"The Earth upon which the sea, and the rivers and waters, upon which food and the tribes of man have arisen, upon which this breathing, moving life exists, shall afford us precedence in drinking." - Prithvi Sukta, Atharva Veda Land is life. It is the basis of livelihoods for peasants and indigenous people across the Third World and is also becoming the most vital asset in the global economy. As the...

-The Economic Times   Development economist A K Shiva Kumar has been appointed as an advisor by the Sikkim Government for formulating the second State Human Development Report. Kumar, who is a development economist and adviser to the UNICEF- India , teaches economics and public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He works on issues of poverty, health, nutrition, education along with women and children rights. He is also a founding...

While A. Raja's alleged shenanigans in the Telecom Ministry have been grabbing all the headlines, some activists are now urging the CBI to focus its spotlight on the tainted DMK leader's earlier role as Environment Minister. For example, Mr. Raja granted Korean steel giant Posco its first major statutory clearance in 2007 by approving the captive port component of its controversial Rs. 52,000 crore steel plant project in Orissa. Interestingly,...

-The Economic Times   Taking on the government, civil rights activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday went on a day-long fast at Rajghat, declaring that his agitation against corruption was the "second freedom struggle" and threatened another hunger strike from August 16 if Lokpal Bill is not passed by then. He accused the government of putting "hurdles" in the drafting of Lokpal Bill and trying to defame the civil society members of the...

Senior lawyer and Kashmir Committee chief Ram Jethmalani has demanded that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Public Safety Act be revoked, expressing concern at the Human Rights situation in the State. At the end of the committee's five-day visit to Kashmir, he told journalists that New Delhi was partly responsible for the situation. He said he would constitute a group of lawyers in Delhi to fight the cases...