Articles
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.
Jul 16 2006
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Politics of packages, packaging of politics
Had there been a waiver of debt of up to just Rs.25,000, more than 80 per cent of Vidarbha's farmers would no longer have owed the banks money. People thought that waiver would come. It didn't, and the sense of being let down is great, writes P Sainath.
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Jul 15 2006
ECONOMY
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Does Jamnagar diesel equal Basmati?
Last year, Reliance Industries Ltd. had filed a geographical indications (GI) application for its Krishna-Godavari gas and Jamnagar petroleum products, despite the fact that the products are not characteristically attributable to geography. Varupi Jain finds that if RIL is granted the GI, it will gain exclusive benefits that it has no rightful claim over.
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Jul 13 2006
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Erecting a stop sign for trafficking
HUMAN TRAFFICKING : Erecting a stop sign for trafficking
Rescue operations carried out with tactful involvement of media and the police can offer victims protection from further trauma, and also begin to sensitise a number of people on the complex issues involved. Kirti Mishra reports on the experiences and learning of Odanadi Seva Samsthe.
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Jul 12 2006
PUBLIC HEALTH / SALT BAN
Iodised salt: The lesser known facts
PUBLIC HEALTH / SALT BAN : Iodised salt: The lesser known facts
The central government wants to ban the sale of non-iodised salt on grounds of rising iodine deficiency. However, states with notable rise in deficiency are those where a ban has already been in force for the past two decades – the north-eastern states and Uttar Pradesh. P Venu, an Assistant Salt Commissioner in Gujarat, connects the dots.
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Jul 11 2006
HUMAN RIGHTS
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Death of a 10-year-old
For her childish prank, domestic 'servant' Sonu was tortured, tied up and left to bleed to death. The police have rounded up her employers, but the story has not ended because it raises questions that all of us, educated, middle-class Indians need to face, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Jul 10 2006
ENERGY/ECONOMY
Compact biogas plant making waves
ENERGY/ECONOMY : Compact biogas plant making waves
Biogas plants are not new, but their size, relative unwieldyness and reliance on large quantities of cattle dung have held back their potential attractiveness for the domestic cooking sector. That may change soon, thanks to the ingenuity of Dr Anand Karve. Vinita Deshmukh reports about Karve's new award-winning compact plant.
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Jul 09 2006
MALNUTRITION
Lowering depths, growing pangs
MALNUTRITION : Lowering depths, growing pangs
The numbers are among the worst in the world. But instead of addressing the infinite nightmare of poverty, the Indian government appears to be doing away with the poor altogether by statistical jugglery and artificially lowering the poverty line, says Colin Gonsalves.
Jul 08 2006
ENVIRONMENT
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Burning biomass is not green
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Timarpur Waste Management Company Pvt. Ltd., have proposed a waste incineration plant to treat the city's solid waste and generate 6 MW of electricity. TWMPCL has applied to a United Nations body for tradable carbon credits. Gopal Krishna finds much wrong in the proposal.
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Jul 07 2006
MECHANISED FISHING
Livelihoods caught in the nets
MECHANISED FISHING : Livelihoods caught in the nets
As the state clamps its annual ban on trawl boats along the Kerala coast, an old battle rages again, pitting traditional fishermen against trawl-boat owners who view the occupation quite differently. Each side feels that positive intervention by the state is required. M Suchitra and P N Venugopal report.
Jul 06 2006
OPINION: SECURITY/PEACE
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Grand manoeuvre, yes, but to what end?
That Ex Sanghe Shakti concluded in the plains of Punjab without much ado indicates the determination of both India and Pakistan to keep temperatures below the now usual levels of the summer campaign in Kashmir. However, this positive should not cloud the questionable premises of Ex Sanghe Shakti, writes Firdaus Ahmed.
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Jul 04 2006
EDITORIAL
Free expression, without contempt
EDITORIAL : Free expression, without contempt

Most public matters before judges are simply 'in court', and not necessarily sub judice to the extent that voicing one's views about them publicly would merit contempt charges. The courts should recognise the distinction formally, with a clear standard for separating the two. The India Together editorial.

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Jul 03 2006
THE NARMADA SAGA
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Shunglu committee : familiar fait accompli
Both the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister recognised that rehabilitation for Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river was incomplete, but neither was willing to fulfil their legal responsibility to actually stop construction. Instead, the the Shunglu Committee is now "independently" investigating rehabilitation and it appears compromised, worries Mike Levien.
Jun 30 2006
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How Mumbai came to discover Vidarbha
The Prime Minister's upcoming visit to Vidarbha has had an impact even before he's reached there. It would, however, be a transient impact if he does not see through the charade. The mess there starts right at the top. Vidarbha's condition is the product of design, not decay, writes P Sainath.
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Jun 29 2006
SURVEY OF EDUCATION
"My name is Minu Bora"
SURVEY OF EDUCATION : "My name is Minu Bora"
Pursuing a national measurement of the education, Rukmini Banerji reaches Arunachal Pradesh. Through chats and conversations and activities with children, she finds that the map of India is much more than dots and lines on a piece of paper, but also the anxieties and dreams of where we want to be tomorrow.
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Jun 28 2006
LENS ON EDUCATION
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Mother tongue or English?

The medium of instruction remains a topic of impassioned debate. Teaching in the mother tongue fuels pride, but English is here to stay. Fostering multilingualism in our schools, however, is far from smooth sailing. Deepa A reports.

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Jun 27 2006
IMPROVING ACCESS TO WATER
Well worth the change
IMPROVING ACCESS TO WATER : Well worth the change
Stirred by a media campaign, a team of youngsters from Pune launched an effort to help villagers avoid the scramble for water at wells. Well-lined tanks and a simple pipeline has reduced the loss of water, and literally brought it to villagers' doorsteps. Vinita Deshmukh reports.
Jun 26 2006
LENS ON BT COTTON
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Persisting on two left feet
Five and a half years ago, a visit to nine Karnataka farmers who were trialing Bt cotton showed regulatory breakdown. Six years on, despite fresh criticism by NGOs, scientists and the media, India's regulatory practice with transgenic crops appears to have offered a repeat performance of its 2000 conduct, says Keya Acharya.
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Jun 23 2006
CITIES
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Making motorists pay
In London, Singapore and Shanghai, high one-time car taxes and congestion fees have been used to regulate traffic load. In Mumbai though, despite the congestion and pollution caused by private motorised transport, road taxes and parking fees remain very low. Darryl D'Monte reports.
Jun 23 2006
LAND USE PLANNING
Emphasis on mixed use needed
LAND USE PLANNING : Emphasis on mixed use needed
Our organically grown urban areas are very close to being the ideal mixed-land-use places that the West is now attempting to create. To leverage this phenomenon, there must be incentives to encourage development in the inner cities instead of in sprawling suburbs, writes Madhav Pai.
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