Why not cash for work?
Is the government's Food For Work Programme really helping to 'empower' the poor? By paying for their labour in foodgrain the implication is: the poor are hungry, let them eat food. But what about their other needs including medicines, homes, schoolbooks, social emergencies...
The tyranny of empty bellies
Fifty thousand people die every day of poverty-related causes in this world of plenty. Eight hundred million go to bed hungry. What are we doing about it, asked John Samuel in his keynote address at the World Social Forum 2005
Consumption on a global scale: The gap widens
This year's 'State of the World' report from Worldwatch places India as the country with the third largest consumer class, behind only the US and China.Yes, that's 122 million individuals with purchasing power. But they form only 12% of the total population. The rest can only gape at the tremendous disparities
The feel-good factory: A government-media joint venture
Amidst the orgy of celebration over India Shining, P Sainath points out that the fastest-growing sector in these golden years has not been IT or automobiles, but inequality