A few forgotten villages in remote corners of India have declared themselves self ruled republics to gain control over their natural resources. Down To Earth meets the villagers to discover how they have kept their tryst with destiny

Naxalism started as a movement against land alienation. Today it has become a popular movement against natural resource alienation, particularly forests. Large areas of densely forested regions in the country are controlled by Naxalites. In these

The control of Naxalites over forests is total and overwhelming

Left helpless, the affected states have started demanding amendments to the fca. About a year ago, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh wrote to the prime minster requesting changes

The status of cancer data in India is as scary as the killer itself. The most recent data on cancer by the Indian Council of Medical Research is 13 years old. With little data on hand, battling cancer has become doubly difficult