Conceived as an anti-poverty effort, the Navodayam project in Andhra Pradesh has grown with government support into a full-fledged media entity taking up coverage of serious local issues. Its members see themselves playing a vital role, and making a difference to the lives of lakhs of women in their districts. Shoma Chatterji reports.

The government's recent CR policy is considered a big leap forward in enabling people to participate in the mass media. The next five years may see some self-help groups, fisherfolk and farmer groups, in areas remote and near, bid for radio stations of their own. Malvika Kaul reports.

How relevant is the argument of a threat to freedom of the press in cases where the financial interests of a media baron could ostensibly conflict with that of the public? The question resurfaced recently in Andhra Pradesh over the Eenadu-Margadarsi controversy, writes B P Sanjay.

Both India and Pakistan played well in the Twenty20 tournament, and played in a positive frame of mind. Why then should a mainstream media channel insist on harping on the rivalry between two countries that are making tentative attempts at peace, asks Kalpana Sharma.

The terror attacks have raised numerous questions of media ethics, values and news-gathering methods. While the government and politicians faced the wrath of the public, the media too was under the lens. Ramesh Menon reports.

Can technology restore the balance between people in their conversations about public issues? And can this help foster a better and more inclusive democracy, asks Shubhranshu Choudhary.

The politically motivated appointment of a hardly-known personality to the post of chairperson at the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India has predictably created outrage amongst students and the artist fraternity. Shoma Chatterji looks at the real arguments behind the ongoing debate.

For more than a decade now, Supriyo Sen has been making his way through awards bestowed for excellence in choice of subject and aesthetics of creative expression, the latest being accorded for Wagah. Shoma Chatterji looks back at his films.

"I wanted to show not just a few victims, but to help viewers understand the mechanics and the politics of trafficking and migration," says Ananya Chatterjee. Shoma Chatterji revies Understanding Trafficking.

If there are differences between a documentary and a feature film, Faiza Khan's Supermen of Malegaon dispels them all. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Bhor is a psycho-social journey into the minds and lives of inmates of a rehab centre, trying to build a world away from the mainstream. Shoma Chatterji reviews the play.

A cinematographer remembers his own journey of documentary film-making, offering insights into the technical and emotional challenges of his work. Shoma Chatterji reviews In Camera - Diaries of a Documentary Cameraman.

Vijay Tendulkar's Kanyadaan is not about domestic violence. It is about deeper, multiple, and sometimes invisible layers of violence that is an integral part of society. Shoma Chatterji reviews the play.

Suman Ghosh's documentary about the Nobel Laureate has not found its way to many screens yet. Nonetheless, it is a noteworthy effort to bring the economist a little closer to the people. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Is freedom of speech and expression deeply accepted in Indian society? Or is it merely a European cultural import that made its way along with the English language and appeared in the Constitution because of the founding fathers' genius? Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya reviews Freedom Song, a film and connects the dots.

Sanjay Kak's latest film Red Ant Dream weaves together disparate stories of people's movements and transports the viewer to hidden pockets of resistance to paint a picture of conflict and revolutionary potential in India today. Freny Manecksha reviews the film.

A mainstream Bollywood production in the making, titled Gulab Gang, draws heavily on the circumstances and even the name of a now-famous real life movement, but purports to be purely fictional. Shoma Chatterji explores the questions of ethics and creative morality that this raises.

Flickering Angels, a moving documentary on the lives of children of imprisoned parents in West Bengal, helps a child of an illegal immigrant caught in tragic circumstances to go back to her homeland. Shoma A Chatterji dwells on the reformative capacity of cinema.

The recently held Kolkata People’s Film Festival – an offshoot of the founding movement called The Cinema of Resistance – screened powerful documentaries and feature films portraying the struggle and resistance of the marginalised and downtrodden. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Though based on strong reporting, India’s Daughter remains restricted in its scope, and even strays from its purported objective, thanks to a very pronounced colonial supremacist gaze, writes Shoma Chatterji in a dispassionate review that cuts through the noise.

Manhole is a scathing celluloid indictment on the state of manual sewer cleaners in India, writes Shoma A. Chatterji.

4 Tamarinds and Toffees is a delightful and nostalgic film on two women directed by a young and thoughtful director, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Since 1979, this Kolkata school has pioneered an educational process where kids from different economic and social sections of society study, play and share together as equals.

While land reforms and decentralisation in West Bengal have been successful, far less has been achieved in tackling gender disparities and discrimination, says Jayati Ghosh.

There is a surprising hope in the most despairing places. It isn't often that many of us see this, but when we do, we are struck by the determination with which enormous deprivation is tackled by real heroes. Somnath Mukherji encounters the work of Tomorrow's Foundation in Kalighat, West Bengal.

Free Bird Productions, a Kolkata-based documentary unit that makes cultural, ethnographic and documentary films, has made two of the more noteworthy films about the recent events in Singur and Nandigram. Shoma Chatterji notes the unanswered questions the films raise.

Irrespective of the dress they wear, or, their ages, their looks, their educational, professional and marital status, never mind the time or place, women in Kolkata and elsewhere are being subjected to all kinds of harassment, including eve-teasing. Shoma Chatterji peels the layers and exposes myths.

Samir Chanda's Ek Nodir Galpo, which premiered in Kolkata in November 2007, offers the moving experience of a father who makes it his mission to name a river after his dead daughter. His struggle evolves into his way of reinventing his daughter. Shoma Chatterji has more.

The rural Muslim women of Murshidabad district in West Bengal have circumvented religious curbs and successfully used a prevalent religious tradition to eke out a living as well as create social awareness. Ajitha Menon has more.

A CRY report from Nandigram finds that children's experience of the violence there is intensely personal. Their vocabulary now includes words like shilpo, santrash and proshashon. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Not many trace their way back to the human tragedy that has given rise to the culture of violence that marks Lalgarh today. The women do not appear scared of any police reaction in response to their protests. Soma Mitra has more.

At the crux of Ekbalpur's women boxers' passion lies a sense of liberation and recognition that they do not get from anything else. Sudhiti Naskar reports.

Over the years, several thousands have made their way to this Kolkata eatery to feast on authentic local food. It's the star feather in the All Bengal Women's Union's cap. Aditi Bhaduri has more.

Young women and girls in red light areas face extreme levels of desperation, stemming partly from poverty, but also because of sheer physical exploitation, even by husbands and fathers. Ruchi Choudhary reports.

Motivated by the media attention in Nandigram, six volunteers of Child Rights and You decided to examine how the urban poor are faring against State-sponsored eviction. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Grounded in its feminist views, Praajak works with runaway boys and young men, to give them livelihood options and help them reunite with their families. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Violence during college union elections, the death of a protesting 22-year-old student in police custody and a resultant chain of events have led to earnest debates in West Bengal over whether students should stay away from active politics. Promona Sengupta explores the reality underlying prevailing sentiments.

Character assassination, social and economic ostracisation and even assault, seem to have become the standard responses to all who protest against the culture of violence against women in West Bengal. Shikha Mukerjee reports on the ground realities in the state.

In West Bengal, girls are being empowered to refuse early marriage thanks to a state government initiative that enables them to stay longer in school. The Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme has been remarkably successful in curbing child marriage and promoting girl child education, says Saadia Azim.

The death of 14 women in Chhattisgarh following botched sterilisation procedures has rightfully led to furore across the country. But a detailed, historical analysis of family planning as it has evolved, by Shoma A Chatterji, exposes an inherent and sustained gender bias in policy as well as practice.

The tragic reversal of roles is the result of national policies that have neglected agriculture and farming in the wake of globalisation, says Devinder Sharma.

Developing countries must take a collective stand on 'Zero-Tolerance to Subsidies' to protect their agriculture, says Devinder Sharma.

Has the introduction of Bt Cotton been successful? The deliberate attempt to find a "yes" answer has required a lot of incredulous 'science', says Devinder Sharma.

The concerns of Third World citizens have been routinely overlooked - until now, i.e., as technologies developed for animals are conveniently passed off as adequate for the world's poor as well, says Devinder Sharma.

Biofortification is no cure for hunger. Devinder Sharma says boosting nutrients in various crops isn't going to make them any more affordable for the poor.

The negative terms of trade against agriculture have to be turned around if the country is keen to emerge from the hunger and poverty trap, says Devinder Sharma.
Q&A on the Minimum Support Pricing policy

A new publication from the Delhi-based Forum for Biotechnology & Food Security. (40 pages)

Removal of agricultural subsidies should be a pre-requisite to further movement on the WTO agricultural negotiations, says Devinder Sharma.

If you raise the price of your product and offer a discount on the higher price, some people will get taken in by such 'sales'. The WTO has just pulled off this kind of scheme, says Devinder Sharma.

Devinder Sharma points out the deeper flaws in the thinking behind Budget 2004-5.