Articles
Jan 07 2009
FLIM REVIEW: FIRAAQ
Separation and quest
FLIM REVIEW: FIRAAQ : Separation and quest
Nandita Das's Firaaq is like a celluloid anthology that will carve a niche in the minds of the audience for capturing moving images of the personal anger and anguish at the Gujarat catastrophe, writes Shoma Chatterji.
Jan 06 2009
OPINION
Look inward: the lesson of Mumbai
OPINION : Look inward: the lesson of Mumbai
Law enforcement cannot make a distinction between 'our' goons and 'their' goons. It has to make a distinction between goons and law abiding citizens, and only then can we be secure, writes Harish Narasappa.
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Jan 05 2009
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
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A boost to transparency in environment regulation
Recent rulings by the Central Information Commission offer hope that decision-making in environmental regulation will be more transparent and participatory henceforth, and embrace suo moto disclosures. Kanchi Kohli reports.
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Jan 03 2009
REMEMBERING M N SRINIVAS
The sensitive sociologist
REMEMBERING M N SRINIVAS : The sensitive sociologist
Any social scientist would give an arm and a leg to coin one new concept. M N Srinivas invented three such, with each resonating widely among the intellectual community, writes Ramachandra Guha
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Dec 30 2008
PROFILE
Woman of steel
PROFILE : Woman of steel
I would like to salute women like Dayamani Barla, for reminding us that there are other ways to "develop" and that it is possible to fight peacefully but with determination for your convictions, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Dec 30 2008
KOSI FLOODS RELIEF
If this isn't hell, what is?
KOSI FLOODS RELIEF : If this isn't hell, what is?

When Neelam Devi and her children stepped into their courtyard, the sight that greeted them was a painful reminder of the Kosi river calamity that had forced them to leave in the first place. Manisha Prakash reports.
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Dec 28 2008
DISTRESS ON THE HIGH SEAS
A mother's plea: protect our seafarers from pirates
DISTRESS ON THE HIGH SEAS : A mother's plea: protect our seafarers from pirates
A permanent solution should be sought to defend ships and their crew who, refusing to be party to unscrupulous trade, end up being eliminated, with their deaths portrayed as suicides, writes Shabeena Zaheer who lost her son.
Dec 27 2008
OPINION
Responding to terror
OPINION : Responding to terror
The Mumbai attacks are a direct threat against the existence of the Indian state. Still, we should distance ourselves from votaries of direct action, including war against Pakistan, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.
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Dec 25 2008
BOOK REVIEW: IMAGINING INDIA
Getting things done
BOOK REVIEW: IMAGINING INDIA : Getting things done
Influencing public policy and implementation is a long grind, but with a portfolio of ideas in hand, Nandan Nilekani has coursed the meeting rooms of state and central governments for years. Ashwin Mahesh reviews his first book.
Also see: Interview with Nandan Nilekani.
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Dec 25 2008
RURAL WATER/SANITATION
Incredible Medepally: so clean and green
RURAL WATER/SANITATION : Incredible Medepally: so clean and green
No other village is more eco-friendly than this one in Andhra Pradesh. From 100-per cent toilet coverage to rain water harvesting; from soak pits in every house to clean streets. Usha Turaga-Revelli reports.
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Dec 25 2008
INTERVIEW: NANDAN NILEKANI
"I am a portfolio guy"
INTERVIEW: NANDAN NILEKANI : "I am a portfolio guy"
Ashwin Mahesh talks to the former Infosys CEO, now an author for the first time.
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Dec 24 2008
REINING IN TRAFFIC
Driving away cars from city centers
REINING IN TRAFFIC : Driving away cars from city centers

With private car ownership in the large cities outpacing population growth, the central government is waking up to the need to introduce traffic restraint schemes in the metros, writes Darryl D'Monte.

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Dec 21 2008
OPINION
A stimulus package for farmers?
OPINION : A stimulus package for farmers?
With 60 per cent of India's population directly engaged in agriculture, and another 200 million landless workers indirectly banking on farming, the real stimulus to the economy can come only if the focus shifts to agriculture, says Devinder Sharma.
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Dec 21 2008
FARMER SUICIDES
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Over 16,600 farmer suicides in 2007
The broad trends of the past decade seem unshaken. Farmer suicides in the country since 1997 now total 182,936, but the real causes behind this devastation remain unaddressed, reports P Sainath.
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Dec 18 2008
PUBLIC POLICY
Water privatisation: Start again
PUBLIC POLICY : Water privatisation: Start again
The Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority calls a halt to the privatisation of the Nira Deoghar dam, citing contradictions in the laws governing water management. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.
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Dec 14 2008
WOUNDS OPENING UP AGAIN
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Vidarbha meltdown: bumper crop losses
As winter chill sets in, Vidarbha farmers are beginning to feel the heat of massive losses, besotted as they are by worries over the hungry months ahead. “It’s the worst crop year I’ve ever seen,” notes farmers’ leader Vijay Jawandhia. Jaideep Hardikar reports.
Dec 14 2008
CRISIS BACK TO VIDARBHA
He did not wait for the government’s new sop
CRISIS BACK TO VIDARBHA : He did not wait for the government’s new sop
Shattered by a complete failure of crop this year, and looming debt, the three-acre farmer in Yavatmal, Mahrashtra, followed what tens of other farmers have done in Vidarbha in the past. Jaideep Hardikar reports.
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Dec 13 2008
FILM REVIEW: MOHANDAS
Gandhi in our times
FILM REVIEW: MOHANDAS : Gandhi in our times
The backdrop is contemporary India, but the thematic concerns of the film are those of Mahatma Gandhi - the village and the powerless man. Shoma Chatterji reviews Mohandas, Mazhar Kamran's film due for release in February.
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Dec 11 2008
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS
Patterns from the past
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS : Patterns from the past
The current crisis has some striking similarities with the fallout in India of the Great Depression of 1929-1933. Indian farmers were pushed deep into debt, and the overall economy suffered, recalls Kannan Kasturi.
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Dec 09 2008
RECLAIMING GOVERNMENT
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Models of reform
The loss of faith in government can be extremely detrimental to the very foundation of our democracy. Improved performance by government is a national imperative, writes C V Madhukar.