Society, Culture, Religion and History

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October 8, 2023
India's rivers: From conservation movements to legal personhood
While the current push for legal personhood for rivers is facing obstacles and is stalled, it holds potential as a viable long-term strategy for the preservation of India's rivers
River quality deteriorates as demand for hydropower to support economic growth continues to expand. (Image: Yogendra Singh Negi, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)
June 16, 2023
Majuli Island: A tapestry of resilience and environmental harmony
Majuli serves as a symbol of both the delicate balance between human activity and the environment and the tenacity of its residents
Addressing various aspects of women's lives to enhance their social, economic, and political status (Image: Rebuild India Fund)
January 13, 2022
Water management in the times of Gonds of Central India
The water structures constructed during the Gond period continue to survive the test of time and provide evidence of the water wisdom of our ancestors.
Kundeshwar lake, Kundam in Jabalpur (Image Source: K G Vyas)
January 2, 2021
The fast disappearing traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan
Lack of community ownership and local governance are spelling doom for the once royal and resilient traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan.
Toorji Ka Jhalara, Jodhpur (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)
December 7, 2020
Not in the interest of women farmers!
The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
December 11, 2019
Scientists intervene to save dry toilets
Dry toilets have long been hailed as a sustainable solution to the sanitation and waste management crisis facing India today, but have been overshadowed by more modern toilet designs.
A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
Abandoned dams; abandoned people
The National Green Tribunal allowed the ongoing construction on the Kanhar dam to continue despite its many illegalities. Four people who know the situation best explain why we should be disappointed.
Amita Bhaduri
Chicu Lokgariwar
Posted on 19 May, 2015 04:07 PM

Kanhar, 1976; Polavaram 1941. These are just two of the several dam projects that were proposed decades ago but are yet to see the light of day.
We don't want dams, dams destroy mountains' reads a slogan painted on a wall in Uttarakhand (Image Source: GJ Lingaraj)
India readies for a poor monsoon due to strong possibility of El Nino
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 18 May, 2015 08:59 PM

India prepares to fight the impacts of El Nino
IMD predicts strong El Nino (Source: MSN Weather)
Kanhar: To be or not to be?
The May 7th Kanhar judgement by the National Green Tribunal validated the protesters' claims, but then also allowed the Government to 'complete earlier work'. Isn't the NGT contradicting itself?
Roma Malik
Posted on 17 May, 2015 07:20 AM

The last month has been one of great activity around the illegal construction of the Kanhar dam in Sonebhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.
A destroyed tent after the lathi charge
Women assert their space under the sun
The face of female labour is changing under MGNREGA, a programme where water conservation is given the highest priority in the choice of work. What are its implications?
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 05 May, 2015 02:12 PM

When Satya was asked by the Sarpanch to opt for the position of a worksite supervisor as a Mate, she was thrilled at the prospect of a better life. Brought up in Murayur village in Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu, she knew how tough agricultural wage labour work was. While her mother left her with grandparents, her father also took on menial jobs and errands from big farmers.
Satya’s position as a supervisor is valued by all
Water and facilities flow better into cities
An analysis of Census 2011 data confirms many known facts--the urban beats the rural when it comes to treated tap water supply, access to water testing labs and much more.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 05 May, 2015 01:35 PM

Sixty eight percent of India's population lives in rural areas but when it comes to facilities -- including the availability of safe drinking water -- cities and towns corner most of them.
Rural-Urban Drinking Water Supply Gap, Census 2011
SC denies land to Coca-Cola in Chharba, Uttarakhand
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 05 May, 2015 11:30 AM

After Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand also bids goodbye to Coca Cola
The scrubland that the Coca Cola company requires
Don't forget this Ambedkar Jayanti
Brutal reprisals on unarmed tribal and Dalit protesters are not uncommon, and Kanhar is just the latest. Here's how the next set of protesters could avoid being shot at.
Amita Bhaduri
Chicu Lokgariwar
Posted on 04 May, 2015 06:40 PM

If Babasaheb Ambedkar had been alive today -- April 14, 2015 -- he would have been 125 years old. In the predominantly tribal and dalit district of Sonbhadra, it was natural that Gambhira Prasad, President of the Kanhar Bandh Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (KBVSS), decided to mark the day.
The women of Sundari village protest
Niyamagiri hills get temporary respite from Vedanta
Violation of the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Forest Rights Act put an end to Vedanta's bauxite mining plans but for how long?
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 03 May, 2015 07:09 PM

The Niyamagiri hills in the Eastern Ghats is peopled by indigenous groups such as the Dongria and Kutia Kondhs -- or 'primitive tribal groups’ in official phrasing. For them, these hills which spread over 300 sq kms in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts in southwestern Orissa, is the sacred abode of Niyamraja, their God.
The hills and the streams are their soul
Facilitating social transformation: An NGO's experiment with communities and toilets
Posted on 01 May, 2015 08:43 PM

The mere presence of toilets does very little to change sanitation behaviour in the absence of community ownership and participation. A decade ago, this was more or less the story of Tiruchirapalli, one of the least hygienic cities in the country then.
Watershed development in India: Learning through experience
Implementing good watershed management practices can go a long way in dealing with the increasing water crisis in India in recent years. Lessons learned from three World Bank projects are detailed.
Jim Smyle
Crispino Lobo
Grant Milne
Melissa Williams
Posted on 25 Apr, 2015 11:18 PM

India's water availability in the future is predicted to be bleak if proper steps are not undertaken to deal with the management of the available water resources in the country. The report titled 'Watershed development in India
Water, a valuable resource
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