The proverbial casting couch has been a reality over the years since women made their foray into the world of films and entertainment. As the industry joins in celebrating Women’s Day, Shoma Chatterji explores if  more of its women remain victims, rather than complicit 'sinners'.

Mars missions and scientific innovations notwithstanding, a large section of India still reposes great faith in the future predicted by astrologers. Satellite TV leverages that to offer a plethora of shows, one of which recently defied all limits of decency, as Arpana H S reports.

Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost, a recently-released feature film,exposes the shocking depths of insanity to which a father may be driven by his obsession with a male heir. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film, underlining the brutal, patriarchal society that it lays bare.

A 90-second video put together by a group of women activists demands a pop-up statutory warning on screen every time a woman is assaulted or abused. Shoma Chatterji critiques the video, raising several questions over its content as well as the stance that it takes.

Will a ‘NO’ from a woman remain ‘NO’? Asks Shoma A. Chatterji while reviewing the movie, Pink.

Mahasweta Devi remains a writer whose work was almost impossible to express through cinema, writes Shoma Chatterji paying a tribute to the legendary writer and social activist.

June 5 is the UN World Environment Day. Ashish Kothari reflects on the challenges and opportunities for the new government and civil society.

Interactions at the WSF, Tunisia with activists and thinkers from vastly diverse fields, united only by their dream for transformation and alternatives to well-being, inspire Ashish Kothari to hope for another world.

The recent government crackdown on Greenpeace in particular, and the activism sector in general, reeks of arbitrariness and illegitimacy, says Ashish Kothari in a scathing critique. The question is will the people give in to the state’s tactics?

Several newly elected panchayat presidents and and council members attended a unique ceremony in Lalpur, U.P., in late September. Watched by the District Magistrate, they took an oath of 'office and transparency' as opposed to the customary oath of 'office and secrecy'. Sandeep Pandey writes about a new beginning.

Most villagers in U.P.'s Hardoi district, except for a miniscule few associated with social or political organizations, were not aware of the passage of the new Employment Guarantee Law last year. Since then, its coming into force in 22 districts of U.P. has not impressed them either. Sandeep Pandey notes why.

35 Irula (ST) candidates had contested in the recent local body elections in Tamilnadu and 15 won panchayat presidentships. And this, Irulas hope, will translate into creation of a vocal pressure group of leaders that will ensure development for them. Krithika Ramalingam has more.

In the recent history of development in India, examples of interconnected success -- in local autonomy, forest rejuvenation and agriculture -- such as this, are rare. For Nagaland, it all started under the stewardship of Achyut Madhav Gokhale. Surekha Sule has it all.

Community engagement should be born out of respect for the participating community members and their capacities rather than as tokenism needed to fulfill a program requirement, writes R Balasubramaniam.

Displaying extraordinary grit, courage and openness to change, women from some of the most feudal communities in Rajasthan's villages are changing the rules forever and leading development and local governance at the grassroots. Abha Sharma brings us their tales.

As the Kerala government takes steps to re-inspire citizens to engage in grassroots level governance, P Mohammad Nizar draws attention to certain critical issues that must be addressed for the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state to be effectively revitalised.

The imminent Panchayat elections in Karnataka will see 50 percent reservation for women at all tiers, but how can one ensure real authority for them? Proposed amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act may hold some answers.

A new scheme launched by PM Narendra Modi envisages development through a model in which every MP chooses a village to develop, with people’s participation. Vikas Jha looks at the numbers and realities to explore the real needs of rural development at the panchayat level.

While the West has abandoned the realism of the past century and has now turned to cooperation in pursuing common goals, South Asia remains trapped in this old paradigm, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The success of Operation Sarp Vinash must be understood from independent scrutiny of the Army's claims, as well as analysis of new military strategy, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Increasing firepower is the answer to the wrong question; security doesn't come neatly defined in military terms alone, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The PM urges pragmatism in relations with China, but the logic of his exertions may be more persuasively applied to our dealings with Pakistan, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Public attention must focus on what Pakistan's options are, both in battlefield tactical terms, and in the face of India's military resurgence, says Firdaus Ahmed.

While the argument for building in efficiency in the system appears to have some substance, the appointment of a CDS will impact other domestic sectors that rely as much on national resources says Firdaus Ahmed.

Firdaus Ahmed on the Indian Army's strategic answer to the nuclear standoff witnessed between India and Pakistan during the ten month long Operation Parakram in 2002.

While defense may be at the heart of security concerns, it is not necessarily the most important sector for security, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Permitting Musharraf to sell the notion that what could not be wrested from India in a decade and half long jihad has been obtained through diplomacy can help with this. Doing so would deflate the legitimacy that jihadi forces seek from their presence in Kashmir, says Firdaus Ahmed.

What is the threshold for Pakistan to use it nuclear weapons? Public statements by knowledgeable insiders addressing this question may only be a decoy, and at any rate the pressures of war might trigger unforeseen lower thresholds for the use of nukes. Alertness and public scrutiny are both warranted, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The impact of 9/11 has brought in a greater permissibility in the use of force by states. With terrorist attacks taking their toll of innocents by design, a move away from the earlier restrictions on use of force appears defensible. Like its strategic partners, India too might act on this higher latitude for war, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Pakistan, under pressure in the Global War on Terror (GWOT), has restrained its hand in the proxy war. By most accounts, Kashmir appears headed towards peace. This is the right juncture to approach the issue politically, both in its external and internal plane, says Firdaus Ahmed.

India's doctrine of 'deterrence by punishment' is least credible in the most likely scenario of Pakistani nuclear use. But the tenets of this doctrine are not above revision, and times of relative peace offer a better opportunity to find the way forward, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The happenings in Pakistan, which have culminated in the unfortunate assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, are equally portentuous for India. India needs to contain the Pakistani predicament at the border, notes Firdaus Ahmed.

If Lt. Col. Purohit's activities are only one instance of something wider, then the Army has a real problem - namely, the penetration of majoritarian religious ideology into the historically secular defence forces, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

What India does or does not do is critical to the two power centers in Pakistan. The triumph of democratic forces there cannot be done without such Indian help, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India begins 2009 from a position of strength. But how it approaches security issues in the internaland external security planes will determine how it ends the year, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The two protagonist South Asian states got their independence in the middle of the last century, and it is about time that they seize control of their mutual and intertwined destiny, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The buzz on the global front should not distract us from pressing matters at home. This would also make our security agenda more human and less state-centric, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The refrain of late has been that a Muslim middle class is developing, implying that Muslims are beginning to do well in the country. Why, then, is it so hard to find Muslim children in elite schools, asks Firdaus Ahmed.

In his resignation, Vanzara gave no indication that obeying illegal orders bothered him. Instead, his lament is that he was used and thrown. In right-shifting India, it may next be the military's turn if the shift from Gandhinagar takes place, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India’s foreign policy moves under Narendra Modi have so far been aggressive, but sustaining the heat on the external front, sans resolution of critical internal and regional positions, comes with its own risks, writes  Firdaus Ahmed.

The recent award of life sentences to the army personnel involved in the 2010 Macchil killings in J&K sends out a positive message, but there are deeper layers in the justice system that need introspection and overhaul in the pursuit of reconciliation. Firdaus Ahmed explains.

The Indian defence minister’s recent interactions indicate an overt leaning towards military action against ISIS under the UN flag. While it may not be difficult to explain this stance, or even find apparent justification for it, there is a need for a more cautionary approach, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Is military combat the only way to deal with the Islamic state and its likes? Firdaus Ahmed ponders about the role India can play in making the ongoing temporary ceasefire in the five-year old Syrian civil war a more permanent one.

Videh Upadhyay urges the SC to take a comprehensive approach, protecting forests and those whose livelihood and culture are tied to nature.

Rasika Dhavse reports on the transition from conventional conservation practices to community based ones.

Vibhuti Patel reviews Manorama Savur's And the Bamboo Flowers in the Indian Forests: What did the Pulp and the Paper Industry Do?, Vol. I & II.

Smriti Van's proximity to bustling urban settlements may have made its land captive to a Rs.370 million flyover project, says Kanchi Kohli.

Towering pylons and high tension wires seem to discourage any idea of resistance to environmental destruction in Tehri Garhwal, but the villagers persist. Bharat Dogra reports.

Surendranath C reports on a power project proposal that threatens to put the Kerala biodiversity hotspot at risk.

Until women are provided adequate access to information, both about their rights and available budgetary resources, Joint Forest Management (JFM) programmes will only lead to more disempowerment for them, says Madhu Sarin.