Firdaus Ahmed on the continuing need to guard against over-zealous security managers.

The outpouring of feeling between the countries in recent weeks only underlines the need for more meetings between ordinary Pakistanis and Indians, asserts Dilip D'Souza.

The key challenge facing the security apparatus at all levels is to combat the idea that while carrying out their duties the armed forces can act outside the scope of the law, says Firdaus Ahmed.

A delegation of entrepreneurs from Pakistan decided to spend Id in India, exploring opportunities for their businesses and forging friendly ties at the same time. Surekha Sule reports that there are many areas where the strengths of the two nations in global trade can be mutually beneficial.

Mani Shankar Aiyar fails on two counts - his poor arguments for secularism, as well as his scant attention to his party's role in creating the economic conditions for communalism. Ashwin Mahesh reviews Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist.

On June 29, about 50 press conferences were held across the globe to publicise the names of the 1,000 women from 153 countries jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace prize. The Nobel Committee in Oslo had received the nominations in January 2005. Kamla Bhasin narrates the story.

Sustaining the ceasefire between underground groups in Nagaland and New Delhi has never been easy. But led by Padmashree award winner Neidonuo Angami, a number of Naga women have been organising themselves for years in trust-building and conflict prevention. A Women's Feature Service and Sangat report.

The spurt in communal violence along the south-western coast has led to intensive searches for solutions. Some social activists see the answer in the old tradition of kadalkotis, sea courts with strong roots in tradition that kept peace among diverse faiths for centuries. N P Chekkutty reports.

Developments in Manipur seem to indicate that our infrastructure planners are proposing security costs to construction of large dams on the back of strategic risks analysis. This, even though they may not have embraced a sensitivity to undertake geological/ecological risk analysis itself, finds Himanshu Upadhyaya.

The furore over the counting of minorities in the armed forces has taken attention away from what such a survey might reveal. Are the minorities adequately represented in the security services? This question too should concern secular-minded citizens, says Firdaus Ahmed.

That Ex Sanghe Shakti concluded in the plains of Punjab without much ado indicates the determination of both India and Pakistan to keep temperatures below the now usual levels of the summer campaign in Kashmir. However, this positive should not cloud the questionable premises of Ex Sanghe Shakti, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Voices for peace are plentiful as well as poignant, but even when there is considerable coverage of a conflict, we almost never read of any of these. There is resistance within the media to the idea of 'peace journalism'; opponents believe 'objectivity' would suffer if the media pursued indisputably worthy goals like peace, writes Ammu Joseph.

Film-makers are finding new ways to get around the difficulties of their new environment - the loss of state patronage, subtle self-censorship in the media, and the taboos of mainstream society. They're putting the new IT world to work promoting their films, and setting up their own events to find their audience. Darryl D'Monte reports.

The army may have delivered on its mandate of ensuring the return of an environment more conducive to law and order since more than a decade, in Kashmir. But the recent spate of suicides and fratricides within are showing that the army is under stress, a slide that the political side can and must prevent, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The United Stated-led Global War on Terror is all set to come up to India's doorstep this summer, with Pakistan's move from being a 'frontline state' to becoming a theatre of war. For India, a reflexive anti-Pakistani stance or a fashionable pro-American one are not the only choices, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India claims that with the recent nuclear cooperation deal it has inked with the US, the global order has been changed. And it is right. It has upset the non-proliferation regime and re-configured forces, possibly leading to a renewed arms race, writes Sandeep Pandey.

The most intractable conflicts in South Asia have remained unresolved because of the inflexibility and dogmatism of the contending parties. It is time for them to move beyond self-justification towards acknowledging and embracing the beauty of compromise, writes Ramachandra Guha.

As the strategic enclave, comprising organisations dealing with nuclear weapons and high-end technology has grown, the agenda of political discourse has been usurped by 'high politics'. This has wide implications for democracy, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

With the government firmly in ostrich mode on issues of internal security, and the external situation appearing more complex than our laid-back approach can handle, India awaits its Abhimanyu, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The struggle to wrest back interpretations of Islam from the extremists could give security a boost, but more importantly, it could halt the marginalisation and ghettoisation of Muslims in India, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The bomb blasts in Delhi and elsewhere have brought this UP district uncomfortably into the national spotlight. The 'terrorist' label is widely resented, but that doesn't mean residents have answers to all the new questions. Puja Awasthi reports.

A future government that is without the check of a strong opposition could strike out on a course that is markedly divergent from India's past record of abstinence from geo-political conflicts, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Arguing against the nuclear enclave and its retainers is a kind of national service, and we must press on, no matter how futile it may appear at times, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

For over two months, young Manipuris have boycotted schools and colleges in the state. Two killings in broad daylight in Imphal, including one allegedly custodial, have resulted in the deadlock. Thingnam Anjulika Samom has more.

As the spectre of communal violence raises its ugly head yet again in the build-up towards elections, India Together talks to Ramachandra Guha to explore the threats to the secular imagination in India and the hopes for religious pluralism in the democracy.

As the world mourns the loss of one of history's most remarkable leaders, Devaki Jain reminisces the occasions when she met Nelson Mandela and dwells on the qualities that set him apart.

The International Day of Peace, celebrated on September 21 every year, has little meaning for people living in conflict areas. Like the Manipuri women, Anjulika Thingnam talks to, who feel that decades-old violence in Manipur has not only increased but taken many different forms.

In light of events in Pathankot, Firdaus Ahmed analyses Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech, given to the military brass last month at the Combined Commanders’ conference aboard the INS Vikramaditya, on the way forward with Pakistan.

The SC recently ruled that a 19-year-old Chandigarh-based mentally retarded girl must be allowed to carry on her pregnancy that was caused by sexual assault. The verdict throws open more questions than it answers, writes Kamayani Bali Mahabal.

While any act of self-killing is tragic and worthy of attention, one cannot help wonder why the proportion of male suicides in the country steadily rises with age. Take a look at the stark and sustained picture revealed by the data published by the NCRB.

What happens to the mothers, sisters, daughters, and wives of the Muslim men who are rounded up, rightly or wrongly, for being terrorists? From society to media, none listens to the voices of these women, the results of which could be dangerous finds Puja Awasthi.

When malnutrition among children is widespread, the government is slashing funds allocated to the mid day meal scheme that covers most of the vulnerable children. Questioning this approach of the government, E S Ramamurthy started a petition to raise the funding for mid-day meal scheme to cover minimum nutritional needs of a child.

Telangana’s free registration of plain paper land sale initiative to digitally clean up its land records not only benefits its dispossessed farmers but makes land governance transparent, reports Manipadma Jena.

With the news increasingly slanted towards the rich, public health takes a back-seat while the concerns of the few are overblown. SARS is the first of many signs in the media of this disparity, says P Sainath.

Rajasthan is getting ready for a mass installation of fluoride filters on water handpumps in over 23000 villages. The state's drinking water has dangerously high fluoride levels. But the government's reliance on pumps may cause more harm than good, asserts Deepak Malik.

The LDF government's recent payment of compensation to the victims is a great climb down, for this is the first time a Kerala government has conceded that endosulfan was the cause of the unusual and lethal health disorders that spread in Kasargode. Does this mean more for the victims to look forward to? P N Venugopal finds out.

If public health systems are failing on account of certain causes, the solution should lie in fixing them. However, it appears instead that the state seems to be looking for an escape route from the problems of its own inefficiencies, says C V Madhukar.

They forage the city, collecting and sorting often hazardous waste when the city sleeps and by day they are gone. Most of them are women and we have no long-term policy in place that looks at their welfare or health, writes Kalpana Sharma.

From the time of the PM’s commitment to a ‘Swachh Bharat’ in August 2014, what has changed in the WASH sector in India? Himanshu Upadhyaya shares notes taken as a delegate at the recent India WASH Summit in the capital.

Firdaus Ahmed on what India can do to avoid a repeat of Nadimarg.

Militaristic theories of Gulf War II's implications must not be allowed to sabotage India's national interests, says Firdaus Ahmed .

Only strategic moves arising from paradigm shifts can bring about purposeful movement away from illusions of ‘normalcy’, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Mehbooba Mufti speaks of her interest in bringing gender parity to Jammu and Kashmir.

J&K's Permanent Resident (Disqualification) Bill 2004 is now in cold storage, but Mehbooba Mufti and other Kashmiri women appear to have opted for the future character of their State, than their own rights, says Kalpana Sharma.

Can everyone be a victim? Talking to the Kashmiris, the Pandits, and the people in Jammu, Dilip D'Souza finds each community stating its demands for change in very similar themes. Each is certain that true patriotism demands fair consideration of its view, but each also believes itself to be the victim.

A senior advocate at the Srinagar High Court, Parvez Imroz helped bring together hundreds of Kashmiri families whose members have disappeared in the conflict. The media have not been forthright when reporting about Kashmir, he tells Joe Athialy in this interview, but acknowledges that the support of other people's movements is vital.

Women's groups around the country may have held back in the sex scandal in Kashmir because it is embedded in the divided politics of that state. Meanwhile, within Kashmir itself voices that were not heard before are now audible through a women's magazine that was recently launched, writes Kalpana Sharma.

For civil society the task of addressing human rights concerns in a situation where security forces act with impunity is immensely challenging. Still, there are those who are trying. Freny Manecksha reports.

In Harud, autumn is not just the season it stands for. It is a metaphor for a state caught in a situation of persistent siege, bomb blasts, and killings. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Historical resonances, and a strong sense of collective suffering are striking features of one's conversations with ordinary Kashmiris. Freny Manecksha reports.