In 25 years, the Narmada Bachao Andolan has introduced an alternative development discourse in India. ON the full moon night in October, hundreds of people from all over India gathered at Bhilgaon, one of the many tribal villages in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, in the foothills of the Satpura mountain range and on the banks of the river Narmada. The place resounded with jingles, revolutionary folk songs and strains of...

A Dalit-dominated hamlet in remote area of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is on the radar of top officials of the Mayawati administration nowadays. At the crux of their interest is a new goddess ‘Angrezi Devi’. Construction of a temple consecrated to this goddess of English is in full swing in Jang Bahadur Ganj village of Lakhimpur Kheri district. But tension has already begun to simmer over this unique campaign to popularise English...

Eight Indian States are home to 421 million multidimensionally poor people, more than the figure of 410 million in 26 poorest African countries. The Multidimensional Poverty Index — which identifies serious simultaneous deprivations in health, education and income at the household level in 104 countries — brought out in the latest United Nations Human Development Report has calculated that South Asia is home to half of the world's multi-dimensionally poor population,...

Off With Their Rights...     * As many as 3 lakh slum dwellers in Delhi were evicted before the Commonwealth Games     * When a family is evicted, each member loses many rights—the rights to livelihood, shelter, health, education etc     * Of some 60,000 beggars on Delhi streets, more than 50,000 were removed for the Games *** Forget the razzle-dazzle and the hype over the recently concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Delhi. The human...

With mills in Uttar Pradesh yet to begin crushing, farmer leaders have decided to hold their agitation and wait till mills open and declare the price at which they will buy cane. Millers, on the other hand, are of the firm view that they cannot operate feasibly at the state government mandated SAP of 205/quintal and there is no way they can afford to pay an incentive over it, as...