E D I T O R I A L
INVISIBLE CHILDREN
NO poet has ever missed to appreciate the innocence of children and no mother has felt ever so happy to nourish and sing lullaby. Yet children in this great country never tired of boasting of being an ancient civilization are in peril. Every year 2.5 million children die largely due to preventable illnesses. India accounts for one in five of global child deaths. More

F O C U S
Punjab Economy: A Rapid Downward Slide
IT was all rosy for Punjab. Rapid strides in the field of agriculture and industry helped it to maintain its lead in per capita income till early nineties. Of late, Punjab has been plagued by a drastic decline in growth that has serious political and social implications for the border state. Eminent economist and former Professor of Economics at the Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, Joginder Singh helps us grasp the harsh reality. Rapid More

Child sacrifice and Tantric Hinduism: Ishtiaq Ahmed
A local woman had been suffering for some time from nightmares and strange visions. She had consulted a holy man who instructed her to carry out the sacrifice. Akash was lured away by being offered sweets. His grandmother Harpyari told the journalists, “First they cut out his tongue, and then they cut off his nose, then his ears. Then they chopped off his fingers” More

A N A L Y S I S
Canada: New Political Equations Emerging
Canada's $223.6-billion Budget Passed in the House of Commons
DESPITE their leaders’ earlier bluster, none of Canada’s opposition parties seriously wanted to defeat the Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative $223.6-billion budget, which was tabled last week and was passed in the House this week, Bernard Nunan, Ottawa Correspondent finds new political equations taking shape that may help the minority Conservative government survive for sometime at least. More

F E A T U R E S
India-Pakistan Trade Stuck in Barricades
Gobind Thukral
IMAGINE if India and Pakistan had not fought two deadly wars and if Pakistan had not openly abetted insurgency in Kashmir, the two rivals besides cutting down on defence spending  would have reaped huge gains. More

L A W  &  J U S T I C E
Whimsicalities of Law
Joginder Singh Toor
GOLAk Nath's case raised a storm in the annals of constitutional law and its dust covered the Constitution for over years. The question it raised still remains unsettled. More

C O M M E N T
A Vote for Secular Polity and Equality
THE Indian Left had scored such convincing electoral victories in West Bengal and Kerala earlier also. It had helped DMK in Tamil Nadu too. What is new about the May 2006 elections in four states, besides Pondicherry? At one level one could see it as the complete rejection of the efforts by the Right wing communal forces. More

A R T  &  F I L M S
A Punjabi play for Vancouver Festival
Punjab Lok Rahs; a well acclaimed street theatre group from Lahore, Pakistan is participating in “EARTH: The World Urban Festival 2006”, Vancouver, Canada, on the invitation of Judith Marcuse Project sponsored by UNESCO. Lok Rahs delegation of 5 members would stage the Punjabi play that deals with existential question of  women issues from South Asia in global context. More

C U L T U R E
The Virtues and Vices of being an Indian
Vinod Anand
EVERY country is unique in its character, and so is India. Such uniqueness provides a strong binding force of togetherness to its varied heterogeneity, which can best be summed up in the concept of Indian ness. This is the brighter side of the picture- the non-toxic side. More

M E D I A
Press Freedom: Asia still plagued by authoritarianism
Jyotika J Thukral
Worldwide, in the first two months of this year, 119 journalists and 57 cyberdissidents have been imprisoned simply for doing their job. And 2005 was no better. Rather it was the deadliest year for journalists since 1995 with 63 journalists and 5 media assistants getting killed; more than 1, 300 physical assaulted and over 1, 000 media reports censored. More

N E W S B A G
Millions Protest in America
THE immigrants are up and protesting for their rights. Last fortnight witnessed burgeoning protests in the U S when more than a million, mostly Hispanic immigrants and their supporters skipped work and took to the streets in a nationwide boycott leading to slowing or shutting many farms, factories, markets and restaurants. More

Tax Cuts in Canada
There’s some good news for the residents of Canada. The country’s new Conservative government in its foremost federal budget has announced extensive tax sops on one hand and promised better security by allocating more funds for the same on the other. This amounts to an additional $1.3 billion for policing and arming officers at border crossings. More

Social Security Chaos in America
THE Democrats and Republicans got into a battle over the issue of Social Security. According to the Social Security and Medicare trustees the financial condition of the government's two biggest benefit programs deteriorated slightly over the past year. In a repetition of last year’s pitched battle, this year too following a recent report on social security. More

Sardar Sarovar Oversight Group Violating its Terms
of Reference
Prime Minister Must Recall Group and Halt dam's Construction
“THE Terms of Reference and responsibilities of the Sardar Sarovar Relief and Rehabilitation Oversight Group appointed by the Prime Minister of India were to "undertake sample checks to ascertain the facts of rehabilitation.” However the Additional Solicitor General informed the Supreme Court that the sample checks would not be conducted. More