Rejection of regularisation of mines operating beyond lease areas, and compensation for other violations being used for tribal welfare are among the recommendations of a recent report on mining in the state. Kanchi Kohli places the key points in context.

The struggle to feed themselves and their families round the year drives millions of farmers in India to desperate measures. Abhijit Mohanty’s story shows how sustainable agriculture has helped transform the lives of farmers in Odisha’s backward Kalahandi district.

As 'limited war' doctrine evolves to 'limited nuclear war', the strategic necessities as well as their implications for the polity must be repeatedly examined, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The key challenge facing the security apparatus at all levels is to combat the idea that while carrying out their duties the armed forces can act outside the scope of the law, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Sustaining the ceasefire between underground groups in Nagaland and New Delhi has never been easy. But led by Padmashree award winner Neidonuo Angami, a number of Naga women have been organising themselves for years in trust-building and conflict prevention. A Women's Feature Service and Sangat report.

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.

With the government firmly in ostrich mode on issues of internal security, and the external situation appearing more complex than our laid-back approach can handle, India awaits its Abhimanyu, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

A future government that is without the check of a strong opposition could strike out on a course that is markedly divergent from India's past record of abstinence from geo-political conflicts, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

What happens to the mothers, sisters, daughters, and wives of the Muslim men who are rounded up, rightly or wrongly, for being terrorists? From society to media, none listens to the voices of these women, the results of which could be dangerous finds Puja Awasthi.

If public health systems are failing on account of certain causes, the solution should lie in fixing them. However, it appears instead that the state seems to be looking for an escape route from the problems of its own inefficiencies, says C V Madhukar.

From the time of the PM’s commitment to a ‘Swachh Bharat’ in August 2014, what has changed in the WASH sector in India? Himanshu Upadhyaya shares notes taken as a delegate at the recent India WASH Summit in the capital.

Firdaus Ahmed on what India can do to avoid a repeat of Nadimarg.

Mehbooba Mufti speaks of her interest in bringing gender parity to Jammu and Kashmir.

A senior advocate at the Srinagar High Court, Parvez Imroz helped bring together hundreds of Kashmiri families whose members have disappeared in the conflict. The media have not been forthright when reporting about Kashmir, he tells Joe Athialy in this interview, but acknowledges that the support of other people's movements is vital.

Women's groups around the country may have held back in the sex scandal in Kashmir because it is embedded in the divided politics of that state. Meanwhile, within Kashmir itself voices that were not heard before are now audible through a women's magazine that was recently launched, writes Kalpana Sharma.

A single parent also caring for her own aged mother, Hanifa Wani died after months of lying paralysed from a spinal injury - the result of security forces firing on her as she fled in panic. Freny Manecksha reports on a family's suffering amidst the violence around them.

The atrocities inflicted upon women in the strife-ridden Valley and the fear and oppression under which they live continuously are poignantly depicted in Ocean of Tears, a documentary reviewed by Shoma A. Chatterji

Forced, politicised moves to spread the message of peace and love through high profile cultural events may fall flat on the ground in Kashmir, but the Valley is certainly witnessing newer, creative and artistic modes of resistance against issues of concern. Freny Maneksha reports.

For women living along the conflict-ridden borders of Kashmir, caught between cross fire and attempts to check infiltration, the threat of landmines is a constant reality, made worse now by environmental degradation. Chetna Verma’s tales expose their rising vulnerability.

A female police inspector from J&K, deployed in a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, has recently won a prestigious international award. Yet, her story holds little meaning for fellow women officers back home who fight social stigma, poor pay and gender bias at work every day. Shazia Yousuf reports.

The Assam government has claimed credit for the rise in pass percentages in high schools in recent years. But, reports Ratna Bharali Talukdar, a closer look at the numbers shows there is still much room for improvement in state-funded education in high schools and colleges.

Despite years of conflicts and lakhs of people being housed in relief camps, the Assam government is yet to develop a practical policy of responding to the recurring crises. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

An innovative eco-friendly handicraft, developed and promoted by NEDFi, using the abundant water hyacinth has improved the economic conditions of rural artisans and crafts-women in the Northeast and given their lives new meaning Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Should foreign immigrants in Assam enjoy Indian citizenship as outlined by the Assam Accord and endorsed by Section 6A of the Citizenship Act? Tanvi Bhatikar reports on a recent court ruling that focuses on these questions.

Without the opportunity to empower themselves, hope for the nation's handicapped will remain just a four-letter word, says Ashwin Mahesh.

From Urban Poverty Alleviation Initiatives in India : A General Assessment and a Particular Perspective (2002), a publication of the Ramanathan Foundation.

From Urban Poverty Alleviation Initiatives in India : A General Assessment and a Particular Perspective (2002), a publication of the Ramanathan Foundation.

Jean Drèze looks at food (in)security during the last decade, as well as prospects for nutrition efforts in the coming years.

The Supreme Court and the overwhelming majority of academics and NGOs believe in it. A growing number of poor parents have emerged as a pressure group for this programme, report Kalpana Parikh & Summiya Yasmeen.

The shift in the Central Government’s policy regarding the pricing and allocation of foodgrains has severely impacted Kerala’s Public Distribution System, which had for long been hailed as a fine model in the country. M Suchitra reports.

Migrant labourers of MP are stuck in debt in Maharashtra and also in a system that assures no health coverage for their hazardous occupation of stone crushing. Jaideep Hardikar recounts their travails.

The National Advisory Council sent a draft National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to the UPA government this August. The Prime Minister has since committed to bring the Act into Parliament this winter session. Rasika Dhavse reviews the proposed law, its entitlements and promises. See also: Interview with Jean Dreze, NAC member.

Residents of our slums often pay more than their better-off counterparts for the most essential services. Aditi Dimri and Amiya Sharma discovered the poverty premium through a survey of Sanjay Colony, a slum in Okhla phase II, Delhi, with a population of around 40,000.

To improve food security and to bring extensive lands now left fallow into cultivation again, the government must support millets just as it supports rice and wheat. Karuna M reports.

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.

Pushpa Achanta writes about the challenges and aspirations of people in Kashmir on Kashmiri Women’s Day of Resistance which is observed today.

Recent statistics about the growing number of women afflicted by HIV/AIDS around the world and in India are throwing light on a different dimension of this disease. The link between inequitable gender relations and the spread of HIV is setting it apart from other communicable diseases, says Kalpana Sharma.

While agreeing with General S Padmanabhan who says in his recent book that "politicisation of the military is a self defeating exercise in a democracy," it is difficult to concede that "greed for fish and loaves of office" is how the politician would corrupt the military establishment and wrench it from its apolitical moorings, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Holding trust brought forth by equality of individuals as a critical foundation for a strong democracy, Shankar Jaganathan discusses the postulates of two recent academic publications that add to the important discourse on the issue of inequality.

Reading former CAG Vinod Rai’s autobiography Not Just an Accountant, Himanshu Upadhyaya feels that it is less about the individual and more about a constitutionally-mandated authority’s sustained efforts to uphold transparency in the face of concerted attempts by the powerful to thwart the same.

The bi-monthly book review journal Biblio celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Its founder editors, Darryl D’Monte is one of its founder editors, were invited to the Chandigarh Literature Festival, which was held earlier this month. D’Monte talks about an interesting book discussion he chaired at the festival.

The rape of a schizophrenic girl at NIMHANS reveals a wide gap between the rhetoric and reality of mental health care in India.

Rural public health care is choked nationwide for a number of reasons. To name two, provisioning of services is very top heavy and many major programmes continue to be conceived and run uncoordinatedly. But Abhijit Das finds promising prospects in the formation of the National Rural Health Mission.

Japanese Encephalitis, the deadly virus infection, is not new to Uttar Pradesh -- the first outbreak took place in 1978, and since then every year. But JE is predictable and self-limiting, giving health authorities clear opportunities to save lives. Still, the 2005 monsoon season has seen more chaotic management and more deaths, says Abhijit Das.

The WHO has warned that India would likely be hit if a bird-flu pandemic breaks out because India has large numbers of domestic ducks and the country is along major bird migratory routes originating in the East. Abhijit Das notes a few positive elements in India's readiness, but finds that much more is needed to avert disaster.

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.

Public expenditure on health care today is a dismal 0.9% of GDP; the overwhelming majority of health costs are paid by patients out of pocket. For many, even minor illnesses can cause big financial setbacks, and hospitalisation is out of the question. As a result, the promise of the Bhore Committee's vision is in shambles, writes Arati Rao.

India's attitude to condoms and contraception is worrisome at a time when promiscuity has a stamp of approval. Condom manufacturers are pitching pleasure enhancement in their ads, instead of being direct about the protection against AIDS. Charumathi Supraja 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.

In July, 18 Nobel laureates met with over 500 young scientists from around the world in Germany. India sent 22 researchers. The meeting threw up many questions pertaining to the practice of scientific research in India. Varupi Jain has more.