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From Reuters:

PATNA, India, Aug 18 (Reuters) - A state government in eastern India is encouraging people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks.

Authorities in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, are asking rich and poor alike to switch to eating rats in a bid to reduce the dependence on rice. They even plan to offer rats on restaurant menus.

"Eating of rats will serve twin purposes -- it will save grains from being eaten away by rats and will simultaneously increase our grain stock," Vijay Prakash, an official from the state's welfare department, told Reuters.

Officials say almost 50 percent of India's food grains stocks are eaten away by rodents in fields or warehouses.

Jitan Ram Manjhi, Bihar's caste and tribe welfare minister, said rat meat was a healthy alternative to expensive rice or grains, and should be eaten by one and all.

"We are very serious to implement this project since the food crisis is turning serious day by day," Manjhi, who has eaten rats, told Reuters.

In Bihar, rat meat is already eaten by Mushars, a group of lower caste Hindus, as well as poorer sections of society.

Never to be reported in TOI. What's next Mr. Chidambaram?

Thanks to Raj Patel for the link.

Krishi Darshan: Stuffed and Starved

For those of you born in the nineties or later, unaware of the word "Krishi Darshan": it is a TV program started in 1966 on Doordarshan - the Indian State sponsored Television channel. It literally translates to "A look at Agriculture".

In the eighties, growing up as an urban kid, it was the most boring program one could imagine watching, but then there was nothing else to watch. The dullest anchors interviewed the dullest speakers on the nature of soil, various low and high productivity seeds and ways to improve crops using chemicals and fertilizers. The National Propaganda and our lie-infested school books harped about how successful the Green Revolution was.

The underlying theme of all propaganda was: hold your head and your cock high because socialist India is going great guns. Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer). And so the pseudo socialist spin went on till 1991 when we were informed by the then finance minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, that India was about to go bankrupt!

Compared to today, some may remember that as a more innocent time. But that would be a romantic fallacy. Indira's India was as corrupt as today's India. The only difference being that there was a sense of shame in corruption (or maybe even that is my childhood imagination). Today, that shame, imagined or otherwise, has certainly gone away. Now we boldly proclaim our right to plunder and call it "Free Market". And of course a lot more have joined the orgy giving it a notion of democratic participation.

Taking offense to SEZs

Last week I caught a discussion on NDTV's new program "Uncommon Ground". The discussion was between Medha Patkar and Anand Mahindra. Since Medha Patkar is rarely interviewed on television, my interest was piqued. Having met both Medha Patkar and Anand Mahindra I also knew where they'd be coming from. The discussion was going to focus on land acquisition for Special Economic Zones.

The show was mediated by Rohini Nilekani who, I thought, looked inexperienced, clueless and a terrible head-bobbing anchor hosting a children's program. At least she doesn't suffer from the high-pitched yelling syndrome that seems to have infected most Indian TV presenters thanks to Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai. But that's another story. Maybe Rohini will improve over time. She should check out Zeinab Badawi, Bill Moyers or even the bubbly Mishal Husain to get some ideas on anchoring such a program.

The guests, both Medha Patkar and Anand Mahindra came across as intelligent and did not resort to a yelling contest which was refreshing. I was quite impressed with Anand Mahindra. He was articulate, sincere and made a pledge on behalf of the Mahindra group, stating on record:

"...if there is any question where any farmer does not want to part with their land, I am telling you, Mahindra and Mahindra will not go [forward] with it [the acquisition of land]."