One aspect of the recent south Asian earthquake disaster that has received little media attention so far is its effect on livelihoods. But employment and livelihoods are not the stuff of which headlines are made – unless, of course, it is in the context of the corporate world, or when it cannot be ignored such as a nation-wide strike, says Ammu Joseph.

About 320 million Indians go to bed without food every night, and recent data suggests this already alarming situation is getting worse. Despite the magnitude and intensity of this problem, it remains on the margins of policy planning, public action, intellectual discourse, and media coverage, writes Ammu Joseph.

Ammu Joseph

For some time there has been an impasse between media and the government over the media regulation and the Broadcast Bill, with citizens left on the sidelines. A set of documents is being released into the public domain to stimulate public debate. Ammu Joseph has more.

The world’s largest and longest-running longitudinal research and action initiative on gender in the news media released in New York on 2 March, where the 54th session of United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is currently on. Ammu Joseph summarises the findings.

In mid-June, the Election Commmission of India directed Chief Electoral Officers of all states and Union Territories to enforce the law against "paid news" during elections. The institutionalised racket has been running into hundreds of crores of rupees. Ammu Joseph brings you up to speed.

As Uttarakhand reels in the aftermath of devastating floods, Ammu Joseph underlines the need for greater awareness of the gender dimensions of such calamities and recognition of the special and diverse needs of women and other disadvantaged sections of society.

The pressure of ill-informed popular sentiment coupled with a retributive judicial system may lead to an award of capital punishment for rapists, as it has in the Delhi 2012 case, but that does very little to address the much larger problem of VAW in all its dimensions. Ammu Joseph explains.

The pressure of ill-informed popular sentiment coupled with a retributive judicial system may lead to an award of capital punishment for rapists, as it has in the Delhi 2012 case, but that does very little to address the much larger problem of VAW in all its dimensions. Ammu Joseph explains.

On World Radio Day, Ammu Joseph looks at the representation of women in Indian radio and wonders if the medium can play a more significant role in ensuring empowerment and equal participation.

Limited, quick-fix solutions that do not address the underlying causes of the deep-rooted problem of rape have clearly not worked in the country, writes Ammu Joseph in the first of a two-part article examining the many layers of the issue.

Indifference, impatience, aggression and denial have been among the common responses to rape as a multi-layered problem. In the concluding part of her article, Ammu Joseph draws attention to all that fosters a culture of violence against women in our society and why it is unamenable to hasty remedies.

Violence in India has followed this macro-to-micro trajectory of Indian modernity. As different forces have shaped modernity, we have shifted from large-scale acts of violence cutting across national boundaries, to state-level violence, to village level violence, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

We need to reflect on the political and social possibilities that India has contributed to the modern world. The Indian experience offers new interpretations of key modern concepts such as nationhood, democracy, citizenship and individual freedom, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

With the law of small numbers threatening to take over, we need a public discussion of the good life, a search for truth done by individuals in association with others, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Ritual culture is fundamentally incompatible with modern city life, but an alternative based on an implicit social contract has yet to emerge in India, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

New forms of power and influence are emerging in the 21st century, with opportunities no longer controlled by the west. So why are we harking to outmoded forms of power, asks Rajesh Kasturirangan.

In the past few hundred years, every revolution has caused much more harm than the evil it sought to eradicate. Perhaps the conservative is on to something after all, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

The images of developmental utopia cluster together in our head into a kind of heaven, a secular afterlife of instantly met desires. Rajesh Kasturirangan explores the narrative of development.

The decline of politics and of intellectual discourse is related to the struggle between politics and economics as the arbiter of the moral commons and the role of the developmental state in this fight, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

The problem of Indian politics is not that it exists, but rather that success in the system doesn't seem to be connected in any way to the ability to govern, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Is it at all possible to be an Indian nationalist without losing sight of our common humanity? Can nationalism ever be an emancipatory principle, asks Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Corruption is much broader than what we usually imagine it to be, which focuses on bribes and similar illegal monetary transactions. A number of other practices are corrupt, even if they are legal, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Thus far, MoEF has only been negligent in safeguarding the environment, but now it proposes to do away with even the need to do so. The new draft notification from the ministry has obligingly confined itself to facilitating new investments, and ignored all other stakeholder voices, writes Kanchi Kohli.

The High Level Committee constituted to review key environmental laws has apparently focussed on a wide range of issues and mechanisms; however, as long as the focus in on speed, and not environmental outcomes, the reform process may be futile, writes Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli.

By framing the debate as one of protecting the 'autonomy' of PSUs from 'microcontrol by government', some pink papers are trying to confuse readers into thinking that CAG audit is a governmental intervention, which it is not. The CAG's role is constitutionally enshrined for ensuring accountability of PSUs, writes Himanshu Upadhyaya.

When a large hydropower projects results in the conversion of forest land, or its submergence, what is the right amount of money to be paid as compensation for this ecological loss? Himanshu Upadhyaya finds that developers are seeking creative arguments to lower the costs to themselves.

Without an iota of public debate and due process, Gujarat had increased allocation of Narmada waters for industry five fold last year, eating into the share of drought affected villages. The Comptroller and Auditor General reported this in 2007, finding it untenable. Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

From wanting CBI-like and CIC-like powers to not being able to push Ministries to learning lessons and more, India's top auditor has time and again rung the bells. Who is listening? Himanshu Upadhyaya on a recent conference.

The CERC is mandated with balancing the interests of power generation companies and their consumers. But it appears that its new regulations are heavily skewed against the latter. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

The States of India account for about 55 per cent of the combined expenditure of the Union and the States, but the Centre now collects two-thirds of the combined tax revenues. Kannan Kasturi details this imbalance.

All the increased budgets for education in the country may not amount to much, if the States don't move the money fast enough to the intended uses, which is not happening now. Himanshu Upadhyaya reports.

While the infusion of SSA funds has helped the State make considerable progress on many counts, there is still much to be done, to ensure all the necessary inputs flow to the schools. Himanshu Upadhyaya reports.

Findings from the CAG's audit of India's flagship nutrition programme show that hunger and malnourishment among children prevail even in the most prosperous of India's states. Himanshu Upadhyaya reports on the disturbing findings of the ICDS audit.

With the World Bank 'banning' construction major Progressive Constructions Ltd on graft charges, R Uma Maheshwari urges a review of the contracts awarded to it in connection with the critical Polavaram Dam project.

Given the diversity within its expanding membership base, the AAP is likely to witness more debates over issues such as foreign investment in retail and subsidies. Shankar Jaganathan questions if these discourses will gradually alter the party’s basic ideology as it evolves, or if that is written in stone.

A recent study from the Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy shows that Indian cities rest on a weak systemic foundation. Madhavi Rajadhyaksha highlights the key findings from the study to argue for a systemic overhaul of urban India.

The smart-card driven CORE-PDS system demonstrates the feasibility of introducing portability in social security systems without the use of biometrics. A student team from IIT Delhi surveys Fair Price Shops in Raipur district following the new system to assess how it has been faring.

In Jahangirpur Gram Panchayat of Bihar’s Kishanganj district, Rs 30 lakh meant for pregnant Muslim women had already been misappropriated, when a community-driven project launched by Oxfam decided to tackle the corruption head on. Ajitha Menon reports.

6,433 model villages by 2024? A summary of the key features of the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the objective of facilitating development in villages

Media reports following the two-day Accountants’ General conference have focused largely on the observations and advice on CAG audits by the Finance Minister and the PAC chairman. Himanshu Upadhyaya wonders if such a meet cannot be evolved into a more citizen-focused and constructive exercise.

The report of a high level committee under BJP MP Shanta Kumar proposes radical restructuring of the PDS and reduced coverage of the food security act. But is the estimate of leakages in the report flawed in itself? Shambhu Ghatak presents alternative findings.

Wage delays, inadequate manpower and the indifference of authorities to real issues on the ground are stripping the employment guarantee programme of its strong potential to improve rural lives, and budget cuts have only made it worse. Ankita Aggarwal reports from Jharkhand.

Blank Noise, begun as Jasmeen Patheja's personal reaction to street sexual harassment, has grown to record women's experiences in creative ways. The latest of these is a clothes collection effort to tackle the misconception that women's attire invites harassment. Vasudha V reports.

When this social communication event hit Kolkata in 2002, the entire ambience spilled over with empathy and a deep understanding for films – documentary, fiction and docu-fiction – made on or about the marginalised and the oppressed. Very little of all that was in the air during the 2007 version, writes Shoma Chatterji.

West Bengal officials recently called off screenings of various films scheduled to be shown at Kolkata's premiere culture centre, apparently displeased over one of the entries at the film festival. Shoma Chatterji reports on the government's censorship, and the outcry following it.

Eashwar Mime Co. presents the opposition between an individual's voice and collective silence using mime - an art form that has almost disappeared since the advent of the spoken word in films, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Despite its grim story, Divine Drums is a wonderful film that explores a performing art we know little about, and also a human interest story about the performers' lives, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Theatre of the Oppressed or TO is a tool that explores social change through personal change, and offers a new dimension of self-learning and discovery, Charumathi Supraja who was a participant in a Bangalore workshop recently.

Badal Sircar's plays liberated the actor from the inhibiting confines and influence of performances in a rigid framework of conventional indoor stage props and architecture, recalls Shoma Chatterji.