-Economic and Political Weekly The government has notified a Draft Land Reforms Policy which, on paper, has all the requisites of an earnest programme. Yet, the near total failure of earlier efforts at land reforms in India leave little room for hope that something substantial will at last be done to combat landlessness. Harsh Mander (manderharsh@gmail.com) is with the Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi, and works with survivors of mass violence,...

-The Hindu Is it possible to get a good yield without using chemical fertilizers? Will a shift to organic affect our food security? Can we manage insect pests without using pesticides? Will organic cultivation still be profitable for farmers? These are some of the often asked questions by farmers when problems of modern agriculture are being discussed. Enabavi, a small village in Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh promises to answer all these. Situated off...

-The Indian Express It did not raise its voice in protest against the midday meal deaths in Bihar In Bihar, more than 20 children died after consuming a midday meal. One would have expected largescale protests, anger, demands. But the incident has been greeted by an eerie silence. Egypt, Turkey, Brazil, India - these are some of the countries where mass protests, largely by the middle classes, have brought issues to the streets...

-The Hindu Since June, at least 60 senior citizens have been abandoned on the streets Chennai: Nagarunissa, who is in her 70s, has been living on the pavement along Sydenhams Road in Periamet for several years. She depends on local residents for food, and with folded hands, thanks passers-by who give her money. "My son lives in Bangalore, but I have been here for the past 20 years. I sit here all day...

-NDTV New Delhi: The mid-day meal scheme, the world's largest such scheme, was started with an aim to provide safe and nutritious meal to India's school children so that they grow up strong and bright. But instead, what our future generation is being fed is grain crawling with worms, flies and even lizards. A hot cooked nutritious meal was also thought to have been a selling point to persuade poor families to...