-The Times of India A report released by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday said activists are threatened and attacked both by "Indian authorities and Maoist insurgents, who undermine basic freedoms and interfere with delivery of aid in embattled areas of central and eastern India".  In its 60-page report — Between Two Sets of Guns: Attacks on Civil Society Activists in India's Maoist Conflict — the rights body documented cases of...

-The Times of India Team Anna's latest spectacle is beset by many contradictions That Team Anna's anti-corruption protests still manage to draw crowds attests to the extent of the popular anger against official corruption. Anna Hazare, by embarking on an indefinite fast - his fourth since last April - hopes to recapture the vigour of earlier phases of the civil society movement led by him. But that is easier said than done. As...

-The Indian Express Commenting on the state of education and other human development indices in India, Prof Amartya Sen on Monday likened it to a state of ‘emergency’. The Nobel laureate pointed out that not only Japan and Korea but also other South Asian countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand have taken a lead in providing quality education to their people. “While they took a lead... we were left behind and...

-The Times of India The present food Bill legalises the injustices of a targeted distribution system A national campaign throughout the month of July on issues related to food security and against rising prices will culminate in a five-day sit-in protest in Delhi beginning today. These are issues fundamental to the well-being of the majority of our people and therefore deserve national support.   With the spectre of drought haunting the countryside, speculators, hoarders...

-PTI Amid growing political opposition in India for easing of foreign investment norms in retail and other sectors, US-based companies like Wal-Mart and Prudential Financial are lobbying hard with their own lawmakers here to garner support for their Indian business expansion plans. As per their latest lobbying disclosure reports filed with the House of Representatives and the Senate, the US-based companies and industry groups spent millions of dollars since the beginning of...