The case of the Army Chief's true age is only seemingly one of an individual's besmirched honour. It is instead one in civil-military relations, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The gruesome beheading along the Line of Control should alert us that the intensity and the nature of the ongoing conflict with Pakistan is far worse than we are led to believe, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The recent episode in which a mysterious boat was intercepted off the coast, and blew itself up, may or may not have anything to do with Pakistani terror, but has important implications for national security strategy, external relations and domestic political dynamics. Firdaus Ahmed explains.

Engineering is often the only factor considered during design and implementation of junction improvements plans at key locations where flyovers are built. But the reality is that these locations are commonly filled with pedestrians and used as transit points, and any plan that overlooks this is doomed from the start, writes Madhav Pai.

Compressed Natural Gas is by no means a clear cut winner in the race to find a clean burning fuel for our vehicles. The real solution is in promoting public transport, and better design of our cities, writes Madhav Pai.

Both for vast array of species it shields and the sustainability of the ecosystems it inhabits, the tiger is the sentinel of the ecological destiny of the whole Indian subcontinent. Malini Shankar says tiger conservation is no longer a mere choice.

Simultaneous protection of rights of both tigers and human tribes is a utopian dream; where co-existence is an inescapable reality, political will to reduce human imprint to a minimum and sensitisation of forest dwellers are critical to conservation, writes Malini Shankar

In 25 villages across Rayagada district of Odisha, tribal village women have reclaimed the denuded commons and achieved a remarkable turnaround in food security and livelihoods through eco-friendly alternatives to shifting cultivation. Abhijit Mohanty highlights a few successes of the project.

A new study confirms that traditional production in small communities faces grave threats from globalisation. The security of employment linked to local consumption is eroded, and traditional knowledge too is being lost. This has particularly harsh consequences for women, N P Chekkutty finds.

A new sop came into effect for net-foreign exchange earning businesses in designated export zones from February 10 -- a 15-year income tax holiday. But are the costs of the revenues foregone worth the claimed benefits of more investment and jobs? M Suchitra examines the reality and does not find a rosy picture.

With the World Trade talks in limbo, the focus remains on aggressively pushing on the bilateral front. What could not be achieved through a multilateral trade regime, is now being pursued by the US through bilateral and regional deals. Devinder Sharma connects the dots.

The central government launched the Handloom Mark scheme in June 2006. The idea is to popularise handloom products in domestic as well as international markets and provide a guarantee for the buyer that the product is genuine. But will it work? D Narasimha Reddy looks at the challenges.

To great fanfare, the G20 announced a US $1.1 trillion global package, which will actually deliver less than half that amount in new or guaranteed resources. Meanwhile issues of fundamental economic reform were left off the agenda.

The Indian government has stopped short of imposing effective controls on gold imports despite the soaring current account deficit and its concomitant ills. Kannan Kasturi examines recent trends in gold demand to see if the government's rationale behind the soft policy holds good.

The worse things have become in Anantapur district, the more fancy cars have shown up in town. Drought, says P Sainath, is the organised plunder of the poor.

P Sainath on the fault lines in Andhra that led to the ouster of the Chandrababu Naidu led Telugu Desam Party.

Calls for the renewal of hundreds of thousands of lapsed insurance policies have begun, reports P Sainath.

The municipal polls verdict has a significance beyond Andhra Pradesh's borders. None of the excuses for the Telugu Desam's rout in the 2004 elections works this time. Voters are protesting the pro-rich, anti-poor measures that pass for 'reforms' in this country, writes P Sainath.

Maharashtra began by telling the NHRC there had been 140 suicides Statewide since 2001. It ended 2005 conceding a figure of 1,041. That is the fourth figure the same State has put out within months. For Vidarbha, it is decidedly not a happy new year, writes P Sainath.

Disputes over output do not hide the trouble Maharashtra's cotton economy is in. Small farmers face another year of huge losses. The role of nature is very minor compared to conscious policy measures that have undermined the farmer and world cotton prices, writes P Sainath.

The failure of the banks has seen new kinds of creditors emerge in Vidharbha. Some of these now come in from neighbouring States - with a 'home delivery system' of loans. Many farmers owe money to banks, cooperative societies, input dealers, private lenders, close relatives - and 'anna.' Life is about borrowing from one lender to pay off another, writes P Sainath.

There were three 9/11s in history. The New York one of 2001. The neo-liberal one of Chile 1973, and the non-violent one of 1906 - Gandhiji's satyagraha in South Africa. The authors of all three tried to change the world, but only the Mahatma's Weapon of Mass Disobedience helped change the world for the better, writes P Sainath.

The Maharashtra Government's findings now show us that over 75 per cent of all farm households in the Vidharbha region are in distress. The data also show that farm suicides were 25 times higher this year than in 2001. But conscious jugglery works to play down the numbers, writes P Sainath.

The Beautiful People whose next-door neighbours never vote are back, teaching the masses - who do vote - how to go about it in the civic elections in Mumbai. This is the upper middle class trying to preen itself in the one process where they matter less, writes P Sainath.

While theatre struggles to survive in the metros, it thrives in Vidharbha where it draws audiences of thousands for plays that go on through much of the night, writes P Sainath.

The agrarian crisis has seen over a lakh of women farmers lose their husbands. But survivors like Kalavati Bandurkar - with seven daughters - still run their farms, writes P Sainath.

Several women in Karnataka's Mandya district like Jayalakshmamma, whose husband committed suicide four years ago, still stand up to the unending pressure with incredible resilience, writes P Sainath.

By the Maharashtra government's own count, the 14,221 high-breed cows it gave farmers in Vidarbha add just 1.16 litres each to the milk collection in the region. These cows have cost already indebted farmers over Rs.7.5 crore. P Sainath reports.

The week-long 'Incredible India' campaign in New York aimed at boosting the vibrant image of an emerging, powerful India at 60 and showcasing its diversity. But the real action was at home, writes P Sainath.

Close to 150,000 Indian farmers committed suicide in nine years from 1997 to 2005, official data show. While farm suicides have occurred in many States, nearly two thirds of these deaths are concentrated in five States, writes P Sainath.

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have together seen 89,362 farmers' suicides between 1997 and 2005. On average, one farmer took his or her life every 53 minutes between 1997 and 2005 in just these states, writes P Sainath.

The share of the 'suicide belt' - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh - remains very high; these states account for two-thirds of the total farm suicides in the country. P Sainath reports.

India has changed greatly in the last two or three decades, but maybe we can still choose not to run each other out. Dilip D'Souza narrates a story from another time.

The more crooked a leader, the more he trumpets his own patriotism, the more he pronounces who else is patriotic, says Dilip D'Souza.

The world moves to the tunes of two kinds of men: the great kind and the evil kind. The rest of us are somewhere in between. But what heroes and Neros both get us zeros to do is ask questions, says Dilip D'Souza.

Allegations have been made repeatedly that the penal code's protection against matrimonial cruelty is often abused by women. But no evidence is given to support this claim, says Bikram Jeet Batra.

From hectic lobbying with the Prime Minister to rising usage of Right to Information laws in three major states, 2004 has perhaps seen wider citizen enthusiasm and organizing than any other year recently. But will Parliament and the Central and State governments respond proportionally? Varupi Jain reports.

The UPA Government is attempting to achieve consensus and amend the Office of Profit law to allow select legislators to hold additional public offices. This is merely the climax of a larger trend, says Madabhushi Sridhar, of an already thin separation of power between executive and legislature, and of earlier efforts to dilute the Constitution.

It is impermissible under the law to 'scandalise the courts'. But is this vague restraint contrary to the guarantees of liberty given to citizens in the Constitution? Kannan Kasturi examines the notion of 'contempt of court'.

Indian political parties have been notorious for their opacity, particularly when it comes to questions of their funding. A recent quasi-judicial order bringing six large national parties within the ambit of the RTI Act 2005 might change that. A quick summary of the latest developments:

India has been witnessing a rising trend of judicial intervention and directives in cases involving a face-off between large institutional projects and the people they affect. Kanchi Kohli looks at two recent judgments as she tries to explore the real impact of such court rulings on the struggles at the grassroots.

Rural women have nothing to lose by speaking out. Urban women have their bank accounts, education certificates and some 200-300 saris in the cupboard. They have a high tolerance for violence, says Ruth Manorama, in this interview with Charumathi Supraja.

''First - there is a law, then there is awareness, then comes assertion and then action,'' says Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh and first woman judge at the Delhi High Court. Charumathi Supraja caught up with her in Bangalore recently.

Given the complex and dynamic political scenario in India today, where is the country's leadership headed? How will people vote in the assembly elections this year and how will it impact the national outcome? Eminent political scientist Sandeep Shastri shares his views on that and more with Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

As the Lok Satta party, with its crop of image-defying politicians, raises hopes for a new brand of politics, Subramaniam Vincent catches up with party leader Dr Jayaprakash Narayan on the party's hopes at the Karnataka polls and possibilities of a larger wave of political reforms in the country.

Chanderi fabric is close to becoming the first product to be granted the GI status in India. Varupi Jain begins a two-part series on the significance of GI for India through the eyes of Chanderi.

Despite the tall claims made by the state government and an increase in attendance in the schools, children at many places are simply not getting mid-day meals at all, or are getting it in insufficient quantities. Shuriah Niazi did a reality check.

Sitaram Patidar fights on for the land which means everything to him, now lost to the Narmada dam. At the ripe age of seventy, the end of this road of struggle is still not within reach. Neeta Deshpande reports.

In ensuring that Delhi's roads and lanes are stiff with quality, citizens are facing stiffer resistance from the muncipality's officials, says Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal on how over one hundred and fifty citizens have filed applications seeking information about PDS ration records in Delhi's Food and Civil Supplies department.