Hunger games – it’s the real India show

The celluloid fantasy of a dystopian world is a reflection of our society

Jarawas: to protect or not

A RECENTLY released video showing Jarawa women dancing in front of tourists has triggered a debate on whether the ancient tribe of Andaman and Nicobar Islands should be brought into the mainstream. In this context, an expert committee of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has recommended the Central government should not alter the policy of protecting the Jarawas from exposure to the outside world until studies are conducted on their concerns and aspirations. The Jarawas, whose population is just about 300, are known to have little immunity to outside illnesses.

Letters - February 15, 2012

A farmer’s take

Secretive tribunals, hidden damages

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) appears to have generated the most number of investor-state treaties and shows that rich countries are as much at risk as developing countries. Would you agree?  Interviewee:  Gus Van Harten

India’s many investment treaties make it vulnerable

Would it be correct to say that all countries are at risk from BITs and FTAs although the treaties are targeted at developing countries? Interviewee:  Nathalie Bernas...

Justice league for people’s rights

What is the Permanent People’s Tribunal (PPT)? Interviewee:  Gianni Tognoni

Investment terror

The New Year may not have started cheerily for the claims brigade. An international arbitration panel awarded US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp just $908 million in compensation for Venezuela’s nationalisation of its assets in 2007, less than 10 per cent of what the behemoth had reportedly sought. It was presumed that Venezuela’s feisty president Hugo Chavez, known for his America-baiting, would be celebrating.

Red alert in Chhattisgarh

INEVITABLE TRAGEDY

Newspaper reports show that from January 1, 2004 to May 16, 2004, about 29 farmers in Andhra Pradesh (AP) committed suicide. From May 17, the suicides suddenly increased: the AP Rytu Sangham, the farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has compiled reports of 279 suicides by farmers in the state in one month.

In search of the missing

'One' Pangi Budra is the subject of a land acquisition notice dated 1954. A bit of his life can be reconstructed. The rest is conjecture.