-The Indian Express In the battle over jungle and tribal land, deep mistrust divides natural allies. As India gives shape to its new forest policy, the votaries of forest conservation and tribal rights have come out strongly against commercial extraction of forests that undermines both local communities and ecology. It is a timely show of strength since the draft policy seeks to measure the productivity of our forests by the quantity of...

-Scroll.in It is important that forest policies are formulated through a gender-sensitive lens and that women are included in the conversation. A few weeks ago, when Google India marked the 45th anniversary of the Chipko movement with a doodle, it was a refreshing flashback to forest communities sacrificing their lives to protect trees from being felled for timber use. One of the first such recorded community protests was at Khejarli village in...

-Scroll.in The former Delhi High Court chief justice chaired the committee that wrote a landmark report on the status of Muslims in India. There are many reasons to remember Justice Rajinder Sachar, who died in Delhi at the age of 95, on April 20. He was a former chief justice of the Delhi High Court, a civil rights activist proud of his socialist credentials, and a man whose instinct it was...

-IndiaToday.in Mumbai: While the Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) prediction for a good monsoon is a relief for farmers and drought affected villages, there are many tribal villages near Mumbai that face water shortage. These villages are completely dependent on government water tankers as wells have become parched. Every day the women of Dhamni village in Mokhada district gather at 6 am in anticipation of the government water tanker that comes here daily. However,...

-Down to Earth The Centre's discussions on boosting the goat sector to double farmers’ incomes may be futile if fodder and grazing lands, both diminishing, are not ensured Since goats were domesticated 10,000 years ago, they have been poor people’s most reliable livelihood insurance. In India, goats are the most reliable source of earning a living in ecologically degraded areas. The reason: a goat has everything a poor or a person...