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 right to information movement which began in December 2002 with active support of Asha Ashram in Hardoi District and was initially dismissed by politicians and administration has now acquired legitimacy with the administration deciding that it will require all Village Panchayats to get their accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant.

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.

In this third article in the series, Sarika Jain argues that interlinking of rivers is not economically viable and in fact raises numerous socio-political and environmental problems.

June 12th, 2005 is World Day against Child Labour, with this year's focus being on children working in mines and quarries.

We demand that the Government of India take the following steps immediately to get children out of mines and back into safe, nurturing environments

A Coastal Yatra to protest the lack of people’s voices and recognition of their concerns, as well as corruption during rehabilitation, is being organized starting from Vedaranyam on May 21,2005 and ending with a demonstration in Chennai on May 30,2005.

Government relief programs continue to be tied by corruption and lack of democracy while international agencies and governments are meeting to sneak in their selfish agenda. Meanwhile, the voices and concerns of those affected are do not inform the rehabilitation plans. This is a report from India.

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.

With a new Amendment on decentralization of power being planned, one has to ask what happened to the old plans made through the 73rd and 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India.

The central government in India is approving construction projects in areas where the adivasi and other indigenous people live.

Vignesh Nandkumar presents an analysis of the Educations trends in India, and its correlation to social and economic changes. This was first published in the Education Review

Indian and Pakistani leaders are working to develop programs for increased interaction between Indian and Pakistani youth.

A Global Day of Action is being organized on Feb 26, 2005 to protest the Patents Amendment bill that is currently under consideration by Indian parliament. Please support and participate!

This is the third of a series written by Dilip D’Souza on his blogsite and published here with his permission. In this series he describes the reality of people living in slums, slums being demolished.

This is a first of a series written by Dilip D’Souza on his blogsite and published here with his permission. In this series he describes the reality of people living in slums, slums being demolished.

This is a first of a series written by Dilip D’Souza on his blogsite and published here with his permission. In this series he describes the reality of people living in slums, slums being demolished.

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.

Reports of abuse of Tsunami victims have presented a sordid hue to the relief efforts in Sri Lanka.

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.

There seems to be much enthusiasm regarding Track II initiatives (or people to people’s contact) between India and Pakistan and the effect it has had. Indeed, in 2004, the volume of such contact was significantly higher than in the years past.

This is the first part of an interview by Yogi Sikand with Asrhan Amanullah on madrasas and their role in Islamic education.

An Appeal for funds to help the peace march from India to Pakistan. If you cannot be part of the march, you can participate by helping organize the march.

S. P. Udayakumar writes with pain and anguish at the non-performance of the government and the bureaucracy.

Relief efforts continue to seek help for the victims of the tsunami.

India has one of the poorest sex ratios in the world and among the most skewed literacy rates. Statisticians, policy makers and arm-chair analysts have presented numerous arguments on how this relates to the economic growth of the country, to the overall literacy rates or government spending on literacy.

What is a Dalit Muslim, you ask? Or, more correctly, Who? Yogi Sikand writes about the Dalit Muslim identity and their concerns and voices.

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?

December 3 is observed as Global Day of Action against Corporate Crime. This year let's take a look at what happened in Kodaikanal.

Corporate Accountability International, along with numerous other local organizations cited Coke for its unethical practices in India

Etoxic, an environmental group based in India, lists drugs that have been banned in the EU and/or USA, but continue to be sold in India.

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

The UNDP Development Indices for India presented a large gender divide in India forcing us to acknowledge that in times of increased economic growth, women in modern India continue to face systemic discrimination and are disempowered.

Abdul Hamid Khan, Chairman of Balawaristan National Front presents a peace proposal for J&K to the heads of India and Pakistan from Gilgit Baltistan

On the morning of 23rd November, 2004, at the city hall, Minneapolis, Corporate Accountability International (CAI) held a press conference highlighting the unethical behavior of the Atlanta based Coca Cola. It cited numerous instances where Coke has been draining out the water table in communities that are having trouble accessing clean drinking water.

The arrest of the Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Muth on 12th November has become a controversial issue – perhaps it was always going to be one.

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.

Hindutva is based on a certain definition of the Hindu identity and is developed through certain premises of historical events. The question of identity is raised in this critique of Savarkar’s thesis.

Bhopal. Say it one more time, Bho-pal. A mere two-syllable word has come to symbolize unjust globalization, corporate exploitation and endemic corruption.

“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.

On October 31st, 2003, the first Women's Party of India was formed. The party, founded by activist Varsha Kale, this party contested 9 seats in the Maharastra State Elections.

A man looks for drinking water in western Gujarat - and this is what he can find. Photograph from Utthaan archives.

Mr. Kishen Pattnayak was an eminent activist and one of the most original thinker within the socialist movement in India. He died on 27th September, with nary a squeak from the mainstream press. Here is a note first published in www.goodnewsindia.org.

Asha for Education, Ashoka and Association for India’s Development, Seva Foundation have all won four star ratings (the highest possible rating) in a review of American charity organizations by Charity Navigator.

In a rather unfortunate turn of events, the Union Minister for NRI Affairs of the Government of India, Mr. Jagdish Tytler, defamed and threatened Harvinder Singh Phoolka, a prominent human rights activist and advocate of the Supreme Court of India, who has fought tirelessly to seek justice for victims of the November 1984 riots.

Preparatory efforts for the peace march from New Delhi to Multan have begun in earnest.

The Right Livelihood Award Foundation for 2004 has chosen Muslim scholar and reformer and peace worker Asghar Ali Engineer as well as social worker and Indian Parliamentarian Swami Agnivesh for the honorary `Right Livelihood Award'.

The Second Annual Indo-Pak Independence Day Peace Celebration, in Houston, organized by Indian and Pakistani Communities and by local South Asian physicians in collaboration with community volunteers was held at the Holiday Inn Select in Houston on September 4th 2004.

Leading up to December 3rd, 2004, 20 years after the infamous Union Carbide tragedy in Bhopal, we review the state of the victims, ask ourselves whether justice has been done and wonder whether the rest of us would rather forget about it. We begin a series of articles on the aftermath of Bhopal with a review of the tragedy.

A Blackboard from a school in South India. Notice the columns listing the number of Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, and Most Backward Class students attending school. Melli Annamalai explores the implications of caste in Modern India

For 2004, the Magsaysay award was presented to Mr. Laxminarayan Ramdas, chairperson of the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy, and Ibn Abdur Rehman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan for "their reaching across a hostile border to nurture a citizen-based consensus for peace between Pakistan and India.

A seventy member delegation of the Pakistan India People's Forum for
Peace and Democracy crossed over to Pakistan at the Attari-Wahga
border today to participate in the three day joint celebration of
the Forum's 10th Anniversary, being organised in Lahore.

A peace march is being planned by PIPFPD (Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy) starting from Delhi, on 23rd March and will make its way to Multan, on 11th May, 2005.

The Central Advisory Board of Education was reconstituted after about ten years, when the mission of this group was first diluted and later allowed to dissipate. The meeting occurred over two days and included participation of thirty two nominated members from civil society, state level ministers or secretaries connected to education as well as the Minister of Human Rights and Development, Shri Arjun Singh.

People of Indian and Pakistani origin living in the Washington area gathered around the statue of Gandhi to celebrate their respective Independence day and bring focus to peace in that region.

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.

On June 25th, the meeting on South Asian Judicial Interaction on Environmental Justice and Equity ended with a key declaration that gives the judiciary of these South Asian nations the responsibility of protecting the biodiversity of this region and providing for environmental justice in the face of increasing environmental exploitation. What are the implications of this declaration?

The expression "eve teasing" is Indian in origin; you won't find it in most
dictionaries. Native speakers of English don't use it.

Shristi in Bangalore is a part of India's response to the needs of special children.

A study by academics from the Sustainable Development Institute of Pakistan revealed that social studies texts for the junior grades in Pakistan's public schools instruct students in the concept of jehad

Union Carbide built the pesticide factory in Bhopal, India in the 1970s

Linguistic and cultural similarities also do not seem to have induced efforts to ensure equal treatment of the country's Hindu minority.

On current issues in India, Mr. Singh reiterated that the strength of the country is its unity.

Women's Grassroots Activism and Social Spaces in Chitrakoot, India.

Women's Grassroots Activism and Social Spaces in Chitrakoot, India.

Women's Grassroots Activism and Social Spaces in Chitrakoot, India.

(From time to time, The South Asian will publish detailed research articles consistent with its mission in serialized form. This is the first of such articles.)

Is there a solution to help India’s 700,000 villages? YES

The last two months saw the rekindling of border disputes between India and Bangladesh.

Exploring roles and responsibilities of the Pravasi community

JMGSS is the distribution wing that handles procurement and supply of household needs. It is the executive arm of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) formed in 1981. Consumers save between 15 and 20% as the JMGSS works within a ceiling of 6% over wholesale prices. Call it consumer response to business cartels.

This piece is presented with permission from www.goodnewsindia.com

On the night of December 2-3 1984, 40 tons of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) and other deadly gases spewed from Union Carbide Corporation's (UCC) factory in Bhopal, India. The safety sirens were turned off so no one was warned of the impending massacre. Several thousands died that night and in the years since. In all an estimated 20,000 lives have been lost. But why bring this up 18 years since? Has not justice been done? Did Union Carbide not pay massive amounts of damages - $470 million – as directed by the Supreme Court of India? Should we not close this issue now?