Hartosh Singh BalPeople-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan will mean nothing if commerce does not pick up. An appreciation of Indo-Pakistani prospects requires looking at Punjab-PunjabOnce again, wit

Ilina SenOn 12 September, a huge rally of indigenous people from more than 15 villages around Dhurli, in Dantewara District of Chhattisgarh, marched to the offices of the district administration in Dantewara to

Umendra Dutt The impending water crisis in Punjab has not only eclipsed its agriculture and economy but also ruined the ecology, health, life style and social fabric of the state. It has severely destroyed

Antoaneta BezlovaCelebrating the success of microfinance as an antidote to poverty has raised some uncomfortable questions here over China’s reluctance to allow civil society a bigger role in addressing tough

Helen CaldicottWith all the hype about North Korea, we’re forgetting that the world is still staring down the barrels of thousands of US and Russian ICBMsIt is difficult to underestimate the problems associat

Paranjoy Guha ThakurtaAs India’s leaders gear up to boost the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to a dizzying 10 percent per annum, analysts warn that although double digit growth is achievable the cou

Jawed NaqviIt was colonial perfidy, or so our elders said. They said divide and rule was a British way to pit Indian against Indian. That’s how they created Pakistan. That’s what we were told. So the Britis

Nirmalangshu MukherjiThe attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001 was a major event in contemporary India. As the judicial procedure into this case nears its end, with Mohammed Afzal to be hanged on October 20

Praful BidwaiThe “black warrant” issued to Mohammed Afzal for his involvement in the 2001 Parliament attack has triggered widespread popular protests in Kashmir and revulsion among the country’s liberals.

SujaiMost people in the world grow up with prejudices and preset notions ingrained into them by the schools, parents and the media.This is no different for people of India. For example, an Indian talking to Pak

Walden Bello The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus, regarded as the father of microcredit, comes at a time when microcredit has become something like a religion to many of the powerful, r

K.G KannabiranFormer Supreme Court Judge is all over the news. The Committee headed by him appointed to Review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 has submitted its report and two well-known journalists, S

David ShoshaniThe reservoir of beliefs that each of us holds within, is the main factor that influences what happens to us. If we deeply accept this axiom we automatically free ourselves from major psychic bloc

It’s a total misconception among the general Naga youth today that if one is not tattooed, or if one does not eat MTV, drink Hollywood and sleep Bollywood or use derogatory language, or if one does not booze,

Mahir Ali WHEN Anna Politkovskaya fell, there was a kind of hush even in the camp of her enemies - and there was no shortage of those. Chechnya’s pro-Moscow president Alu Alkhanov professed to be shocked

Colin GonsalvesThe June 2005 report of the Committee appointed by the Central Government to review the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, has recently been made public.  It makes interesting reading.

B RamanOne of the most successful operatives of the Research and Analysis Wing, R&AW, India’s external intelligence agency, was a Tamil police officer, who rose from the ranks. B N Mallick, the legen

K. ElaLawyers, Police, NGOs, Government Officials, Civil Societies, how many of us can confidently say, “I have done my bit of creating a better world for our children?”I am posing this question to one and

Farzana VerseyThe fate of the filming of Monica Ali’s book will add her to the roster of Joans of Arc in what has now become a routine canonisation ritual of pop multiculturalism. A group of Bangladeshis has

Jason MillerAccomplishing a logic-defying feat, the wealthiest nation in the world has “attained” the highest rate of homelessness amongst developed countries. 3.5 million human beings experience homelessne