What have the poor tribals of Orissa in common with the latest Hollywood hit Avatar? Apparently, there are uncanny similarities between the 3D animation movie and a documentary made on the Dongria Kondh tribe of Orissa by Survival International (SI). The ten-minute documentary is titled ‘Mine: story of a sacred mountain’ brings out the plight of the indigenous people. The SI has appealed to Avatar’s director James Cameron through media...

A recent survey carried out by the TNUEF brings to light details of the discrimination Dalits in Madurai have faced for generations. OVER seven decades have rolled by since the freedom fighter A. Vaidhyanatha Iyer successfully led Dalits into the Meenakshi temple in Madurai, overcoming all the impediments posed by the casteist forces that were hell-bent on thwarting the historic event. But the stark reality is that “hidden apartheid” against...

This is what we like to see: a true leader in toxics-free electronics showing giants like Dell and Samsung how it's done. One of India's relatively small PC manufacturing companies, Wipro, has beaten giants like Dell, Samsung and Lenovo to the finish line in producing a computer free of the worst toxic chemicals. A major first in India, the announcement marks another success for our green erelectronics campaign in driving...

The Sachar committee’s report revealed that Muslims in Left-ruled Bengal were worse off on every count than their counterparts in most other states. The report, released in December 2006, put Bengal in the “worst-performer category,” despite the communists’ much professed commitment for the welfare of minorities. The state where 25.25 per cent (2.02 crore) of the population is Muslim, their share in government jobs is just 4.2 per cent and...

Three years ago, Donel Ajai Courtney came to Bastar for the first time as a tourist after his mother told him about the tribal heartland in Chhattisgarh. Now this 33-year-old lawyer in the United States runs a ‘Dhurwa patasala’, a unique school that aims to protect and revive the tribal Dhurwa dialect and the community’s fading culture and traditions. Every Sunday afternoon, more than 35 children and a few elders...