Rasta Aur Basta

Senior Journalist P. Sainath during an interview. (Source: Video screen grab )    P. Sainath is an Indian journalist and Founder Editor of the People's Archive of Rural India, who focuses on social & economic inequality, rural affairs, poverty and the aftermath of globalization in India. He is the 2007 winner of the  Ramon Magsaysay Award (and often referred to as the ‘Asian Nobel’). He is also the former Rural Affairs Editor of  The Hindu. In an interview to a group of students from IIMC on the sidelines of Kisan Mukti March Day 1 at Ramlila Maidan , Sainath, who is often credited for mass farmer mobilization in March during Nashik to Mumbai Kisan Padyatra , he talked about the women representation in agriculture, stubble burning and response by Delhiites in the Kisan Mukti March. Excerpts: Tapasya (T): What do you think where the women stand in this agrarian crisis? Sainath (S): You have no chance of resolving the agrarian crisis when you don’t enga

The first book stall just outside Delite Cinema Hundreds of people squeezed up in the narrow alleys where one have to be careful of not stepping upon dogs, cow-dung, dead rats and pray for less traffic: You’ve to believe that you are in Old Delhi. Take exit from Delhi Gate metro station’s gate number 3 on the violet line and you will witness a madman book club of your dreams! More than 250 book sellers put up their stalls on the pavement along Netaji Subhash Marg and Asaf Ali Road starting from Daryaganj-Faiz Bazar crossing to Delite Cinema every Sunday. For a book lover, one thing is persistent:  scavenging. They are ready to stop by every stall to get what he/she loves. Just like Puneet , a pharmaceutical professional in his 50s is coming to the market since 1990s. He said, “I use to come twice or thrice a month every Sunday and look for books of best authors before 20 th century that clicks me. Our Indian authors are still evolving. ” Rishu ’s book stall He