New Delhi's citizen crusaders for the state's Right to Information law are now taking their methods and inspiration to other localities, reports Varupi Jain.

Employees of the Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) have been celebrating recently. The Padma Shri award, the Stockholm Water Prize and the Chameli Devi Jain award have come in quick succession. Ramesh Menon tracks the growth of CSE and Sunita Narain, its director.

The Indian capital with its chauvinistic society and sordid history of crimes against women is the last place that one would imagine women to be attracted to. Zumbish talks to women who live and work in Delhi to know their thoughts on the city.

As media reports on abuse of domestic help become increasingly frequent, Shoma A Chatterji draws attention to a documentary that reveals the shocking realities of children and young people trafficked for employment as servants in upper and middle class homes, primarily in Delhi.

Legislation for street vendors mandates registration of all vendors and allocation of spaces for them by the state in designated zones. Navya P K’s interaction with street vendors in Delhi reveals a reality that is in stark contrast to what the law holds.

Nungshi and Tashi Malik from Dehradun have created history as the only twin sisters in the world to have scaled the seven highest peaks across the seven continents. Surekha Kadapa-Bose brings us the story of their feat in the face of myriad odds.

Every year the Knight fellowships program at Stanford University awards eight international fellowships for journalism innovation. This year, one of the eight is your own newsmagazine’s co-founder.

Crime and atrocities against Dalits is on rise, while support and justice in these cases are long delayed and the coverage of these crimes is inept, biased or voyeuristic. Pushpa Achanta finds out why media, the fourth pillar of our democracy, is falling short in its duty.

The women of Meghpar village of Kutch District are fighting the big port town Gandhidham municipality which is dumping its waste in their village. Vimal Kalavadiya and Shvetangini Patel report from Kutch.

Despite an inspection confirming substantial violations of its lending policies in a Coal India project, the World Bank's board recommends only minimal action, and claims local people gained nonetheless.

Jan Adhikar Yatra, a ten-day long march took place across the state of Jharkhand last month. The yatra was to mobilise people against the growing attacks on their basic rights like employment guarantee, food security, social security, and right to their forest and land. Ankita Aggarwal reports about her experience in the Yatra.

Resistance to large projects is founded on many fears and objections. Key among them is loss of access to water. Without proper consideration of the water impacts of development plans, public acceptance of these projects will remain elusive, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

The new law's provisions are infusing into the proceedings of the Gram Sabhas a democratic character that they have lacked so far. From a conservation standpoint too, the law is proving to be positive, writes Tushar Dash.

Once-young fighters from Sri Lanka are now mostly family men entrenched in Malkangiri town. The way the one-time, once-brash warriors have woven themselves into the community is touching, writes P Sainath.

Environmentalist Ashish Kothari discusses the politics behind the approval of the POSCO project, and how the FRA is faring in Odisha, in conversation with Pradeep Baisakh.

There is wide-spread failure in safeguarding the rights of forest communities protected under the Forest Rights Act. State and Central Governments are complicit in diluting it. Tushar Dash reports.

Their shelters and livelihoods ravaged by the deadly recent cyclone, many women along Odisha's coastline are are so bereft of any hope for the future that they feel it would have been better to be among the dead. Sarada Lahangir meets some of them.

The broad-based Community Based Functional Literacy Campaign launched by the State Resource Centre of Rayagada, Orissa aims to educate women and drop-out girls in three of the most backward districts of the state. Abhijit Mohanty summarises the key take-aways so far.

Abhijit Mohanty brings us the story of certain tribal villages in Koraput district of southern Odisha that have successfully overcome the challenges posed by denudation and inadequate irrigation and have etched out a path towards food security and well-being.

If you decide that 75 per cent of the country does not make news, you're shrinking your potential zone of coverage. And if you decree that only a small section of the other 25 per cent does, you've painted yourself into a corner. P Sainath finds the deluge of trivia in the media decidedly not funny.

In Advani's worldview, populist sorrow over the Babri Masjid demolition, and Narendra Modi's re-election after the Gujarat riots amount to democratic endorsement of whatever happened, and is sufficient political accountability. Thankfully, the Supreme Court doesn't agree, notes Firdaus Ahmed.

For the poor, the choice is often between health care in private systems that are beyond their reach, or death. That is a choice no citizen should be forced to make. To overcome this, the idea of a right to health should foreground policy debates on health care, says Kalpana Sharma.

Militaristic theories of Gulf War II's implications must not be allowed to sabotage India's national interests, says Firdaus Ahmed .

For civil society the task of addressing human rights concerns in a situation where security forces act with impunity is immensely challenging. Still, there are those who are trying. Freny Manecksha reports.

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.

A female police inspector from J&K, deployed in a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, has recently won a prestigious international award. Yet, her story holds little meaning for fellow women officers back home who fight social stigma, poor pay and gender bias at work every day. Shazia Yousuf reports.

The RTI-on-Wheels, an initiative of Gujarat-based organisation Janpath and the Association for India's Development, has inspired the people of J&K to press for their right to information and to a government that works for them. L S Aravinda reports.

The Assam government has claimed credit for the rise in pass percentages in high schools in recent years. But, reports Ratna Bharali Talukdar, a closer look at the numbers shows there is still much room for improvement in state-funded education in high schools and colleges.

Should foreign immigrants in Assam enjoy Indian citizenship as outlined by the Assam Accord and endorsed by Section 6A of the Citizenship Act? Tanvi Bhatikar reports on a recent court ruling that focuses on these questions.

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.

The rains may have failed Bundelkhand but more than this it is the governments that have forsaken the people over the years. Kannan Kasturi reports.

A number of families residing in the char areas of Assam have apparently staved off misfortune by taking up sugarcane cultivation, but it may require more than just that to stem the trend of migration and improve living conditions in the region. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

A survey among beneficiaries of the National Social Assistance Programme shows that while it does provide succour for many, a lot remains to be done for it to become sufficient social security for the masses. Anindita Adhikari reports on the survey findings.

A renewable energy project covering three of Odisha’s most backward villages has gone beyond the immediate promise of providing electricity, bringing about perceptible and deeper changes in the quality of lives of the local people. Abhijit Mohanty reports on the project.

The risk to the unborn child from an HIV-infected mother is significant, but with advances in science and medical care, more women are hopeful about choosing to keep the child. Puja Awasthi reports.

The main message that is going out to the masses is: use condoms. But this overlooks a fundamental reality about the values contained in that message, says Mirra Savara.

The citation for the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay award speaks of her "untiring leadership of the Cancer Institute as a centre for excellence and compassion for the study and treatment of cancer". Ambujam Anantharaman speaks with V Shanta, whose 50-year career is a glitterring record of progress against cancer in India.

India is notorious for its abysmal health services leading to very high infant and maternal mortality rates. Ila Pathak provides a glimpse of how much effort it takes to get official health functionaries to perform their assigned duties with a minimal degree of seriousness.

Mental illness is an isolating experience which shuts off those affected from experiencing the fun and laughter of everyday life. Kolkata Sanved is working to change that, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Mental illness is an isolating experience which shuts off those affected from experiencing the fun and laughter of everyday life. Kolkata Sanved is working to change that, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Amidst a rising tide of reports of medical negligence in the media, the courts have stepped in to interpret laws in favour of patients, and to award large punitive damages. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Tuberculosis kills close to 300,000 men, women and children in India every year and is estimated to cost the country $23.7 billion annually! R Balasubramaniam describes the fight against the disease so far and the challenges it continues to pose.

A recent workshop in Karnataka focused on the health impact of coal-based power plants and other industrial pollutants and shared inputs on how to empower local communities to combat the same. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Delhi, infamous for high air pollution, has been experimenting with odd-even formula by curbing the movement of private vehicles from Jan 1st. After one week of the execution of the programme, there is no visible change in the pollution level. Will road rationing help to reduce the pollution level or does Delhi need much more action to control the pollution, writes Akshatha M.

Karnataka's Electricity Regulatory Commission reminds Bangalore's power supplier it has an obligation to provide reliable and safe service.

The pressing need for direct participation of citizens in public oversight has always contrasted with the eagerness of political parties to penetrate virtually all public offices. In Karnataka, school development monitoring committees were the latest to fall victim to this imbalance. Subramaniam Vincent reports.

Three generations of a farming family in Bagalkot district in Karnataka campaigned to drought-proof the fields and to conserve the soil and water. Their inspiration was a 170-year old book that until recently remained only in manuscript form. Shree Padre reports on the enviable results.

It may take more than random coverage of dramatic developments on the civic front for the media fulfil its promise of connecting citizens and governments. Mere reports based entirely on press statements and conferences in which plans are presented with little questioning won't do, writes Ammu Joseph.

On 31 December 2005, the curtains are set to come down on the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd's long disputed mining operations in the protected Kudremukh National Park. But ensuring an end to mining in one of the most stunning landscapes of the country has not been easy. Pavithra Sankaran provides a telling narrative.

On 31 December 2005, the curtains are set to come down on the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd's long disputed mining operations in the protected Kudremukh National Park. But ensuring an end to mining in one of the most stunning landscapes of the country has not been easy. Pavithra Sankaran provides a telling narrative.