Women speak out fears of resisting deep-seated taboos associated with menstruation, viewed even today as polluting in much of India The status of women in India, despite all the brave talk, remains as precarious as ever. This is, after all, a culture which not just condones, but actively encourages the termination of foetuses determined to be female. Other crimes of violence against women are routine. Can things ever change? We took...

-The Hindu   Madurai has been chosen as one among eight districts in the country by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for implementing a micro pension project for the rural poor. As part of the launch preparations, a stakeholders' workshop was held here on Monday. Representatives of State Bank of India (SBI), Indian Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Tamilnad Merchantile Bank (TMB), Union Bank of India (UBI), Pandyan...

The farmers' struggle against land acquisition only shows that from passive forms of protest they have turned to active forms of resistance. THE recent agitation by farmers in Uttar Pradesh against cropland acquisition for non-agricultural purposes is only the latest in a long series of protests by farmers and rural communities, which started a decade ago in different parts of the country and which gathered momentum over the past five...

The 117-year-old Land Acquisition Act cries out for reform, but there is resistance to introducing positive changes. The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, has had a long period of gestation. The Union Ministry of Rural Development initiated the process of amendment way back in October 1998. But it took around 10 years for the government to bring the Bill before Parliament. The 1894...

-The Times of India   The state government on Monday took yet another step forward in ensuring smooth land acquisition for the mega Posco steel plant in Jagatsinghpur, assuring to fulfil certain demands of a pro-industry outfit having considerable clout in the project area. At a meeting in Cuttack, the revenue divisional commissioner (central range) Pradipta Mohapatra assured representatives of the United Action Committee (UAC) that the government would consider fulfiling...