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Caught on reality


Released in September 2006, Ruzbeh Bharucha's Yamuna Gently Weeps is both a documentary and book on slum demolitions through the eyes of the Yamuna Pushta (Delhi) episode of 2004, where the High Court ordered demolition of 40,000 homes. Anuradha Miraji chatted with Bharucha on the film and his take on filmmaking.




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"Invisible India is the elephant in your bedroom"


Ashwin Mahesh talks with 2007 Ramon Magsaysay award winner P. Sainath.




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"Every house should be a woman's organisation"


Rural women have nothing to lose by speaking out. Urban women have their bank accounts, education certificates and some 200-300 saris in the cupboard. They have a high tolerance for violence, says Ruth Manorama, in this interview with Charumathi Supraja.




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"Just let a woman be"


Journalist, teacher and author of Black Lentil Doughnuts and Dreams for the Dying, C K Meena decimates stereotypes in her writing. A free-wheeling conversation with Charumathi Supraja.




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"I am a portfolio guy"


Ashwin Mahesh talks to the former Infosys CEO, now an author for the first time.




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Keep up the pressure, says former IB operator


Maloy Krishna Dhar is the author of Open Secrets, a book about the Intelligence Bureau and his 30-year career in it. He spoke with Susheela Menon on terrorism, changes needed in the IB, and the power of the people in bringing about changes.




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'Laws are a springboard'


''First - there is a law, then there is awareness, then comes assertion and then action,'' says Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh and first woman judge at the Delhi High Court. Charumathi Supraja caught up with her in Bangalore recently.




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"If anyone speaks about Hinduism, he is branded as a fundamentalist!"


Sir Mark Tully spoke recently in Bangalore on How certain should we be? The problem of religious pluralism. Revathi Siva Kumar caught up with him for this exclusive interview.




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Salvager of India’s dying temple heritage


"In the Varadaraja Swamy Temple in Kanchipuram, I saw with my own eyes, just a year ago, how the late 17th-century murals were literally disintegrating. As you watch, they are going. It has happened in temple after temple". David Shulman talks to Lalitha Sridhar .




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Making good cinema


"The producer wanted to make a good film, and we didn't think about anything else", says Unni Vijayan, director of the national award-winning film Lessons in Forgetting. Padmalatha Ravi catches up with the director to know more about this film and its making.




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Ringing the bell against VAW


While the global epidemic of violence against women (VAW) stems from a culture of misplaced masculinity, the role of men in ending the same cannot be ignored. Mallika Dutt, CEO of global human rights organization Breakthrough, talks to India Together on the Bell Bajao! campaign that emphasises the fact.




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Of sports, passion and reality


Meet M B Santosh, one of India's only three FIFA-accredited referees, who drives an auto-rickshaw and works as caretaker of an apartment in Kottayam, Kerala to support a family of five. Here, he shares the incredible story of his life and passion with P N Venugopal.




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Modi-Nitish Kumar 'shadow boxing' to continue: Dr. Sandeep Shastri


Given the complex and dynamic political scenario in India today, where is the country's leadership headed? How will people vote in the assembly elections this year and how will it impact the national outcome? Eminent political scientist Sandeep Shastri shares his views on that and more with Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya




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A culture of deference and sycophancy


In a candid conversation with India Together, eminent scholar, author and historian Ramachandra Guha shares his thoughts on leaders of the past and present and their legacies for the future of India.




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The Telangana prophecy: Will more states mean more conflict?


With the government clearing Telangana as India's 29th state, long-standing demands for separate states in other parts of the country have gained fresh momentum. This could be a foretelling of many more states to come, but would that necessarily augur ill for the unity of India? Noted historian Ramachandra Guha shares his thoughts.




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"Compelling citizens to take an Aadhaar card is unconstitutional"


In December 2012, retired Justice K S Puttaswamy filed a PIL that recently culminated in the Supreme Court passing an interim order, forbidding authorities to make Aadhaar mandatory for provision of essential services. Bosky Khanna finds out what his key objections to this ambitious project are.




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In conversation with an alleged terrorist


Abdul Nasser Madani, a key accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts, waits in vain for his trial to be speeded up after countless adjourned sessions of court. PN Venugopal recounts the circumstances of the case and talks to Madani himself to discover how rules become exceptions in such cases.




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At home, at work


Subramaniam Vincent recounts his experiences on paying living wages for domestic labour, even as benefits for unorganized sector workers are beginning to appear on the radar screen of governments in India.




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Unshackle FM radio


Compelled by civil society and the courts, New Delhi recently took steps on opening up the airwaves to the non-commercial sector, but not quickly or broadly enough, says Subramaniam Vincent.




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Radio policy: untying the knots


The government continues to defy the Supreme Court's orders on establishing more free and better regulated broadcasting. At the same time, its sky-high license fees have driven profit out of the industry. Subramaniam Vincent notes the knots the Broadcasting Ministry has tied itself into.




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Community radio gets its day


After years of meetings, letters, discussions, workshops, petitions, and even some international pressure, New Delhi has decided to move forward and open up radio broadcasting in a way it never was until now. Subramaniam Vincent says radio will be the winner, and there's much more to be done.




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The Anna dilemma exposes an insincere government


If you want to beat up Hazare for his stubbornness, go right ahead. But before that, start with the Union Cabinet, notes Subramaniam Vincent.




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How they fool us, the outraged


As long as we engender a society that allow law enforcers to get away with their own crimes, law breakers will only be emboldened. We must make Police Complaints Authorities around the country meaningful, says Subramaniam Vincent.




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Bangalore's MLA races may spark change


As the Lok Satta party, with its crop of image-defying politicians, raises hopes for a new brand of politics, Subramaniam Vincent catches up with party leader Dr Jayaprakash Narayan on the party's hopes at the Karnataka polls and possibilities of a larger wave of political reforms in the country.




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Why I will not fall for the ‘Vote for PM’ trick


As India votes in the midst of a rising campaign crescendo that pits one individual against the other, Subramaniam Vincent urges the electorate to prioritise a 'better parliament.'




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Technology Transforms Rural Women


Shruti Gupta on a project in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkand that uses technology to enhance income generation opportunities through productive use of natural resources.




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Bhopal goes to Dow Chemical


Nityanand Jayaraman reports on the recent engagement of a delegation from Bhopal seeking justice in the United States.




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Bhopal : a new momentum


Campaigners for justice in Bhopal end the year on an optimistic note, reports Tarun Jain.




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What's in a name?


Chanderi fabric is close to becoming the first product to be granted the GI status in India. Varupi Jain begins a two-part series on the significance of GI for India through the eyes of Chanderi.




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Deeper resolve brings them water


Neeti Deewan reports on how determined women ended a four-year long drought in two Madhya Pradesh villages by deepening a pond on their own in a few months.




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Persistent and tenacious struggle


2004 saw many victories for the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, giving them and their supporters more hope. Both courts in India and the US ruled to bring justice closer and campaigners pressured a reluctant Central government to finally act on their behalf. Kavitha Kuruganti reports.




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Learning to be leaders


Meena Bai Mehra, 45, is a bangle-seller and also a first time village council member. She, along with 34 other elected women were recently the first batch of students at a leadership academy in Amarwara, Madhya Pradesh. The journey for these women from voicelessness to confidence is a tough but chartable one, finds Madhu Gurung.




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Kids steeped in hunger, while officials fiddle


Around 80,000 children in Madhya Pradesh are suffering from severe malnutrition. So stark is the situation that one evaluation report has said that even if the children were saved, they may go blind due to lack of vitamin A. Sachin Kumar Jain chronicles continuing negligence in government departments in M.P.




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Thwarting women in power


Thousands of women in Madhya Pradesh were elected in the last panchayat elections; since then, the story has taken a dismal turn. More than 1,300 women sarpanchs face false charges of corruption. About 50 have been removed from office through forced no-confidence motions. They have been threatened and humiliated. Shuriah Niazi reports.




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Drains that dewater the state exchequer


Monies allocated for rehabilitation of persons affected by the Narmada dams have traveled a different path than to the people. A recent audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General has confirmed significant corruption in rehabilitation works in Madhya Pradesh and a culture of impunity amongst state officials, finds Himanshu Upadhyaya.




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Scuttling the law, officials evict tribals


Why did police use force and evict tribal villagers in Ghateha, M.P. on 19 April, when it was clear by all accounts that their land claims had not yet been legally settled by the state government, one way or other? Aparna Pallavi investigates, even as villagers remain absconding for fear of persecution.




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Maid to suffer


Madhya Pradesh may be fast emerging as the trafficking hub of the country, with thousands of girls having vanished from the tribal-dominated areas over the last five years. Those rescued are living with the horrors of having been trafficked. Shuriah Niazi reports.




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The other side of the dam


With the damming of the rivers has come a great wave of unaccountable administration. Waters are held back without warning, and released without warning. In both cases, there is little time for the affected communities to react. Shripad Dharmadhikary writes.




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Corruption eats into children's meals in Madhya Pradesh


Despite the tall claims made by the state government and an increase in attendance in the schools, children at many places are simply not getting mid-day meals at all, or are getting it in insufficient quantities. Shuriah Niazi did a reality check.




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A unique land scam in MP


With the state government abdicating its responsibility to rehabilitate dam oustees on cultivable land, middlemen and officials in Madhya Pradesh have connived to create a huge land scam that has been forced into the light in the courts. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.




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CAG: Compensatory afforestation a hoax in M.P.


The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) carried out a comprehensive performance audit on the diversion of forestland for non-forest purposes in Madhya Pradesh. The result: exposure of significant cases of violations and the virtual non-execution of compensatory afforestation measures. Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.




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A change in an inhuman tradition


Women of the Muslim Haila community in Madhya Pradesh continue to be manual scavengers and are subjected to inhuman treatment despite the law prohibiting it. But they are now determinedly fighting back, reports Shuriah Niazi.




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Scamming the law, pretext of inability


In late August, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered a judicial inquiry on allegations of large scale corruption in distribution of compensation to families affected by Sardar Sarovar/Narmada Project. Himanshu Upadhyaya tells the continuing story of a scam.




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Sehore: Once vibrant, now in disarray


Twenty years ago Sehore was a very livable town. It had a beautiful microclimate and was surrounded by forests and water bodies that never dried up. Today it is becoming a village again, finds Kalpana Sharma.




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Equal compensation for equal loss


The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that excluding canal oustees from the R&R policy applicable to its dam projects is discriminatory and unconstitutional. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.




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A lifetime's harvest


Sitaram Patidar fights on for the land which means everything to him, now lost to the Narmada dam. At the ripe age of seventy, the end of this road of struggle is still not within reach. Neeta Deshpande reports.




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Narmada dams continue to roll over the rules


It is 23 years since the Indira Sagar project was cleared and 17 for the Omkareshwar dam, but in neither case is there a rehabilitation plan in place. The construction, however, continues. Kanchi Kohli reports.




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Penury and peril


The stilled waters of the river that always sustained them have now become polluted. Yet, this muddy river is their only source of drinking water, bringing with it illness and disease. Neeta Deshpande's concluding article in this series on uprootment and survival in the Narmada valley.




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What Digvijay Singh forgot to tell the PM


Beneath Jairam Ramesh's recent turnaround on a 400 MW MP hydel project, was a series of interventions by Digivijay Singh with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Himanshu Upadhyaya digs deeper.




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Mera Bharat aur Mahan


The CAG recently suggested that there may be huge losses to the government from improper allocations of coal bocks to companies. All eyes are now on the next set of allocations to be made. Kanchi Kohli reports.