-First Post   Rent-seekers playing the politics of tokenism are targeting the movement against corruption led by Anna Hazare. An array of political forces – from leaders of the Muslim community to Dalit leaders to jholawallas – is stepping out to criticise the atmospherics of Anna’s movement as well the Jan Lokpal Bill that Team Anna is campaigning for. On Monday, the Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, criticised Team Anna’s campaign,...

-The Business Standard   Hurling charges against political opponents is par for the course in democratic politics. No one can object too much to political name calling, such as, “so and so is a fascist” or “so and so is communal”, and such like. Politicians routinely hurl such invective at each other. Less excusable is innuendo, but there is a lot of that too in politics around the world. However, what technology...

Anyone who came in contact with Professor R.S. Sharma — students, teachers, ordinary men and women from different walks of life as this reporter did — could not have remained untouched by him. Gentle and with a sparkle in his eyes, he came out as strong, determined and always principled. Moreover, as a historian he was never locked up in the ivory tower of academia and did not shy away from...

The Gandhi topis, the non-violent crowds, the banners and other symbols of protest, including tonsuring of heads, meditating mendicants, patriotic songs and fervour and, of course, the fasts, are seen as a throwback to the days when the Mahatma exerted enormous and unquestioned moral authority over the ruling government, political leaders and the populace. Most references to the “revolution” started by Anna Hazare and his group, now immortalised as Team...

Sections within civil society have reservations about Anna Hazare’s movement but the government’s failure to tap them may have lent credence to the impression that his group was speaking up for the entire nation. Although leaders like P. Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal have argued that no single group could claim to be the sole representative of civil society, the Centre has not seriously tried to open channels of communication with other...