The traditional non-politics of Indian cities is confronted by rapid urbanization THERE are signs that urban India is discovering politics after a long interval. City after congested city is demanding funds for new, comfortable buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Municipal managers see a clear political advantage in pushing public transport, and no merkely
A year ago, in this very column, I discussed the myopia of budget 2008, which did not touch upon events then beginning to unfold. Since then we have seen the world collapse and, perhaps, even
Many in tribal India have given up on traditional food Some months ago I went on a long journey through parts of tribal India. Getting off the bus in Malkangiri district, supposedly the most backward region in Orissa, I headed for a village which I frequented a decade ago. I noticed the trail had been widened and
Toxic waste is a problem. Whose? RE 0.70 buys one of the cheapest paracetamol pills in the Indian market. An essential drug, it needs to be kept inexpensive. Manufacturing such drugs has a much bigger cost that is never factored into the pricing: pharma factories release large quantities of slurry, often hazardous. This is dumped in places where people either do not know the effects of
