-Frontline.in Interview with Nikhil Dey, rights activist and founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, on 15 years of the Right to Information Act. India’s Right to Information (RTI) Act, which was promulgated in 2005, is considered one of the most advanced and powerful pieces of rights legislation in the world. Although an evolved law that forces governments to become more transparent and accountable, almost every regime has shown reluctance to uphold...

-The Indian Express The realities of torture and its prosecution in India would temper our expectations from this one development. The Supreme Court needs to ensure robust implementation of its order and simultaneously plug the gaps so that incidents of torture are curtailed. In a bid to curb torture, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court recently mandated that CCTV cameras be installed in police stations and offices of other investigative agencies....

-The Hindu Coastal Students’ Cultural Forum, an NGO, documents the indigenous knowledge of fishing community in the district through a community radio Kizhakkaafrican raajuvil Velameen entra raaniyum thekkaafrican raajuvil Nemmeen entra arasanum irukkirar (there lived the queen of East African region, Velameen and the king of South African territory, Nemmeen). Thiruvananthapuram: That is how James Pethiru starts his Tamil kathaprasangam (story-telling performance). Apparently, nemmeen (seer fish) proposes marriage to velameen (white snapper) only...

-Down to Earth Area under rice cultivation has been declining rapidly in north Kerala district between 2004-05 and 2018-19 Wayanad in Kerala is known for its traditional rice varieties apart from the district’s unique climate and Culture. Even a few decades ago, the farming community cultivated almost 75 traditional rice varieties of rice. Over the years, however, it has narrowed down to 20. Adukkan, Veliyan, Chenellu, Chomala, Chenthadi, Thondi, Gandhakasala, Jeerakasala, Mullankaima and...

-The Indian Express Son Rise is a rare documentary on female subjugation which puts men at the centre stage. When filmmaker and former journalist Vibha Bakshi started working on the documentary Son Rise — a harrowing reportage on female infanticide in Haryana and its adjoining areas — residents there were hesitant to speak. In spite of its genre, the documentary’s fate turned out to be rather cinematic as things suddenly changed for...