“Just as the civil society has been involved in the formulation of a Lokpal Bill, so should people's representatives be allowed to participate in framing a new, comprehensive law on Development Planning that includes resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by projects.” To intensify stir This is the demand of pradhans of several western Uttar Pradesh villages, who, along with along with representatives of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) spoke...

Manasi Manna of Singur hopes that Mamata Banerjee will return her one-acre plot, which had been acquired for the Nano project, after taking charge as chief minister. “My husband and I used to cultivate the land. We used to get three crops a year. We never had to worry about food. Everything came from that land. But after it was forcibly taken away for the small-car project, I have been forced...

The cheapest car in the world proved the costliest for a 34-year-old Left Front CPI-M government in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, as the communists lost the elections here by a wide margin. The outcome is the result of an anti-left movement that began in 2006 following the controversial takeover of farmland to create a manufacturing plant for Tata Motors’ small family vehicle called the ‘Nano’. A sweep by a regional...

-Guardian   A budding interest in organic food offers farmers soaring incomes and higher yields, but critics say it's not the answer to India's fast-rising food demands India's struggling farmers are starting to profit from a budding interest in organic living. Not only are the incomes of organic farmers soaring – by 30% to 200%, according to organic experts – but their yields are rising as the pesticide-poisoned land is repaired through natural...

Endosulfan, the pesticide which is widely believed to be responsible for thousands of deaths, diseases and devastation, was able to save its own life largely because of India’s questionable efforts at global forums. The controversial pesticide has been in news for a long time because of its harmful effects on humans, wild life and the environment. Obviously the $100 million industry is going out of the way to defend the...