 2007
TENDER MANGO FESTIVAL
A 'sour' source of delight and livelihood
TENDER MANGO FESTIVAL : A 'sour' source of delight and livelihood
A three day festival of a special tender mango called appe midi held last month in Shimoga, Karnataka attracted 6000 visitors. The festival showcased a range of preparations including popular pickles, and gave a filip to the conservation of this wild mango variety. Shree Padre reports.
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May 09 2007
EDUCATION/CASTE
Polishing away their futures
EDUCATION/CASTE : Polishing away their futures

In one of development's pampered districts in Orissa, chamar children are still polishing shoes, some even as they are supposedly schooling. Special economic packages are helping only a little here, and academic performance and serious rehabilitation remain abysmal, finds Ranjan K Panda.

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May 08 2007
STEWARDSHIP OF NATURE
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The ebb and flow of environmentalism
Twenty years after the Brundtland report, it is self-evident that economic growth which consumes resources without regenerating them is, by very definition, unsustainable. But despite taking the moral high ground early, India's record on this front has been at best a mixed one, writes Darryl D'Monte.
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May 07 2007
ASSAM SCHOOL MIDDAY MEALS
Attendance up, but penetration poor
ASSAM SCHOOL MIDDAY MEALS : Attendance up, but penetration poor
For scores of students in Assam's primary schools, cooked food served in school under the Midday Meal Scheme is an attraction. Headmasters vouch for its impact in increasing attendance, but point to several challenges in making the scheme work statewide. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.
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May 05 2007
AGRICULTURE
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Jailhouse talk a fate worse than debt
After a lull of some years, farmers are being jailed for debt in Andhra Pradesh. Even those in drought-hit districts who cannot repay their loans. Farm unions see the banks as driving a dangerous and explosive process which lets off crorepati defaulters but jails bankrupt farmers owing a few thousand rupees, writes P Sainath.
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May 05 2007
ANALYSIS/CASTE
Nandigram, an atrocity on dalits
ANALYSIS/CASTE : Nandigram, an atrocity on dalits
The hypocrisy with which the Government of West Bengal acted at Nandigram this March is a serious cause of disillusionment and has opened the door to further radicalisation of the dispossessed. Tanveer Kazi presents the dalit perspective, even as the High Court continues to pass strictures on the state government.
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May 04 2007
POLITICS/U.P. ELECTIONS
Women of U.P., unite!
POLITICS/U.P. ELECTIONS : Women of U.P., unite!
With a population of 170 million and with 403 Legislative Assembly seats up for grabs, political parties are baiting the the masses in U.P. Of course, masses do not include the approximately 78 million women of the state, reports Tarannum.
May 02 2007
RTI ACT
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One year of unfreedom
A year after the right to information became a reality, a reluctant government and its indifferent officials are finding it too burdensome to carry it forward. So, attempts are on to find sideways and steer clear of it except in Bihar, where RTI complaints are being taken over phone, says Arvind Kejriwal.
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May 01 2007
LABOUR
Lives strangulated by needle and thread
LABOUR : Lives strangulated by needle and thread
27-year-old Ratnamma, a garment factory worker, was forced to deliver a baby on the streets of Bangalore. 20-year-old Gayathri was run over by the bus belonging to the Bangalore garment factory where she worked. Garment workers in Bangalore are caught in an exploitative web, reports Padmalatha Ravi.
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Apr 30 2007
OPINION
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Contesting the language of development
Policies of privatisation and globalisation are changing not only economies but societies and cultures. At their core is the fight of ideas, and these will be expressed in words. What these words are, and what they mean, therefore, matters greatly, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.
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Apr 28 2007
CONVERTING FOREST LANDS
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Passing the forest buck
A series of intra-government transfers of forest lands turns its management and use over to private developers, completely bypassing the original public interest behind conservation of woods. Kanchi Kohli reports on a McLeodganj case that may hold the fate of similar efforts.
(also see Part II)
Apr 27 2007
SOCIETY/TSUNAMI RELIEF
Katta panchayats denying relief to women
SOCIETY/TSUNAMI RELIEF : Katta panchayats denying relief to women

The aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami saw an unprecedented outpouring of goodwill. But with the traditional panchayats in Nagapattinam's fishing hamlets controlling relief, single women and dalits were systematically exlcuded. Two and half years later, nothing has changed, reports S Gautham.
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Apr 26 2007
SOCIETY
Devadasis uniting to end 'dedications'
SOCIETY : Devadasis uniting to end 'dedications'
For decades, Karnataka has been haunted by the devadasi tradition where girls were 'dedicated' to goddess Yellama and then turned into sex-workers. Today, determined groups of devadasis of Bagalkot district are bravely stopping the practice, stemming the growth of AIDS and gaining a new respect in society. Ramesh Menon reports.
Apr 25 2007
VICTIMISED AGAIN
Rapist to victim: will you marry me?
VICTIMISED AGAIN : Rapist to victim: will you marry me?
Dilution or outright waiver of punishment if a rapist offers to marry his victim is an extra-legal step, one that is not written into law anywhere. But it continues to be entertained because the internalisation of stigmatisation is wide-spread, and even the victims believe it. Shoma Chatterji reports.
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Apr 24 2007
FOREST RIGHTS BILL
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Rights denuded in a forest of words
Buried within the new law's sweeping recognition of the rights of forest dwellers is a thicket of legislation that effectively makes these gains difficult to obtain, in practice. What the law has achieved is to move the struggle for these rights to a higher political plane, notes Aparna Pallavi.
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Apr 23 2007
OPINION/ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
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Growing credibility gap
It is widely accepted that agricultural subsidies in developed nations are distorting global agriculture trade. And yet, Purdue University and the World Bank are cleverly using economic models and simulated 'welfare gains' to push for market access in developing nations. Therein lies a danger, says Devinder Sharma.
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Apr 22 2007
OPINION
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'Gendered' health
The All India Services Performance Appraisal Rules, 2007 reminds us that women's work is assessed not necessarily by neutral, objective criteria. The gender angle somehow creeps in, directly or indirectly, as IAS officers in Maharashtra can now testify, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Apr 21 2007
OPINION/GOVERNMENT
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A mortal blow to Panchayat Raj
A hurriedly passed amendment to the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act last week gives MLAs unwarranted powers over panchayats, which are themselves a separate tier of local goverment. Nandana Reddy and Damodar Acharya say the amendment is contrary to the spirit of decentralisation and the Constitution.
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