Articles
Jan 16 2006
EDITORIAL
The infrastructure of trust
EDITORIAL : The infrastructure of trust

Our governments face mistrust, cynicism, and opposition from citizens, and even good plans are often defeated by this. Therefore, our development plans should focus first not on building physical infrastructure, but on erecting the infrastructure to restore citizens' trust in government. The India Together editorial.

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Jan 14 2006
NOTICE OF EVICTION
Cry, my beloved school
NOTICE OF EVICTION : Cry, my beloved school
A wide-cross section of academicians and civil society organisations have come together to express dissent at the threat of closure of a well known rural school in Bandhyali, Rajasthan. They are demanding that the government honour its own commitments to provide free, good education to all children, reports Deepti Priya Mehrotra.
Jan 13 2006
BREAKING DOWN TOXIC SHIPS
Junkyard justice at Alang
BREAKING DOWN TOXIC SHIPS : Junkyard justice at Alang
The Clemenceau has set sail for India, and the spotlight is on the ship-breaking industry at Alang, where workers' safety takes a last-row seat and owners operate without fear of regulatory enforcement or punishment. Ramesh Menon writes that the toxic cargo presents an opportunity to reverse this tide of disgrace.
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Jan 12 2006
FIGHTING POVERTY WITH RTI
Gearing villages up for entitlements
FIGHTING POVERTY WITH RTI : Gearing villages up for entitlements
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is to be implemented in 200 districts around the country in the first phase. One of the main challenges will be to ward off corruption. Surekha Sule was recently involved in conducting a training programme, and notes how some villages in Andhra Pradesh are gearing up.
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Jan 11 2006
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The health of nations
India needs a strong public health system, but our direction is the opposite. Public spending on health is a mere 0.9% of GDP, and medical care is now the second most common cause of rural family debt. Public ill health, private profit - that's the partnership we are forging, writes P Sainath.
Jan 11 2006
PRS LEGISLATIVE BRIEF
Pension Fund Bill, 2005
PRS LEGISLATIVE BRIEF : Pension Fund Bill, 2005
The Bill on pension reform, which is before Parliament, takes away the obligation to pay pensions from the government and shifts the responsibility of saving for old-age to the individual. How might this affect you? And how can you make your voice heard? M R Madhavan and Ruchita Manghnani present a legislative brief.
Jan 10 2006
LAW ENFORCEMENT
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To serve and protect
The Government of India constituted the Police Act Drafting Committee in September 2005 to draft a new Police Act. This is proposed to replace the colonial-era Police Act of 1861 that is still the governing law. The Committee's six month duration comes to an end on 31 January 2006. Arvind Verma says much is at stake.
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Jan 09 2006
DAMMED DEVELOPMENT
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How many bullets maketh a dam?
Developments in Manipur seem to indicate that our infrastructure planners are proposing security costs to construction of large dams on the back of strategic risks analysis. This, even though they may not have embraced a sensitivity to undertake geological/ecological risk analysis itself, finds Himanshu Upadhyaya.
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Jan 07 2006
EDUCATING THE DISABLED
Included by law, but little else
EDUCATING THE DISABLED : Included by law, but little else

Children with disabilities are routinely edged out of an education system that's hesitant to acknowledge diversity. Inclusion may be the key word in India's current education policy, but there is a world of difference between the law and its implementation. Deepa A reports.

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Jan 06 2006
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
Dissent at home, as abroad, for Colas
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION : Dissent at home, as abroad, for Colas
Farmers in rural India and students in American universities may have more in common than it would seem. While Cola companies have run into opposition in several states in India, student bodies in North America are pressuring universities to wind up contracts letting the firms exclusively sell water and soft drinks on campus. Sandeep Pandey connects the dots.
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Jan 05 2006
COMMUNAL HARMONY
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Old justice for new problems?
The spurt in communal violence along the south-western coast has led to intensive searches for solutions. Some social activists see the answer in the old tradition of kadalkotis, sea courts with strong roots in tradition that kept peace among diverse faiths for centuries. N P Chekkutty reports.
Jan 04 2006
CONSERVATION BOUNTY
Harvesting success in a troubled region
CONSERVATION BOUNTY : Harvesting success in a troubled region
The area around the Nagavalli tank in Tumkur, Karnataka has been reeling under water scarcity for the past several years, with extensive sinking of bore wells not helping. But Jaya farm, owned by 75 year-old Jayanna and run by his middle-aged son Kumara Swamy, has become a ray of hope and self-help. Shree Padre reports.
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Jan 03 2006
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The swelling 'register of deaths'
Maharashtra began by telling the NHRC there had been 140 suicides Statewide since 2001. It ended 2005 conceding a figure of 1,041. That is the fourth figure the same State has put out within months. For Vidarbha, it is decidedly not a happy new year, writes P Sainath.
Dec 31 2005
ECONOMY
The dams balance sheet
ECONOMY : The dams balance sheet
The establishment's appetite for large dams diminished marginally in the late nineties, but encouraged by the World Bank's low-key decision to restart funding, Indian governments are ready to start building again. But are large dams worth the expenditure? Tarun Jain and Ashima Sood report on the findings of a new research paper.
Dec 30 2005
OPINION
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Security agenda: 2006 and beyond
Now that political alienation has been redressed to some extent by democratic changeovers, the presence of the Army in Kashmir can be more boldly reduced. The coming year is one of many possibilities, but it will be followed by an even more important year, and the opportunities at hand now must not be lost, writes Firdaus Ahmed.
Dec 29 2005
SCHEMING MPs
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Between sting and scam
Political parties have displayed moral outrage over the recent expose of misuse in MPLADS funds. The scheme itself violates the Constitution, and second, MPs have had a free hand in doling out contracts to build and sustain patronage. The decision to retain the scheme is shortsighted, points out Sudhirendar Sharma.
Dec 29 2005
SCHEMING MPs
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Between sting and scam
Political parties have displayed moral outrage over the recent expose of misuse in MPLADS funds. The scheme itself violates the Constitution, and second, MPs have had a free hand in doling out contracts to build and sustain patronage. The decision to retain the scheme is shortsighted, points out Sudhirendar Sharma.
Dec 28 2005
SENIOR CITIZENS
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Older women in the city
How is older women's access to the city different from that of their younger counterparts? To our surprise, we found that older women's concerns were overlooked not just by city planners while conceptualizing public places, but also in the feminist and academic discourses on public spaces, writes Sonal Makhija.
Dec 28 2005
PRS LEGISLATIVE BRIEF
Right to Education Bill, 2005
PRS LEGISLATIVE BRIEF : Right to Education Bill, 2005
The constitution now guarantees the right to education to all children between the ages of 6 and 14, but how is this to be upheld? This legislative brief by M R Madhavan and Ruchita Manghnani presents the many questions before Parliament, as it discusses the Right to Education Bill that will give effect to the guarantee.
Dec 27 2005
WTO HONG KONG MINISTERIAL
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Much ado about nothing
For the sixth time in a row, the trade ministers of the developing world have been duped to believe that agricultural trade is for development. Despite making loud noises and fuming over injustice, the faulty framework that underlies the WTO remains very much in place, says Devinder Sharma.