The current situation of impotence that the Government finds itself in should prompt some soul searching about the reliance on market mechanisms to take care of India's food security, writes Kannan Kasturi.

The curbs on a woman's right to choose who to have a relationship with and/or marry manifest themselves in myriad ways. The data suggest that 'honour' crimes against women are widespread, but prevailing customs in many parts of the country thwart the protection of this right. Puja Awasthi reports.

Naam Poribortito, the debut film of activist Mitali Biswas, reveals the dark and gory underbelly of West Bengal in particular, and the nation at large, where rape victims are denied justice and crusaders are silenced more often than not. Shoma Chatterji has more on the film and its portrayals.

As tea estates are closing down, 70,000 plantation workers in Kerala face joblessness. M Suchitra and M P Basheer report from Peermade.

Why is it that large expenditure on food subsidy in India does not achieve more in reducing undernourishment? At a New Delhi public hearing earlier this year, Dr. Amartya Sen addressed this question.

With their long history of affiliation to political parties, unions have been unable to articulate the interests of workers independently. Also, a narrow understanding of labour has made them irrelevant to the majority of workers in the unorganised sector. A new formation proposes to tackle these failures. Aparna Pallavi reports.

Moments after a customer approaches this cart, the vendor pours tender coconut juice into a funnel-like part. Chilled juice comes out of a stainless steel tap below, filling a 250 ml glass, for Rs.10. Shree Padre reports about Fruit Hut Beverages, a Hyderabad-based firm that has launched the Coco Fresco brand.

The origins of today's law for land acquisition for SEZs act can be traced to 1824, when the British colonial power felt the need to codify the undisguised forcible seizure of land. While colonial rule has long gone, the unjust application of the principle of eminent domain remains, writes Kannan Kasturi.

Several recent media reports as well as scholarly literature point to a deep-seated communal bias in certain sections of Indian society. Firdaus Ahmed looks closely at the military and its mutations to explore if it can remain insulated from similar prejudicial leanings.

A new bio-fertilisation solution offers protection for the long-term health of soils, as well as a cheaper alternative to traditional chemical treatment. Rasika Dhavse reports.

Imports of pepper from Sri Lanka, including large quantities that are simply routed through that country but not actually produced there, have devastated farmers in Wayanad, home of the world's best pepper. P Sainath continues his series on the agrarian crisis in this region.

"It is time for my daughter to get married but where's the money? We ran a teashop for a long time. That folded as people had no more to spend." P Sainath finds that as the agrarian crisis has deepened in Wayanad, many people are now simply unable to afford weddings.

Vidarbha's farmers are unhappy with the "relief packages" announced by the State and the Centre. Debt relief and access to credit are certainly important to them, but they want the larger issues driving the suicides addressed first, writes P Sainath.

Ask for expansion of the NREGS, universal access to the PDS, more spending on health and education - and there's no money. But there?s enough to give away to the corporate world in concessions, writes P Sainath.

The oppression of the Dalit community, and especially its women, by upper caste society is still widely prevalent in Rasulpura village of Rajasthan’s Ajmer district. Shirish Khare visits the village to find that the agents of law are often equally discriminatory.

A critique of the process and research used by the Justice Malimath Committee to recommend reforms to the Criminal Justice System. This is the first of a two part series.
Click here to read Part II

In the second and concluding part of the series on the Malimath Committee's report, Bikram Jeet Batra looks at the detailed recommendations in terms of implications for Human Rights.
Earlier: Part I

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.

Fixated on eliminating the grounds for disqualification of legislators that arose from their holding of offices-of-profit in the Executive, Parliament has sent back the infamous Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill to the President, who is now constitution-bound to sign it. Madabhushi Sridhar points out why the legislation must be stopped.

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'.

A legislative brief from PRS Legislative Research about the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, which proposes to introduce a new regime for public service delivery.

As the Budget Session of Parliament nears its end, the House is expected to decide on at least two key pieces of legislation that propose major reforms in the areas of food security and the rights of the displaced; Sakshi Balani provides a quick round-up of the provisions and issues related to the two Bills.

With only 14 functional State Security Commissions in the country, and those too with flawed compositions and diluted roles, the efforts towards minimising government interference in police functioning have naturally been lax. Navya PK cites critical findings of a CHRI Report that shows the present sad state of our SSCs.

Shalini Bhutani takes a close look at the law and ensuing policy on trade in India, and asks whether the regulatory framework on trade issues nurtures the idea of public consultation.

Tripura’s revocation of the AFSPA is certainly a positive move from a human rights perspective. But it leaves unaddressed the issue of justice for those whose lives were torn apart by the excesses under the Act, writes Anjuman Ara Begum.

With over 2.19 crore pending cases, the Chief Justice of India pleads again to fill the numerous vacancies in the judiciary at the earliest. Ramesh Menon reports.

In the poorest part of Jharkhand, community radio has become an important instrument for the development of neglected communities. If access to their own media were freer, the villagers believe, things could be even better. Pratibha Jyoti reports on the progress made even without government support for community stations.

The spurt in communal violence along the south-western coast has led to intensive searches for solutions. Some social activists see the answer in the old tradition of kadalkotis, sea courts with strong roots in tradition that kept peace among diverse faiths for centuries. N P Chekkutty reports.

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.

22 years after the incident, a group of unrelenting young activists file a PIL to re-investigate the atrocities unleashed on the women of the two villages in Northern Kashmir, opening a new can of worms. Freny Maneksha 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.

Most governments that stressed welfarist measures gained in last month's elections. Food prices and cheap rice are crucial, though not the sole issues, notes P Sainath.

Through his new book, Arvind Verma makes a positive contribution to police scholarship. Some of Verma's analysis is in sharp contrast to prevalent wisdom which ignores the negative role of police leadership in the current system. K S Subramanian reviews The Indian Police: A Critical Evaluation.

Research finds evidence of heavy metal contamination of vegetables in Delhi.

The poor never follow the rules of good health, we often hear. But the rules, in fact, are no guarantee of safe health in a system that is poorly regulated and unaccountable to its users.

Even as New Delhi says maternal mortality numbers are falling, tribal women in Madhya Pradesh are facing a negligent, cruel and corrupt healthcare system and dying during childbirth. When the conduct of hospital staff is questioned, they face retaliation instead of accountability. Sachin Jain reports.

Tales of medical malpractice and its impact on patients are all too common in India. But what does the culture of corruption mean for one who wishes to remain true to the noble profession that he had chosen for himself? Pavan Kulkarni finds out.

There is no overlap between the administrative jurisdictions of various city agencies, or congruence with political boundaries. The result: the citizen is confused, the local politician is confused, the agency representatives are confused. Ramesh Ramanathan calls for a transformation of this chaotic situation.

Illegal felling, mining, and conversion of forest land into non-forest uses, have all been unchecked here. Repeated hearings in the Supreme Court were ignored by forest officials. Kanchi Kohli reports that the case presents both new opportunities for holistic conservation as well as risk of the Court's orders being flouted brazenly.

It's 'ready to serve' and like a soft drink bottle or tetra pack, you can take it inside any office, drink and then dispose. Sold with the brand name Tender Fresh, 1500 – 2000 tender coconuts every day are reaching a clientele that reads like the who's who of Bangalore's software companies. Shree Padre reports.

What is the price of water to the supplier? What are people being charged out there? Where are our institutions headed in the balance between equity-accessibility and cost recovery? S Vishwanath looks at the example of Bangalore, and finds much room and need for improvement in water pricing.

Charles and Nirmala Sequeira were simply looking for something different to do. Little did they think that, many years later, their decision to start selling ice cream made from local fruits would catch on with customers, and open a new channel for value addition for local produce. Shree Padre reports.

This is a bill that the Governor of Karnataka sent back to the state government in 2007 saying that it "evidently seems to undermine the Constitutional mechanism for rural development governance.." The same bill may be back in the state assembly soon, warns Nandana Reddy.

How did a journalist who covered the infamous homestay attack for his employer end up in jail with serious charges leveled against him? The Mangalore Police holds the answer, finds Vaishnavi Vittal.

The demand from citizens demonstrating in Mumbai that the Marine Drive rapist be handed over to them is yet another illustration of their growing frustration with state institutions. This is a dangerous signal that both the government and the police need to heed, says Kalpana Sharma.

Despite a strongly held belief to the contrary, Maharashtra's farmers have never demanded free power. And the suicides in Vidharbha were certainly not linked to this issue. P Sainath finds that the region is really paying the price of political power.

Hundreds of farming families are making a beeline to Karanja from surrounding districts in the hope of a better education for their children. Although this has brought financial as well as a other problems, these families feel they have little choice. Aparna Pallavi reports.

Contrary to its own knowledge, the Salt Departmnt has been contending that the lands that belong to salt manufacturers along the Konkan coast are government lands, and that the claimants are mere lessees with a license to manufacture salt. P Venu reports.

Fertilizer shortages have sparked unrest across large swathes of rural Maharashtra and other States as well. In Washim, every constable and officer is deployed right within the police compound, distributing fertilizer. P Sainath reports.

Displaced by the flawed implementation of Slum Rehabilitation Authority's policy and an unholy nexus of real-estate mafia, thousands of slum-dwellers continue to fight for their basic right to shelter. Swati Priya reports from Mumbai.