Articles
Nov 05 2005
MEDIA
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Far from labouring the point
One aspect of the recent south Asian earthquake disaster that has received little media attention so far is its effect on livelihoods. But employment and livelihoods are not the stuff of which headlines are made – unless, of course, it is in the context of the corporate world, or when it cannot be ignored such as a nation-wide strike, says Ammu Joseph.
Nov 04 2005
PUBLIC FINANCE
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Entertainment tax bonanza in Kerala
The Kerala government gives the entertainment industry a huge tax break, by reducing dues from the operations of amusement parks. With no political party interested in opposing the drain on the treasury, taxpayers will be left to foot the bill for this largesse, note M Suchitra and P N Venugopal.
Nov 03 2005
DALIT CUISINE
Serving up success
DALIT CUISINE : Serving up success
Demand for the randani roti, a staple of Dalit cooking in Central India, has risen steeply in recent years, and today the roti is the hub of a thriving small-scale industry. And alongside the mainstreaming of their food, Dalits are finding a rare escape hatch from their economic woes too. Aparna Pallavi reports.
Nov 02 2005
INCLUSIVE AGENDAS
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Envisioning a different city
All the steel and glass towers of the glitzy facade of Bangalore cannot hide its seamy underbelly where life is pieced together under plastic tents, with fear and want as constant companions. The Bangalore Social Forum that came into existence on Independence Day believes that “another Bangalore is possible," writes Kathyayini Chamaraj.
Oct 31 2005
Vidharbha awaits a deadly harvest
: Vidharbha awaits a deadly harvest
In the three days the National Commission on Farmers team toured Vidharbha, there were six suicides. In Panderkauda, the body of the latest farmer to take his life entered that town's hospital the same day the team arrived there for a meeting on farmer distress. P Sainath continues his series on Vidharbha's crisis.
Oct 31 2005
Shamrao Khatale breaks his appointment
: Shamrao Khatale breaks his appointment
The National Commission on Farmers team, the public at large, and even sections of the media have signalled the crisis, its causes and its appalling human toll. Failure to intervene in Vidharbha now has no excuses at all. P Sainath continues his series on Vidharbha's crisis.
Oct 31 2005
INTEGRATED WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT
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Top to bottom, water and soil
Harvesting water in the lower elevations is easier, because a lot of it gathers there, but this may be too late and too little. Not only do those in higher reaches suffer without water, additionally valuable topsoil is washed away if no percolation takes place at higher levels. Surekha Sule reports from Marathwada.
Oct 31 2005
ELIMINATING STARVATION
Food sovereignty, not just security
ELIMINATING STARVATION : Food sovereignty, not just security
Despite abundant evidence that the PDS has failed to ward off starvation, the Centre proposes a new plan that shows none of the wisdom of this experience. Kanchi Kohli reports on an alternative grounded in local production, storage and distribution, which does a much better job of fighting hunger.
Oct 30 2005
PROTRACTED CONSERVATION BATTLE
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Kudremukha mining: closure in sight?
On 31 December 2005, the curtains are set to come down on the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd's long disputed mining operations in the protected Kudremukh National Park. But ensuring an end to mining in one of the most stunning landscapes of the country has not been easy. Pavithra Sankaran provides a telling narrative.
Oct 30 2005
PROTRACTED CONSERVATION BATTLE
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Kudremukha mining: closure in sight?
On 31 December 2005, the curtains are set to come down on the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd's long disputed mining operations in the protected Kudremukh National Park. But ensuring an end to mining in one of the most stunning landscapes of the country has not been easy. Pavithra Sankaran provides a telling narrative.
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Oct 28 2005
THE POTENTIAL OF SEAWEEDS
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Weeds of hope from the sea

Found abundantly along the coasts of the country, seaweeds offer the potential to help meet nutrition and food security needs, and also hold other advantages in medicine and farming. But technology, labour and quality issues impede the realisation of this potential. Prayukth K V reports.

Oct 27 2005
OPINION: ACCESS TO WATER
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Confusing water rights with quotas
A senior advisor with the World Bank is quick to hail the establishment of water entitlements in India, but is it too quick? Merely promising quotas of water on paper, or setting up 'rights' that cannot be enforced, is hardly the same as actually providing water to meet citizens' needs, observes Videh Upadhyay.
Oct 26 2005
Businesses, growth and the good society
: Businesses, growth and the good society
Many believe that in business, environmental values and a pro-poor focus are liabilities. But a set of global factors are going to change the rules of the game, warns Stuart Hart, a leading authority on the implications of sustainable development and environmentalism for business. An India Together exclusive interview.
Oct 23 2005
Adoption tales
: Adoption tales
Why do so few adoptions take place each year? Recognising some of the barriers to adoption from her own experience, Vinita Bhargava decided to research this question. Swapna Majumdar finds the answers informative and reassuring, and that they bring a complex conversation into much-needed public light.
Oct 22 2005
PUNJAB DIARY
Farmers persist with organic, see results
PUNJAB DIARY : Farmers persist with organic, see results

For a number of reasons including frustration with chemical agriculture, improved economic prospects and concern for nature, some farmers in Punjab are growing organic. Kavitha Kuruganti travelled around parts of the state to meet a number of farmers and dealers of organic products last month.

Oct 21 2005
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Good girls don't drink
Why is it that whenever there is any talk of values, it is women's behaviour, their dress, their attitude that comes into question, even though there are more men than women in India? Societal values and morality should apply to everyone, men and women, says Kalpana Sharma.
Oct 20 2005
Kids steeped in hunger, while officials fiddle
: Kids steeped in hunger, while officials fiddle
Around 80,000 children in Madhya Pradesh are suffering from severe malnutrition. So stark is the situation that one evaluation report has said that even if the children were saved, they may go blind due to lack of vitamin A. Sachin Kumar Jain chronicles continuing negligence in government departments in M.P.
Oct 19 2005
WHAT IS JOURNALISM?
Are bloggers parked?
WHAT IS JOURNALISM? : Are bloggers parked?

Are bloggers just like journalists? The jury is still debating, but clearly bloggers are filling some voids in mainstream journalism, and connecting to net-savvy citizens in an exciting fashion. Blogs are not about to destroy conventional media, but they are making an impact, notes Darryl D'Monte.

Oct 18 2005
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Unleashed from the bottle
When a Pune-based die-hard transparency activist went to a government book depot in the city on 15 October morning to buy a copy of the new Right to Information Act, he was surprised to see that there were already 50 odd citizens in line for copies. True, bureaucrats have also planted landmines, but the citizens may yet win, says Prakash Kardeley.
Oct 17 2005
All down saar
: All down saar
Tsunami relief in Tamilnadu may have taken on an altogether unexpected colour. Some villages escaped the giant tides, and yet in Shanmuganagar, villagers destroyed their homes, when the tsunami itself did not. Why? "We were scared, and they promised us a new house," finds Dilip D'Souza .