Roma, 44, lobbied in favour of the Forest Rights Act against a State impervious to the possibility of a civil war

Gujarat, MP and Maharashtra governments want the dam to go higher, but SC says every oustee should first be rehabilitated

Two months ago, a massive strike by 18 trade unions threatened to completely hogtie work in the Rs 6,500-crore jute industry. On December 1, the unions went on an indefinite strike, demanding higher wages and settlement of pending financial negotiations.

Eight-year-old Muskaan is kneeling close to a patch of fresh, hot coal. She is sorting charcoal pieces that she will pile into a bamboo basket for her father to carry across the town of Raniganj. Everyday, groups of other men, women and children join her at this coal-burning ghat, only a few kilometres from the city