Between The Lines
To correct a flawed policy of reliance on imports of palm oil the current policymakers opt for expansion of its domestic cultivation in the Northeast and Andaman Islands. That can only spell all-round disaster, warns Bharat Dogra…[Read More]…
Between The Lines
Despite all the claims of protecting an Indian way of life, the government is all too ready to embrace global capitalism and multinational seed firms in its push for GM crops and commercial farming. The Bayer-ICAR collaboration project is another sign of the way the government intends to go says Bharat Dogra.…[Read More]…
That’s Life!!!
Bharat Dogra offers up little known historical record of tribal resistance to colonial exploitation under the leadership of Govind Guru—still revered through oral traditions in the Bhil areas. Photographs from the Mangarh Memorial by P.L. Patel* P.L. Patel* …[Read More]…
That’s Life!!!
Despite doubts raised by the Apex Court, the Centre wants to push ahead with GM Mustard farming. On the ground, some villages in Madhya Pradesh show how natural farming is the answer for sustainable farming points out Bharat Dogra…[Read More]…
Visual Spaces
While there have been many books on Hindi films, there is a need to look at the adverse impacts films may have n society. Bharat Dogra and Madhu Dogra attempt this exercise in their book on the subject. What follows is an edited version of an extract from the book. …[Read More]…
Literary Trails
In Rajasthan’s Anandpuri block, Bhil (tribal) communities are redefining their lives by moving away from labour-migration back to their roots in sustainable, biodiverse-rich farming to meet their livelihoods, finds Bharat Dogra. Photographs by P.l. Patel …[Read More]…
Between The Lines
: With the Centre bent on carrying through its intention to introduce genetically modified mustard, Bharat Dogra lays out, in two companion essays, the reservations raised by the Supreme Court and the strong critiques by non-partisan scientists…[Read More]…
Literary Trails
On the fiftieth anniversary of the historic Chipko Movement that caught popular imagination and became almost a household name in India Bharat Dogra who was closely associated with it does a recap of its strategic role in asserting peoples’ rights through satyagraha and its overall takeaways we need to remember as we ponder the devastation in the eco-sensitive Himalayan regions.…[Read More]…
That’s Life!!!
As India races towards oligopolistic capitalism, workers are being stripped of even those path-breaking benefits legislated upon years ago says Bharat Dogra in two accompanying meditations…[Read More]…
Between The Lines
Given the critical evidence of the risks and harm attending GM crops not just in India but worldwide, an unbiased appraisal and regulatory system would not entertain such farming practices, even as corporates try to further their agendas, holds Bharat Dogra. …[Read More]…
Between The Lines
Even as the government readies the nation for the introduction of GM Mustard and oilseeds with the discourse of import substitution and self-sufficiency, it does so by ignoring the rich corpus of scientific evidence about their irreversible hazards. Bharat Dogra outlines some of them. …[Read More]…
Bookshelf
Bharat Dogra and Kumar Gautam map the roads taken, despite criticsl opposition, towards unsustainable farming. They offer solutions but the question remains: who will bell the cat? Review by Ashoak Upadhyay…[Read More]…
Between The Lines
At Matri Sadan ashram in Haridwar, saints have for years resorted to satyagraha as resistance to the despoliation of the mighty river before it reaches the plains. It has been a lonely battle. Bharat Dogra pleads for wider support for such deep commitment to saving our environment. …[Read More]…
Between The Lines
Contrary to its loud rhetoric of ‘national interest’, the current administration is all gung-ho on opening the doors to global corporates into the farm sector with an alacrity never witnessed before. The Bayer-ICAR pact is one such instance says Colin Todhunter.
…[Read More]…
Between The Lines
The seductions of GM crops in the name of food security have once again found traction with the government as the recent bend towards GM Mustard’s ”environmental release” suggests. Two warnings by eminent scientists/doctors should make us all sit up…[Read More]…