Does India need another biotech regulatory body? If so, how should it be structured? Why can the current body - Genetic Engineering Approval Committee - not set its house in order and address health and environmental concerns? Krishan Bir Chaudhary writes.

Greg Rushford writes in the Far Eastern Economic Review that ADB, perhaps, is now close to achieving its goals.

Central Chronicle reports that steelmakers POSCO and Mittal - having signed MoUs with Govt of Orissa - are having a tough time finding the required land.

Activists opposed to construction of Posco steel plant in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district Thursday claimed to have found a cache of arms in a school building, and alleged the weapons were kept by the steel plant supporters to attack them. An IANS report.

Energy security is a function of the ability of a nation to satisfy energy needs of current and future generations of all citizens in an affordable manner without adverse impact on the environment and sustainability. Dr. Rahul Pandey writes.

Despite having the highest rate of farmer suicides per 100,000 population, the Chhattisgarh government is in denial. No one talks about farmer suicides in the state. As a result, the problem goes totally ignored, unlike other states like Maharashtra and Kerala. Shubhranshu Choudhary writes.

The Union government by delaying the announcement of minimum support prices (MSPs) for Kharif (summer) crops has done great injustice to millions of farmers in the country. Monsoon rains have arrived in time and the farmers have begun sowing operations. A note from Bharat Krishak Samaj.

We are writing to you about the momentous decision of Dr.G.D.Agrawal, India's preeminent environmental Scientist and a legendary Professor at IIT Kanpur, to go on 'fast-unto-death' for the conservation of River Bhagirathi-Ganga above Uttarkashi, threatened by the large number of proposed hydro-electric projects.

Bangladeshi government considers labor changes to access ADB loans. The government may retrench more than 550 workers at the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation to get access to the lending by the Asian Development Bank, said sources in the industries ministry.

The recent events of bonded workers in Sindh present the unwillingness of Pakistani administration to recognize the plight of slave labor and provide justice to them.

Bharatiya Krishak Samaj has concluded that the modified farm loan waiver package does not address the needs of small and marginalized farmers, especially in dry land areas.

The government has approved soft drink major Coca-Cola $52.54 million (around Rs 205 crore) investment plan for India. The investment will be made in Hindustan Coca Cola Holdings (HCCH) by its parent company for capital expenditure of Hindustan Coca Beverages (HCCB), the bottling subsidiary of Coke.

The Expert Committee on Futures Trading has concluded that farmers have not benefited from these processes and are in fact excluded from participating and taking advanted by barriers and constraints. A note from Dr. Kishan Bir Chaudhary, Bharatiya Krishak Samaj.

Sipped with lime and honey in expensive china by manor dwellers and savoured in tiny chipped glasses with milk and sugar by commuters in Indian railway stations, Assam tea is a household name for most lovers of the brew. However the story behind the cultivation, plucking and processing of tea leaves in the plantations is one of exploitation and untold hardships for the toiling workers who are the singular reason that this industry is one of the pillars of the Assam economy, and in making the entire Northeast Indian region the largest tea-growing region in the world. Sriram Ananth reports

A coalition of Indian organizations is calling citizens and groups to join in protest against The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 2007 and The Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill, 2007 which will affect the rights of those displaced by adhoc non-democratic government processes.

Manshi Asher and Kanchi Kohli provide the perspective of those who will be thrown out of their land and their livelihoods by the Giant POSCO project. First published by Infochange .

Mansi Asher discusses the laws and rights of access to forests that the Government of Orissa ignores and continues to violate in attempting to 'clear the land of people' in setting up POSCO. The article was first published in infochange.

POSCO not driven by philanthropy but shrewd planning to compensate displaced farmers. Authors believe that an economic scam in the making

The government of Bangladesh and Tata have agreed to restart talks over the Indian conglomerate's stalled US$3 billion, power, steel and fertilizer investment proposal. A Daily Star Report

Though much has been written about the POSCO deal with the Government of Orissa (GOO), this article attempts to provide a holistic analysis of the deal. While the GOO ostensibly fights opposition to this project from human rights activists and environmentalists, is there a gargantuan economic scam playing out? Parts of this published in Seoul Times

Environmental groups called on the World Bank to delay a decision on Tuesday on funding for a $4.2 billion coal-fired power plant in India until more analyses of costs and environmental impact are done. As reported in The Guardian

Recently, the chief adviser, in the light of accusations of poor food distribution, said shortages occur even in countries which have elected governments. Of course they do. That is not the point. The new system of corruption is individualistic, sector-oriented, and technocrat-elitist. It is not tied to constituencies and vote banks which have a nationwide spread, albeit with party lines of exclusion and inclusion. It does not encompass. Its reach is limited. Most are left out, writes Rahnuma Ahmed*.

In a major victory for the rights of people and human rights movements, Asian Development Bank has decided to pull out of its funding for the Phulbari mining effort being driven by UK based MNC namely GCM Resources.

To understand the efficacy of various social welfare policies, Arundhati Dhuru analyzes how these policies affect the lives of one of the most socially, politically and economically marginalized communities in UP - the musahars.

A huge open cast coal mining project by a quoted British firm, that would displace up to 130,000 people in Bangladesh, is at the centre of an international row. GCM, a fast growing Aim-listed company, is behind plans to a dig up to 572 million tonnes of coal in a project that will displace people from Phulbari, in north-west Bangladesh, divert a river from its course, and destroy a mangrove forest that is a world heritage site. From The Guardian.

In a community meeting in California, Ayesha Siddiqa Agha, author of the Military Inc., talks about the impact of the role of the army in Pakistan, and the recent elections. This was published by PakistanLink.com

With the new government taking shape in Pakistan, with a promise of democracy, M. B. Naqvi writes about the economic direction that this government will take. Article published in The Post, Pakistan

A peasants' conference was organized in Sindh to focus on the problems of bonded labour.

The proposal for a chemical hub at Nandigram, in West Midnapur district was aborted due to an unprecedented  revolt encompassing  most sectors of Civil Society.  The West Bengal Government has now zeroed in on Nayachar, an island that emerged from the sea in the nineteen thirties in the offshore region of the Bay as an alternative. First Published in The Statesman, Feb 12th, 08

Asian Center for Human Rights analyzes the land acquisition and rehabilitation laws and its impact on communities in India.

Over the last two decades or so, the two most populous, large countries in the world, China and India, have been growing at rates considerably higher than the world average. Prof Amit Bhaduri discusses the details of such growth and the implications on the people of India and China.

Skyrocketing oil prices, a falling dollar, and collapsing financial markets are the key ingredients in an economic brew that could end up in more than just an ordinary recession. The falling dollar and rising oil prices have been rattling the global economy for sometime. But it is the dramatic implosion of financial markets that is driving the financial elite to panic.

Pradeep Baisakh writes about the inhuman conditions for migrant workers leaving Orissa for livelihoods.

Though much has been written about the POSCO deal with the Government of Orissa (GOO), this article attempts to provide a holistic analysis of the deal. While the GOO ostensibly fights opposition to this project from human rights activists and environmentalists, is there a gargantuan economic scam playing out? Parts of this published in Seoul Times

Subhranshu Choudhury says that more than 4 farmers are committing suicide in Chattisgarh everyday.

Large capital inflows in last few years have posed extraordinary challenges for the conduct of monetary policy for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Appreciating rupee, increasing sterilization cost, overheated asset markets, increased potential of crisis are some of the direct consequences of these flows. An article by Rahul Lahoti

The state machinery of Andhra Pradesh is using all avenues to put down opposition of local farming communities and acquire land for the proposed SEZ in Kakinada.

A joint statement by a large number of south asian groups working on human rights and justice have called to boycott a consultation initiated by the Asian Development Bank to mitigate advers impacts of its investments on people.

The government (of India) is using its decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) from Bangladesh to push for speedy clearance to the Tata Group's plans to invest about $3 billion in that country. An Economic Times (a Times of India publication) report.

Prof Dipanjan Rai Chaudhuri writes about the lacunae in Amartya Sen's theories of industrialization and the trickle down effect and points out that while Sen has distanced himself from the CPM government's recent actions, his support for their goals is problematic. This article was originally written in Bangla and translated by Kuver Sinha for Sanhati.

The Phulbari coal mine, proposed by GCM Resources Plc, is set to cause major social and environmental upheavals in the region, displacing upwards of 50 000 residents. Despite strong local opposition, investors UBS, RAB Capital and Barclays continue to back GCM with significant shareholdings.

On December 4th, farmers and organizations representing them gathered from different parts of India to understand the impact of biofuels.

As a result of an initiative instituted by women’s groups, women’s organizations and individuals, an eleven member women’s team of concerned citizens from Kolkata comprising teachers, social activists, researchers and students visited Nandigram, on November 24, 2007.

Sandeep Dasverma writes why the current mining deals with POSCO, Tata, Jindal et al do not even make any economic sense and presents an alternative strategy.

The government has initiated the process of formulating the second version of the lender-driven poverty reduction strategy paper to be effective from fiscal year 2008-09 on expiry of the current development document at the end of the current fiscal.

Mohammed Irshad, a researcher at the Department of Economics, University of Kerala thinks that farmer policies in India will lead to more Nandigrams.

IT IS only natural that, after the publication of the World Bank's flagship annual World Development Report on agriculture, its president would indicate the bank's interest to be more involved in the sector. Tanim Ahmed writes.

"Why I think leasing out any mines at this time without linking it to ad valerom, International Market price is a give away, a loot and a scam rolled into one?" - Sandeep Dasverma, who once worked as an engineer in Orissa, writes on the scam with POSCO.

Academics, economists, politicians and activists jointly announced the formation of a people's tribunal against the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank on Sunday.

A group of college students,  Americans of Indian origin, visited Coke's India headquarters in Delhi and Mehdiganj where local communities say they are affected by Coke's activities. A report.

The four days of Durga Puja signify carnival time in West Bengal. On the main Saptami Puja day, Thursday the 18th of October, a few of us witnessed a tiny act of defiance by the small traders of Nonachandanpukur Bazaar, in Barrackpore, within the area loosely called Greater Calcutta.

Local groups across the world plan a candle light vigil in support of farmers in India and the agricultural crisis that is driving thousands to commit suicide.

With the 4th day of the People's Tribunal on World Bank coming to an end, officials of the World Bank decided to stay away saying that they were not accountable to this forum.

Governments oft-repeated mantra for ensuring food security and well being of the farmers has turned out to be a lip service – only to gain political mileage. It's real intention is clear – to benefit big corporate houses and multinational corporations at the expense of farmers.

The Independent Peoples Tribunal on the World Bank Group in India got underway at New Delhi today at a packed auditorium at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

On 21 September 2007, hundreds of people will assemble in New Delhi to put the World Bank on trial. In four days of parallel sessions in front of more than a dozen judges, people from all walks of life will air their grievances against one of the world's most powerful institutions.

26 August 2007 will mark the first anniversary of the memorable mass  resistance waged collectively by all people, - young and old, men and women, Bangalees and aboriginals against the infamous Phulbari Coal Project characterized by fraudulence and rule-bashing designed to plunder natural resources under people's ownership, simultaneously causing devastation of human life and environment.

Lok Sangharsh Morcha organized a state convention of tribal communities of Gujarat at Ahmedabad. The convention pledged that the struggle for land and democratic rights in Gujarat will continue

Prof. Dipanjan Rai Chaudhuri writes that nuclear energy is not a long term feasible energy source for India and argues that the Indo-US Nuclear deal is perpetuating this hoax. Prof. Rai Chaudhuri (now retired) is the former head of physics department at Presidency College, Kolkatta and has been active in civil rights movements in West Bengal for over two decades.

The Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh first proposed a policy change that would allow for contract farming in the state and then in the face of immense opposition from farmers and political opponents, revoked such plans.

A multi-million dollar project to build a huge statue of Buddha and develop Kasya (the site where the Buddha spent his last days) as a tourist site threatens to displace 700 families from 600 acres of cultivable land.

Dipanjan Rai Chaudhuri critiques Prof Sen's interview to The Telegraph arguing that his trickle down theories have been proved unfeasible time and and again and his suggestions that people should leave farming and move to industries (like in the west) by pointing out that there are few jobs in the industrial sector. He finally wonders whether Prof Sen is finding ways to defend the CPI(M) in Bengal!

Seventeen farmers and activists from twenty four villages in Raigad District of Maharashtra have gone on indefinite fast since 19 July 2007. This is a symbolic non-violent struggle against the unabated land acquisition by the Reliance group for their 10,000-hectare-plus Maha-Mumbai SEZ (special economic zone).

The government of Maharashtra plans to redevelop Dharavi, the so called largest slum of Asia, spread across more than 500 acres of land. Simpreet Singh analyzes the impact of these plans on the local economy worth Rs 4000 crores annually, on the local communities and asks who might gain.

One of the basic causes of over-fishing in the fishing grounds of Pakistan is the open access policy with no clear cutting fishing rights to the indeginous fisherfolk communities. As a result millions of non-fisher communities and businessmen have jumped in the sector.

The National Right to Employment Guarantee Act is close to completing its first year. While numerous government and other policy groups will probably be analyzing the successes and failures of the Act and how it could be rolled out to other states, another discussion is also necessary – what is the role and the impact of such government run programs in empowering citizens in a democracy.

A vast amount of literature has been generated on the Chernobyl accident in April 1986. What lessons can we draw from the causes and sequences of the accident, the health and environmental consequences and what implications does the accident have for nuclear reactor safety and the future of atomic energy? This article by Dr. M. V. Ramana was first published in the EPW.

A Hindustan Times report suggests that the Sri Lankan government is trying to set up SEZs in certain areas where civil war has thrown out thousands of Tamils. Opportunistic efficiency at its best?

240 projects were undertaken under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, in Simdega District, Bano Block in Jharkhand. An indication of the progress under this scheme: 205 projects are on hold. An AID India Report.

Indefinite Hunger Strike demanding rehabilitation of those displaced by the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar projects has entered the 5th day. The plight of displaced people worsens due to blatant flouting of Supreme Court orders. Displaced people argue that the price of thousands of lives is larger than the State's fiscal loss.

The US-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative agreement on agriculture will cast a demonising spell over the country and is bound to cause large scale plunder of the agro-rural society and definitely tend to capitalize on our living, life pattern, culture and social norms.

Members of civil society organizations, politicians and environmentalists have urged government to cancel licenses of the deep-sea fishing trawlers in order to save livelihood of hundreds of fishermen in Sindh and Balochistan.

Feryal Gauher's speech at the fourth Punjab Development Forum, April 23-24, 2007 in Lahore questions the model of development in Pakistan and suggests a more human sensitive process of development.

The Rural Development Department of the Andhra Pradesh Government is conducting Social Audit of the Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme being implemented under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which came into force from February 2, 2006.

All of us, who are concerned about the poor, need to analyse why more than a year after the beginning of the NREGA, people have not received more than 15 days wages on an average. Vidhya Das - Advisor, Supreme Court Commission on Right to Food - further adds: we need to collectively question the government which brings out reports of utilisation of more than Rs.7.3crores, and prides itself on being the  first state in NREGA implementation.

The shining image of the Tatas is being increasingly questioned. The latest report of the International Campaign for Justice for Bhopal provides frightening details of the corporate crimes committed by one of India’s biggest business houses.

The recent Government initiative to look into the likely impact of FDI is a late but necessary decision - S. Mohammed Irshad writes from Kerala.

Numerous human rights organizations have expressed concern at the deployment of force against farmers and tribal communities facing displacement in Orissa. A report by Amnesty International follows. Please petition the Orissa Chief Minister to respect human rights.

Madhulika writes about a protest in rural Rajasthan against corruption by government agencies and contractors implementing the Prime Ministers Village Road Program and the National Right to Employment Guarantee Act where rural workers are not being paid minimum wages and numerous clauses are being flouted. A follow up to earlier events.

"Nandigram did not surprise me. I was anguished and angry but not surprised. I had heard the story of Alipurduar from Jugal Kishore Raybir." This article by Yogendra Yadav first appeared in the Indian Express.

"We do not buy seeds from the market because we suspect they may be contaminated with genetically engineered or terminator seeds," says Pavamma, a Dalit woman in village Palarum, near the town of Zaheerabad, about 110 kms north-west of the high-tech city of Hyderabad. Women of Zaheerabad take on Monsanto and show the way to food security.

As more and more communities wake up to their traditional rights and human rights — both of which are being threatened by modern development projects — the world witnesses a rise in the number of democratic resistances. Governments will ignore these resistances and demands at their own peril.

Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, national coordinator of Loksatta, reviews the Union Budget of India, 2007.

In an article in Outlook India, Sandeep Pandey writes: The country's deeply-flawed development plans can be rejected by the poor

Much is being made in India of the letter written by the UPA chairperson Mrs Sonia Gandhi to Shri Manmohan Singh regarding the major news of Walmart entering India in partnership with Indian industrialists without a footprint in retail.

In the last three days, nine more farmers have committed suicide in Vidarbha. This brings the number of suicides in six districts of Vidarbha to 1000 – after the visit by the PM and an announcement of a special package of Rs 3750 Crores on July 1^st, 2006.

On 10^th January, activists including Medha Patkar, were arrested in the most undemocratic fashion and, were detained at the Salt Lake Stadium of Kolkata as they were about to leave the place where she was staying and proceed towards Singur.

What is it like to be a modern-day Indian prince? Devinder Sharma and Bhaskar Goswami explain how the laws of the land are being redefined to bring in the reality of the royal tag for the rich and beautiful. This article was published on ZNet.

Are India’s economic policies taking the country further from what was envisioned by the constitution? The SEZ Act 2005 certainly suggests this.

The 2nd January 2007 marked the first anniversary of the Kalinganagar massacre in Orissa. Kalinganagar is one of the clearest examples of brutal abuse of power by the State agencies. After one year, justice, compensation and a sound policy on rehabilitation elude the displaced in Orissa as it does in The Displaced India. The  Asian Center for Human Rights remembers.

A report released by a committee of Singur-based organisations investigating the Singur unrest in West Bengal over a land deal between the government and Tata Motors has revealed that the government's claim of most of the land being waste was utterly false.

On his blog, Sandip Dasverma points out that the Orissa government has set up an MoU that sells Orissa's Iron Ore at 0.57 cents/tonne while world market prices are $44/tonne for fines and $76/tonne for pellets and increasing. Is the Orissa government merely incompetent or is there more than meets the eye?

A report from the audit of NREGA work in Gosani block of Gajapati district in Orissa is presented. The workshop was conducted by AID Rural Technology Center, Orissa.

"Gandhigiri" brings together the country for the cause of farmers. Candlelight vigils being organised across the country.

The NREGA Act 2005 guarantees “legal right of a hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to adult members of a rural household who demand employment & are willing to do unskilled manual work”. This is a report from the 4th people's audit on NREGA organized in India. One key finding - only 7 women were employed!

A candlelight vigil at Jantar Mantar to protest government policies that have resulted in the death of over 150,000 farmers in India has been largely ignored by the national media.

Privatising pensions is about expanding stock markets, liberalizing financial markets and changing the role of the state – and not about pensions. A. Ercelan and K. Ali with Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research present a critique of changing pension policies and support structures for the elderly in Pakistan.

Somnath’s article on the question of development (in the context of another landgrab in Singur) that remains undebated in the media was published in The Statesman

As the Right to Water March goes through its third week, there has been huge support in the heartland of Northern India. The march has already passed through 7 communities in the neighborhood of bottling plants and these communities - schools and colleges, village sabhas, small town meetings - have expressed solidarity through signature campaigns and return invitations to the marchers. Under pressure from these communities, CPCB has agreed to investigate pollution dumping by Coke at its Mehdiganj plant.

The SouthAsian spoke with Ashoka Fellow Lenin Raghuvanshi about the problem and he speaks at length about the effect of WTO and the collapse of the weaving and handloom industry, the feudal system of contracting labor, of their efforts to build a democratic capitalist model and of preventing communalization. You can listen to the interview here.

"I have lost a son, maybe I'll lose another, but I won't let them setup a coalmine here." To Tahmina Begum who had lost her son Toriqul to police bullets, her land was also her family.

The Pakistani government cracked down on Power Loom workers and unions in Toba Tek Singh who were striking to demand raises in pays so that their pays were the same as workers in Faisabad. 27 workers were arrested.

Bhaskar Save - from Kalpavruksh - writes to M. S. Swaminathan, the 'father' of the Green Revolution in India and the current chairman of the National Commission ON Farmers regarding the severe implications of the ongoing policies on agriculture.

A letter from Devinder Sharma, Food and Trade Policy Analyst, to the Prime Minister of India demanding a thorough review of agro policies, especially vis-a-vis GM crops, in the context of farmers' suicides in India.

The Government of India is considering an industry proposal requesting processes of self-certification vis-à-vis industries adhering to laws of the land. Is this appropriate?

Sanjay Sangvai writes about the enormous subsidies given to industries as part of special economic zones and analyses the impact of these zones that are allowed to function outside environmental and labour laws of the country.

A few weeks ago the Pakistani Finance government was bragging about having broken free of the shackles of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and now they are jubilant over the $6.5 billion promised by the World Bank under its Country Assistance Strategy (CAS).

We would like to tell you that as a result of continuous massive campaigning conducted by PVCHR in the support weavers of Varanasi ultimately State Government of UP and Central Government got awakened and took notice to the poor and hunger stricken community of weavers of the country.

While popular perception sees corporations as the engines of development, another analysis leads to different conclusions.

The recent firing in Kalinga Nagar, Jajpur, Orissa, India - is a symptom of a disease that is plaguing the development process in Orissa (handled by Govt. of Orissa (GOO)), not the disease itself.

On 19 June 2006 law-enforcing agencies used force in Karachi against the fisher folk community, demanding the abolishment of contract system in fisheries.

The lives of over a million weavers of the famous Banarasi Saris are at risk as a result of insensitive policies vis-à-vis the WTO.

Ravishankar Arunachalam, a former faculty at IIT Madras and social activist follows up his first article (see below) with more evidence of its success.

Dr. Manzur Ejaz questions the efficacy of neo-liberal economic policies in Pakistan.

In Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, 1600 sheep died after grazing for 7 days in a BT cotton field after the crop was harvested. The symptoms did not correlate to any of the diseases occurred during the season.

A new survey in India has found genetically engineered cotton (Bt Cotton) is causing negative health effects among farm workers. The survey, covering six villages, reported. All the evidence gathered during the investigation shows that Bt has been causing skin, upper respiratory tract and eye allergies among persons exposed to cotton.

With bugs, a condom and iron being found in beverages sold by Pepsi and Coke, not just in India but also in Japan, one has to ask whether these companies focused on cost cutting have no eye for their processes?

Coca Cola spends about 70% of its profits on media, image building and publicity. And yet, at the share holders meeting in Delaware, under pressure from a large number of global communities for its unethical practices, its wheels seemed to be coming off.

With the India investing its future in the Nuclear deal, based on the premise that nuclear energy will solve India’s growing energy wants, it is important that there be greater public debate vis-à-vis the feasibility of nuclear energy and the implications of energy policy beholden to nuclear energy.

With the number of visitors dropping in to express solidarity with the Mehdiganj anti-Coke movement on hunger strike, the movement decided to have a special gathering on the 16th day of the strike.

Yes Men planning another set of exposes of Dow and Monsanto. Here's an update on some recent Yes Men activities. But first, two appeals:

Last week, on the role of solar energy, Nobel Laureate Alan Heeger talked about the unjustified hype of nuclear energy solving the world’s energy crisis pointing out that we would need to build 1GW or bigger reactor every week from now to 2015 for nuclear energy to satisfy the world’s energy needs.

After having argued that there was no people�s movement against Coke in Mehdiganj, it was ironic that Kalyan Ranjan, P. R. Manager of Hindustan Coca Cola Ltd., was quite eager to meet with the Mehdiganj community on the first day of their indefinite hunger strike on 23rd of March. But that was not the only irony

On Feb 3rd, while citizens of Mehdiganj protested against the activities of the bottling plant there, the Public Relations Manager of Hindustan Coca Cola presented a letter to the media arguing there was no agitation in Mehdiganj. This letter and the response are presented to readers.

One day in 1929, a man came to meet Gandhiji at the Sabarmati Ashram. Could he show Gandhi his Ph. D thesis! It contained a different idea of economics. Gandhi read the thesis and was amazed. Here was a man who thought exactly like him. Humans are not merely wealth-producing animals. J Ravikumar Stephen sends a short note about Kumarappa and his work.

Ashish Tripathi wrote about his experiences while volunteering in rural Uttar Pradesh, asking why the growing economic development in India is so different from the grim realities of Bharat

Geeta Menon and Stree Jagruti Samiti surveyed domestic workers and employers to come up with report on terms of employment for domestic workers. We present recommendations from their report.

Vidhya, with Agragamee, points out that “It is ironic that a Chief Minister, whose administration murders tribal people at the drop of a hat should inaugurate a 'tribal fair' less than one month after the most heinous of such acts”.

Protesters want to do a plant visit, with police protection.

Public Interest Groups walk into Tata Steel office in Bangalore
risking arrest and submit representation

After farmer's suicide deaths in Maharashtra's rural areas, the next development in India's relentless race to open up economy through consumerism is the seemingly mass movement of prostitution in 'poor' strata of educated urban families.

Externalities have been viewed as a necessary evil in the path of economic development. Friends, in response to an earlier article, have said so with a caveat that we need to be mindful of the externalities.

People's Vigilance Committee for Human Rights, Uttar Pradesh, India & Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, reports from a People's tribunal on starvation in eastern Uttar Pradesh

130 million Muslims in India form the second largest Muslim population in the world. Scholarship on them has however focused on a limited range of issues. There is little by way of macro studies on the economic condition of Muslims in various parts of India.

We, 200 members of people's organizations, faith-based communities and social movements, representing all continents of the world from 29 countries, who have met in Hong Kong from December 9 to 11, 2005, to assess and protest the impact of the policies of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the world's poor and to make recommendations to address the hardships that the WTO has created, offer this statement.

We, 200 participants from 29 countries and different religious faiths, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, who have met at Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong, from 9-10 December 2005 to protest the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and to work towards a vision on “Globalising Economic Justice and Social Sustainability”, address the following message to the faith communities of the world:

After more than a year of student campaigning by the University of Michigan’s Coalition to Cut the Contract with Coca-Cola, the University of Michigan has temporarily suspended University purchasing of Coca-Cola products effective January 1, 2006.

We are yearning for foreign direct investment – FDI – and bending over backwards to attract it. We have changed laws – banking laws, regulations on farming, trade laws and domestic finance regulations – to attract companies. Which company would we rate the best?

What is POSCO taking away as part of this MoU, what are the people of Orissa getting in return and what is the Indian government getting? And why has the state government been stingy with information?

Externalities are usually costs of production that companies do not pay for by dumping the costs on the larger society. With the Indian government obliging, guess who is paying for these profits.

On June 22nd 2005, the State Government of Orissa has signed an MoU with the Pohang Steel Company (POSCO) of South Korea. 6 months since the signing of the deal, very little is known about the details of this MoU

The phenomenon of identity theft, where criminals impersonate people to steal from them is fairly well known.

With the upcoming WTO meeting in Hong-Kong, civic society groups are increasingly demanding public debates on the official position, democratic processes and rejection of WTO.

With the upcoming ministerial level meeting at Hong Kong on WTO, civic society groups are actively demanding that the Government of India protect agrarian interests. Anti-WTO caravans, civic society recommendations, petitions and study groups are all recommending that current WTO programs will adversely affect farmers, artisans and agrarian communities at large.

On 14th October, a (rally) dharna was organized by Bunkar Dastkar Adhikar Manch (weavers and artisans forum) before District Magistrate Varanasi to protest the policies of WTO, IMF and World Bank.

Food irradiation is another tool to increase corporate control and monopoly over the world’s food supply, thus exacerbating the already unsustainable global food and agriculture trading system that prioritizes profits over people. Global Agriculture groups are calling for a global ban on food irradiation.

On October 17 2005, twelve countries in Asia launched the Peoples' Caravan for Justice and Sovereignty in protest against the December 14-18, WTO Hong Kong Ministerial 2005.

Critique of the practices of Coca Cola and Pepsico, and the protests by communities in India, are being labeled as liberal, anti-development and unwarranted. A free market analysis – an analysis within the capitalist framework – also shows that these practices are unethical.

On 11th August, a peoples assembly on the issues and problems of rural workers was organized by Green Rural Development Organization(GRDO)in Hyderabad, Sindh.

The recent incident in Gurgaon, where police and local administration beat up hundreds of workers, is more evidence of the role the government sees for itself vis-à-vis protection of rights of labor in India. It forces the question - whose interests does the Government of India truly represent?

ETC Group today releases a new 48-page report on the geopolitics of nanotechnology. NanoGeoPolitics, offers an in-depth survey of the current state of nanotechnology policy debates ranging from regulatory initiatives to social dialogues and from G8 statements to CSO activism (civil society). ETC describes three main approaches being adopted by nano players: the so-called optimists, realists, and skeptics.

As India goes through economic reform, we continue to see improving economic indices. And yet, the condition of farmers continues to worsen. For a variety of reasons – from the perspective of nation building as well as considerations of rights and justice – it is important to analyze the impact of these trends.

IOC recently communicated to Dow that the technology purchase deal has been cancelled after IOC found that critical submissions made by Dow as part of contract negotiations were false. In their response to IOC, Dow officials have alleged that the cancellation of the deal has caused a loss of 1.5 million US dollars. The Indian government is yet to communicate its final decision on this matter.

The speech by the Indian Prime Minister at a function in Oxford told us much about him. About his economics, his politics and his understanding of Swaraj.

As India goes through economic reform, and as our centers of growth – large cities – continue to be aggressively developed, there are 600 million farmers who are cut off from this process of growth and, some argue, even being severely affected by this process of ‘development’.

Who is the Indian farmer? And how has she/he been affected by the processes of economic liberalization and ‘development’?

Allahabad, 25 June: The "Rozgar Adhikar Yatra" launched from Delhi on 13 May, reached Allahabad today after a hectic journey of more than 4,000 kms through ten states. The Right to Employment Campaign files this report.

In the last couple of weeks, the Rozgar Adhikar Yatra travelled through Bihar and U. P., using public debates and conversations with various sections of our communities to discuss the need for minimum wage employment programs for the economic sustenance of India.

Over a dozen communities have been directly affected by the activities of bottling plants owned by Coca Cola India. Water quality has degraded, toxic waste has been dumped, land has been illegally occupied, people protesting these activities in a non-violent fashion in public spaces have been beaten up and allegedly bribes have been paid.

Sindhi is bestowed with naturally rich fishing waters. According to government estimates there are 1209 fishing waters in whole of Sindhi. Millions of fisherfolk draw their livelihood from these fishing grounds, including inland lakes,ponds,depressions and river Indus.

What is the role of the various arms of our government? Is it to protect the interest of the people of our country, or are their other interests that concern it? And when its interests become unclear, is it not the right of its citizens to ask questions and expect answers?The second article in this series presents a story showing the government’s acknowledgement for agrarian issues and farmers’ concerns. This story was presented by Dr Sunilam, MLA from Multai, Madhya Pradesh.

Demanding Employment Guarantee and Minimum Wages (www.rightofoodindia.org)

Police attacked the Rozgar Adhikar Yatra at Balrampur, Madhya Pradesh, severely injuring numerous citizens of local communities as well as members of the campaign. This eyewitness account by Reetika Khera, a PhD student at the Delhi School of Economics, was first published at www.righttofoodindia.org

Under the banner of Peoples� Action for Employment Guarantee � a coalition of around 100 organizations and movements � a national �Rozgar Adhikar Yatra� was launched from New Delhi on 13 May 2005.
Reported by Mumbai.indymedia.org

The first of this three part series places the NGO in the landscape of development politics and demands rethinking of roles and responsibilities.

Dry Canals. In March. And summer has yet to begin.
Farmers committing suicide.
Not a description of what you might expect of Punjab. And yet, that is the truth.

In the early days of April 2005, the Maharashtra State Assembly passed a law whereby agrarian families with more that two children would have to pay 50% more for the price of water. The state Assemblies of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have also considered similar bills.

With a reduction in over 50 million farmers between the 1990 and 2000 census, you have to ask – where did these farmers and their families go?

“Brand India” is fast becoming a mantra that is claimed as the benchmark for development in India. With economists, bureaucrats, policy-makers, industrialists, and even the media jumping on to the bandwagon, with “Brand India” becoming the ethos of the upwardly mobile middle class, it is imperative that the implications of such branding be critically analyzed.

The human cost of the tsunami on December 26 2004 is staggering. Impact to the communities directly affected by the tsunami is also devastating. The macroeconomic impact, however, remains far less clear. Among the South East Asian countries affected by the tsunami - Maldives, Sri Lanka and India - some economies seem to have escaped unscathed; in others, the high cost of reconstruction has/will make a big dent.

Despite strong laws, there has been negligible enforcement. The bureaucratic machinery and the political leadership of India are responsible for India having the largest bonded child labor population.

While one might make a personal decision not to consume Coke or Pepsi products, there have to be strong and clear reasons for a group to suggest public boycott of these products.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. This ninth piece of the series explores alternatives of nonviolence.

A review of the domestic laws in India that protect children against bonded labor and the strength of those laws. The Human Rights Watch report provides extensive review of these laws.

The Coca Cola Company has been denounced by various communities, organizations and grassroots movements for violating basic human and environmental rights.

It is quite simple to create slum dwellers. Governments and policy makers have known the recipe for quite a few centuries now.

Amitabh Pal explores the crises and the growth of Call Center employees in India

Slums.

We city dwellers have quite strong opinions about them.

There is no one way in which children are bonded, no one story that includes the pain, the suffering and the exploitation. Each community, each family that is tied to bonded labor has its own problems.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. This eighth piece of the series presents the problems with revolutions.

In India.

Really.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. This sixth piece of the series presents the unclaimed externalities of development.

In this mutli-part series, Sanat Mohanty discusses why we have to look for alternatives and what kinds of alternatives we should look for. This fifth piece of the series questions the broadly held assumptions of development.

As per the requirements of the World Trade Organization treaties on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights, commonly called TRIPS, as of January 1st, India is required to amend its Patent Laws to provide for a TRIPS compliant regime. The final amendment of the Patents Laws, as per the provisions of TRIPS, will be promulgated in India through an ordinance starting January 26th, 2005.

Months after the Supreme Court passed a verdict levying 17 crore fine against Hema Chemicals for Chromium dumping, another case gathers momentum.

Reports in the British press say that Britain is throwing out more than a million tonnes of electronic "e-waste" such as broken computer monitors and discarded mobile phones every year. A Guardian report said that last year, 23,000 tonnes of IT and other electronic equipment was shipped out illegally, mostly to China, West Africa, Pakistan and India.

The morass of litigation surrounding India’s largest-ever foreign investment project just became a little bit deeper when the US Government submitted a request for arbitration to the Government of India earlier this month, invoking the consent to arbitration found in a 1997 Investment Incentive Agreement.

A brief review of the current energy situation in India and a short note on the lack of vision for energy sustainability in times of aggressive global energy politics.

There has been a spate of allegations against multinationals in the last few months, numerous protests against their practices, in the last few months. Is this the case of overactive NGOs?

Sixteen tribals, mostly women, critically injured. Massive lathicharge on adivasis.
Tense standoff between agitated tribals and police in Kashipur.

In response to increasing demonstrations against Coca Cola, and specifically in response to march planned from November 15-24, 2004, the company put out advertisements in newspapers raising various questions.

“Kisanon ne machaya shor, Coca-cola paani chor, Doodh-dahi ke desh mein Pepsi-Coke nahin chalega.”

This is one of the slogans being used by people’s movements in Uttar Pradesh which are organizing a march and a rally to close down 2 Coca-Cola bottling plants in the state.

2004 is the twentieth anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster. Twenty years is a very long time. For the victims of the disaster, twenty years has also been a very hard time. But, for the rest of the world, it is time to start asking hard and difficult questions: questions not only about Union Carbide and Corporations, but also about our own lives.

Numerous global programs – AID, loans, etc – are based on economic and human development indices. The 2004 Human Development Index published by UNDP provides a fresh look at South Asia from within the filter of such indices. In the second of a series of articles, we analyze some economic numbers and gauge the direction of various South Asian nations. China is included in this analysis for the purpose of a more complete analysis of South Asia.

Over the last couple of months, as the rhetoric has become shriller this election season, many in the USA who have lost their jobs owing to outsourcing have blamed the Indians for their pain.

There has been much written about the Indian budget, many perspectives, numerous op-ed pieces. Instead of writing another one, it might be more meaningful to look at some numbers.

The Sri Lankan Budget was presented with a vision statement that said: “Regaining Sri Lanka: Vision and Strategy for Accelerated Development”. It is this context that one must ask: What is meant by regaining? What exactly is being regained by this budget?

It is difficult to put a finger on the Bangladeshi budget. There are aspects that are exhilarating – almost Utopian. 13.4% commitment to education. Over 6% to medical health. About the same amount to Health and Nutrition. And yet…

An analysis of Pakistan's 2004 Budget suggests that while the government has presented this as a growth and employment budget, a budget for the people, the policies do not reflect that.

Do I defend the right of Indian nationals to fake any accent they want? No. The truth is that my issues stay the same.

Water companies, on the other hand, argue that the process efficiencies associated with private enterprise will lower the cost of delivering water to the public, and therefore make water more affordable to the urban poor.

WTO says the West African farmers should stop growing cotton

What is “globalization”? And why should we as South Asians care?