[By Martin Zeller-Jacques|The Conversation] The recent publication of a study measuring the quantity and quality of LGBT representation in mainstream Hollywood cinema has left the industry smarting. But what really got the press going was the fact that only seven of these passed the Russo test, patterned after the well-known Bechdel test for the representation of women. The Russo test ...

[By Jennifer Brass, Indiana University| The Conversation] How can we as academics make sense of the horrific attack Thursday at Garissa University College, a young institute of higher education located in Northeastern Kenya? On one level, such violence against unarmed civilians seeking education to improve their future is as incomprehensible as it is ghastly. Reports claim 147 known fatalities, scores more ...

[By Priyanka Borpujari] Why do women’s bodies become the site of the mad pursuit of possession of lands? When the bodies of women – and the dignity they deserve but almost always have to beg for – are mutilated to the bone, what is remembered? What is forgotten? What remains? What is submerged? For the first time since Amar Kanwar created ...

[By Narendra Kaushik] New Delhi: As you look up at Neeti Villa, the three-storied office of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), located about a few hundred metres from Patel Nagar metro station, Arvind Kejriwal’s face and broom stares back at you. ‘Janata Ka CM‘, a banner tied to an upper floor balcony of the park-facing building shows Kejriwal surrounded by his ...

Going to buy fish today? If you are living in India’s West Bengal state, where fish is a daily staple for millions of people whether rich or poor, beware! More than one study has pointed to the alarming levels of mercury in fish, way above permissible limits and posing a grave danger to health. And no matter how much you ...

[By Mari Marcel Thekaekara| New Internationalist] Did you celebrate World Sparrow Day on 20 March?  It bothers me when I read that these birds are becoming extinct in Indian cities. Chirpy, cheeky little sparrows were part of our life, growing up as children in a dilapidated Kolkata flat. They nested high up in an old-fashioned ventilator. And caused us kids ...

Brothels are not only homes to sex workers, brothels are graves of several dreams and aspirations, they are the cremation grounds where several hope, desires, futures are cremated every day.  In these cremation grounds a girl dies every moment, every second but there is no one to mourn over the loss. There are several voices of various kinds which can ...

[By Narendra Kaushik] New Delhi: It was sometime in February 1971. Raj Singh (name changed to protect identity), an uncle of mine, was to appear for his 10th board examination. This was his third consecutive year in the same class. Moreover, he had no hope of clearing it even in the third attempt. Singh was so apprehensive of failure that ...

[By Narendra Kaushik] New Delhi: The fight over Land Acquisition Act or The Right to Fare Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 is not about the farmer. And it is certainly not about whether the farmer will have right to fare compensation for his land acquired by the government. If that were the case, ...

[By Anita Makri|SciDev.Net] Two years ago, Anand Shah, founder of Indian firm Sarvajal, wrote about how the company had developed solar-powered ‘water ATMs’ to get clean and affordable water to people in remote parts of India. Shah ended by sharing his vision to have a water vending machine in every village and on every city corner, as a simple solution to ...