-The Telegraph Imphal: Environmentalists and NGOs in Manipur have urged the Union ministry of environment and forests not to give clearance to the Tipaimukh dam project, saying it would destroy the environment and impact lives of the people in and around the dam. The opposition to the project has been renewed following reports that the Centre would take a decision on giving clearance to the project in the next few days. Sources said...

-The Hindu     Hema Vijay meets R. Rajamurugan who's on a quest to document and rejuvenate forgotten food traditions of the State Chennai: This young man visits obscure villages, speaking to farmers in the fields and elderly village women, sifting through folklore and oral history on food. R. Rajamurugan's grand vision is to document and rejuvenate ancient and forgotten food traditions of the State. "For instance, consider ‘Kongu Nadu' that includes regions such...

-The Hindu Indentured labour may be a forgotten part of our colonial economic history but Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh are still sending ‘Girmitya' to toil in distant lands The descendants of indentured labourers, who migrated from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to erstwhile colonies, recently met at The Hague in the Netherlands to commemorate 140 years of migration - perpetuated through a system popularly known as ‘Girmit.' They gathered from all...

-PTI Chennai: The Madras High Court took strong objection to criticism of its verdict holding sexual relations between a woman and man of marriageable age, prior to tying the knot, as "a valid wedding" and stoutly defended the order saying it "protected Indian Culture and welfare of women." Two days after he delivered the judgement, which has evoked disapproval and criticisms from various quarters, including on social media, Justice C S Karnan...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The year before was tough but last year was tougher for the unborn girl child. According to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of gender-related foeticides leaped from 132 in 2011 to 210 in 2012 - a jump of nearly 60 per cent, making a mockery of laws that ban pre-natal diagnostic tests. The corresponding figures for 2010 and 2009 were 81 and...