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Dr Kunal Saha's wife Anuradha died due to medical negligence in 1998. He pursued the case for 15 years through various consumer courts, MCI, high court until Supreme Court passed a historic order three months back. It not only awarded the highest compensation so far in a medical negligence case but also questioned the treatment of doctors, a first in Indian legal history. Here Dr Saha talks about the shortcomings in present Indian law and his...

Courtesans contributed to music and literary scene of an era when most women were in purdah. 'The Other Song' is a film that examines how we stigmatised these performers resulting in annihilation of their profession which could not meet the new moral standards of independent India.  Their whole existence was termed immoral both by the British colonialists and also ironically by the nationalists who themselves were English educated and...

This document is a valuable resource that comprises important legal changes and events of last three years with reference to previous laws. Written by well known practitioner Kanchi Kohli, the e-book lists down steps that can be taken to secure people’s rights over land, forests, water and biodiversity. And all this is explained through instances where common men and women explore the nitty gritties of environmental laws. So, we have Sarita...

This was my first time here. I had heard of this festival, perhaps the only existing one in India, where barter takes place at such a scale. Jon Beel mela in Jon Beel, Jagiroad Assam- a historic festival where people from the hills and plains come together for a unique exchange of goods and agricultural produce near a moon-shaped wetland. A place of extremes, of new and old, rustic and modern. The annual three-day festival has been celebrated...

June 16 was 'Father's Day' and lovely quotes on fatherhood spilled over from mainstream media to facebook and twitter. June 16 was also the 'International Domestic Workers' Day' and it seems nobody really noticed. A few women workers with placards marched on the streets of Chennai seeking fixed minimum wages but then again nobody was really interested. As long as houses were cleaned, dishes done and kids put to bed there was not much trouble...

I walked down the weather-beaten road of Jhanda Chowk in the direction that, I was told, would lead me to the office of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) in Khandwa town of Madhya Pradesh. Trudging along under the 47 degree sun, I couldn’t help but muse over the glorious images of intrepid activism, sweeping support and pandemic influence that the name NBA invokes. Undeniably, I entered the office expecting to walk into a maelstrom of hustle...

Around a thousand families of Thalangi tribal hamlet in Coimbatore district received free television sets from the Tamil Nadu government in 2006. But these were of no use as the houses had no electricity supply. Kerosene was the main source of lighting. Today, it is interesting to see how the hamlet has met all its energy needs and also attained complete sanitation through a biodigester. Though biodigesters have conventionally been used to...

The tribal mountain belt of southern Rajasthan belies all notions of a desert state. Lush green hills, frequent water bodies and small farmlands exude abundance. This bounty gets more evident as one enters the Oghna forest range in Udaipur district.

The controversy related to black money is turning out to be a major embarrasment for the UPA government. However, while Baba Ramdev raises cudgels against the money stashed in foreign banks, nobody seems to care about the  undeclared wealth which exists right here in Indian territory. According to a World Bank study, in 2006-07 black money in India amounted to Rs 15 lakh crores, almost one-fourth of the country’s GDP.

Even though the...

The premise of Aadhaar is that it’s put to use as a universal proof of identity by public and private entities. So, even when you have surrendered that LPG subsidy and don’t take any benefit from the welfare schemes, you may still be required to get the unique ID. Banks continue to ask for linking the account with Aadhaar numbers, private schools want parents to furnish the UID numbers of their children even though there’s no subsidy to be...