A spoon, 25 grams of Dal, half a slice of bread, some washing powder and a torn piece of kurta, in total worth Rs 20. That is what three key National Advisory Council members -- Jean Dreze, Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander -- brought for the deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday protesting against the Rs 20 per day person expenditure poverty line it has decided...
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Wake-up calls to the media on food front by S Viswanathan
An insightful article on “The wheat mountains of the Punjab” by Professor M.S. Swaminathan – one of the world's leading agricultural scientists and food policy experts – and a couple of reports on the Supreme Court of India's observations and directions on the same subject, published in this newspaper have drawn the attention of readers in substantial numbers. The article, published on May 11, 2011, throws new light on the present...
More »Census no-caste option raises doubt by Basant Kumar Mohanty
Those unwilling to reveal their religion and caste can choose the “no caste” and “no religion” options in the caste census starting next month. But such provisions in the caste census that is being conducted after a gap of 80 years have raised questions over whether its findings will be accurate. “The enumerators will move from house to house and ask every citizen their caste and religion apart from collecting information on...
More »Fight for land by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta
In Greater Noida, farmers resist fiercely attempts to take over their land for the Yamuna expressway and a hi-tech city. IT is a tale of two worlds, one in the present and the other in the future; one living and breathing and toiling away in parts of the National Capital Region and the other beautifully blueprinted and waiting to be willed into reality by the government and its elites in...
More »Bonded labourers get land title after 70 yrs by Ashish Tripathi
Octogenarian Sita Devi was in tears when district magistrate of Gonda, Ram Bahadur, handed her the land ownership title. She was five-year-old when her family was forced into bonded labour by British forest officers posted in Gorakhpur. The family was given a piece of land for planting trees and to grow crop for its survival. They family was shifted to other place after five years for the same job. From...
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