be Be safe, don't exist By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000 The Delhi Police's booklet containing tips for women from the Northeast to be safe in the capital exposes only their own need for sensitivity training. Not surprisingly, many northeastern students in Delhi are incensed at being portrayed as responsible for their own problems, writes Kalpana Sharma. Full Article
be Sons and daughters waiting to be rescued By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000 As media reports on abuse of domestic help become increasingly frequent, Shoma A Chatterji draws attention to a documentary that reveals the shocking realities of children and young people trafficked for employment as servants in upper and middle class homes, primarily in Delhi. Full Article
be “What about our dreams of a free Tibet?” By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 03:02:49 +0000 The Election Commission of India has ordered states to include children of Tibetan refugees born in India between 1950 and 1987 in the electoral rolls. Ramesh Menon finds that even as they acknowledge India’s gesture, the right to vote leaves them with mixed emotions. Full Article
be A scheme for a better parliament By indiatogether.org Published On :: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 05:49:36 +0000 Though the quality and calibre of our representatives in Parliament, and consequently its functioning, has often come under a cloud, options for induction of apolitical talent in Parliament are limited. P V Rajeev envisions a scheme that could make it possible. Full Article
be Remembering Ananthamurthy, the critical insider By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 11:20:57 +0000 UR Ananthamurthy's brutally honest stance on Brahmanism, or in fact on any of the subjects that concerned him, has been fiercely debated in his life and death. In a tribute to the recently deceased stalwart of public thinking, Prakash Belawadi seeks to find clues to his inquiring spirit. Full Article
be Jharkhand looks at better planning to aid NREGA outcomes By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:30:00 +0000 A state-wide campaign called “Yojana Banao Abhiyan” undertaken to plan for NREGA implementation in Jharkhand has sensitized the people and authorities to the potential of the scheme and recharged local democratic institutions. Ankita Aggarwal reports. Full Article
be Villagers push for work benefits in Orissa By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:00:00 +0000 The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is being implemented in Orissa in stops and starts. But by pressing for information on NREGA benefits using the sunshine law, citizens are able to hold officials accountable and are able to remedy the situation by themselves in some cases. Pradeep Baisakh has more. Full Article
be Will Mittal Steel be a raw deal for Orissa? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000 With Mittal Steel moving into India, it becomes even more important to look at the firm's poor environmental and social track record around the world in its rise to become the world's largest steel maker. There are crucial lessons for the governments of Orissa and Jharkhand, but are they listening, asks Sunita Dubey. Full Article
be A battle that hasn’t been won in nine years By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 05 May 2014 07:38:28 +0000 With numerous court cases, regulatory rulings and pending environmental clearances behind it, the South Korean steel major POSCO still persists with its plans in India. Kanchi Kohli looks at the latest in the case and wonders why. Full Article
be A better life through literacy By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 03:35:48 +0000 The broad-based Community Based Functional Literacy Campaign launched by the State Resource Centre of Rayagada, Orissa aims to educate women and drop-out girls in three of the most backward districts of the state. Abhijit Mohanty summarises the key take-aways so far. Full Article
be Marad can yet be retrieved By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 01 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000 Sreedevi Jacob says the May 2003 killings at Marad in Kerala could have been avoided. Full Article
be 1000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000 On June 29, about 50 press conferences were held across the globe to publicise the names of the 1,000 women from 153 countries jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace prize. The Nobel Committee in Oslo had received the nominations in January 2005. Kamla Bhasin narrates the story. Full Article
be Security agenda: 2006 and beyond By indiatogether.org Published On :: Fri, 30 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0000 Now that political alienation has been redressed to some extent by democratic changeovers, the presence of the Army in Kashmir can be more boldly reduced. The coming year is one of many possibilities, but it will be followed by an even more important year, and the opportunities at hand now must not be lost, writes Firdaus Ahmed. Full Article
be Delhi's Tibetan glitch By indiatogether.org Published On :: Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Tibet lies at the heart of Indo-Chinese disputes. To focus on Arunachal or Tawang alone is not only to miss the wood for the trees, but also to play in to the hands of China. India must bring Tibet back into focus, writes Brahma Chellaney. Full Article
be The beauty of compromise By indiatogether.org Published On :: Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The most intractable conflicts in South Asia have remained unresolved because of the inflexibility and dogmatism of the contending parties. It is time for them to move beyond self-justification towards acknowledging and embracing the beauty of compromise, writes Ramachandra Guha. Full Article
be Can there be justice without the state? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000 There has been a massive erosion in public confidence in our criminal justice system. There have been numerous commissions set up to suggest improvements, but nothing much has come of these, writes C V Madhukar. Full Article
be In the cross fire between security and insurgency By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000 Plenty of criticism has been levelled at excess use of force and abuse of human rights by the Army in Manipur. And yet, with much infighting and corruption, insurgents themselves have lost the moral high ground, writes Surekha Sule. Full Article
be River dolphin numbers rise By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000 Recent conservation efforts, linked to the development of alternate livelihood options for local communities along the Brahmaputra, have led to new hope for Assam's state aquatic animal. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports. Full Article
be There’s nothing to be ashamed about disability By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 06 Dec 2016 10:11:52 +0000 An inspiring account of Malini Chib, disability rights activist and author, who talks about how she got around to developing a strong disability identity that she wants to “celebrate” rather than reject. Full Article
be The Great Betrayal : Indian Land Reforms By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 +0000 Venu Govindu reviews Siddharth Dube's Words Like Freedom : Memoirs of an Impoverished Indian Family 1947-1997 Full Article
be Begging for change By indiatogether.org Published On :: Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 +0000 Administrators must work with service organizations to tackle the problems leading up to the symptom. Varupi Jain reports on those seeking alms on Delhi's streets. Full Article
be Livelihoods : the numbers tell By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000 The numbers of those seeking active employment is likely to reach 692 million by 2007. A towering tide looms ahead, reports Safia Sircar. Full Article
be GDP planning: number crunching won't do By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 04 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000 The budget reflects our continued affliction for numbers and the GDP growth rate. It also follows the Prime Minister's insistence that planners shoot for higher growth rates, especially on the back of an economy that has surprised everyone. But, asks Sudhirendar Sharma, will the juggling of numbers do it? Full Article
be Promises made to be broken By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000 The terrible mid-day meal tragedy claiming innocent lives in Bihar recently is just one in a long line of instances that reveal the abysmal quality of services and chronic breach of trust by the government. Sakuntala Narasimhan voices the angst of the people. Full Article
be Transferring benefits, but where? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000 With an eye on the electorate, the UPA government is trying to scale up its Direct Benefits Transfer scheme in a big way, linking it to the Aadhaar project. But given the low levels of financial inclusion and poor financial literacy among beneficiaries, its effectiveness remains suspect. Full Article
be Look beyond the food By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Most studies on mid-day meal schemes tend to focus on the obvious nutritional benefits or lack thereof. Carly E Nichols argues that the impact of these programmes extend far beyond, justifying the need to fund and monitor them more stringently. Full Article
be Char dwellers turn to sugarcane, but will it be enough? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000 A number of families residing in the char areas of Assam have apparently staved off misfortune by taking up sugarcane cultivation, but it may require more than just that to stem the trend of migration and improve living conditions in the region. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports. Full Article
be The women left behind By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 04:10:45 +0000 Across rural India, the phenomenon of migration creates an entire class of women left behind to fend for themselves in the face of increased vulnerability to neglect, discrimination and psychological as well as physical abuse. Puja Awasthi highlights their plight. Full Article
be Why UPA’s folly could be Modi’s too By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 06:27:55 +0000 With Narendra Modi at the helm, the push towards market-driven development looks likely to be continued, leading to an eventual defeat of real expectations from the voter, says Pradeep Baisakh as he analyses the causes behind the UPA debacle. Full Article
be Will 2015 be a year of hope? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 11:35:06 +0000 Will the synergies between the politics of resistance and grassroots initiatives towards reconstruction of the damages wrought by ‘development’ be reaped effectively enough in the year ahead? That is what Ashish Kothari will track in his new blog. Full Article
be Linkages between HIV-AIDS and gender violence By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0000 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. Full Article
be New facts emerge in McLeodganj case before CEC By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Recently, the Central Empowered Committee once again heard the strange case of a hotel coming up on land sanctioned for a parking lot and bus stand in Himachal Pradesh. Kanchi Kohli reports on the many ways in which officials are trying to get this illegal use regularised. Full Article
be Can the future be what we want it to be? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 27 Jan 2018 10:29:35 +0000 Darryl D’Monte reviews the book Alternative Futures: India Unshackled edited by Ashish Kothari and K. J. Joy. Full Article
be "You too belong here" By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Sep 2003 00:00:00 +0000 Marien Mathew meets a confident and yet vulnerable Padma Shri Malathi Holla, a very special athlete. Full Article
be White asbestos, a health time bomb By indiatogether.org Published On :: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0000 The Ministry of Mines and Minerals says it may lift the ban on asbestos mining. It is ignoring the views of exposure victims, informed recommendations of public sector medical experts, and mounting evidence of an asbestos disease epidemic emerging in developed countries. The rationale to permit mining is hollow, writes Gopal Krishna. Full Article
be An opportunity to end health care slumber By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000 The HIV epidemic has brought into focus multiple public health issues facing rural India today. In this respect, it presents us with an opportunity to deal with issues that have been neglected and even been actively ignored for too long, writes Supriya Kumar. Full Article
be Will the Public Health Foundation be meaningful? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000 The proposed Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), likely to be instituted soon, will establish five 'world class' institutes to train 1000 public health professionals every year. But just where will these new public health experts be employed? Padma Prakash on the unaddressed issues. Full Article
be HIV: Looking beyond numbers By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Debates on HIV estimates often take time away from the real issues - those that can only be shared by people infected and affected by the infection. The issue that is truly critical and demands everyone's attention is that of the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, writes Syed Mohammad Afsar, on World AIDS Day. Full Article
be Better healthcare, on our watch By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 A pilot project in community-based monitoring under the National Rural Health Mission in three districts of Jharkhand provides encouraging results. Freny Manecksha reports. Full Article
be Obesity: Are parents responsible? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Junk food, lack of exercise, poor parenting and modern lazy lifestyles are all triggers for obesity among children, which is turning out to be a major health hazard in present-day India, says Ramesh Menon. Full Article
be Health to the beat of drums By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Simple interventions and sustained joint efforts by civil society groups and the local panchayat have resulted in significant improvements in communication and increase in health awareness in some of Rajasthan's most backward districts. Swapna Majumdar reports. Full Article
be Food Safety: The devil could be elsewhere! By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 06 Jun 2015 07:23:45 +0000 As the country boils over in outrage against Nestle following the detection of dangerous levels of lead in its popular Maggi brand, Sarika Agarwal takes an objective look at the possible real sources of contamination and the core issues related to food safety. Full Article
be Nowhere near to being a healthy nation By indiatogether.org Published On :: Thu, 20 Aug 2015 16:04:41 +0000 The out-of-pocket health expenditure by the poor is spiraling and the government spending on public health care is reducing. The existing public health programes and insurance schemes are failing; private health care sector is not properly regulated; Shambhu Ghatak finds the health of our nation worrisome. Full Article
be How long before we can address mental health issues humanely By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 10 Oct 2015 16:38:03 +0000 On World Mental Health Day, Pushpa Achanta shares the struggle of some mental illness survivors she met recently and hopes that our nation's Mental Health Program is implemented by the government earnestly. Full Article
be Little by little, Keradi gets better By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 00:00:00 +0000 Led by children themselves, and ably assisted by concerned adult guidance, a remarkable Children's Council gives true meaning to citizenship and informed choices. Full Article
be Better lived than talked about By indiatogether.org Published On :: Thu, 01 May 2003 00:00:00 +0000 With more citizens taking interest, Bangalore's Janaagraha campaign is expanding to neighboring municipal areas. Full Article
be Better accounting paying off By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 01 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000 An update from Bangalore's PROOF (Public Records of Operations and Finance) campaign. Full Article
be Systems for better governance By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Dec 2003 00:00:00 +0000 India Together interviews Srikanth Nadhamuni of Bangalore's eGovernments Foundation. Full Article
be Could these candidates be lawmakers? By indiatogether.org Published On :: Sat, 01 May 2004 00:00:00 +0000 The Karnataka Election Watch Committee collected an enormous amount of data about candidates as the state went into Assembly and Lok Sabha polls late last month. A brief report. Full Article
be Karnataka's RTI experience for the better By indiatogether.org Published On :: Tue, 31 May 2005 00:00:00 +0000 A citizens forum at Bangalore has been spearheading interventions using the Karnataka Right to Information Act for the past year. The Katte members' focus has helped expose the law's weaknesses and make recommendations to better the recently passed Central Right to Information Bill. Kathyayini Chamaraj reports. Full Article