Mani Shankar Aiyar fails on two counts - his poor arguments for secularism, as well as his scant attention to his party's role in creating the economic conditions for communalism. Ashwin Mahesh reviews Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist.

The bomb blasts in Delhi and elsewhere have brought this UP district uncomfortably into the national spotlight. The 'terrorist' label is widely resented, but that doesn't mean residents have answers to all the new questions. Puja Awasthi reports.

There is a strong case to reschedule the Kashmir valley railway line project, says Pavan Nair.

Shelter kits developed by Oxfam are being distributed in quake-hit villages in Uri and Tangdhar, but many hurdles have to be overcome to provide these to everyone before the weather turns bitterly cold. Kanchi Kohli finds hopeful but worried villagers and relief workers fighting the odds and the elements.

Amidst a culture of silence and media inattention, torture is easy to find in the security hot zones of India. A new film bares the ugly truth. Freny Manecksha reports.

Ban on entry of women into places of worship comes out of deep-seated religious and cultural prejudices. However, a recent development in Western Assam's Barpeta district offers a ray of hope to those in search of justice, reports Teresa Rehman.

The recent nod to Telangana has led to unrest and violence anew in Assam, where several groups have been struggling for their respective states for decades. Ratna Bharali Talukdar looks at the current situation in the context of the long and checkered movements for statehood in the region.

The lack of awareness about a traditionally peace-loving species and inadequate safeguards to protect their natural habitats and corridors are posing a serious threat to the continued survival of leopards in and around the city of Guwahati. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Despite being feted as a huge success, the flagship programme of the government for the universalisation of primary education leaves much to be desired. Ironically, the easy availability of the funds for a supposedly successful scheme may be preventing it from being as productive as it could otherwise be. Kalpana Misra reports.

The Prime Minister, citing no credible evidence, says small shopkeepers will not be hurt by the entry of large foreign retailiers into the country. His party president, on the other hand, is asking him to go slow on this front. Will this lead to a different course in the government's thinking, or is this simply a smoke-screen, asks Devinder Sharma.

CIC Shailesh Gandhi orders that information about the public distribution system and its beneficiaries should be made public, offering hope that a corrupt system may finally see some reform. Shaweta Anand reports.

The evidence of wide-spread hunger and malnutrition is overwhelming and everywhere, and yet so little is done to address this most fundamental issue, writes Darryl D'Monte.

With the expiry of the MDGs which guided global development till 2015, the international community is now negotiating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period 2016-2030. Prahlad Shekhawat summarises the ensuing debates and explores a way forward.

In what appears to be a damning indictment of the Five Year Plans, launched in 1951, as well as the economic reforms process that began in 1991, the first ever socio-economic survey has painted a dismal picture of rural India, says Devinder Sharma.

Can we look at ending poverty without looking at the structural reasons and dimensions of poverty and inequality? Pradeep Baisakh looks at this and at other objectives within the UN SDG framework and analyses how realistic their achievement would be.

Entrenched gender norms add new dimensions to a problem spiraling out of control, says Lalitha Sridhar.

Children Affected by HIV/AIDS are facing sustained discrimination and exploitation, finds a new Human Rights Watch report.

A six-month research study to understand violence against HIV affected women revealed key contours of pre-contractual and post-contractual threats and risks that women face. Shoma Chatterji reports on a workshop where the findings were discussed.

Lalitha Sridhar reviews Voices from the Mountain, Oral Testimonies from Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh.

Through his new book, Arvind Verma makes a positive contribution to police scholarship. Some of Verma's analysis is in sharp contrast to prevalent wisdom which ignores the negative role of police leadership in the current system. K S Subramanian reviews The Indian Police: A Critical Evaluation.

Recently published by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, The Leapfrog Factor: Clearing the Air in Asian Cities is an excellent reference on a contentious subject. The book looks at pollution caused by transport in our cities and the range of environmental, economic, social and technical solutions available, says Darryl D'Monte.

Cinema and Censorship - The Politics of Control in India is a landmark in the world of books on Indian cinema on the one hand, and on the politics of control on the other, writes Shoma Chatterji.

The ubiquity of genetically modified crops, brought about by the sustained efforts of agribusiness giant Monsanto has raised concerns globally. Neeta Deshpande reviews Marie-Monique Robin's The World According to Monsanto: Pollution, Politics and Power.

Sunanda Bhat’s award-winning Have You Seen The Arana is deeply relevant in today’s world, as it explores the deep connectedness between man and nature, and the struggle of little-known people to preserve it in the face of many onslaughts. Shoma A Chatterji reviews the film.

Even as AIDS spreads, cheaper generic medicines made in India are unavailable to sufferers within the country, as the Indian government is slow to tackle the crisis.

Swapna Majumdar reports on the continuing ostracism that women and children face as a result of their illness.

The main message that is going out to the masses is: use condoms. But this overlooks a fundamental reality about the values contained in that message, says Mirra Savara.

Official statistics are putting Uttar Pradesh firmly as one of India's low prevalence states for HIV/AIDS, even though stories from village after village show the disease making its way in. Abhijit Das finds holes in surveillance and reports that state authorities are not yet taking the penetration threat of HIV/AIDS seriously.

India has recently declared that it has achieved the tag of 'elimination' of leprosy as the number of cases is now just around one per 10,000 people. Still, a major challenge is to reach medicine to remote areas and tribal pockets which still battle with leprosy, and integrating the cured into society, says Ramesh Menon.

The Goan government wants to make HIV testing mandatory for marrying couples. But mandatory testing will drive some people, who are already sceptical about the health care system, further away from it. It is also unlikely to cause the changes in behaviour necessary to prevent the spread of HIV, writes Neerja Vaidya-Yadav.

There are an estimated 200,000 children with HIV who are under 15 years old in the country, while some 50,000 to 60,000 children are born with HIV each year, according to NACO estimates, despite the fact that drugs now exist to immunize such children from the threat of contamination from their mothers. Darryl D'Monte reports.

India is notorious for its abysmal health services leading to very high infant and maternal mortality rates. Ila Pathak provides a glimpse of how much effort it takes to get official health functionaries to perform their assigned duties with a minimal degree of seriousness.

From drum beating at markets to using helicopters, Tripura has been making rapid strides in its immunisation programme, pushing this important health care intervention among tribal as well as non-tribal mothers and children. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Nearly 20 per cent of the world's blind are in India. Only donation of eyes after death can bring light into the lives of the needy. Ramesh Menon surveys the landscape of eye donations and finds much that still needs to be done.

A new anthology AIDS Sutra has 16 renowned literary figures writing about the AIDS epidemic in India and how different communities across the country are grappling with it. Sumita Thapar has more.

Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal would do well to assess the learnings from two recent and major HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, before "looking into the ban on sex education", if he really wants to make change, writes Charumathi Supraja.

Attention to international benchmarks, awareness of rights and proactive provision of basic facilities could make train journeys a less stressful experience for physically challenged passengers in the country, says Malini Shankar in the second part of her series.

In the concluding part of her series, Malini Shankar looks beyond the needs of the physically challenged and emphasises the criticality of appropriate facilities and infrastructure that would make train journeys convenient for those travelling for medical reasons.

Did you know a cell phone in a moving car emits significantly greater radiation, half of which could be absorbed by the brain while talking? A renowned epidemiologist from the US warns users of this and other cell-phone related hazards in the course of her recent talks in India. Darryl D’Monte reports.

With a recent drug sample report confirming the presence of rat poison in medicines administered to Chhattisgarh’s hapless tubectomy victims, it is yet another wake-up call for India to address the threats posed by its $4.25-billion fake drugs market. Tanvi Bhatikar bares some stark facts.

The Railway Budget this year has been hailed for its pragmatic approach and emphasis on modernisation and customer experience. Tanvi Bhatikar raises a critical issue that needs to be addressed in order to deliver on those fronts.

Delhi, infamous for high air pollution, has been experimenting with odd-even formula by curbing the movement of private vehicles from Jan 1st. After one week of the execution of the programme, there is no visible change in the pollution level. Will road rationing help to reduce the pollution level or does Delhi need much more action to control the pollution, writes Akshatha M.

Kanchi Kohli raises questions on the Voluntary National Review report which shows India’s efforts to achieve seven of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.

An update from the Bangalore's Public Records of Operations and Finance (PROOF) campaign.

A recent Supreme Court order has said that the Government shall build a second runway only in full compliance the law.

Marginalised communities continue to demonstrate that they can own and operate their own media to ensure that their voices are heard. But is the Government looking their way, asks Ashish Sen.

India Together

True, Bangalore must be able to handle more flights, passengers and air freight to meet current demand and future growth. But London’s Heathrow airport sits on 1000 acres less land, and yet flies 14 times more passengers than Bangalore's new airport will. What's going on? Jacob John investigates.

Illegal felling, mining, and conversion of forest land into non-forest uses, have all been unchecked here. Repeated hearings in the Supreme Court were ignored by forest officials. Kanchi Kohli reports that the case presents both new opportunities for holistic conservation as well as risk of the Court's orders being flouted brazenly.

The potential of rainwater harvesting has been much talked about in recent times. But that an ordinary plastic water storage drum connected to the roof through a pipe will turn this potential to reality is surprising many citizens in the Bangalore-Mysore region, reports Shree Padre.