There is now a quiet but intense debate within some segments of the corporate sector on the crisis in governance due to communalism, says Rajni Bakshi.

Last month, women's groups were engaged in a vigorous debate with the National Commission on Women (NCW) about a bill on sexual harassment, says Kalpana Sharma.

The NCW's protection for women is selective; it bypasses our dignity and preaches an inconsequential morality, says Kalpana Sharma

The courts have drifted far from their humanitarian past, and judicial aggression against the urban poor is now the norm, says Videh Upadhyay.

Kalpana Sharma looks at the implications of the Nisha Sharma episode for our society.

The Air India case on categorization of airhostesses illustrates how difficult it is to establish the principle of gender justice in employment, says Kalpana Sharma.
Dec 2003 update: Air India yields

Kalpana Sharma remembers the first dawn of the movement for women's rights to vote.

Are women in India feeling more "empowered" today, asks Kalpana Sharma on International Women's day.

In the very profession where people should innovate, should try out new things, should experiment, the work atmosphere is ossified, hierarchical, resistant to any new thinking or to any change in the rules of engagement. Kalpana Sharma urges a new turn to an old profession.

In any society, the process of change is painful, and in ours, women are being forced to pay the price for this, says Kalpana Sharma.

The rash of suicides in city and village is a qualitatively new development in our history. Ramachandra Guha notes the contours of desperation in the two Indias - urban and rural.

Calls for the renewal of hundreds of thousands of lapsed insurance policies have begun, reports P Sainath.

We have been taught to remember Tagore as essentially a Bengali, Nehru as a Congressman, and Ambedkar as a Dalit. But their examples remain relevant to many others, says Ramachandra Guha.

Where other nationalisms insisted on a homogeneity of attitudes and worldviews, this one - from Gandhi, Tagore, Ambedkar, and Nehru - respected and even celebrated the linguistic, cultural and religious diversity of its peoples. Such was their idea of India. Ramachandra Guha continues his series on the great patriots.

While women who have to commute at night, or use public transport, are forced to remain alert at all times because they are aware of the dangers, call centre employees who believe that "the company" takes care of all their needs might just let their guard down. Kalpana Sharma answers a reader's question: will it ever end?

For the great majority of us who are far from the Tsunami disaster, the easiest thing to contribute is money. Finding someone who'll take our money is easy. But a recipient's annual report summarising relief transactions is not enough to tell us how our money was used, says Ashwin Mahesh.

The percentage of girl students pursuing science in college is quite impressive. Yet, when it comes to careers in science, the numbers suddenly drop. Kalpana Sharma notes the social and institutional reasons that deny women a level playing field.

Perhaps one of the most moving and inspiring stories to have come from Pakistan in recent times is the story of Mukhtaran Bibi or Mukhtar Mai as she is now called. Her fight is an uplifting example for all women, not just those who are victims of sexual crimes, says Kalpana Sharma.

Paul Wolfowitz's appointment as the head of the World Bank highlights the undemocratic nature of decision-making at the bank. His presidency will stand as a constant reminder that this institution, which calls on nations to exercise "good governance and democratisation" is run like a medieval monarchy, says George Monbiot.

There is plenty of native intelligence among the people that is very useful in averting and responding to disasters. Planning for disaster management must see this as an asset. The top-down planning and implementation currently in vogue is a poor substitute for community participation, says Videh Upadhyay.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) recently suggested that the custom of the man declaring "talaq" at one go and divorcing his wife should be discouraged. It stopped short of drafting further reform to the marriage contract, but this decade is seeing muslim women asserting for more, says Kalpana Sharma.

On December 28, 2005, Air India issued a directive stating that women could henceforth be in-flight supervisors. With this, one of the last vestiges of gender discriminatory practices that the airline has continued to hold on to, has gone. Kalpana Sharma recounts the Maharaja's glacially slow change of heart.

In the recent impressive gains made by the Indian economy, the OBCs have not benefited proportionately. The recent extension of reservations to elite institutions that are seen as passports to the new economy is therefore logical. But it must still not be excessive, writes Ramachandra Guha.

For her childish prank, domestic 'servant' Sonu was tortured, tied up and left to bleed to death. The police have rounded up her employers, but the story has not ended because it raises questions that all of us, educated, middle-class Indians need to face, writes Kalpana Sharma.

The IMF's meeting in Singapore next week is expected to endorse a decision to enhance voting powers for four middle-income countries: China, South Korea, Mexico, and Turkey. For a 184-member body still controlled by seven developed countries, this won't pass for democratisation, says George Monbiot.

Crippling poverty, Naxalism and government bungling may have depressed the lives of poor women in Chhatisgarh, but there is now a shining ray of hope. 60,000 women have become trained community health volunteers and are making an impact, notes Kalpana Sharma.

From newspaper reports, it would appear that some of the focused programmes that the Haryana government launched after the uproar over the low sex ratio are making a difference. Until this is confirmed, we must assuage the genuine fears of people about the girl child, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Indian regionalism has come in three varieties - regionalism properly so called, parochialism, and secessionism. The odd thing about the Ulfa is that it has simultaneously partaken of all varieties, and this is why the common people of Assam have never turned completely against the militants, writes Ramachandra Guha.

The key to understanding information and communication technologies is that their potential for development does not lie in their electronic wizardry, but rather in the information that is communicated by their use, and the subsequent informed actions of citizens. Ashwin Mahesh on the much-touted ICTs.

Once, our universities made a fundamental contribution to the opening of the Indian mind. Now, it is more likely that they will act as a constraint to the further economic and social development of India. Ramachandra Guha notes the four ills that plague India's universities, 150 years after the first three of them were established.

Even the most calculating and hard-hearted woman will not be indifferent to what happens to the child she has birthed. This is the reason that female infanticide remains a phenomenon restricted to only a few areas while sex selective abortions are rampant, writes Kalpana Sharma.

On the evidence of their respective performances in the trust vote, it must be said that the young Abdullah appears to be better qualified for the post he seeks than the young Gandhi is for the job some think should be his by right of birth, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Are there, can there be, Obama-like figures in Indian politics? Ramachandra Guha says Indian political history certainly includes one such person, and one of the modern netas too might be of similar mould.

Rather than seek to dominate or tower above other nations, the republic of India must seek to be less discontented and less divided within, writes Ramachandra Guha.

An excess of secularism may be as problematic as bigotry, whereas pragmatism is in salutary contrast to both of those, writes Ramachandra Guha.

K Balagopal refused to accept, from either State or Maoist, the justification of "a culture and mentality which celebrates power and use of force in society", writes Ramachandra Guha.

India cannot afford not to take a proactive approach to migration. In particular, adaptation measures in key sectors are needed to improve resilience and reduce the pressure on migration from climate change, writes Sujatha Byravan.

It seemed like an insignificant demand, but in fact it is filled with meaning, and the answer has remained challenging in more ways than one. R Balasubramaniam continues his series of Voices from the Grassroots.

One woman dies every eight minutes due to complications arising due to pregnancy such as sepsis, haemorrhage or obstructed labour. These deaths could be avoided if there is timely medical intervention, writes Kalpana Sharma.

A meaningful and enduring bilingualism, embracing both English and the mother tongue, remains out of reach of the vast majority of citizens, writes Ramachandra Guha.

If women cannot step out of their homes and offices without the fear of being assaulted for no other reason than their gender, then clearly there is something very wrong, writes Kalpana Sharma.

However imperfect, the National Commission for Women should not be disbanded. Instead, it needs to be debated and held accountable to its original mandate, writes writes Kalpana Sharma.

There is an urgent need to make politics belong to the people. A big tweak of the way parties function is needed to ensure this, writes R Balasubramaniam.

Adivasi Academy, a learning institute set up by Bhasha Research and Publication Centre is a must visit place for one to learn the importance of language and cultural diversity of our country. Ashish Kothari writes about his experience and learnings at the Academy.

The media is unconsciously desensitising society towards the youth, and pressurising them to conform to a stereotype, says Shivam Vij.

Legislatures around the country are invoking privilege on all sorts of issues, even as the political parties condemn each other's actions to limit press freedom. Sevanti Ninan reports.

Dasu Krishnamoorty examines reporting in the aftermath of Godhra and the subsequent riots in Gujarat.

Frederick Noronha reports on the success of World Comics India, which has created successful material, especially for the regional press.

The beating of media persons at Kozhikode's airport had its fallout all over Kerala. It has pitted the media against the state government. Several issues concerning rights and privacy need to be discussed, including some of the media’s own failings says N P Chekkutty.

In the immediate aftermath of the 26 December tsunamis, many bloggers visited the affected areas. Their eyewitness accounts brought the horrors of the devastation to distant audiences and were instrumental in garnering widespread relief support, writes Rasika Dhavse.