Countless ordinary Indians sacrificed much for Independence without a thought of reward. Much of that generation has died out. Most others are very old, and several are ailing or otherwise in distress. Many in rural India, like Laxmi Panda, have lost much and gained little, writes P Sainath.

The efforts of metals major Hindalco to mine bauxite from Mali Parbat in Odisha has run up against stiff resistance from local Kondh adivasis, who wouldn’t shy away from militancy to protect their ecology, if needed. Javed Iqbal explores why they reject ‘industrial development’.

Indian political parties have been notorious for their opacity, particularly when it comes to questions of their funding. A recent quasi-judicial order bringing six large national parties within the ambit of the RTI Act 2005 might change that. A quick summary of the latest developments:

As Delhi readies for the fiercely contested Assembly elections, here are a few details beyond the din of the campaigns that we bet you didn’t know! S Venkatraman captures them in an infographic.

Rs.500 crores of Orissa's funds for rural employment guarantees for 2006-7 appear to have been siphoned off by the state bureaucracy. This money would have brought 10 lakh poorest families two subsistence meals for four-six months, at a time of hunger and starvation deaths. Parshuram Rai has more.

As in many other struggles around the country, in Kalinganagar too there are fractures within the opposition to the proposed industrial plants, and families are torn apart by bleak choices. Freny Manecksha reports.

With numerous court cases, regulatory rulings and pending environmental clearances behind it, the South Korean steel major POSCO still persists with its plans in India. Kanchi Kohli looks at the latest in the case and wonders why.

Among military planners, it is common to devise war games to counter any nuclear attack by enemy states. The theories put forward in such games, however, are not always grounded in reality. The peace community should alertly challenge such thinking, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The struggle to wrest back interpretations of Islam from the extremists could give security a boost, but more importantly, it could halt the marginalisation and ghettoisation of Muslims in India, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

If public health systems are failing on account of certain causes, the solution should lie in fixing them. However, it appears instead that the state seems to be looking for an escape route from the problems of its own inefficiencies, says C V Madhukar.

For women living along the conflict-ridden borders of Kashmir, caught between cross fire and attempts to check infiltration, the threat of landmines is a constant reality, made worse now by environmental degradation. Chetna Verma’s tales expose their rising vulnerability.

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.

With large parts of the state experiencing regular conflict between insurgents and security forces, and also between various ethnic groups, children in Assam, many of them forced into relief camps, face the risk of losing all access to education. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Direct Electro-Convulsive Therapy, banned in the west and some Indian states as a form of medical torture, is finding new advocates. Ethical psychiatrists must strongly disavow the practice, says Bhargavi Davar.

In Andhra's Khammam district, awareness clubs are bringing conversations about AIDS into the open, and roping in the volunteer spirit of young people to hold the line against a potential epidemic. Usha Revelli reports that plans are afoot to expand the initiative.

Once again, a study by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment found alarming levels of pesticide residues in soft drinks and stirred up a public debate. However, the larger issue of how pesticides have invaded the ground water and gotten into the food chain must not be missed, notes Ramesh Menon.

Quite a few debates are currently raging in the disability rights movement. Special schools or inclusive education, community based rehabilitation or institutionalised rehabilitation, job reservations or none - Prasanna Kumar Pincha discusses these and other questions.

Disregard for local sentiment is now the norm in most large projects. At Tadadi, which has faced a long line of threats of displacement, the latest struggle is against a proposed 4000 MW coal-fired plant. With Coastal Zone regulators not very attentive to the violations of law, the villagers can rely only on themselves. Sudhirendar Sharma reports.

Maharashtra's latest step towards water management has raised a large controversy, pitting strong views against one another. But lost amidst the arguments is an important fact - the solutions for our water crises are not going to be easy, because we've left ourselves very few options. M Rajshekhar reports.

In India's business capital, the NGO Sanmitra is helping HIV positive women re-enter the mainstream workforce, thereby ensuring them a life of independence and dignity. Sumita Thapar has more.

The 'GOAT' (greatest of all time) debate in men's tennis has divided opinions for a decade and remains a hot topic as the trio of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic continue to dominate the field, sharing the last 13 majors among them.

Former Australian opener Mathew Hayden who used a mongoose bat in the third edition of the IPL revealed that the then Indian skipper MS Dhoni had asked him to not use it. Hayden was the opening batsman for the Chennai Super Kings and had created a sensation when he first introduced a bat that had a longer handle, and smaller hitting surface to give leverage.

No sweat and saliva rule will load the game heavily in favour of batsmen: Varun Aaron

हॉलीवुड मूवी 'अलिटा : बैटल एंजल' में टेक्नोलॉजी के इस्तेमाल से जबरदस्त एक्शन दिखाया गया है. हॉलीवुड की चाहत रखने वालों के लिए ये फिल्म भरपूर रोमांच लेकर आ रही है. बता दें दमदार एक्शन से भरपूर जेम्स कैमरून की यह फिल्म जापानी एनिमिटिड सीरीज 'युकिटो किशिरो' का रिमेक है. जोकि इसी साल 14 फरवरी को रिलीज की जाएगी. हाल ही में सोशल मीडिया पर इस हॉलीवुड फिल्म का मेकिंग वीडियो आया है. जिसमें ये दिखाया गया है कि कैसे इस तरह की फिल्मों को बनाया जाता है. देखें वीडियो...

टाइटैनिक और अवतार बना चुके जेम्स कैमरुन इस महंगी फिल्म के निर्माता हैं और वो निराश नहीं करते.

Bloodbath on Dalal Street after Yes Bank crisis: Sensex down, Nifty below 11K

Three accidents were reported in urban and rural areas of Coimbatore district on Thursday.

There was no new Covid-19 case in the district for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday even as the state recorded another high volume of fresh cases.

The bats were found dead on two consecutive days near a pond in Mehroli village, situated on the outskirts of Meerut city.

In the video, the former Australian skipper spoke about the importance of pointing the front foot in the direction where a batsman wants to hit the ball.

Confederation of Indian Industry said a substantive stimulus is required from the government in the form of support to the poor and to the industry.

Ivan Lendl believes whoever ends up winning the most majors among the 'Big Three', should be considered the greatest ever.

Val Kilmer has for the first time said that he did not enjoy playing Batman, and that a set visit by special guests led to this realisation.

In his latest Instagram post, Johnny Depp thanked his fans for staying by his side and supporting him during his legal battle with his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Scientists may have overcome the rapid battery degradation issue in Lithium-sulfur ion batteries, hence finally making them commercially viable.

Services such as EnableX, Troop Messenger, VacYa and Say Namaste are just a few of the startups looking to cash in on the lucrative expansion opportunity.

There might be some over-enthusiastic implementations of contactless dining which may or not work as well as they should but remember that there will be a learning curve for everyone. But is it sustainable for everyone involved? And what about user privacy?

The 33-year-old all-rounder had a hugely successful World Cup in England last year, scoring 606 runs in eight matches at an average of 86.57, which included two centuries and five fifties.

Asked if he was finding it frustrating to stay at home, the genius answered in the negative and said that he is looking to spend quality time with his family.

The pandemic, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has so far claimed close to two lakh lives and infected more than 28 lakh people across the world.

In an Instagram live session, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner asked teammate Kane Williamson who he thinks is the best batsman in the world at the moment and while Williamson said it was difficult to name one, he picked India skipper Virat Kohli and South Africa great AB de Villiers.

In reply, Raja said all stakeholders of the game must come together to eradicate match-fixing.

Usman Khawaja has said that he is "shocked" by the financial mismanagement within Cricket Australia. CA chief executive Kevin Roberts had to stand down the vast majority of the staff for the rest of the financial year and Khawaja said that the sport's governing body in the country is having cash-flow issues.

Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs. 100,000 for the cause.

Batla House combines all the essential tropes of mainstream Bollywood films in remarkably entertaining fashion, and make you sit and notice the fluidity of the narrative.

Batla House is a fascinating premise, and an especially unlikely character for John. But the film can’t decide what it wants to be – a melancholic character piece, or a thriller with chases and shootouts.

The film is mounted with ace production values. The era is aptly recreated by production designer Jan Roelfs and captured by cinematographer Chung-Hoon Chung.

Overall, while the film is mega-mounted and technically impressive. It does not offer anything that's new and exciting. Read our full review of 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' below.

The Indian men's hockey team will take on Russia, while the women's team will face US on November 1 and 2.