Articles
Apr 30 2009
CHILD MOLESTATION AND RAPE
Incest and the conspiracy of silence
CHILD MOLESTATION AND RAPE : Incest and the conspiracy of silence
Social attitudes that put family 'honour' above the damage caused to children keep incest from being properly addressed. A recent surge in reports of incest is shedding more light on the difficulties in overcoming this. Shoma Chatterji reports.
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Apr 28 2009
NEW MARKETS?
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Making sense of the rural rush
The list of new products that corporate India wants to attach the 'rural' tag to has grown quickly. What is at stake here is more than the survival of India's ambitious, if creative, consumer goods manufacturers, writes Rahul Goswami.
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Apr 28 2009
WATER POLICIES
Stagnant waters: Party manifestos offer little
WATER POLICIES : Stagnant waters: Party manifestos offer little
Water is a big local concern, but at the national level, it does not seem to figure very high up in the considerations of major parties, at least as seen in their pre-election promises. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.
Apr 27 2009
ELECTION ISSUES
Jumping into the fray themselves
ELECTION ISSUES : Jumping into the fray themselves

Disillusioned by the total lack of responsiveness from mainstream parties to their plight, displaced tribals from Polavaram decide to contents the assembly elections themselves. R Uma Maheshwari reports.

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Apr 26 2009
EDUCATION
Alternative advantage, shackled by regulation
EDUCATION : Alternative advantage, shackled by regulation
A number of NGO-run schools in Tamilnadu are making a clear difference in helping underprivileged chilren get a better shot at the real world, in comparison to state-run schools. Still, the schools themselves need help, finds Krithika Ramalingam.
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Apr 25 2009
ELECTION SPENDING
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Big money seeks common man's blessing
It was once hoped that curbing election expenses would keep the process fairer. Today, the opposite is true, and neither the UPA nor the NDA wants to disturb this comfortable arrangement. Kannan Kasturi reports.
Apr 23 2009
ENVIRONMENT
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Panipat power plant pollutes with impunity
It has been happening for several years under the nose of the Haryana administration. The nation's top government auditor has issued multiple indictments. And yet they have polluted recklessly. Himanshu Upadhyaya tells the tale.
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Apr 19 2009
GLOBAL FINANCIAL REFORM
G20: The 'trillion' dollar magic trick
GLOBAL FINANCIAL REFORM : G20: The 'trillion' dollar magic trick
To great fanfare, the G20 announced a US $1.1 trillion global package, which will actually deliver less than half that amount in new or guaranteed resources. Meanwhile issues of fundamental economic reform were left off the agenda.
Apr 17 2009
GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Know-how at whose cost?
GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER : Know-how at whose cost?
While the usual debate over responsibility for reducing carbon emissions continues globally, there is also a parallel argument over the need for transfering clean technologies to the developing world. Darryl D'Monte reports from Bonn.
Apr 16 2009
OPINION
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Kerala crisis prescription: unconvincing, no rigour
It is nobody’s case that there is no crisis. But when remedies are prescribed, the diagnosis and the investigation have to be beyond dispute. P N Venugopal critiques a report from the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
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Apr 12 2009
POLITICAL HISTORY
With a past to honour
POLITICAL HISTORY : With a past to honour

Despite what it has done to itself in recent years, history should still remember the Indian National Congress as one of the great political parties of the modern world. That, says Ramachandra Guha, explains why he is particularly angry with it.

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Apr 12 2009
DROUGHT-PROOFING OLD STYLE
Kokkarni, saviour of paddy
DROUGHT-PROOFING OLD STYLE : Kokkarni, saviour of paddy
What do you for water when you are a paddy cultivator and a good portion of the hills around you are rocky outcrops, not ideal for catchment? Enter the kokkarni. Shree Padre reports on the revival of the practice in Palakkad, Kerala.
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Apr 11 2009
ENDLESS STRIFE
Awakening the somnolent state
ENDLESS STRIFE : Awakening the somnolent state

The common thread between our external and internal security predicaments is our approach to time. Most security issues are long-standing and seemingly interminable. If we understood why this is so, we can change it, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Apr 09 2009
ORPHANAGES IN KASHMIR
Children of the valley
ORPHANAGES IN KASHMIR : Children of the valley
The Borderless World Foundation, a group of youngsters with a humnitarian outlook to life, has been working to provide a much-needed human touch in the strife-torn border areas of India, including the Kashmir valley. Shoma Chatterji reports.
Apr 08 2009
OPINION
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The dull days of White Gold

Across India, cotton growers make up the largest group of the over 180,000 farmers who committed suicide between 1997 and 2007. There's nothing like an election to spur policy change, though, notes P Sainath.

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Apr 04 2009
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
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Darwin in India

The 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of his most famous book is an occasion to ask: "how should Indian intellectuals engage with thinkers from outside our shores?", writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

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Mar 31 2009
WATER
World Water Forums: Time to end them
WATER : World Water Forums: Time to end them
Activists and governments alike demand that future deliberations on water issues be brought within the legitimate fold of the UN, and not hosted by private and corporate interests. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.
Mar 31 2009
SUICIDES IN CHHATISGARH
"Only the idiots are committing suicide"
SUICIDES IN CHHATISGARH : "Only the idiots are committing suicide"
In Chhatisgarh's Durg district, there is no shortage of farmers who have taken their lives - the district ranks second in the state on this count. But equally, there is no shortage of those who don't see these suicides. Shubhranshu Choudhary reports.
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Mar 31 2009
WILDLIFE PROTECTION
Tiger census: four healthy landscapes possible
WILDLIFE PROTECTION : Tiger census: four healthy landscapes possible
The Wildlife Institute of India's census report estimated 1,411 tigers in India’s Protected Areas. The report is significant for thorough and precise documentation of habitat loss for the tiger, writes Malini Shankar.
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Mar 30 2009
BIODIVERSITY
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NBSAP to NBAP: The downward spiral
From its promising beginning and grand proclamations at international fora, the nation's Biodiversity Plan has undergone a massive erosion, as MoEF has consistently put economic values above environmental ones. Kanchi Kohli reports.