London: Home minister P Chidambaram has said the government is willing to suspend contracts with mining firms as part of efforts to persuade Maoists to give up arms and come to the negotiating table.
Deforestation in the name of development has shrunk their lives and pushed them ever closer to the margins It is ironic that the home minister takes such good care of predatory corporate interests through Operation Green Hunt, which strikes at poverty-stricken forest villagers on the pretext of countering Maoists.
In a small, hilly district of south Gujarat lies the story of a people moving out of the shadow of war and death, guns and bullets to embrace peace and prosperity. It is the story of bravery in the face of death, of battling armed Maoists who are slicing through India's tribal heartland, challenging the writ of the state.
When Gadchiroli Collector Atul Patne and his predecessor Niranjankumar Sudhanshu accept a special medal from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow in New Delhi for their NREGA performance, they will rebut a widely held belief that good government work can't be done in Naxal-affected areas, a belief that's often used as an alibi for inaction.
NOTED environmental activist Piyush Sethia, founder of Speak Out Salem, was arrested on Tuesday when he tried to mobilise awareness against Operation Green Hunt at the Republic Day function venue.
