Bina Agarwal , director and professor of economics, Institute of Economic Growth, has written a pioneering new book, Gender and Green Governance, that explores a central question: If women had adequate representation in forestry institutions, would it make a difference to them, their communities and forests as a national resource? Pamela Philipose spoke to Agarwal: Why has access to forests been such a conflict-ridden issue? This is not surprising. Forests constitute not...

Striking workers at Foxconn India in Sriperumbudur near Chennai take on the corporate giant, demanding better wages. WORKERS at Foxconn-India in Sriperumbudur in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, have been on strike from September 24 demanding better wages. They also want the reinstatement of 24 suspended colleagues and the withdrawal of an eight-day wage cut slapped on some workers. That they have held out for so long is remarkable, not least...

Latehar, Hazaribagh and Gumla in Jharkhand, Bastar in Chhattisgarh, Chandrapur in Maharashtra, the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya… the list goes on. These are all districts in India where mining companies are locked in a battle with the local population over the mining rights in these regions. Other than fighting mining companies, there are two factors common to all these regions. One, they have fertile land and dense forests. Two, indigenous tribes...

Union Minister K V Thomas’ pro-endosulfan speech is just a tip of the iceberg. It shows a smaller part of the Union Government’s policy of making profit by gambling the lives of common people. A Government of India enterprise itself is producing endosulfan in Kerala for the past three decades though it is not known much to others. The Government’s indifferent attitude towards the endosulfan-hit State is reflected in the factory standing...

Never mind wishful thinking by the government and RBI. Food will never be cheaper than what it is today. Not this year. Or in future. The reason is simple. Growing food in India has become extremely expensive. Crops are pricier even before they reach the market and face the pulls and tugs of rising local demand and exports. The farmer’s single biggest cost now is labour. Farm labour wages have doubled...