In Tamil Nadu, untouchability is so deep-rooted that there are separate burial spaces for Dalits and upper castes even in some urban pockets. “Samarasam ulavum idame Nam vaazhvil kaanaa Samarasam ulavum idame… Jaathiyil melor enrum Thaaznthavar keezhor enrum bethamillathu Ellorum mudivil serndhidum kaadu Thollai inriye thoongidum veedu Ulaginile ithuthaan Nam vaazhvil kaanaa Samarasam ulavum idame…” (Here, in this place pervades equality Which one could not have seen ever in one's lifetime! Steering clear of caste discriminations Such as the high, the low and...

The new bribery revelations, a rigged process to import reactors and safety-related concerns must lead to the long-blocked scrutiny of the nuclear deal by Parliament. The world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl raises troubling questions about India's plans for a huge expansion of its nuclear power programme through reactor imports. Given its low per-capita energy consumption, India must generate far more electricity to economically advance. So it needs more nuclear-generated power....

Despite Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's assurance that the government would not go ahead with the Jaitapur nuclear power plant unless it was fully secure, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has already sought tenders for building a concrete testing laboratory and a meteorological laboratory at Madhban, the proposed site of the plant. Long-term dangers cited As per the advertisement issued in a Marathi daily on Tuesday, the NPCIL called...

A national body on maize today expressed concern over the government move to withdraw field trials for Bt-maize and said the decision could threaten the crop's overall development and hit small farmers. "The decision puts at risk the future success of small and marginal Indian farmers, particularly maize farmers, who toil to meet the escalating demand of maize in the country," said Indian Maize Development Association (IMDA). "We have achieved higher...

After hanging fire for several years, the Ashok Gehlot government has begun processes for framing by-laws to implement the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in the state. In a recent interaction, officials informed representatives of Suchna Evum Rozgar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan and Rajasthan Adivasi Adhikar Manch that the state government after framing preliminary rules of the by-laws for the Act on March 14, a meeting was held among departments...