The Karnataka government is getting ready to host the Global Investors Meet (3- 4 June). A similar jamboree held some years ago, when S M Krishna was chief minister, had been a resounding flop, but this one, the government believes, would be a runaway success. There has been no dearth of publicity for the event in the media and there has been no shortage of roadshows on foreign soil. A...

In India peasantry is under assault. There is a five-pronged attack on this class and the mighty Indian state is sometimes an active and sometimes a passive abettor. The first point of attack is from the corporate sector. The corporate sector is in a land grab mode. Though not justified, one could understand their urge to get land for industry and real estate purposes. Not that they are causing aggressive...

For two decades the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has taken the Right to Information Act to the grassroots. KAVERI GILL was witness to a mela that celebrated its 20th anniversary at Bhim, Rajasthan.  The occasion was no political party rally, nor was there any promise of handouts by the state, dangling a carrot or wielding a stick to elicit attendance On Labour Day, a maidan in Bhim, District Rajsamand,...

The global platform for action on gender equality and women’s empowerment was fixed in Beijing 15 years ago and international organizations like the ILO, women activists and researchers, policymakers, etc all over the world have advocated for gender equality in the world of work for even longer. Although women constitute almost 41 per cent of the global labour force, yet the productive potential of women workers still remains grossly undermined....

The United Nations labour agency warned in a new study that efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour are waning and called for a “re-energized” global campaign to end the scourge. The Global Report on Child Labour, released today, assessed progress made so far and highlighted the challenges that remain if the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by the target date of 2016 is...