A new mechanical device that makes areca nut harvesting less labour-intensive and hence affordable could solve one of the major problems faced by farmers of the crop. Shrikrishna D reports.

Rapid industrial growth brought wealth but also unchecked pollution to the town of Vapi. It impacted the local fishing communities by destroying their livelihoods. Manisha Goswami and Bharat Patel report on the decades of damage caused by the chemical industries in the area.

Pursuing a national measurement of the education, Rukmini Banerji reaches Arunachal Pradesh. Through chats and conversations and activities with children, she finds that the map of India is much more than dots and lines on a piece of paper, but also the anxieties and dreams of where we want to be tomorrow.

Indian policymakers must take heed and ensure that the DNA profiling system in India has well-guarded limits so that it protects human rights, writes Sujatha Byravan.

Laws addressing sexual violence may have changed in India, but with judicial response mired in scepticism and age-old attitudes towards rape survivors, there is little hope for justice. In conversation with Pamela Philipose, noted lawyer Vrinda Grover exposes the contradictions in the legal system.

A recent observation of the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition filed by a filmmaker challenging censorship of his documentary, has left advocates of human rights in the country anguished and puzzled. Shoma A Chatterji explains why.

It is relatively easy to legislate laws regarding domestic workers, as Maharashtra has just done with its recent bill on their welfare. But it's not that easy to change attitudes, writes Kalpana Sharma.

It is tragic that the new Amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) (CLPR) Act, 2016, which has a seemingly progressive framework, has been largely diluted by chicanery, opines Kathyayini Chamaraj.

This is the first part of a three part series on child labour in Kerala by Navya P K, who is reporting on this topic for PII-­UNICEF Media Fellowship, which was awarded to her recently.

Cases on child labour or trafficking are rarely filed by the labour department and police. Even when cases are filed, offenders get away quickly. Navya P K reports.

Kerala lacks a system to rehabilitate migrant child labourers. Navya P K finds out how rescued children are sent off to their home districts, and then forgotten.

The central paradox of Indian communism is that its practice is vastly superior to its theory. Communist leaders and activists are probably more intelligent than their counterparts in other parties. This is why it is such a great pity that their often honourable practice is crippled with an archaic and outmoded theory, says Ramachandra Guha.

"The Constitution is yours. The borders are yours. The sovereignty is yours. The flag is yours. What is ours? What is that is both tribal and Indian in the Constitution?" Shiv Visvanathan recalls an Independence-era conversation that marks the passage of the adivasis, unheard and unheeded, between two worlds.

Wherever we are this August 15, we would do well to remember, and take heed of, what a very wise Indian said and did on this day 62 years ago, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Now that the Nehru-Gandhis once more control both party and government, P V Narasimha Rao can be mentioned in Congress circles only if it is possible to disparage him, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Moner Manush is contemporary and topical as it talks of peace, harmony and religious tolerance at a time when India is ridden by fundamentalism and intolerance in different pockets. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Mohun Bagan's famous victory over East Yorkshire Regiment was a historic moment in British India, blending revolution and sport on the field of play. Shoma Chatterji reviews Arun Roy's film about this great game.

At a time when we're drifting away from Gandhiji and the values he stood and fought for, a film like Gour Hari Dastaan comes as a reminder of what we've lost and forces us to reflect on why. Shoma Chatterji reviews this film about a Gandhian and his fight to prove that he was indeed a freedom fighter.

The Justice Sampath committee looking into the devastating Kumbakonam fire is expected to report its findings on school safety in the next few months. But Tamilnadu has already seen other reforms reports with little real change. Will the upcoming recommendations bring any fruit? Krithika Ramalingam finds out.

Tulir, a Chennai-based NGO has been doing pioneering work in bringing to attention the widespread sexual abuse of children -- as high as 42 per cent in one Chennai survey. In 2006, Tulir was honoured with an International Award. Ambujam Anantharaman has more.

A number of NGO-run schools in Tamilnadu are making a clear difference in helping underprivileged chilren get a better shot at the real world, in comparison to state-run schools. Still, the schools themselves need help, finds Krithika Ramalingam.

Stone quarries, brick kilns, sand mining and silk weaving are stealing SC/ST children out of school in Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur districts of Tamilnadu. Krithika Ramalingam reports on the hard reality these children face.

The odds of children in villages in Krishnagiri district, Tamilnadu, making it to college are one per cent, ten times below the low national average. Some interventions are helping, finds Krithika Ramalingam as she records the many realities here.

The desire for quality education for all children is noble and surely one shared by all. But Tamilnadu's Samacheer Kalvi makes that more difficult, writes Parth Shah.

Almost one in every two children under three years of age is hungry. This is the invisible half of our population, people who disappear from our consciousness until they die in large numbers, writes Kalpana Sharma.

"When people fail to recognise farmers' role in feeding the country, be sure there is something terribly wrong happening", he once told me. Devinder Sharma remembers Dr Norman Borlaug.

An increasing number of farmers from across the country are flocking to the annual rice sharing festival in Tamil Nadu, where a whopping number of traditional rice seed varieties are exchanged and subsequently cultivated in different locales. Devinder Sharma reports from the 2014 event.

Amongst the various models for sustainable livelihoods being tried and tested in the tribal areas of India, the Wadi model has shown a lot of promise. Abhijeet Mohanty, Kieran Robson and Rosie Clarkson find out why and how the Wadi model is doing in the tribal areas of Koraput district of Odisha.

Multinationals producing genetically modified foods attempt to force open Third World markets, even as consumers in the wealthier countries reject the risky science behind their products, says Devinder Sharma.

Around the developed world, GM crops are discredited, but in India, under the emotional tag of 'eradicating hunger', the industry is having a free run, says Devinder Sharma.

A New Delhi based non-profit organization has filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court against commercialisation of GM crops until a sound regulatory and monitoring system is put in place.

Devinder Sharma on the recent approval given in India for commercial growth of another Bt cotton variety.

6 years ago, Punukula village in AP was no different from many other cotton farming regions. Pesticide overuse and environmental poisoning were rampant, and so were pests. But by 2004, the village had successfully charted a simple escape route. Devinder Sharma looks at the lessons.

On 3 May, the Ministry of Environment and Forests cancelled its earlier approval for commercial cultivation of three varieties of transgenic Bt cotton seeds in Andhra Pradesh. How must one read the decision of the GEAC? Kanchi Kohli says the developments may only be a breather.

Cotton farmers around the country are following Andhra Pradesh's lead in skipping both pesticides and Bt seeds. And there are no pests. Why? There are 28 predators of the American bollworm, cotton's main enemy. If you stop spraying pesticides, these beneficial insects devour the bollworm, notes Devinder Sharma.

Studies from China and the US show the limitations of Bt-based resistance. The bollworm evolves to resist the toxin eventually, and a number of secondary pests remain unaffected. Suman Sahai argues that this is not really a workable strategy except in the first few years.

The Bt gene in brinjal does not increase productivity. But what it is surely about to do is bring India's first genetically altered food crop to your dining table. And there are lots of reasons why this should worry you, writes Devinder Sharma.

S G Vombatkere writes his concluding opinion on the series on the proposed gigantic network of interlinked rivers.

At the heart of the current scandal over pesticide-laced soft drinks are haphazard legislation, and a management approach that ignores the people, says Videh Upadhyay.

Lalitha Sridhar presents two largely divergent points of view.

The Supreme Court keeps issuing orders on water disputes, but these rarely prevail. Videh Upadhyay urges the Court to seize the opportunity to change that, permanently.

Surekha Sule reports on the institution-based revival of centuries old community based systems of managing water in villages.

In the 2004-5 budget speech, the finance minister announced subsidy support for a hundred thousand water harvesting units. But governments continue to miss the point that decentralisation must allow citizens choice over institutions too, not merely access to new schemes and loans, says Sudhirendar Sharma.

Researchers around the country gathered to discuss solutions to the key water-related problems India faces. From conflicts between states, to water-saving agricultural practices, to receding glaciers, a number of issues were raised, and their economic and social implications weighed. Surekha Sule reports.

Shortage of water has been a tale of woe in Rajasthan for decades. But this year, the state's largest circulated Hindi daily, Rajasthan Patrika, has motivated around 155,000 volunteers to clean up 388 discarded traditional ponds and wells. Ramesh Menon reports from Jaipur.

Farmers in rural India and students in American universities may have more in common than it would seem. While Cola companies have run into opposition in several states in India, student bodies in North America are pressuring universities to wind up contracts letting the firms exclusively sell water and soft drinks on campus. Sandeep Pandey connects the dots.

With its enchanting greenery and network of backwaters and rivers, Kerala is thought to be a water-plenty state. After all, Kerala gets 6 months of rainfall, 2.5 times higher than the national average. Despite this, the state has been experiencing water scarcity, with conditions worsening in some regions. P N Venugopal analyses the causes.

Tending livestock is difficult enough for settled communities, but for migrants the hardships are even worse. Without formal laws providing them access to water or feed, they must continually negotiate these, or bribe forest officials to obtain passage rights. Surekha Sule reports on recent studies highlighting their woes.

While the LDF government was quick to ban colas in Kerala, it mounted only a mild defense when this was challenged in court by the manufacturers of the drinks. Ignoring evidence of groundwater depletion and contamination, it argued only that the drinks were unsafe for consumption. M Suchitra and P N Venugopal report.

New Delhi can easily develop the procedures needed to ensure that projects that have not been approved by either CWC or the Planning Commission do not get statutory clearances. Instead of using such powers, central agencies work more like agents for sub-optimal development. Himanshu Thakkar reports.