From the Middle East to Madagascar, high prices are spawning land grabs and ousting dictators. Welcome to the 21st-century food wars. In the United States, when world wheat prices rise by 75 percent, as they have over the last year, it means the difference between a $2 loaf of bread and a loaf costing maybe $2.10. If, however, you live in New Delhi, those skyrocketing costs really matter: A doubling in...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Singur bill triggers me-too cry by Abhijeet Chatterjee and Indranil Sarkar
The Singur land take-back bill has spurred a group of farmers in Burdwan to demand return of their plots that were acquired for a proposed health city. The 84 farmers had turned down cheques in exchange for 23 acres — all multi-crop land — that had been acquired in 2005 for the project in Goda. Fifty-seven acres from 350 landowners were marked for acquisition at the rate of Rs 12 lakh an...
More »The discreet charm of civil society by P Sainath
There is nothing wrong in having advisory groups. But there is a problem when groups not constituted legally cross the line of demands, advice and rights-based, democratic agitation. The 1990s saw marketing whiz kids at the largest English daily in the world steal a term then in vogue among sexually discriminated minorities: PLUs — or People Like Us. Media content would henceforth be for People Like Us. This served advertisers' needs...
More »A Sezpool Of Factors by Smruti Koppikar
Roadblocks Ahead * The MIDC has been winding up its plans to set up SEZs * As many as 28 SEZ proposals, in the government and private sector, were withdrawn or projects denotified in the last six months * Farmer protests, land acquisition problems, economic downturn and non-feasible tax regimes are cited as reasons for developers backing out. CM Prithviraj Chavan too exercises great caution. *** Mandated to create industrial opportunities in...
More »Agitation at POSCO intensifies, political parties to join in
-NDTV Protests continue to intensify against land acquisition for the proposed 12 billion dollar POSCO plant in Govindpur in Orissa. After warning the government of dire consequences in a statement on Friday, five political parties including the CPI, CPM and even civil society activists are expected to join in the protests. Nearly 2000 women, children and men have formed a human barricade to prevent the entry of police and administration in...
More »