Tag: agriculture

‘The tree against hunger’ could feed millions. So why is it only cultivated in one place?

Jack Bantock Nicknames for crops can be highly complimentary. Cotton, for example, has basked in its “White Gold” reputation since the 19th century, while wheat rules across many regions as the “King of Cereals.” As monikers go, though, few can match the level of flattery bestowed upon “the tree against hunger,” the “banana on steroids”… Read More ‘The tree against hunger’ could feed millions. So why is it only cultivated in one place?

Dilip

Punarchith (Re-Think). Reflections on a decade-long journey

Punarchith (‘Re-Think’) is a collective that focuses on evolving alternative perspectives and activities related to education, environment, democracy, and society. It seeks pathways and perspectives that would lead to ideas and learning for an equitable and just society. Its foundational premise is to evolve and engage with ideas that are suitable for everyday life in… Read More Punarchith (Re-Think). Reflections on a decade-long journey

Dilip

Retotalising Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction to its History

Jairus Banaji I’ve divided this presentation into four distinct parts.[1] A shorthand description of these might be Conventional narratives of capitalist origins Commercial capitalism as a better alternative Modern capitalism, and Capital & the peasantry Imagine these themes as chapters to a book called Introduction to a History of Capitalism. So, what this talk sets out to… Read More Retotalising Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction to its History

Dilip

The Idea of Development: A Conversation in Chandigarh

Whether in electoral rhetoric or in the most high profile Supreme Court cases or in public policy, the word on everyone’s lips is Development. Punjab’s labour laws have been proposed to be reformed for– Development. Schools are being set up and strengthened for– Development. Building regulations are being changed so that rural areas and urban… Read More The Idea of Development: A Conversation in Chandigarh

Dilip

‘Fields were solitary’: Migration raids send chill across rural California

Brian Osgood Recent raids carried out by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a rural California county have struck fear into immigrant communities as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House. CBP says that the operation in Kern County, which took place over three days in early January, resulted… Read More ‘Fields were solitary’: Migration raids send chill across rural California

Dilip

Grains of Life: How Chotanagpur’s Adivasis Are Reviving Native Varieties of Rice

Farmers and local NGOs say the indigenous rice varieties that are fast becoming extinct have unique nutrition, climate-resilience to ensure food security in increasingly unpredictable weather. Anumeha Yadav Sundargarh (Odisha), Latehar (Jharkhand): Deep inside the lush sal forest in Odisha’s Sundargarh, Albisia Lakda, an Adivasi farmer living in Subdega block had divided the rice crop on… Read More Grains of Life: How Chotanagpur’s Adivasis Are Reviving Native Varieties of Rice

Dilip

Palestine & the Commons: Or, Marx & the Musha’a

I believe that the musha’a (community-owned agricultural lands), like similar practices anywhere else in the world, can help us realize a world based on just conditions of mutuality, name it as is your wont: true communism, the cooperative commonwealth, the commons BY PETER LINEBAUGH In 1958 the assistant headmaster did the Bible reading at the morning assembly of the Karachi… Read More Palestine & the Commons: Or, Marx & the Musha’a

Dilip

How the government lost the script on MSP to farmers

Bharat Bhushan The Punjab farmers’ agitation is growing, and the two organisations that were trying to upstage the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) are no longer in control. An agitation, perhaps scripted to end in a compromise, is unexpectedly rewriting itself. The Centre wanted to settle the issue of minimum support price (MSP) after having made a promise… Read More How the government lost the script on MSP to farmers

Dilip

Farmer protests could upset BJP’s political calculations in North India

The Union government is nervous because the farmers are the only social group that has dared to take it on Bharat Bhushan The nervousness of the Union government over the farmers’ agitation from Punjab is palpable, as it exerts pressure on X (formerly, Twitter) to take down accounts and posts related to the farmers’ protest. These… Read More Farmer protests could upset BJP’s political calculations in North India

Dilip