Mangalore air crash highlights two petitions highlighting safety violations in the Mangalore tabletop airport, dismissed by the Karnataka High Court in ’92 and by the Supreme Court in ’02 Apex court dismisses petition against mining in Niyamgiri hills in 2008; now a global focus point The same year, the apex court dismisses PIL against the building of the Commonwealth Games village on the Yamuna riverbed. Why has the UPA government, which loses no...
More »SEARCH RESULT
'Honour' killing: It's a global phenomenon
Even as the government is contemplating bringing in a new law to deal with the spurt in honour killings, reports by human rights organisations show that cold-blooded murders in the name of saving family pride had been prevalent in many parts of the world. Honour killings have been rampant in orthodox and socially backward groups in many countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, they say....
More »Sowing Discontent by Jayshree Nandi
The fraught issue of introduction of Bt Brinjal has been shelved but all eyes are now set on the controversial Seed Bill 2010, likely to be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 26. The bill aims to regulate the quality of seeds for sale, import and export and to facilitate production and supply of seeds of quality, but fails to address a crucial issue — seed pricing....
More »Lost law, lost people by Samar Halarnkar
“When I told a government official that Pesa allows us to determine our policy on liquor trade in the village, he shot back, ‘Are you trying to teach me the law? If you are so knowledgeable about the law, why are you living here in your village in the forest? Why don’t you go and speak in the Orissa assembly?’” Fulsingh Naik, resident of Mandibisi (Rayagada, West Orissa), December 2009, recounting...
More »Why you must read this censored chapter by Raman Kirpal
A RESEARCHER WORKING on the State of Panchayats Report (SOPR) 2008-09 met Mahangu Madiya in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, a dangerous place for gathering data. Madiya’s story was startling. In January, he was given Rs 55 lakh compensation for his land, but the amount is sitting in his bank account. He does not even own a mobile phone. “I am concerned with farming. My land is important to me. What will I...
More »