The National Advisory Council (NAC) has now sketched out the “contours of a national food security bill”. The goal is worthy: “Protecting all children, women and men from hunger and food deprivation.” To some, the bill might appear utopian. The truth is worse. The bill reminds us of John Stuart Mill’s denunciation of a government policy of his day: “What is commonly called Utopian is something too good to be...

The Bangladeshi Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus against a High Court decision to uphold his sacking. Prof Yunus had to stand down as managing director two weeks ago after the authorities said that at 70, he was past the mandatory retirement age. His supporters say it is related to his attempt to enter politics three years ago, a charge the government denies. Prof Yunus told...

India will have 20% more men than women in the next two decades, thanks to sex-selective abortion and craze for male child in some states, according to a new study. Conducted by Dr Therese Hesketh and co-authors from the UCL Centre for International Health and Development, London, and published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Tuesday, the study says easy access to sex-selective abortions, has led to significant imbalances in...

The prestigious Harvard University will honour Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self-Employed women's Association (SEWA), for her "life and work" that has had a "significant impact on society" . Bhatt (77), whose trade union has helped over a million women in India gain access to opportunities for themselves and their families, will be awarded the Radcliffe Institute Medal by Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She would be presented the medal...

As intermittent jubilation spreads through the crowd of 5,000-odd farmers at Moti Buru, outskirts of Ahmedabad, where the 'Jal, Jameen Jungle bachao padyatra' was on Saturday, Dr Kanubhai Kalsariya is quick to assert that this is not the final victory and that the fortnight-long yatra will continue till Gandhinagar as per schedule. The people's mass protest that has brought them this victory is spectacular in its own right. Fatigued from the...