OPINION Democracy as vaccine Just as democracy prevents famines without addressing everyday food scarcity, does it prevent horrendous violence while accepting and even abetting smaller acts of violence, wonders Rajesh Kasturirangan. Rajesh Kasturirangan
MEDIA/CHILDREN Teen journalists make their own newspaper These kids can hold their own on sensationalism in the media. Why? Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's vision of journalism, they help put together a newspaper called The Yamuna. Media | Children		PRS LEGISLATIVE BRIEF One-third of the lawmakers After decades of delay and debate, are political parties finally about to enact higher representation for women in the legislatures? Women and laws		SOCIETY Securing live-in relationships The Maharashtra government recently approved a proposal where a woman in a live-in relationship for a "reasonable period" of time would get the status of a wife. Society | Women
SMOKING BAN Clamping down on second-hand smoke A clear focus on protecting the interests of non-smokers has led to worldwide efforts to ban smoking in all public places. India too has joined this trend. Public Health		PUBLIC POLICY Water sector reforms: Time for a new model It is important to remove the distortions from the political process, rather than attempt to remove politics itself from decisions in the water sector. Water		CURRICULA POLITICS Kerala revises controversial school textbook The K N Panikkar committee recommended a change in a chapter of a social sciences textbook that triggered violent agitations on the grounds that it promoted atheism and communism. Curricula | Kerala

PUBLIC AUDIT
CAG : Caged tiger, much ado
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?
Public funds | Government

UNIVERSITIES
Higher education: The underbelly of privatisation
Too many new self-financing private institutions present a dismal face, offering poor quality at high cost to millions of students, but going scot-free.
Education

PROTECTING WILDLIFE
Winning the battle against poaching
India’s forest staff operate in appalling conditions: open-toed footwear, lack of facilities like torches, jeeps and wireless sets. How is the fight against poaching to be won? Malini Shankar takes stock.
Wildlife | Forests

OPEN DEFECATION
In Kurukshetra, a new victory
Three villages in Haryana have received the central government's Nirmal Gram Puruskar for ensuring that no one, not even a child, defecates in the open.
Haryana | Sanitation

INTERVIEW: C K MEENA
"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.
Women | Interviews | Media

FOREST PROTECTION
Lessons up the hill
A Supreme Court empowered committee calls for the blacklisting a construction firm, alleging HP state officials' connivance in violations of law.
Forests | Environment regulation | Himachal Pradesh

RECLAIMING GOVERNMENT
For the people, by the government?
These are unusual times - when even most capitalist and free market proponents see an important role for governments. But it is not a time for ideological prisms alone.
Government

AUTO DEALER GOES ECO
Softening hard water with rain
Rainwater harvesting need not be limited to households. It can be successfully implemented to solve water problems in commercial establishments too.
Water | Karnataka

RULING ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Breaking the silence
A recent ruling by the Bombay High Court against a private sector company offers encouragement for women who are afraid to talk about sexual harassment.
Kalpana Sharma | Maharashtra

GEO-POLITICS
Military cooperation with the US: A mixed bag
A future government could strike out on a course that is markedly divergent from India's past record of abstinence from geo-political conflicts.
Firdaus Ahmed | Peace and Security

TIGER CONSERVATION
Consent under duress
In Jamni village in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, villagers protest against the manner in which the gram sabha had acted to relocate them.
Forests | Relief | Maharashtra

VIOLENCE IN NANDIGRAM
Children in the crossfire
A CRY report from Nandigram finds that children's experience of the violence there is intensely personal. Their vocabulary now includes shilpo, santrash and proshashon.
Children | Education | West Bengal

FORESTS AND CONFLICT
Tribals, forest interdependence, and integration
Defining a clear land-use policy, integrating tribals with their skills, can help make the process of change easier.
Forests | Adivasis

CITY-SCAPES
Eye in the sky
The ruling son-of-the-soil party in the Mumbai city council is putting the finishing touches to a plan to erect a huge Ferris wheel-like structure at Land's End.
Cities | Maharashtra

TERRORISM
Despair and defensiveness in Azamgarh
The bomb blasts in Delhi and elsewhere have brought this UP district uncomfortably into the national spotlight.
Security | Uttar Pradesh

BOOK REVIEW: SMOKE AND MIRRORS
An argumentative Indian look at China
Pallavi Aiyar's five years in China have produced a good read for those who are intrigued by the enigma of China.
Book Reviews

A NEW 'DOMINANT' CASTE?
Caste-ing a political net
Actor Chiranjeevi's entry into politics is seen primarily through a caste lens. But what are his party's chances, given the arithmetic and the socio-economic realities of AP?
Caste | Andhra Pradesh

POLITICS
The Hindu Jinnah?
L K Advani's yatra in September 1990 promoted discord among different groups. Yet, comparing Advani to Jinnah may be unfair to the latter.
Ramachandra Guha | Society

ECONOMY
Nagpur cargo hub plan drives local despair
Maharashtra's government is asking the private sector not to acquire land if the farmers are opposed. But Shivangaon is the hypocritical face of the state government itself.
Livelihoods | Maharashtra

CARGO HUB DEVOURS LAND
Milkmen of a dying village
This village near Nagpur produces a staggering Rs.25-29 crores worth of milk each year. Government-led land acquisition is hurting the local economy, reports Jaideep Hardikar.
Livelihoods | Maharashtra