Vinoba Bhave's demand for banning cow slaughter in Kerala & West Bental and his fast for gaining its acceptance raise three sets of issues; (a) the constitutional and legal basis of the demand, (b) its economic rationale and (c) the political implications and possible consequences. This note examines these issues.

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This paper outlines a research proposal for a series of investigations into aspects of urban housing which it seems important to understand before formulating an enlarged public housing programme. Studies in the areas outlined here are either scanty or non-existent.

The unfolding tragedy in Japan is an opportunity to rethink nuclear power, but India has its head in the sand.(Editorial)

In the last quarter of the 19th century, Assam’s oilfields became part of the larger global petroleum economy and thus played a key role in the British imperial economy.

The responsibility of municipalities to provide crucial services is being increasingly passed on to the resident welfare associations located in middle and upper middle class areas in cities. Similar tools of intervention are absent in the slums and low-income neighbourhoods and even the local ward committees fail to represent their needs and aspirations.

During the 1970s, major policy debates on the role of mechanisation in agricultural and rural development in south Asia took place; by the early 1990s, such debates had largely faded. Yet today, countries such as Bangladesh possess some of the most productive, mechanised and labour-intensive agricultural industries in south Asia.

In the Konkan, thousands of families in the environmentallyrich and verdant Jaitapur area are waging a non-violent battle against the Department of Atomic Energy’s plan to construct the world’s biggest nuclear power complex in the region.

The government is responding to people

Oil has played an important role in the politics of Assam and is a determining factor in the relation between the centre and the state. The right over the natural resources of Assam has been an issue of contention between the central government and Assam in post-independence India.

After mulling over whether China and India should divide hydrocarbon reserves among themselves, the Government of India has told its energy majors to sign up more contracts no matter what. But Delhi is in a bind. To compete with China’s oil giants, India’s energy firms will have to bulk up.