Articles
May 03 2006
CONTRACT FARMING
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Corporate agriculture: transplanting failure
Growing corporate interests and influences in the country's farm sector are beginning to underplay the significance of cooperatives, despite failed pilot programs. Moreover, farmer-owned-firms continue to be successful in the developed nations, and this evidence too is being ignored, writes Sudhirendar Sharma.
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May 02 2006
OPINION: RESERVATIONS
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Classy cast of mind
In the recent impressive gains made by the Indian economy, the OBCs have not benefited proportionately. The recent extension of reservations to elite institutions that are seen as passports to the new economy is therefore logical. But it must still not be excessive, writes Ramachandra Guha.
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May 01 2006
RESIDENTIAL CARE FOR CHILDREN
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Spotlight on residential child care
Migration, poor rural education infrastructure, and other factors are leading to a spurt in the number of children in residential care at government and private institutions. An initiative led by Child Rights and You promotes quality in these centres, linking them to local panchayats and community groups, writes Vidya Raman.
Apr 30 2006
ENVIRONMENT
How can biodiversity be protected?
ENVIRONMENT : How can biodiversity be protected?
In biological diversity, India is one of the richest countries in the world. But widespread destruction has already taken place and this is continuing. Urgent measures to reverse the damage are both necessary and possible. Ramesh Menon sounds the wake-up call.
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Apr 30 2006
CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN
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Crime in the city
Data from UP's Crime Records Bureau shows only a small number of crimes against women, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Police officials' unwillingness to register and investigate crimes is a key reason, and the State Commission for Women is largely mute. Puja Awasthi reports.
Apr 29 2006
REGULATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
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Biotech Policy: secretive and hasty
The government's stance towards biotechnology shows such disregard for the public interest that even its own Expert Committee is not privy to the proposed new policy. Suman Sahai protests the reckless endorsement of vested interests while many other stakeholders are kept in the dark.
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Apr 28 2006
CONSUMER AWARENESS
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What's in a brand name?
In a few seconds, advertisers tell us stories from a fairy-tale world of the strongest, whitest, coolest and simply the best. And alas, like most fairy-tales, advertisements are often false. How can consumers be better informed? Varupi Jain talked with VOICE, a New Delhi-based consumer rights non-profit.
Apr 27 2006
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It is often overlooked that laws are driven by the values of the law makers. When these values turn against a particular community, such as the African-Americans in the Jim Crow South, zealous do-gooders often use the protection of the "law" to...
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Apr 26 2006
OPINION
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Rape and the media
Too many factors coincided to deliver justice speedily in the Sunil More case. But whether this will have a long-term impact on rape cases is debatable. Unless the speed of investigation and the filing of charges becomes the norm, such cases will remain the exception, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Apr 25 2006
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Will live ballots revive a dying economy?
In the long-time UDF bastion of Wayanad, the agrarian crisis has transformed things. All have been affected, writes P Sainath.
Apr 25 2006
SOCIETY
The transformation of Kavthepiran village
SOCIETY : The transformation of Kavthepiran village
Amongst a number of other problems, this village in Sangli district, Maharashtra, was ridden with alcoholism and disease for over two decades. Since 2001, that began to change. Kavthepiran made a turnaround, banned alcoholism, and won a national award for 100 per cent sanitation this year. Vinita Deshmukh reports.
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Apr 24 2006
LENS ON EDUCATION
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Autonomy comes closer, but debates persist
For decades, there have been concerns that India's universities were being bogged down by the number of institutes they had to manage. Recently, the University Grants Commission accepted in principle that autonomy must be green-lighted. But debates on the freedom of institutions remain inconclusive, reports Deepa A.
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Apr 22 2006
THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT
'Poster' women
THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT : 'Poster' women
Over 100 posters were displayed recently in New Delhi as part of an exhibition titled 'Poster Women'. The posters, said Urvashi Butalia of Zubaan, "visually map the history of the movement". Like windows, they offer a glimpse of the women's movement spanning the past 35 years. Deepti Priya Mehrotra reports.
Apr 21 2006
OPINION: GOVERNMENT
No need to amend the 'Office of profit' law
OPINION: GOVERNMENT : No need to amend the 'Office of profit' law
The UPA Government is attempting to achieve consensus and amend the Office of Profit law to allow select legislators to hold additional public offices. This is merely the climax of a larger trend, says Madabhushi Sridhar, of an already thin separation of power between executive and legislature, and of earlier efforts to dilute the Constitution.
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Apr 20 2006
WATER HARVESTING
Don't dig down
WATER HARVESTING : Don't dig down
In a twist to the usual practice of digging deep bore wells in search of water, Mohammad decided to try scouring for water horizontally. His success at this unusual method has earned him the nickname 'adda-bore', and many satisfied clients. Shree Padre reports.
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Apr 19 2006
WOMEN/MEDIA
Through the eyes of women filmmakers
WOMEN/MEDIA : Through the eyes of women filmmakers
"Women, Media and Transformations" was the leitmotif of a festival of documentary and short films for South Asian women filmmakers that concluded in Calcutta earlier this month. Shoma Chatterji was there and writes that the films offered a wide spectrum of subjects from ethnographic investigation to introspective, abstract journeys.
Apr 18 2006
COST-RECOVERY IN DEVELOPMENT
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A convenient collusion
Many development projects now mandate cost-sharing by beneficiaries, but better-off citizens are exempted from the rationale used against the poor. Cash-strapped governments are also happy to subject the poor to a different logic, if it helps dilute their own accountability, writes Sudhirendar Sharma.
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Apr 17 2006
NATIONAL SECURITY
Politicisation and the Indian military
NATIONAL SECURITY : Politicisation and the Indian military
While agreeing with General S Padmanabhan who says in his recent book that "politicisation of the military is a self defeating exercise in a democracy," it is difficult to concede that "greed for fish and loaves of office" is how the politician would corrupt the military establishment and wrench it from its apolitical moorings, writes Firdaus Ahmed.
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Apr 15 2006
PRS LEGISLATIVE BRIEF
STs (Recognition of forest rights) bill
PRS LEGISLATIVE BRIEF : STs (Recognition of forest rights) bill
Who can live in forested areas? What rights to they have over lands they have lived in for generations? Can they be relocated, and if so on what terms? Legislation in Parliament attempts to balance forest dwellers' rights with economic and environmental objectives. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.
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Apr 14 2006
THE NARMADA PROTEST
A moral breach in the dam
THE NARMADA PROTEST : A moral breach in the dam

As the demands for justice draw embarrassingly close to the PM, the decision to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam is being reviewed. But promises are nothing new, and officials have always known that they can be broken with impunity. Should we expect anything different this time? The India Together editorial.

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