The struggle of Adivasis in Assam is more or less unique. It is the only state in India where, post Independence, adivasis were given Other Backward Class (OBC) status instead of Scheduled Tribe (ST). Sriram Ananthanarayanan says this, and their struggle, warrants an examination.

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.

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.

Parthajit Baruah, director of documentary The Dhemaji Tragedy – An Undefined Chapter, the tragedy that happened on the Independence Day in 2004 talks to Shoma Chatterji.

Callous school managements and over-anxious parents of abled children are barring 90% of India's 40 million disabled children from entering the nation's classrooms says Gaver Chatterjee.

Lakshmi K argues that we must integrate mentally disabled children in the mainstream schooling system with modifications, as opposed to segregating them in separate schools.

Children with disabilities are routinely edged out of an education system that's hesitant to acknowledge diversity. Inclusion may be the key word in India's current education policy, but there is a world of difference between the law and its implementation. Deepa A reports.

Dolly Basu's production of The Merchant of Venice, with special children cast in nearly all roles, has taught her as much as it has helped the children themselves. Shoma Chatterji reports.

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.

Narnaul illustrates above all the value of investing in women. Many have continued to be active and involved even though they have little practical support from the Municipal Council, writes Kalpana Sharma.

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.

In its Common Minimum Programme the UPA government promised to tackle unemployment. In September a draft Rural Employment Guarantee Act was put together by the National Advisory Council. Now, however, it appears that vital portions of that draft are likely to be diluted before the legislation is tabled in Parliament.

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.

By and large, poorer and badly-run states like Bihar and Orissa have seen higher inflation resulting from the NREGA windfall, while in the better-off states with less money flowing in through the scheme, inflation is much lower. Clearly, meddling in markets will show up in ways that are not necessarily all good, writes Sunil Jain.

If our media can provide regular updates on the stock markets, foreign exchange and bullion rates, weather, pollution, etc., surely they can add a poverty watch? The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty passed on 17 October, and Ammu Joseph scanned the national press from Bangalore.

Based on a laboratory understanding of nutrition, the government's public food support programmes and agriculture policies have condemned the poor to a daily diet that is of limited nutrition value. Rupa Chinai reports.

Families in Majuli island are used to the vagaries of the Brahmaputra. But the floods this year have been particularly harsh on them. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Thousands of Mishings find themselves in makeshift homes along the embankments of Majuli island. The river has destroyed more than their lands and homes. Now, their very lives are at risk. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The effect of GM crops on food, agriculture and farmers continues to be highly controversial, polarising scientists and policy-makers alike. Darryl D'Monte outlines some of the recent turns in the debate to show that the truth, perhaps, lies somewhere in between.

Total Sanitation Campaign, MGNREGS and other government schemes are unheard of among villagers at Dinesh Nagar, Assam who live with a perennial lack of food, pure water, and health amenities. Nilotpal Bhattacharjee wonders if they will ever find deliverance from despair.

Three million forest dwellers in Odisha are estimated to have been displaced since independence by various industrial and hydro-projects, among which the Upper Indiravati Hydro Project is one. Abhijit Mohanty brings us the story of three tribal settlements uprooted by it.

In a terrible, but not-so-rare tragedy in rural West Bengal, 170 people lost their lives after consuming illicit liquor. But what actually happens after an incident such as this? Cholai, a well-researched black comedy, reveals the moral and social degradation that cuts across spheres, writes Shoma Chatterji.

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

Two weeks into the ban, the question to ask is whether the situation has improved and whether protests in Kashmir have abated. Moazum Mohammad says the answer is no.

Students must feel comfortable seeking counselling on sex-related issues. Each of their questions, no matter how private, needs to be answered. Experts argue that openness in conversation would decrease frustrations and aggressions linked to sexuality amongst youth, says Parul Sharma.

A recent publication from the World Resources Institute shows that the informed consent of those affected by large projects can be an asset to those projects, rather than an obstacle. Shripad Dharmadhikary reviews Development Without Conflict: The Business Case for Community Consent.

In the Indian version of suburbanisation, the poor are being forced out of the cities, compelled to pay the price for the creation of the global city. Can we not envisage an inclusive city that caters to the needs of all its citizens, asks Kalpana Sharma.

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.

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.

Dr Ilina Sen’s association with Chhattisgarh and her deep, empathetic understanding of its society and culture have come lyrically alive in Inside Chhattisgarh: A Political Memoir. Freny Manecksha reviews the book.

A new book tracks down the women who stripped naked 12 years ago to protest against rape and rights abuses under AFSPA. Banamallika Choudhury reviews Mothers of Manipur.

Direct Electro-Convulsive Therapy, banned in the west and some Indian states as a form of medical torture, is finding new advocates. Ethical psychiatrists must strongly disavow the practice, says Bhargavi Davar.

A proactive media that could pressurise policy makers and educate the public for better medicare services. Malvika Karlekar profiles Delhi-based Professor Ranjit Roy Chaudhury's efforts.

This time for public health and hygiene. Ramesh Menon interviews Bindeswar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation.

As an alternative to incineration that is known to produce toxic pollutants like dioxins, India is leaning towards pyrolysis for disposal of medical waste. Ratna Singh of New Delhi based Toxics Link on the implications.

The intimacy and inclusiveness provided by community media needs to be embraced, and will be a valuable asset in serving the disabled, who are often at the margins of public attention, says Ashish Sen.

Are tax-payer funded programmes for the empowerment of the disabled working? Until very recently, New Delhi has not even had reliable data to plan its programmes. Himanshu Upadhyaya digs into the 2004 Comptroller and Auditor General report.

As new cases of polio are reported in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, health departments scramble to respond quickly. Safia Sircar on a neighbourhood program in Shorpur.

Medicine prices nationwide are likely to go up soon, including at public hospitals and dispensaries. Domestic manufacturers will withdraw critical but cheaper medicines as India gets ready to fulfill WTO obligations. Devinder Sharma argues that this is the beginning of a scientific apartheid.

Smoking in the movies fosters a culture that encourages young people to smoke, whereas what is needed is that we actively develop antipathy to smoking! More than the health effects alone, it is this battle that has been engaged by the government's move to ban tobacco on screen, says Pankaj Chaturvedi.

The Indian experience in institutionalised mental help has not been civilising. The National Human Rights Commission had issued a condemnation of the state of mental hospitals as early as six years ago. Parul Sharma notes that misguided private counselling and the lack of richer case law have compounded victims' problems.

Since 1988, SANCHAR has worked to improve the lives of the disabled in rural West Bengal. And with the increasing resources available by law to assist the handicapped now, SANCHAR is working to make sure panchayats tap into these to help their community. Rina Mukherji reports.

24 June 2005 - Sanu Ghosh was around one and a half years old when a visit to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata to treat an attack of pneumonia saw him diagnosed as a patient of cerebral palsy. But then, his daily wage-earning parents from the rural outskirts of the city could hardly have been expected to arrange for the necessary rehabilitation of their little son. Fortunately for them, the Society for Appropriate Rehabilitation for the Disabled (SANCHAR) traced him out when he was four, and even detected a hip dislocation that nobody had noticed until then. Today, not only does Sanu attend school, but can manage to seat himself there, thanks to a chair designed by SANCHAR. A similar contraption for his home enables him to manage his daily domestic chores. At school, he uses his mouth to hold a pencil to write, and can read and write nearly as well as any child of his age.

Arup Sani was struck with polio at the age of three, resulting in the impairment of his left leg and right hand. The son of daily wage earning parents belonging to Krishnarampur village in South 24-Parganas, Arup was adopted by SANCHAR when seven years old. The provision of calipers and crutches under the government's scheme enabled Arup to attend the village primary school. Arup is now 19, and studying at the higher secondary level. He is not only getting educated, but also teaching three hearing impaired children from the neighbouring village. Besides, Arup is helping a visually challenged child, Mafijul, studying in the second grade, as a writer during the latter's exams.

The central government wants to ban the sale of non-iodised salt on grounds of rising iodine deficiency. However, states with notable rise in deficiency are those where a ban has already been in force for the past two decades – the north-eastern states and Uttar Pradesh. P Venu, an Assistant Salt Commissioner in Gujarat, connects the dots.

Recently, there has been renewed stress on compulsory iodisation, with the central government attempting to bring back a national ban on non-iodised salt. But the nature and comprehensiveness of research into iodine deficiency has never made a categorical case for a ban, finds Aparna Pallavi.

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.

While it is nobody's case that iodised salt should be pushed out of the Indian market, what concerns many people's groups is the one-sided way in which iodisation is being imposed on the people of India. Aparna Pallavi concludes a two-part series into New Delhi's interest in banning non-iodised salt.

Once again, a study by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment found alarming levels of pesticide residues in soft drinks and stirred up a public debate. However, the larger issue of how pesticides have invaded the ground water and gotten into the food chain must not be missed, notes Ramesh Menon.

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.

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.