"The Constitution is yours. The borders are yours. The sovereignty is yours. The flag is yours. What is ours? What is that is both tribal and Indian in the Constitution?" Shiv Visvanathan recalls an Independence-era conversation that marks the passage of the adivasis, unheard and unheeded, between two worlds.

In 1947, as now, Indian democracy was being challenged and threatened from radicals of Left and Right. Back then, in the late Forties, the Centre held. The RSS was forced to agree to abide by the Constitution, and the communists were forced overground. But will the Centre hold now, asks Ramachandra Guha.

The centenary of admitting Dalit children into public schools in Kerala is an opportunity to remember Ayyankali, whose leadership of the movement isn't part of mainstream history. A proper retelling of this history is now the responsibility of a new generation of historians, writes N P Chekkutty.

"If we really love Andrews' memory," said Gandhi when his close friend passed away, then "we may not have hate in us for Englishmen, of whom Andrews was among the best and noblest." Ramachandra Guha visits his grave.

Moner Manush is contemporary and topical as it talks of peace, harmony and religious tolerance at a time when India is ridden by fundamentalism and intolerance in different pockets. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Darryl D'Monte talks about his recent participation in a discussion on Nayantara Sahgal's book on Nehru, which delves into Nehruvian policies, his cherished dreams, his lasting legacy and its importance in today's time.

The Justice Sampath committee looking into the devastating Kumbakonam fire is expected to report its findings on school safety in the next few months. But Tamilnadu has already seen other reforms reports with little real change. Will the upcoming recommendations bring any fruit? Krithika Ramalingam finds out.

"We were pushed out of the queues for food, relief material, an even drinking water", says Bama Rajazhagan, a dalit. But not all is gloomy in Nagapattinam; district machinery, voluntary organisations, and the army are lending support to rebuilding. Krithika Ramalingam reports.

The Chennai High Court opined in December that industrialisation created the wealth necessary for protecting the environment. Sunita Dubey tests this claim in the United States and finds that the court ignored the US' system of local public participation and more.

15-year-old Raje was left home alone in Chennai on 17 January while her family attended the Sunday church. When they returned, it was to find she had hung herself from the living room fan. Krithika Ramalingam reports on Tamilnadu's growing suicide numbers in the 10-19 age group.

Many widows and destitute women in the fishing communities of Tamilnadu have been left out of tsunami relief because of acute gender bias. Men are also abusing relief funds on liquor, with women bearing the brunt. In the meantime, NGOs are trying to erode rigid attitudes with social awareness, reports Freny Manecksha.

In what was seen as a major step forward for the reproductive rights of women, emergency contraceptives became available over the counter from September 2005. But last month, the Tamilnadu government's drug controller seized stocks from Chennai's pharmacies responding to protests. Krithika Ramalingam reports.

Tulir, a Chennai-based NGO has been doing pioneering work in bringing to attention the widespread sexual abuse of children -- as high as 42 per cent in one Chennai survey. In 2006, Tulir was honoured with an International Award. Ambujam Anantharaman has more.

Stone quarries, brick kilns, sand mining and silk weaving are stealing SC/ST children out of school in Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur districts of Tamilnadu. Krithika Ramalingam reports on the hard reality these children face.

The odds of children in villages in Krishnagiri district, Tamilnadu, making it to college are one per cent, ten times below the low national average. Some interventions are helping, finds Krithika Ramalingam as she records the many realities here.

Recognising that government schools with their Tamil medium education do nothing to ensure a good career path or ensure employment, parents are stretching themselves to make the shift in rural Tamilnadu. Still, plenty of challenges remain reports Krithika Ramalingam.

While jackfruit farmers across India lament the lack of fair compensation, one farmer in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu earns an income of two lakh rupees a year from his unique and succulent “Maharajapuram” variety. Shree Padre brings us his story.

Stem rust, the worst of the three rusts that afflict wheat plants, has made a comeback. Wheat crops in Africa have been at its mercy and the fungus has already broken into the middle-east. India is directly in its path, scientists predict. Sudhirendar Sharma has more.

Almost one in every two children under three years of age is hungry. This is the invisible half of our population, people who disappear from our consciousness until they die in large numbers, writes Kalpana Sharma.

As food prices rise around the world, the political economy of food is being rewritten, with countries and companies moving to acquire large tracts of farmland around the world to secure their interests, notes Devinder Sharma.

We can fight the scrouge of corruption not by legislation nor by moral pressures but by an awakened community which refuses to settle for anything less that what is its legitimate due, writes R Balasubramaniam.

India's food security bill is on top of the negotiating agenda for the forthcoming WTO Conference at Bali. Devinder Sharma explains why the likely compromise in the face of posturing from developed countries could have serious ramifications for food security and self-sufficiency.

An increasing number of farmers from across the country are flocking to the annual rice sharing festival in Tamil Nadu, where a whopping number of traditional rice seed varieties are exchanged and subsequently cultivated in different locales. Devinder Sharma reports from the 2014 event.

Ironically at a time when food shortage is being widely perceived as a potential global concern in the near future, policymakers seem to be doing everything that would take agriculture further down the path of ruin. Devinder Sharma highlights the findings of a recent NSSO report to substantiate that.

Amongst the various models for sustainable livelihoods being tried and tested in the tribal areas of India, the Wadi model has shown a lot of promise. Abhijeet Mohanty, Kieran Robson and Rosie Clarkson find out why and how the Wadi model is doing in the tribal areas of Koraput district of Odisha.

On Constitution Day, E S Ramamurthy describes how our government is failing in its primary duties of raising the level of nutrition and the improvement of public health as prescribed in our Constitution and thereby creating a nation of malnourished children.

Nivedita Rao of PRS Legislative presents the current status of malnutrition and measures proposed by the recently released National Nutrition Strategy by NITI Aayog.

E-governance is governance first and electronics next. Though administrative improvements brought about through the use of technology are welcome, the real goal should be enhanced governance. We cannot also ignore the great risk that mere technocratic e-government may sharpen the stark inequalities of our society. The India Together editorial.

Gene Campaign writes to the Agriculture Minister demanding compensation for Indian farmers payable under the laws for failure of Monsanto-Mahyco's Bt cotton variety.

While 'good' science has been given a quiet burial, the party for the biotechnology industry has just begun, writes Devinder Sharma.

Around the developed world, GM crops are discredited, but in India, under the emotional tag of 'eradicating hunger', the industry is having a free run, says Devinder Sharma.

Devinder Sharma on the recent approval given in India for commercial growth of another Bt cotton variety.

On 3 May, the Ministry of Environment and Forests cancelled its earlier approval for commercial cultivation of three varieties of transgenic Bt cotton seeds in Andhra Pradesh. How must one read the decision of the GEAC? Kanchi Kohli says the developments may only be a breather.

Swiss biotech corporation Syngenta has tightened its monopoly control over rice. Seeking global patents over thousands of genes in rice, the multinational based in a country that produces no rice itself, is set to own the world's most important staple food crop, says Devinder Sharma.

The Green Revolution was a publicly owned technology, but the current version is its opposite; processes, products, and research methodologies are caged in patents and the farmer has little say or control. But chasing nuclear stardom, India has once again sacrificed agriculture, writes Suman Sahai.

Studies from China and the US show the limitations of Bt-based resistance. The bollworm evolves to resist the toxin eventually, and a number of secondary pests remain unaffected. Suman Sahai argues that this is not really a workable strategy except in the first few years.

Lobbyists for agri-business interests will promote their agenda, naturally, but we must judge the merit of introducing more GE crops in India ourselves. Common sense, and all the data that is open to scrutiny, suggests that we should not, says P V Satheesh.

Following Gene Campaign's challenge to the government's decision to withdraw all existing regulatory oversight over the import of GE foods, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre, writes Suman Sahai.

As debates around genetically modified (GM) mustard pick up in India, Shalini Bhutani takes a look at the neglected diversity of the oilseed mustard crop on native farmers’ fields and points to the bias of the existing law.

S G Vombatkere begins a series on the proposed gigantic network of interlinked rivers and the alternatives

S G Vombatkere presents an alternative to the proposed gigantic network of interlinked rivers. This is the second in a series of three articles.

S G Vombatkere writes his concluding opinion on the series on the proposed gigantic network of interlinked rivers.

S G Vombatkere points out the future that awaits those who will be displaced, given India's track record in 'rehabilitation and compensation'.

Democratic decentralization for watershed development can only happen when the centralizing tendencies of the vested groups are curbed, says Videh Upadhyay.

Mainstreaming rain water harvesting remains a challenge, but fresh hope is always around the corner, says Lalitha Sridhar.

A local watershed management programme for semi-arid regions staves off bleak prospects in Andhra Pradesh. Rahul Goswami reports.

Punjab needs water, and that means some of the water-guzzling crops must go. But questions of food security and corporatized agriculture confront the state's proposed shift, says Sudhirendar Sharma.

The Kerala assembly issues a thumbs-down on plans to divert water away from the state, catching the Ministry of Water Resources off-guard.

Empowered local communities can tackle water problems, and have little need for New Delhi's grand designs. More importantly, the spin-off social and economic benefits are significant, too.

Can rice farmers make do with less water than they've always thought their crop has needed? Dr. Sudhirendar Sharma reports on a promising innovation.