Suddenly upwardly mobile middle class parents are demanding that
the managements of nexgen, five-star schools match promise with
performance. And increasingly, teachers in these schools are on
the warpath demanding pay packages commensurate with institutional
status and environments.
Summiya Yasmeen
reports.
The new army chief, Lt. General J J Singh, has drawn much attention as
the first Sikh to head the army. More interesting than this
sidelight, however, is the fact that he takes office at a time of
great opportunity for peace, as political relations with Pakistan
have taken a small turn for the better.
Firdaus Ahmed
welcomes the new commander.
P Sainath
finds that the declining fortune and health of the religious
establishment in Kerala's Wayanad region mirrors what is
happening to the parishioners themselves.
India's upcoming National Biotech Policy will aim at food security, health-safety,
farmer well-being, protection of the environment and security of trade in farm commodities. But
favouring GM crops over alternatives runs real risks of jeopardizing this agenda, argues Kasturi Das.
Governments in India have been using key provisions in environmental regulations to create
and protect 'Ecologically Sensitive Areas'. Recently, the Supreme Court also pressed a state
government on an ESA commitment. Kanchi Kohli reports on the
practice and challenges.
Sewer cleaners must be provided instruments to check poisonous gases, blowers to throw out polluted air, torches, gloves, etc., say government rules. But with Delhi municipal authorities ignoring safety measures, 10 workers recently died in a span of just one and a half months, reports
Pankaj Chaturvedi.
The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) describes itself as a 'left oriented women's organisation committed to achieving democracy, equality and women's emancipation'. Sudha Sundararaman, 46,
took over from Brinda Karat in November.
Ambujam Anantharaman
caught up with the new leader of AIDWA.
From hectic lobbying with the Prime Minister to rising usage of Right to Information laws
in three major states, 2004 has perhaps seen wider citizen enthusiasm and organizing than
any other
year recently. But will Parliament and the Central and State
governments respond
proportionally?
Varupi Jain
reports.
Much debate over the massive dam projects on the Narmada has been on costs
vs benefits as well as poor rehabilitation measures. But one of the
original questions activists raised years ago was over the Right
to Information. The 'RTI' factor may be finally hitting home,
reports Jaideep Hardikar.
Prior to 1995, KSRTC did not have a single bus on this route, but
nowadays there are 24 trips between Manathavady in Wayanad and
Kutta in Kodagu, Karnataka. By the second stop on the journey,
there is not a
seat vacant.
P Sainath
continues his series on the agrarian crisis in Wayanad.
In a recent lathi charge on protesting student activists, Kerala's police used electric shock batons.
The state's model of development has many votaries worldwide, but the savageness in police actions on
mass programmes does not seem to be going away,
reports
Venugopal P N.
The proposed new Indian Media Council must live up to the best traditions of
the press council concept, which is fundamentally based on cooperation
between the media and the public to protect key human rights. Many good models
for this are available around the world.
Ammu Joseph
begins a new column.
Rajasthan is getting ready for a mass installation of fluoride filters on water handpumps in over 23000
villages. The state's drinking water has dangerously high fluoride levels. But the government's reliance
on pumps may cause more harm than good, asserts
Deepak Malik.
Offer to build 320,000 houses for slum-dwellers. Deliver only 1146. In two years, only a tiny
fraction of the
number of houses a Maharashtra government plan called for
actually got built. Dilip D'Souza dissects an infamous cross-subsidy
fiasco that was born as an election promise.
Aiming to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, the Ministry of Environment and Forests published
a 'good practices in regulation' note earlier this year.
Sunita Dubey
finds that instead, the charter may further weaken environmental protection.
For Manmohan Singh, the tortuous road to the high office he occupies may be both fortuitous and a handicap. He is
not the Prime Minister by right or popular mandate, but simply the man deemed most suited to occupy that role in the midst of the most notable political currents. The
India Together editorial.
The April 2005 deadline for a nationwide Value Added Tax regime is only
months away. But what exactly is on the cards, and what will it achieve?
Dinkar Ayilavarapu
considers the rationale for the shift, and finds that many of the goals
have been whittled away already.
Children in 21st century India are having to deal with a rapidly gathering danger: a degrading environment from pesticides, air pollution and unsafe toys to contaminated rivers and more.
Ramesh Menon
surveys the troubling landscape.
The pressing need for direct participation of citizens in public
oversight has always contrasted
with the eagerness
of political parties to penetrate virtually all public offices. In Karnataka,
school development monitoring committees were the latest to fall victim to this imbalance.
Subramaniam Vincent
reports.
Despite the intervention of the Supreme Court, the state government
is a long way from meeting its commitment to eradicate child hunger and
deaths due to malnutrition. As a result, an already insecure condition for
millions of children shows no sign of improvement.
Rasika Dhavse
reports.
