Coloured cotton from India on the cusp of commercial release in 2021
After over three decades of research, an Indian variety of coloured cotton may be commercially released by 2021. A decision will be taken once the last phase of the agronomy…
Articles by Meena Menon
Independent journalist and author of Riots and After in Mumbai, Reporting
Pakistan and co-author of A Frayed History - The Journey of Cotton in India.
Former Bureau chief, The Hindu, Mumbai.
As water level of Gujarat’s Sardar Sarovar dam rises, villages in Madhya Pradesh drown
On the morning of September 5, 2019, as water submerged Khaparkheda village (Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh), government officials were trying to move people to makeshift tin sheds in the adjacent…
As cloud seeding catches on in times of climate change, more research holds the key
An aircraft poised to enter dark clouds – and spray chemicals to produce rain. Sounds magical -- that’s the image often associated with cloud seeding. In reality, it is much…
[Commentary] Why the drought did not matter in Marathwada during polls
Two months ago, when the rest of the country was preparing for the Lok Sabha elections, 22-year-old Kanchan Kalyan Dongre’s life was about to take a turn for the worse.…
No country for regulation – of genetically engineered crops
India’s seed market hides a sea of illegality, which keeps rearing its ugly head every once in a while. The discovery of genetically modified (GM) brinjal in a Haryana farmer’s…
Marathwada parched as watershed conservation remains neglected
Every few years, the recurring drought in Marathwada region of Maharashtra is attributed to poor rains. Stop-gap arrangements for tanker water, fodder camps or jobs under the Employment Guarantee Scheme…
In Marathwada the queues are for collecting water during this election season
The irony is unmistakable. In the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, which is in the grip of arguably the worst drought since 1972, what stands out is hectic road construction. En…
No place for political campaigning as Vemulaghat’s ongoing protest stands strong
This is the second article in a two-part series on the role of environment in the upcoming elections in Telangana. Part One examines the scarcity of water in the state despite…
In spite of mega projects water is scarce in rural Telangana
This is the first article in a two-part series on the role of environment in the upcoming elections in Telangana. Part Two highlights the pre-election situation in villages where the ongoing…
A lost desi cotton heritage
In a region where Bt cotton rules the roost, Kamal Kishore Dhiran, a farmer in Balodi, 50 km from Yavatmal (in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra) is an outlier. He has…
