Why were two tribals and the Essar group framed by the Chhattisgarh police? Why are Soni Sori and Linga Kodopi being systematically silenced? This chilling story of one family reveals more about India's Naxal crisis than any official document can. AS I sit to write this, at 12.20 pm on 4 October 2011, an SMS pops up on my phone: “Soni Sori has been arRested by the Delhi Crime Branch.” The...
More »SEARCH RESULT
From Tirupati to Pashupati? by Jairam Ramesh
The media imagery of a “liberated” Red corridor extending from Andhra Pradesh, cutting across the heart of India, all the way to Nepal is the most vivid representation of the threat that Maoists pose to our country. The Prime Minister describes the Maoists as India's most serious internal security challenge and the Home Minister rates it as a “problem graver than terrorism.” In search of an effective response, official committees have,...
More »Bengal coal import test by Srikumar Bondyopadhyay
The power position in Bengal improved today but alarm bells are ringing over imported coal stocks that are running out fast. “The stock of imported coal will exhaust by the end of this month,” said Krishna Gupta, the managing director of the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL), the largest electricity supplier in the state. The corporation had last year imported 1.2 million tonnes of coal from Indonesia. “We will come up...
More »How they tracked Dzongu after quake by Bijoy Gurung
It would have meant endless sorties and waste of fuel for choppers but for the combined technology of GIS and GPS used by the foRest department to map wildlife areas that gave the pilots the much-needed coordinates to carry out relief operations in the almost inaccessible Dzongu. Crafted by the foRest department to prepare maps meant for delineation, protection and management of wildlife areas, the Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global...
More »World hunger report 2011: High, volatile prices set to continue
-FAO Food price volatility featuring high prices is likely to continue and possibly increase, making poor farmers, consumers and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity, the United Nations' three Rome-based agencies said in the global hunger report published today. Small, import-dependent countries, particularly in Africa, are especially at risk. Many of them still face severe problems following the world food and economic crises of 2006-2008, the UN Food and...
More »