Toxicity in Ferozepur district's groundwater is causing crippling disorders among children in several villages Sutlej water gets polluted by effluents and seeps into groundwater People in border areas upset at official apathy The toxicity of the groundwater in over four dozen villages in the border areas of Ferozepur district of Punjab has risen to such alarming levels that an increasing number of children now requires wheelchairs more than toys, as they fall victim...

Bant Singh, a scarred survivor of class violence in rural India, has an indisputable claim to be a voice for India's impoverished and muted millions. The folk singer lost both arms and a leg in an attack five years ago after he dared to challenge high-caste landlords in his area of the northwestern state of Punjab who had raped his 17-year-old daughter. Set upon by a gang armed with iron bars, he...

India’s rulers have found a new vocation – maligning environmentalists and questioning the very idea of regulating industry for pollution. Thus, faced with criticism of Lavasa, an artificial gated city of the super-rich near Pune, in which his family has invested crores, Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, lashed out at well-known activist Medha Patkar and other “vested interests” for obstructing this “pioneering” project. Lavasa’s promoters built the project without seeking environmental clearance...

Former DoT Secretary Behura and Raja's aide Chandolia also taken into custody, to be produced in court today The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday arrested the former Union Communications and Information Technology Minister, A. Raja, and two officers who had worked under him, for their role in the grant of licences and allocation of 2G spectrum during 2008 in violation of established guidelines and procedures. Mr. Raja (47), as well...

No matter how tired we are in the course of a difficult day’s work, there is always the reassuring feeling that at the end of the hard work we’ll go back to sleep in the comfort of our home. But there are millions of people in our cities who simply do not have a home. The homeless of our cities suffer the most; yet they are the most neglected. No...