In a first, the Lok Sabha Election this year has at least four candidates from the traditionally under-represented transgender community. Prabhu Mallikarjunan looks at their participation, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said its top leaders will attend the oath-taking ceremony of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister on December 26.

A recent Kerala government proposal for sand mining in Kerala's Alappuzha district has come under scrutiny from several quarters. Sreedevi Jacob reports.

Kanchi Kohli reports from the public meetings on a Hydro Electric Project that involves diverting a river tributary near Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

Shale gas and oil reserves are being eyed hungrily by an industry that is looking at the sunset of conventional reserves. But fracking is full of risks, and we must address those first, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

Several newly elected panchayat presidents and and council members attended a unique ceremony in Lalpur, U.P., in late September. Watched by the District Magistrate, they took an oath of 'office and transparency' as opposed to the customary oath of 'office and secrecy'. Sandeep Pandey writes about a new beginning.

India's doctrine of 'deterrence by punishment' is least credible in the most likely scenario of Pakistani nuclear use. But the tenets of this doctrine are not above revision, and times of relative peace offer a better opportunity to find the way forward, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Videh Upadhyay urges the SC to take a comprehensive approach, protecting forests and those whose livelihood and culture are tied to nature.

A letter from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs urges states to recognise the habitat rights of vulnerable tribal groups under the FRA. Meenal Tatpati, Rashi Misra and Subrat Kumar Nayak analyse the Dongria Kondh experience to underline what’s necessary to do so effectively.

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.

We should profitably contrast the flexible chaos of our institutions with the iron order of the west. The management of diversity requires a sensible mix of order and chaos, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) brought the performance of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme under the scanner. The report, which was placed in Parliament in August 2006, uncovered a top-heavy programme with local leaks and a flawed implementation. Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

Our deities can't be bullied into becoming soulless robotic creatures that yield to every new wave of political fashion. Madhu Purnima Kishwar wants protection from the new missionaries of uniformity.

More and more people are considering cycling as an option for their daily commutes to work. Women's participation in this change, however, is still low, and a lot of barriers need to be overcome, writes Sathya Sankaran.

Our economic and political leaders do not have much faith in the free market, or in trickle-down economics, despite their apparent support for both, says Ashwin Mahesh.

Even though caste barriers are far less visible in the Chingrajpara slum than in the villages its residents came from, how far one goes is still a function of where in the hierarchy one starts. Yet for many migrants, arrival in this Bilaspur, Chhatisgarh slum is the first rung on the ladder of upward mobility. Ashima Sood concludes SLUM DIARIES.

Kerala's fisheries sector is heading for deep crisis. The sector is already in troubled waters due to over exploitation of marine wealth, unbridled mechanisation and debt traps. Now the clouds of impending import of fish are further darkening the horizon. M Suchitra and P N Venugopal report.

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 lack of economic activity in most SEZs leads to the suspicion that many were incapable of attracting economic production units in the first place. The rush to 'denotify' them only reinforces this, writes Kannan Kasturi.

Given our Constitutional mandate to "endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities," Shankar Jaganathan explains why reintroduction of the Inheritance Tax may be a step worthy of serious consideration.

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.

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.

For the last 15 years, India has been unable to deal with a fasting, frail poet! Anjuman Ara Begum writes  how Irom Sharmila has been waging a protest against the cruel Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, enforced in her home state of Manipur and other parts of northeast India.

Is modernisation of transport the sole answer to air pollution problems in Delhi? In view of the NGT's proposed ban on older vehicles in Delhi, Sarath Guttikunda draws attention to several problems that need to be addressed for cleaner air in the NCR.

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.

The government’s counter-affidavit in a recent suit could strip the ECI of its power to disqualify candidates for fraudulent accounts or put an end to the pandemic of paid news. P Sainath reports on civil society attempts to stop the subversion of the EC’s powers.

The mob came from three different directions. Each group was preoccupied with its own murder. Bhayyalal's wife and daughter had their skulls smashed in, and his boys were beaten to death with sticks. Dilip D'Souza listens to the 'background' of yet another caste murder.

Suman Sahai discusses India's progressive legislation in the area of patents and protection for plant varieties.

The abhorrent remarks by actor-turned-Trinamool MP Tapas Pal, stating that he would get the women among his opponents raped, have left many outraged but drawn mild reactions from his party and no legal action at all. Shoma Chatterji exposes the milieu where leaders like Pal enjoy complete impunity.

The recent SC order directing the Centre to protect people, who come forward to help accident victims, from legal and other hassles, is a significant step towards reducing road accident fatalities. Shoma A Chatterji examines the broader social psyche and issues to be addressed to make the world more humane.

On 18 March, at a discussion organised by Daksh India, Nick Robinson from the Harvard Law School explored in detail the phenomenon of judicial delays, sharing insights from his work in both India and the US. Pavan Kulkarni summarises the points raised.

While a list of approved amendments to the proposed law on regulation of real estate is yet to be made public, it is now clear that the Bill will apply to commercial projects as well. Here is a round-up of the recent developments, from PRS Legislative Research.

The Bt Cotton debate is a vexing one. Proponents praise the technology, while NGOs charge that it has failed farmers and is too risky. Dr Ronald Herring teaches political economy and political ecology at Cornell University and has been studying the transgenic movement in India. He talked with India Together's Subramaniam Vincent.

Meena Bai Mehra, 45, is a bangle-seller and also a first time village council member. She, along with 34 other elected women were recently the first batch of students at a leadership academy in Amarwara, Madhya Pradesh. The journey for these women from voicelessness to confidence is a tough but chartable one, finds Madhu Gurung.

UR Ananthamurthy's brutally honest stance on Brahmanism, or in fact on any of the subjects that concerned him, has been fiercely debated in his life and death. In a tribute to the recently deceased stalwart of public thinking, Prakash Belawadi seeks to find clues to his inquiring spirit.

He said no to Brook, as he would not be allowed to carry hemp to the US! He had selective praise for Dylan and was openly caustic about contemporary artists. Shoma A. Chatterji reviews a biographical film on Gour Khepa, the brilliant and eccentric baul who lived life on his own terms.

Elder abuse is on the rise in India even as most senior citizens remain unaware of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 and redressal mechanisms. Reshmi Chakraborty and Nidhi Chawla took a look at findings from a recent survey and spoke to elder helpline counselors to find a bleak picture.

In this small sleepy Orissa village with a population of barely 400 adivasis, where there is no electricity and harsh conditions prevail, there is something remarkable about the women. Their level of awareness, their attitude and their personality have undergone a dramatic change in the last few years. Pradeep Baisakh has more.

A panel discussion at the recent annual meet of the Network of Women in Media, India points to constraints as well as prejudices in media coverage of conflicts. As a result, those working on these stories can only hope that readers themselves will recognise the value of their work. Shoma Chatterji reports.

The United Stated-led Global War on Terror is all set to come up to India's doorstep this summer, with Pakistan's move from being a 'frontline state' to becoming a theatre of war. For India, a reflexive anti-Pakistani stance or a fashionable pro-American one are not the only choices, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

While any act of self-killing is tragic and worthy of attention, one cannot help wonder why the proportion of male suicides in the country steadily rises with age. Take a look at the stark and sustained picture revealed by the data published by the NCRB.

Medical services are today driven by needs and definitions out of sync with the realities of the masses. In conversation with Pamela Philipose, health activist Imrana Qadeer argues why health should be seen through the prism of the various structural components of society - caste, class and gender.

Jhum, a traditional form of shifting cultivation common in the North-East, was the focus of a recent international meeting in Guwahati. But dilution of the original practice has impacted the ecosystem in some areas. Should jhum persist or perish? Surekha Sule has more.

Shifting cultivation in the Northeast, called jhum, is under stress because of conflicts and industrialisation. Sriram Ananthanarayanan examines how the cycle of jhum cultivation is getting adversely affected, causing immense hardship to the people dependent on it.

The 'importation' of brides from poorer states keeps dowry rates in Haryana high, despite alarming levels of female infanticide. Ranjit Devraj reports.

The shift in the Central Government’s policy regarding the pricing and allocation of foodgrains has severely impacted Kerala’s Public Distribution System, which had for long been hailed as a fine model in the country. M Suchitra reports.

The senior citizens of Chingrajpara slum in Bilaspur are unable to benefit from the largesse of the many government departments in New Delhi. In this fifth article in our SLUM DIARIES series, Ashima Sood notes that they go begging in the alleys of the slum, depending instead on their more reliable humble neighbours.

CIC Shailesh Gandhi orders that information about the public distribution system and its beneficiaries should be made public, offering hope that a corrupt system may finally see some reform. Shaweta Anand reports.

As the rhetoric among political parties over their commitment and promises to the people rises, Shankar Jaganathan articulates that one question that will test what they truly stand for.

Entrenched gender norms add new dimensions to a problem spiraling out of control, says Lalitha Sridhar.