Articles
Apr 12 2006
HEALTH HAZARDS
White asbestos, a health time bomb
HEALTH HAZARDS : White asbestos, a health time bomb
The Ministry of Mines and Minerals says it may lift the ban on asbestos mining. It is ignoring the views of exposure victims, informed recommendations of public sector medical experts, and mounting evidence of an asbestos disease epidemic emerging in developed countries. The rationale to permit mining is hollow, writes Gopal Krishna.
6
Apr 11 2006
TRADE UNIONS
An independent voice for workers
TRADE UNIONS : An independent voice for workers
With their long history of affiliation to political parties, unions have been unable to articulate the interests of workers independently. Also, a narrow understanding of labour has made them irrelevant to the majority of workers in the unorganised sector. A new formation proposes to tackle these failures. Aparna Pallavi reports.
1
Apr 10 2006
WILDLIFE PROTECTION
Vanishing vultures: too late or is there hope?
WILDLIFE PROTECTION : Vanishing vultures: too late or is there hope?
Vultures are nature's scavengers and their effectiveness in disposing off dead cattle has been a critical public health safeguard in India. But with the sub-continent losing 95% of its vulture population in just 15 years, scientists and conservationists have been scrambling to understand why, and propose remedies. Darryl D'Monte has more.
Apr 09 2006
COTTON CRISIS
Vehicle loan currents in turbulent Vidarbha
COTTON CRISIS : Vehicle loan currents in turbulent Vidarbha
A two-wheeler loan bonanza is overrunning crop-loan concerns in crisis-torn Vidarbha, where two to three farmers have been committing suicide daily. In a land where farmers find it difficult to get institutional loans for their crops, it seems getting loans for bikes are not. Jaideep Hardikar reports.
Apr 08 2006
INDO-US AGRICULTURE DEAL
#
Nukes in favour, crops downgraded
The Green Revolution was a publicly owned technology, but the current version is its opposite; processes, products, and research methodologies are caged in patents and the farmer has little say or control. But chasing nuclear stardom, India has once again sacrificed agriculture, writes Suman Sahai.
4
Apr 07 2006
CITIES
Pune's draft development plan under a cloud
CITIES : Pune's draft development plan under a cloud
A Standard & Poor-controlled firm is appointed to draft Pune's city development plan (CDP) in secrecy. An iron curtain of "don't ask us questions" appears when information about the contract is asked for. And then, the plan itself is botched up, violating the 74th Constitutional Amendment. Sheela Barse investigates.
3
Apr 06 2006
ATTITUDES TO HOMOSEXUALITY
#
Ain't no cure for love
If life for homosexuals is limited to choices between prayer, punishment or therapy, where's the good stuff? With support groups that offer homosexuals a space to express thoughts and feelings without making them feel like they need to change. This, rather than pathologising their lives, is what really helps, writes Vinay Chandran.
2
Apr 05 2006
OPINION
#
The speak-out sisters on the Net
The Internet has created democratic spaces where we can all blow-off steam and escape immediate physical violence. With faster and widening Internet access, blogging, where people create their own on-line diaries is gaining ground in India. The spirited, recent online backlash against eve-teasing is an example, says Kalpana Sharma.
1
Apr 04 2006
MIGRANT LIVESTOCK
Will herders be heard?
MIGRANT LIVESTOCK : Will herders be heard?

Tending livestock is difficult enough for settled communities, but for migrants the hardships are even worse. Without formal laws providing them access to water or feed, they must continually negotiate these, or bribe forest officials to obtain passage rights. Surekha Sule reports on recent studies highlighting their woes.

Apr 03 2006
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
Rewarding violators with room for expansion
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION : Rewarding violators with room for expansion
Unmindful of evidence that Nalwa Sponge Iron Limited had started civil works for its expansion without environmental clearance, officials rush through a public hearing to review the new project. An operation that is already violating regulations is given the merit of due process for its expansion under the same law, notes Kanchi Kohli.
Apr 02 2006
#
India Shining meets the Great Depression
In the villages, we demolish their lives, and in the city their homes. The smug indifference of the elite is matched by the governments they do not vote in, but control. P Sainath contrasts the tongue-lolling coverage of the Beautiful People with the studied indifference to the plight of millions.
Mar 31 2006
UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Kerala: rain-blessed and short of water
UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT : Kerala: rain-blessed and short of water
With its enchanting greenery and network of backwaters and rivers, Kerala is thought to be a water-plenty state. After all, Kerala gets 6 months of rainfall, 2.5 times higher than the national average. Despite this, the state has been experiencing water scarcity, with conditions worsening in some regions. P N Venugopal analyses the causes.
3
Mar 30 2006
VANILLA
#
The flavour of greed
With crop prices rising 30-fold, thousands of farmers in the hills of the south abandoned their traditional crops and switched to vanilla, with bank loans and rumours fueling their already unrealistic hopes even higher. But of course it was all too good to be true for very long. N P Chekkutty reports.
Mar 29 2006
VIDARBHA SUICIDES
#
Poison reaches them, government does not
Suicides by consuming poison contribute to over two-thirds of the total autopsies performed at a sub-district hospital in interior Vidarbha, Maharashtra. "Pesticide could be bought from any Krishi Kendra. But for medicine, they've to walk miles before they could get it," says one health official. Jaideep Hardikar reports.
1
Mar 28 2006
2005 MUMBAI FLOODS
A spate of neighbourliness
2005 MUMBAI FLOODS : A spate of neighbourliness

While the sheer scale of the flooding in Mumbai last year made relief operations difficult, there was still much that the government could have done, but failed to do. The citizens themselves, were far more resourceful and sensitive to the plight of others, writes Darryl D'Monte, who served on the Concerned Citizens' Commission.

1
Mar 27 2006
SOCIETY
Turning old into gold
SOCIETY : Turning old into gold
The idea of recycling is not new, but setting up a distribution network to enable scale and reach the poor, is. Goonj, a New Delhi-based NGO, works through partners in 14 states through 100 agencies. Other, smaller efforts are thriving as well. Chitra Balasubramaniam reports.
Mar 25 2006
WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Charting their own course
WOMEN IN BUSINESS : Charting their own course
Stifled by a culture of incredulity, public and private lenders alike have made little progress in supporting women-run businesses, In such a scenario, self-help groups, better able to judge women's plans for themselves, have taken up the slack, but there is still a long road to travel for aspiring businesswomen. Puja Awasthi reports.
1
Mar 24 2006
MEDIA
#
Information as empowerment
Conceived as an anti-poverty effort, the Navodayam project in Andhra Pradesh has grown with government support into a full-fledged media entity taking up coverage of serious local issues. Its members see themselves playing a vital role, and making a difference to the lives of lakhs of women in their districts. Shoma Chatterji reports.
1
Mar 23 2006
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
#
The scrapping of Riky
First, a ship with dubious credentials leaves the shores of Denmark. Then a month later, India allows it to beach at Alang, Gujarat's massive shipbreaking yard, for scrapping. In between, it gets a new name and rules are flouted to let it in. Gopal Krishna chronicles how Riky, unlike Clemenceau, sailed through the law.
1
Mar 22 2006
#
Privatisation, come hell or high water
Converting water to a commercial good to be sold for profit invites disaster. Most of all for poor people whose already pathetic access to water will shrink swiftly, writes P Sainath.