Janhit Abhiyan, an umbrella group of professors, writers, filmmakers, journalists and social justice proponents, has, in a statement, denounced the campaign against caste-based census by “a section of intellectuals and media,” and said this amounted to undermining the consensus arrived at in Parliament. The statement was signed among others by Prof. Tulsiram and Prof. Chamanlal of the Jawaharlal Nehru University; writers Surendra Mohan, Sheeba Aslam Fahmi , Umrao Singh Jatav and...

The Coal and Environment Ministries have reached a compromise solution on the controversial “no-go” designation of coal mining blocks in forested areas, following the reported intervention of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Speaking on the sidelines of a function here on Tuesday, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said that while the final “go areas” will span 30,000 hectares more than his initial proposal, it was also...

The official line is simple. Since we cannot afford to feed all the hungry, there must only be as many hungry as we can afford to feed. There was irony in the timing of the petrol price decontrol order. The decision, which also covered major hikes in diesel and kerosene prices, and affects hundreds of millions of people, came even as Manmohan Singh advised world leaders in Toronto on the need...

Since the advent of the Green Revolution popularised use of excessive irrigation and fertilisers in India in the 1960s, biodynamic farming, an advanced form of organic farming, had largely faded into oblivion. Biodynamic farming, a return to natural farming free from the use of pesticides and chemicals, is readying for a revival in Punjab, the hub of the Green Revolution in the country. While organic farming is basically a holistic management...

The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Union Home Secretary seeking a factual report on the news that security forces carried the bodies of dead Naxalites, including women, with their hands and feet tied to bamboo poles in West Bengal. The Commission issued the notice after taking suo motu cognisance of the news and photographs that appeared in the media on June 18 wherein it was shown...