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...

President Barack Obama on Monday announced a U.S.-Indian partnership to promote food security in Africa, harnessing technology to battle starvation in a part of the world where China has boosted its presence. "We are going to share Indian expertise with farmers in Africa," Obama said in a speech to India's Parliament. The project will link U.S., Indian and African universities to spread knowledge and boost innovation, while deploying technology to improve drought-resistant...

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,...

Barack Obama's mention of Mahatma Gandhi as the man who made his presidency possible and his invocation of "a dalit", Ambedkar, as the author of the Constitution had the MPs in audience gushing that his words could boost the struggle for social justice like few statements can. PL Punia, chairman of the National Commission for SCs, said that "Obama identified himself with champions of dalit rights" which was unheard of for...

The cotton growers of Vidarbha, who are suffering immensely due to the prevailing agrarian crisis, staged candlelight protests ahead of US President Barack Obama's India visit on Friday. The protests, held under the banner of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti — a pressure group which has been documenting distressed farmers' suicides — sought to draw his attention to the plight of the region's agriculture sector caused by 'American policies'. The main event...