Influenza has the potential to infect many people quickly. Although the death rate for seasonal flu is probably only around 1% of those affected, when the numbers so affected run into millions, as they do in India, the number of people who die will also be large.

The large rally-cum-publicmeeting of adivasi peasants, organised by the Bastar Sambhag Kisan Sangharsh Samiti on 1 June in Jagdalpur, opposing the construction of the Bodh Ghat dam and the privatisation of mines and river water resources was an eye-opener.

The fragile mountain systems of Sikkim and the state