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Keeping your child safe in the age of the Internet


It’s a big, bad world out there on the social network and nearly 73 percent of urban children aged 8 to 13 are active on such sites. Can adult influencers keep the children safe online? Supriya Unni Nair explores.




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It’s not only books and films that are censored!


In the shrill discourse over freedom of speech, the selective publication, and even overt suppression, of actionable development data is often overlooked. Amid calls for a next-gen data revolution, Biraj Swain highlights this and other challenges that lie in its path.




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The quest for justice continues in Tripura’s dawn of hope


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.




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The DNA Bill is a recipe for disaster


The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) registers its dissent over the new Human DNA Profiling Bill draft. Sunil Abraham, Executive Director of CIS, explains how the Bill does not address the privacy concerns despite a seemingly powerful language.




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Cash inside pens and gift cards: Challenges before the Election Commission


There is a lot that happens in the background to make sure that every Indian election - like the just concluded Bihar assembly election - is conducted fairly, freely and peacefully. Smarak Swain, who was on election duty in Bihar reports on the challenges faced by the Election Commission of India and how it is overcoming them effectively.




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The Supreme Court just made it easier for you to save lives; here’s how!


You don’t have to fear police harassment if you report or help an injured accident victim. You don’t even have to reveal personal details unless you wish to testify. Here’s a summary of the “Good Samaritan” guidelines that the apex court has now made compulsory for states to follow.




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Speedy disposal of court cases


High Courts and subordinate courts have been directed by the Supreme Court to expedite the disposing of criminal cases, yet cases languish for years in these courts. Harish Narasappa explains why it is so and how it can be fixed.




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Overview of the legal issues around Aadhaar


Anviti Chaturvedi of PRS Legislative Research discusses how the Aadhaar project started, why the courts have stepped in to examine its legality, and some aspects of the recent judgement.




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The dichotomy in India’s rule of law


The rule of law guides our legislative, executive and judiciary and all other institutions yet our country is in chaos. Harish Narasappa analyses the role of reason in making the rule of law stronger and effective to bring order in the country.




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Monocultures of the mind


Environmental activist, agricultural researcher, water rights campaigner, and much more, Vandana Shiva speaks with David Barsamian.




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Interview : An Indian press


M P Veerendrakumar is a staunch opponent of FDI. He predicts that the new deals signed in the Indian media will hit small and medium newspapers and open the floodgates to foreign control.




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Artiste and activist


Shabana Azmi's six year term in Parliament came to an end in August 2003. She spoke to Lalitha Sridhar.




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The Press must represent the public


Frederick Noronha caught up with Tarun Tejpal to learn more about the launch of the Tehelka weekly paper.




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"Few believe that speech is free"


Does Indian media influence readers' opinion? As 2004 draws to a close, what lessons can be drawn from the NDA's much analysed India Shining campaign and the surprising elections outcome that followed? Arvind Rajagopal, the author of Politics after Television, talks to Chitrangada Choudhury.




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Pracharak to politician, and now, activist


K N Govindacharya, the pracharak-turned-politician who led the Bharatiya Janata Party into power in the 1999 elections, is today a staunch campaigner against the politics and economics of globalization. He now promotes swadeshi development and says he has renounced party politics. N P Chekkutty caught up with Govindacharya.




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Businesses, growth and the good society


Many believe that in business, environmental values and a pro-poor focus are liabilities. But a set of global factors are going to change the rules of the game, warns Stuart Hart, a leading authority on the implications of sustainable development and environmentalism for business. An India Together exclusive interview.




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A Dalit straddles the financial world


Narendra Jadhav is Principal Adviser and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of India. He is also a Dalit and strong advocate of reservations in the private sector. His recent book Untouchables : My Family's Triumphant Journey Out of the Caste System in Modern India has received wide acclaim. India Together's Subramaniam Vincent talked with him recently.




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Understanding the Bt Cotton maze


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.




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Caught on reality


Released in September 2006, Ruzbeh Bharucha's Yamuna Gently Weeps is both a documentary and book on slum demolitions through the eyes of the Yamuna Pushta (Delhi) episode of 2004, where the High Court ordered demolition of 40,000 homes. Anuradha Miraji chatted with Bharucha on the film and his take on filmmaking.




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"Invisible India is the elephant in your bedroom"


Ashwin Mahesh talks with 2007 Ramon Magsaysay award winner P. Sainath.




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"Every house should be a woman's organisation"


Rural women have nothing to lose by speaking out. Urban women have their bank accounts, education certificates and some 200-300 saris in the cupboard. They have a high tolerance for violence, says Ruth Manorama, in this interview with Charumathi Supraja.




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"I am a portfolio guy"


Ashwin Mahesh talks to the former Infosys CEO, now an author for the first time.




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Keep up the pressure, says former IB operator


Maloy Krishna Dhar is the author of Open Secrets, a book about the Intelligence Bureau and his 30-year career in it. He spoke with Susheela Menon on terrorism, changes needed in the IB, and the power of the people in bringing about changes.




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'Laws are a springboard'


''First - there is a law, then there is awareness, then comes assertion and then action,'' says Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh and first woman judge at the Delhi High Court. Charumathi Supraja caught up with her in Bangalore recently.




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"If anyone speaks about Hinduism, he is branded as a fundamentalist!"


Sir Mark Tully spoke recently in Bangalore on How certain should we be? The problem of religious pluralism. Revathi Siva Kumar caught up with him for this exclusive interview.




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Salvager of India’s dying temple heritage


"In the Varadaraja Swamy Temple in Kanchipuram, I saw with my own eyes, just a year ago, how the late 17th-century murals were literally disintegrating. As you watch, they are going. It has happened in temple after temple". David Shulman talks to Lalitha Sridhar .




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Ringing the bell against VAW


While the global epidemic of violence against women (VAW) stems from a culture of misplaced masculinity, the role of men in ending the same cannot be ignored. Mallika Dutt, CEO of global human rights organization Breakthrough, talks to India Together on the Bell Bajao! campaign that emphasises the fact.




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Of sports, passion and reality


Meet M B Santosh, one of India's only three FIFA-accredited referees, who drives an auto-rickshaw and works as caretaker of an apartment in Kottayam, Kerala to support a family of five. Here, he shares the incredible story of his life and passion with P N Venugopal.




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Modi-Nitish Kumar 'shadow boxing' to continue: Dr. Sandeep Shastri


Given the complex and dynamic political scenario in India today, where is the country's leadership headed? How will people vote in the assembly elections this year and how will it impact the national outcome? Eminent political scientist Sandeep Shastri shares his views on that and more with Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya




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A culture of deference and sycophancy


In a candid conversation with India Together, eminent scholar, author and historian Ramachandra Guha shares his thoughts on leaders of the past and present and their legacies for the future of India.




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The Telangana prophecy: Will more states mean more conflict?


With the government clearing Telangana as India's 29th state, long-standing demands for separate states in other parts of the country have gained fresh momentum. This could be a foretelling of many more states to come, but would that necessarily augur ill for the unity of India? Noted historian Ramachandra Guha shares his thoughts.




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Punished for being the victim


Suzette Jordan was labelled a prostitute and an anti-government conspirator when she alleged rape in a moving car on the streets of Kolkata. Her frank conversation with Vinita A Shetty reveals why the atrocity of abuse is not the only thing that shatters the life of a rape victim.




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"Compelling citizens to take an Aadhaar card is unconstitutional"


In December 2012, retired Justice K S Puttaswamy filed a PIL that recently culminated in the Supreme Court passing an interim order, forbidding authorities to make Aadhaar mandatory for provision of essential services. Bosky Khanna finds out what his key objections to this ambitious project are.




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In conversation with an alleged terrorist


Abdul Nasser Madani, a key accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts, waits in vain for his trial to be speeded up after countless adjourned sessions of court. PN Venugopal recounts the circumstances of the case and talks to Madani himself to discover how rules become exceptions in such cases.




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Better, not just different


The distinction between making government work, and making government change, is an important one, and groups following the two approaches need not be at odds, says Subramaniam Vincent




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At home, at work


Subramaniam Vincent recounts his experiences on paying living wages for domestic labour, even as benefits for unorganized sector workers are beginning to appear on the radar screen of governments in India.




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Unshackle FM radio


Compelled by civil society and the courts, New Delhi recently took steps on opening up the airwaves to the non-commercial sector, but not quickly or broadly enough, says Subramaniam Vincent.




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Radio policy: untying the knots


The government continues to defy the Supreme Court's orders on establishing more free and better regulated broadcasting. At the same time, its sky-high license fees have driven profit out of the industry. Subramaniam Vincent notes the knots the Broadcasting Ministry has tied itself into.




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Community radio gets its day


After years of meetings, letters, discussions, workshops, petitions, and even some international pressure, New Delhi has decided to move forward and open up radio broadcasting in a way it never was until now. Subramaniam Vincent says radio will be the winner, and there's much more to be done.




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The Anna dilemma exposes an insincere government


If you want to beat up Hazare for his stubbornness, go right ahead. But before that, start with the Union Cabinet, notes Subramaniam Vincent.




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How they fool us, the outraged


As long as we engender a society that allow law enforcers to get away with their own crimes, law breakers will only be emboldened. We must make Police Complaints Authorities around the country meaningful, says Subramaniam Vincent.




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Bangalore's MLA races may spark change


As the Lok Satta party, with its crop of image-defying politicians, raises hopes for a new brand of politics, Subramaniam Vincent catches up with party leader Dr Jayaprakash Narayan on the party's hopes at the Karnataka polls and possibilities of a larger wave of political reforms in the country.




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Why I will not fall for the ‘Vote for PM’ trick


As India votes in the midst of a rising campaign crescendo that pits one individual against the other, Subramaniam Vincent urges the electorate to prioritise a 'better parliament.'




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Technology Transforms Rural Women


Shruti Gupta on a project in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkand that uses technology to enhance income generation opportunities through productive use of natural resources.




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This money grows on trees


Himanshu Upadhyaya chronicles the unchecked financing improprieties around Madhya Pradesh's Maheshwar Hydroelectric Power project.




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Deeper resolve brings them water


Neeti Deewan reports on how determined women ended a four-year long drought in two Madhya Pradesh villages by deepening a pond on their own in a few months.




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Persistent and tenacious struggle


2004 saw many victories for the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, giving them and their supporters more hope. Both courts in India and the US ruled to bring justice closer and campaigners pressured a reluctant Central government to finally act on their behalf. Kavitha Kuruganti reports.




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Learning to be leaders


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.




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Kids steeped in hunger, while officials fiddle


Around 80,000 children in Madhya Pradesh are suffering from severe malnutrition. So stark is the situation that one evaluation report has said that even if the children were saved, they may go blind due to lack of vitamin A. Sachin Kumar Jain chronicles continuing negligence in government departments in M.P.




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Thwarting women in power


Thousands of women in Madhya Pradesh were elected in the last panchayat elections; since then, the story has taken a dismal turn. More than 1,300 women sarpanchs face false charges of corruption. About 50 have been removed from office through forced no-confidence motions. They have been threatened and humiliated. Shuriah Niazi reports.