The Indian defence minister’s recent interactions indicate an overt leaning towards military action against ISIS under the UN flag. While it may not be difficult to explain this stance, or even find apparent justification for it, there is a need for a more cautionary approach, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Is military combat the only way to deal with the Islamic state and its likes? Firdaus Ahmed ponders about the role India can play in making the ongoing temporary ceasefire in the five-year old Syrian civil war a more permanent one.

L S Aravinda points out that many Indian children are better off because their parents prefer natural infant hygiene, but warns of an increasing number being swayed by 'the convenience' of diapers.

The media's coverage of a young girl's humiliation in her school is totally devoid of objectivity or even plain common sense, making things even worse. Shoma Chatterji reports.

The widening rift in the conservationist movement has allowed the bigger and more powerful forest encroachers to hide behind the public controversy over tribal lands and sharing of forest resources. While activists for and against 'tribals in forests' argue and bicker, the rich squat pretty on encroached forest lands, says Keya Acharya.

Can there possibly be a gender angle to the tsunami story? Certainly, says Ammu Joseph, pointing out that women from economically and socially deprived communities usually bear the brunt of disasters, thanks to the gender dimension of social inequality and inequity.

Access to and control over media are critical for the survival and sustenance of marginalised rural communities. Yet, this is elusive because media policy-makers rarely concern themselves with this, and focus instead on private and corporate media's expectations, notes Ammu Joseph.

The draft Broadcast Bill does not reflect a nuanced understanding of the complex and contentious issues relating to media ownership. At the same time the objections raised by India's media industry do not acknowledge the fact that media regulation in most 'mature democracies' includes restrictions on media ownership, writes Ammu Joseph.

Why are select medical cases hogging media attention? It is a matter of concern that health coverage is all too often susceptible to manipulation that makes a mockery of the ethics of both the media and the medical profession, says Ammu Joseph.

Ammu Joseph

For some time there has been an impasse between media and the government over the media regulation and the Broadcast Bill, with citizens left on the sidelines. A set of documents is being released into the public domain to stimulate public debate. Ammu Joseph has more.

The world’s largest and longest-running longitudinal research and action initiative on gender in the news media released in New York on 2 March, where the 54th session of United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is currently on. Ammu Joseph summarises the findings.

If issues concerning media standards and ethics are not swept under the carpet as in the past, some good may result from the recent storm over Justice Katju’s observations, writes Ammu Joseph.

The pattern of development in India seems ominously like England in the nineteenth century. Are Indian companies the vanguard of a 21st century Indian imperialism, ask Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Is it at all possible to be an Indian nationalist without losing sight of our common humanity? Can nationalism ever be an emancipatory principle, asks Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Is brazen unaccountability a national disease in our country, asks Himanshu Upadhyaya as he reads through yet another performance review by the CAG of India, this time of its own performance in carrying out auditing functions.

Renowned popular Bengali actress Suchitra Sen, remembered by audiences nationwide for her performances in Hindi films Aandhi and Mamta, passed away recently after years of strict, self-imposed seclusion. Shoma A Chatterji remembers her life and aura.

Contemporary trends in Indian society, business and statecraft are ultimately grounded in long standing intuitions about nature and culture that permeate Indian society. If public policy began from this understanding, very different notions of justice might emerge, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

An India Together radio program featuring Professor Jagdeep Chhokar of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad on the new anti-criminalization rules for India's elections.

This India Together radio program features a talk by well known women's rights lawyer Flavia Agnes. She speaks on the current critical juncture for women and the women's movement.

It will be a mistake to view the WSF merely as a platform for those dispossessed and displaced by market-driven globalization, says Rajni Bakshi.

Hyderabad has been seeing a spurt in construction activity whose benefits are not exactly trickling down to daily wage workers. Safia Sircar finds out why.

A number of implicit and explicit constraints influence the extent to which carts and kiosks work as avenues of creative entrepreneurship. Varupi Jain compares the Indian scenario with that in the US, and notes cultural and social realities that shape the Indian experience.

A new report from TERI, the first of its kind for India, argues that compliance with environmental, social and governance criteria would better differentiate Indian stocks in comparison to issuers from other emerging markets for high quality investors. Rajni Bakshi has more on why India must care.

New Delhi recently allocated three blocks of coal in Orissa for projects that will produce liquid fuel from coal, in an attempt to increase oil supply. The decision appears to have overlooked a number of critical considerations, say Ananth Chikkatur and Sunita Dubey.

The benefits of providing access to energy and lighting to increasing numbers of the populace are indisputable, but many of the current initiatives to provide cleaner energy rely on corporate partnerships. Darryl D'Monte examines its pros and cons vis-à-vis an alternative model.

The findings of a recent study by scholars at the University of Oxford point to the adverse outcomes and poor economic returns associated with large dam projects. Amruta Pradhan summarises the findings and shows how they have been consistently borne out by empirical observations in Maharashtra.

Prime Minister Modi’s clarion call to manufacture in India signifies a lofty vision, but can that be realised without some critical reforms that would make manufacturing sustainable and rational? Amar Kumar raises pertinent questions.

The dramatic political transformation going on in Greece, with the victory of the leftist party SYRIZA, is worth watching closely for all those in India who hope for a just, sustainable future. Ashish Kothari deliberates upon the lessons to be learnt.

A recent report from the labour ministry reveals that skill-intensive occupations such as plumbing and carpentry pay more in rural India. Shambhu Ghatak looks at the data closely to argue for greater thrust on imparting skills, especially to rural women.

India and Africa both share interest in manufacturing, so how will this play out at the ongoing India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in Delhi? And will we see a coherent strategy from the present Indian government for engaging the continent? Anoo Bhuyan looks into these questions and more.

Regardless of how it is interpreted, India’s doctrinal promise of ‘massive nuclear retaliation’ in the event of nuclear first use by the enemy would be more than strategically flawed. At a time when India is now poised to review its doctrine afresh, Firdaus Ahmed digs deeper.

As India takes on the role of a mature power centre in the Indian Ocean region, Firdaus Ahmed wonders if it will stick to its traditional defensive culture or if the move to a rightist polity will bring about a different doctrine altogether.

Firdaus Ahmed deconstructs the various levels of state and individual dynamics that have led to India’s recent military doctrine of ‘disproportionate response’ as evident in various instances of encounters and killings, including the recent crackdown at the Myanmar border.

Our government and the National Security Adviser are promoting 'defensive offence' as India's Pakistan strategy. Firdaus Ahmed explains why that's not the case and that our strategy is more 'offensive-compellence' than 'defensive offence'.

The recently released joint doctrine shows a movement in India's strategic, nuclear, conventional and sub-conventional doctrines. Firdaus Ahmed claims that this necessarily will not make India any safer.

Firdaus Ahmed ponders if India’s nuclear weapons are in safer hands or not.

A systems approach, which combines infrastructure, vehicles, operations, technologies and user education, has created a seamless implementation process for Ahmedabad's Janmarg, write Madhav Pai and Abhijit Lokre.

If all of India's tiger terrain was protected very well, including from cattle grazing conflicts from forest dwellers, it could potentially support 20,000 tigers, say some experts. Malini Shankar has more.

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.

Wildlife experts across India stress the need for more stronger cases backed by scientific evidence and administrative efficiency, speedy trials and effective prosecution of the guilty. Bosky Khanna reports.

A fragile grassland ecosystem combined with skewed thrust on conservation of forest lands vis-a-vis the arid dry grasslands paints a bleak future for the Great Indian Bustard, whose numbers are fast dwindling. Malini Shankar reports.

Numerous species of Indian birds are critically endangered. Only strict conservation laws can help them survive. Experts fear that many will be wiped off as the environment deteriorates. Unless we have emergency measures, it will be too late says Ramesh Menon.

Italian farmer group Coldiretti is ushering in a new paradigm in farming, and has emerged as a powerful lobby for the interests of the small farmer. Keya Acharya reports on the campaign and wonders if Indian agriculture can emulate the same.

Bilateral deals will be harder to resist;; India must strengthen the home front as well as regional partnerships, says Suman Sahai.

At a two-day international seminar on "Saving Doha and delivering on development" that concluded at New Delhi on 13 March, India's Commerce Minister Kamal Nath provided ample evidence of India's willingness to go along with the rich and industrialised countries. The writing is on the wall, says Devinder Sharma.

A recent editorial in The New York Times rightly recognises the flaws of a growth model driven by lower trade barriers. But Devinder Sharma wonders if the American daily will take a stand and extend its arguments to champion the cause of all nations, including India.

The government’s thrust on ‘ease of doing business’ and ‘Make in India’ rests significantly on the premise of attracting foreign capital into manufacturing. Kannan Kasturi tracks data on FDI inflows to see whether it indicates true potential to boost the sector and job creation.

The media have decided that 70 per cent of the population does not make news. The electorate has decided otherwise. P Sainath contrasts expectations before the elections with actual outcomes, and finds plenty that should have been always evident.

In the villages, we demolish their lives, and in the city their homes. The smug indifference of the elite is matched by the governments they do not vote in, but control. P Sainath contrasts the tongue-lolling coverage of the Beautiful People with the studied indifference to the plight of millions.