This is the first part of a three part series on child labour in Kerala by Navya P K, who is reporting on this topic for PII-­UNICEF Media Fellowship, which was awarded to her recently.

Cases on child labour or trafficking are rarely filed by the labour department and police. Even when cases are filed, offenders get away quickly. Navya P K reports.

Kerala lacks a system to rehabilitate migrant child labourers. Navya P K finds out how rescued children are sent off to their home districts, and then forgotten.

While many know him as Gandhi's secretary and translator of his autobiography, few have a real sense of the role Mahadev Desai played in the Mahatma's life. Venu Madhav Govindu finds an intimate and tender portrait of a man and his intensely lived life, in the Sahitya Akademi award winning biography by his son, The Fire and the Rose.

With repeated renamings over the changing course of political history, Indian street names contain many layers of the nation's history. Ramachandra Guha uncloaks some of the more prominent of these, finding memories of this history along arterials and side streets.

The central paradox of Indian communism is that its practice is vastly superior to its theory. Communist leaders and activists are probably more intelligent than their counterparts in other parties. This is why it is such a great pity that their often honourable practice is crippled with an archaic and outmoded theory, says Ramachandra Guha.

"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.

Indian communists are often chastized for not supporting the Quit India movement of 1942. But a far greater crime of which they were guilty is little talked about nowadays. This took place six years later, when the Communist Party of India fomented an insurrection to strangle the infant Indian state at birth, writes 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.

The Congress remains, at least in theory, the only national party. Were it to rid itself of control by a single family, it may once more begin to contribute constructively to the redemption of the idea of India, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Wherever we are this August 15, we would do well to remember, and take heed of, what a very wise Indian said and did on this day 62 years ago, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Harishchandrachi Factory is a wonderful account that traces the man who made history as much as the first film he made, marking a milestone forever. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Now that the Nehru-Gandhis once more control both party and government, P V Narasimha Rao can be mentioned in Congress circles only if it is possible to disparage him, writes Ramachandra Guha.

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.

Shyam Benegal's film on Subhash Chandra Bose is characterised as much by the patriotism that brought young men in hundreds to join their hero, as by its documentation of history. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Mohun Bagan's famous victory over East Yorkshire Regiment was a historic moment in British India, blending revolution and sport on the field of play. Shoma Chatterji reviews Arun Roy's film about this great game.

Poornima Dasharathi travels back in time to bring alive the adventures, sights and sounds in the erstwhile kingdom of Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, as recounted in the memoirs of two English prisoners of war.

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.

At a time when we're drifting away from Gandhiji and the values he stood and fought for, a film like Gour Hari Dastaan comes as a reminder of what we've lost and forces us to reflect on why. Shoma Chatterji reviews this film about a Gandhian and his fight to prove that he was indeed a freedom fighter.

Francoise Remington's Forgotten Children works to free children from the cruely of labour.

The same combination of corporate interest and agricultural science that led to mindless use of pesticide is now turning to genetic engineerng, says Devinder Sharma.

Child Relief and You works with NEWS to set up a hostel for gypsy children, so their education does not become hostage to their parents' migrations.

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.

The System of Rice Intensification may provide small and marginal rice farmers a way out of their perennial worries - for water, better yields, and the preservation of soil health. Rajeev Natarajan reports on one farmer in Tamilnadu, whose tentative beginning has now turned into a strong conviction.

With tens of thousands still displaced over a week since the Tsunami disaster, some schools are yet to reopen and others are seeing low attendance. And as children wait anxiously in TN relief camps, more awe-inspiring stories are emerging. Krithika Ramalingam reports.

"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.

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.

A multi-state campaign to draw attention to the adverse effect of agriculture and trade policies on sugarcane farmers has just ended. Padmalatha Ravi spoke with farmers and campaign coordinators in Tamilnadu, and traces the growth and decline of agricultural families' fortunes around this crop.

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.

Government schools are unable to deliver quality education in most cases. This has prompted some to argue for vouchers - coupons from the government to be given to parents that would let them admit their children in private schools instead. Krithika Ramalingam reports on a movement that is gathering steam.

New Delhi's two months time for feedback on its draft Coastal Management Zone notification expired on 8 July. Activists say the proposed law will make way for beach-front villas and water-front recreation parks and do little to protect the rights of fisherfolk and the environment. Krithika Ramalingam reports.

With Tamilnadu being a high-ranking state in the Educational Development Index in the country, one would expect children in government-run schools in metros like Chennai to be ahead of their counterparts elsewhere. Wrong. Krithika Ramalingam did a reality check.

A number of NGO-run schools in Tamilnadu are making a clear difference in helping underprivileged chilren get a better shot at the real world, in comparison to state-run schools. Still, the schools themselves need help, finds Krithika Ramalingam.

Papri Sri Raman

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.

The desire for quality education for all children is noble and surely one shared by all. But Tamilnadu's Samacheer Kalvi makes that more difficult, writes Parth Shah.

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.

Recent student protests in Tamilnadu may have had the Sri Lankan issue and the Indian governmental stance on it as the immediate trigger, but in reality, the dynamics go much deeper and need to be viewed in a broader context. Gnana Bharathy analyses.

These days, select impoverished neighbourhoods in Chennai have become the nursery of future champion boxers. Girls in these neighbourhoods are receiving training in boxing, something that has given them the confidence to stand up for themselves and dream big, reveals Hema Vijay.

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.

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.

The National Food Security Act proposes to lower ration prices, but also reduce the quantity of grain that is given to each family. Devinder Sharma suggests a Zero Hunger programme instead.

"When people fail to recognise farmers' role in feeding the country, be sure there is something terribly wrong happening", he once told me. Devinder Sharma remembers Dr Norman Borlaug.

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.