Articles
Aug 11 2006
LENS ON BT COTTON
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Bt: Flaky results, pre-determined consensus
Can transgenic cotton ever be a livelihood security measure for the majority of India's small-holder farmers? Keya Acharya is circumspect. She says that the Bt cotton story in India is one of confusion. Bt appears more to favour 'rich' farmers, who have access to water, better resources, and alternative support.
Aug 09 2006
"Give us a price, not a package"
: "Give us a price, not a package"
Vidarbha's farmers are unhappy with the "relief packages" announced by the State and the Centre. Debt relief and access to credit are certainly important to them, but they want the larger issues driving the suicides addressed first, writes P Sainath.
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Aug 08 2006
HEALTH
Iodised salt: health or mere profiteering?
HEALTH : Iodised salt: health or mere profiteering?
Recently, there has been renewed stress on compulsory iodisation, with the central government attempting to bring back a national ban on non-iodised salt. But the nature and comprehensiveness of research into iodine deficiency has never made a categorical case for a ban, finds Aparna Pallavi.
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Aug 07 2006
INTERVIEW: ARVIND KEJRIWAL
RTI: An enormous power with the people
INTERVIEW: ARVIND KEJRIWAL : RTI: An enormous power with the people
In conversation with Vinita Deshmukh, Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal talks about India's RTI movement, and worries that a formidable tool of empowerment might slip out of the hands of citizens if amendments proposed by the UPA government are enacted.
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Aug 05 2006
LEGISLATION
Acquiring offices for profits
LEGISLATION : Acquiring offices for profits
Fixated on eliminating the grounds for disqualification of legislators that arose from their holding of offices-of-profit in the Executive, Parliament has sent back the infamous Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill to the President, who is now constitution-bound to sign it. Madabhushi Sridhar points out why the legislation must be stopped.
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Aug 04 2006
ENVIRONMENT REGULATION
Ministry of Corporate Environment?
ENVIRONMENT REGULATION : Ministry of Corporate Environment?

Thus far, MoEF has only been negligent in safeguarding the environment, but now it proposes to do away with even the need to do so. The new draft notification from the ministry has obligingly confined itself to facilitating new investments, and ignored all other stakeholder voices, writes Kanchi Kohli.

Aug 03 2006
OPINION: VIDARBHA CRISIS
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Rise of the moneylender
When the Maharashtra state government started punishing moneylenders in response to rising farmer suicides in Vidarbha, hundreds of cotton farmers complained. "Who will give us credit now?" they asked. Third in his series, Jaideep Hardikar records the deep-rooted factors for the dominance of the moneylender in Vidarbha.
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Aug 02 2006
OPINION
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Learning from Mumbai
After the serial blasts, Mumbai may soon be faced with men with metal detectors checking bags, train stations with sniffer dogs, more checks, and more suspicion. In such an atmosphere, it will be much easier to sow the seeds of dissension, difference, or division. A city united in tragedy could easily fall apart, hazards Kalpana Sharma.
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Jul 31 2006
OPINION : 7/11 BLASTS
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The worst act

For too many of us, the killings of terrorists have come to characterise an entire religion, and taint everybody who follows it. In the Muslim areas of Bombay, residents deal with the feeling that an entire city, an entire country, maybe the whole world, sees them as responsible for terrorism, writes Dilip D'Souza.

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Jul 29 2006
URBAN RENEWAL
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Our best hope for urban India
Certainly, there are flaws in the National Urban Renewal Mission, and mistakes will be made as it is rolled out. But this imperfect solution still represents the collective and well-intentioned efforts of many stakeholders, and we must engage with it. Ramesh Ramanathan responds to Kathyayini Chamaraj's criticism of the Mission.
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Jul 29 2006
URBAN RENEWAL
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Mission not accomplish-able
Still dodging the constitutional requirement for devolution of powers to local bodies, the Centre is now demanding that cities fall in line with the 74th Amendment. The National Urban Renewal Mission is deeply flawed, and civic groups that have proposed steps to rectify it should be heeded, writes Kathyayini Chamaraj.
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Jul 28 2006
MEDIA/LAW
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Sound and fury over the Broadcast Bill
Journalists have strongly objected to provisions of the proposed Broadcast Bill empowering the government to cripple media through pre-censorship. The media industry has been furiously lobbying against the Bill's attempt to regulate ownership. Amidst all this, there has been little mention of the need for the public to have a say, notes Ammu Joseph.
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Jul 27 2006
INVASIVE SPECIES
Scourge of the aliens
INVASIVE SPECIES : Scourge of the aliens
As invasive species aggressively eliminate native plants and animals, whole ecosystems are impacted. India has been slow to recognise and respond to the complex challenges this poses. Meanwhile, invasives have already taken over large areas, with plenty of damage to show. Arati Rao reports.
Jul 25 2006
DANCE BARS
The right to dance
DANCE BARS : The right to dance
Can the State impose arbitrary and varying standards of vulgarity, indecency and obscenity for different sections of society or classes of people? Flavia Agnes notes that the Mumbai High Court's verdict in the dance bar bans case strikes the right note.
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Jul 24 2006
SOCIETY/ADOPTION
Parenthood sans prejudices
SOCIETY/ADOPTION : Parenthood sans prejudices
Maternity leave is generally not available to adoptive mothers in India, even though an adoptive mother needs it just as much as a biological mother. The central government recently passed an order reversing this situation in part, thanks to Atmaja, an association of adoptive parents in Kolkata. Ranjita Biswas reports.
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Jul 22 2006
MASS RAPE IN MANIPUR
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Women in the line of fire
The rape of 21 women and girls has exposed deep-rooted ethnic divisions as well as fissures in Manipur's civil society. As every tribe has rushed to arm itself, women find themselves embattled between warring groups, and their bodies are the terrain the war is fought on. Linda Chhakchhuak reports.
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Jul 21 2006
WATER PROJECTS / CENTRE-STATES
Unreasoned push for large storage projects
WATER PROJECTS / CENTRE-STATES : Unreasoned push for large storage projects
The central government prefers that large multipurpose storage projects are not converted into run of the river hydro-electric schemes by the states. Not stopping there, at a meeting last year, top officials of the water and power ministries made it clear that they wanted their preference to be binding on all the states. Himanshu Thakkar has more.
Jul 20 2006
TRANSPORT/TRAFFIC PLANNING
Look who's on the road
TRANSPORT/TRAFFIC PLANNING : Look who's on the road
Engineering is often the only factor considered during design and implementation of junction improvements plans at key locations where flyovers are built. But the reality is that these locations are commonly filled with pedestrians and used as transit points, and any plan that overlooks this is doomed from the start, writes Madhav Pai.
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Jul 19 2006
MEDIA / GENDER
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Changing sex roles in Indian advertisements
Have male and female roles in Indian ads changed over the past decade? Have the images of men and women in ads softened over time, blurring the stereotypes, or have they hardened? Shoma Chatterji writes about change in the advertising scene and the importance of media literacy for women.
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Jul 17 2006
FISHERIES IN KERALA
A floundering trade
FISHERIES IN KERALA : A floundering trade
Kerala's fisheries sector is heading for deep crisis. The sector is already in troubled waters due to over exploitation of marine wealth, unbridled mechanisation and debt traps. Now the clouds of impending import of fish are further darkening the horizon. M Suchitra and P N Venugopal report.