The Maharashtra government recently approved a proposal where a woman in a live-in relationship for a "reasonable period" of time would get the status of a "wife". Ramesh Menon has more.

Among the steadily growing voices expressing their angst against discrimination, suppression and abuse of women, those of Indian feminist writers are fast gaining in pitch and range. Abha Sharma captures some of these.

The government's move to regulate the retail sale of acid is a welcome one, but for the many hundreds who have been prey to such heinous acts, life continues to be a daily struggle against physical and social odds. Priyanka Nadgir talks to one such survivor.

Threats of rape, kidnap and stripping have become commonplace against women on the Internet. Is it because of the limits of law itself or the fact that very few women seek legal recourse in such matters? Vaishnavi Vittal explores.

At a time when the position of women in India and their struggles in society are at the centre of public attention, it seems apt to invoke the legacy of one who was truly the pioneer of women's studies and activism in the country. Shoma A Chatterji pays tribute to Vina Mazumdar.

A retired diplomat in Bhubaneswar wants more old age homes in India, but why? Rakhi Ghosh narrates the stories of a few elderly people in the city, as she tries to fathom their needs and expectations.

Does inequality engender crime? S Venkatraman presents a graphical exposition of data from a recent WEF report and the NCRB to unravel the many layers of inequality and violence against women in India.

While debates over legalisation of sex work and rehabilitation of women in the trade continue without much tangible impact, sex workers themselves carry on the fight to win legitimacy, safety and social security. Pushpa Achanta brings us some voices from the twilight zone.

Widows in India have lived on the margins of society for decades but the intervention of NGO Sulabh International, led by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, has brought new hope and colour in their lives. Ramesh Menon reports on one of the first celebrations in their new-found lives.

Manjari Singh reports on the opening of the Lucknow branch of Sheroes Hangout, a café run and managed by acid attack survivors under the guidance of the humanitarian organisation “Stop Acid Attacks”

A glimpse into the lives of women waste-pickers in Pune by Suchismita Pai.

Women are making a mark in a profession almost entirely dominated by men. Shoma Chatterji talks to the women idol makers of Kumartuli to find out about their struggle and success.

October is domestic violence awareness month. Pushpa Achanta shares stories of victims of domestic violence to point out why the dilution of IPC Section 498A by the Supreme Court is a blow to the fight against domestic violence.

Shoma A. Chatterji brings focus to the issue of bride trafficking, a lesser known but widely prevalent practice in parts of India, through movie Paro.

Unequal distribution of resources has resulted in a shortage of land available for grazing. Anthra develops sustainable alternatives in consultation with affected groups.

Last year's poor monsoon is only the most proximate reason for the drought-related suffering; failures in many aspects of governance led inevitably to misery, say Manu Mathai and Ashwin Mahesh.

Despite lack of support from policy-makers, potato farmers continue to deploy indigenously developed production and storage techniques, says Virendar Khatana.

Is contract farming the answer to the current woes confronting the nation's farmers, as various corporates claim? Or has the agri-business sector played the right trick at just the right time, with traditional agriculture in the doldrums in so many regions? Gagandeep Kaur reports.

New electronic trading exchanges promise to give Indian farmers better options for marketing their crops, eliminating middle-men costs substantially in the process. To gain market-share, the exchanges will have to help farmers become familiar with the system. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

A severe drought and acute water and electricity shortage is ending self-sufficient agri-livelihoods in the six districts of Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region. Sachin Kumar Jain and Sumika Rajput ring the warning bells.

A number of factors have combined to keep farmers in the country growing wheat and rice, instead of fruits and vegetables which would fetch much higher returns, writes Richa Govil.

Serious and rampant irregularities exposed by the CAG audit of the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008 hold important cautionary advice for the government as it seeks to launch direct cash transfers. Himanshu Upadhyaya analyses.

Even as many pockets of the state, including its capital, battle the ravages of development and consumerism, a couple of villages visited by the author stand as examples of resilient local economies and lifestyles. Aditya Vikram Rametra describes what he saw here.

The current crisis has some striking similarities with the fallout in India of the Great Depression of 1929-1933. Indian farmers were pushed deep into debt, and the overall economy suffered, recalls Kannan Kasturi.

The India Together editorial.

The recording of the past in terms convenient to the ruling figures is reminiscent of what colonial rulers in India did, says Romila Thapar.

The lure of gigantism today is the prospect of large and easy kickbacks, says Prashant Bhushan.

The India Together editorial

The India Together editorial.

The India Together editorial.

Ramachandra Guha thinks that educational aspirations - especially for Muslim girls - that have long been deferred despite the promise of independence may finally be nearer to reality.

For one-and-a-half lakh people, we have a committee of eight people to decide? Ramesh Ramanathan points to the irony of the allegedly empowered, but actually despairing urban citizen.

Ramesh Ramanathan

Ramesh Ramanathan

We cannot implement policies for land reforms without a well-functioning land records system. And If we get this platform in place, we can enable all those interested in reform policy with the tools to ensure that their policy dreams get translated into ground realities, says Ramesh Ramanathan.

Why is the struggle for women representatives so much harder at the national level? Is every effort merely a pretense, a concession to the few highly educated and aware women voters that ultimately means nothing to the great majority of others? Vaijayanti Gupta notes yet another opportunity thwarted.

Winning the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha elections in India was easier than chalking down and executing what the new United Progressive Alliance has to do in terms of governance. Ramesh Menon looks at some of the challenges ahead.

The task of cleansing our polity of crime and corruption is best done by people of compassion, empathy, humility and deep caring, people who remain fair and non partisan even when dealing with those they hate, writes Madhu Purnima Kishwar.

There are four ideas for a Lokpal and a 'Sense of the House' resolution of Parliament itself before the standing committee whic begins work shortly. The battle for Lokpal is far from over, writes Mathew Prasad Idiculla.

The idea of interlinking rivers is appealing because it is so grand. But this is also the reason it is nothing more than a distraction from the business at hand, writes Sunita Narain.

In a country where the need for collective and institutional engagement in social improvement is stark, Shankar Jaganathan explores the role and contours of individual responsibility - both towards self and society - as a necessary precondition for the former.

Corruption in India has attained humongous proportions despite continual but largely erratic movements since independence to tackle this menace. Shankar Jaganathan ponders on whether the recent betting scandal in cricket could catalyse an effective outcome in the fight against political corruption.

Political differences notwithstanding, given the shared socio-cultural fabric, it makes sense for India to collaborate with her South Asian neighbours and look to them for solutions to common problems, writes Sakuntala Narasimhan.

Baba Rampal is the most recent in a long line of Indian religious gurus who have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Revathi Siva Kumar looks at a long list of Indian ‘godmen’ over the ages and tries to explain the influence they exert on a mesmerised flock.

Women in India have continually faced restrictions on how they dress, whether it is on wearing jeans to college or sports gear on the fields. Shoma Chatterji looks at this persistent trend of sartorial repression and urges women to reject such diktats.

Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. Sreedevi Jacob reports on the hopes and fears it has raised.

The Suryanelli case involved a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually harassed and assaulted continuously for 40 days by 42 men in 1996. A special court convicted 36 accused during 2000-2, but the High Court of Kerala surprisingly overturned that verdict in January this year. M Suchitra reports.

With a long history of support for public education, Kerala has led the nation's movement towards universal literacy. But now, with the early challenges conquered, there are tough new lessons to be learned, to provide equitable, quality education. Deepa A reports.

With crop prices rising 30-fold, thousands of farmers in the hills of the south abandoned their traditional crops and switched to vanilla, with bank loans and rumours fueling their already unrealistic hopes even higher. But of course it was all too good to be true for very long. N P Chekkutty reports.

India's share in international trade has increased from 0.7 percent to 1 percent, which is a remarkable achievement, some say. In the meantime, lakhs of farmers in Kerala are being adversely affected by reduction of import tariffs on edible oils, spices and other cash crops. Thomas Varghese delves deeper.