Itself the outcome of a bottom-up movement, the Jan Lokpal bill ironically proposes a centralised framework against graft. Without checks and balances. There was never any doubt that India needs a strong Lokpal Act. The protest has paved the way for its enactment. With the exultation over the anti-corruption campaign’s ‘victory’ quieting down, it’s time to take stock. Nuanced arguments—and indeed substance—have to recover lost ground to take the discourse...
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Violence back in Nandigram, West Bengal's ground zero by Smita Gupta
Violence is back in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district as the polling date for the 16 Assembly seats here draws close: Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadres are returning, under Police protection, to the villages from where they fled in the wake of the Trinamool Congress' stunning successes here in recent elections. In West Bengal's ground zero, Nandigram — located in Purba Medinipur district — the problem is particularly acute. The...
More »Manmohan seeks report from Railways on incident involving volleyball player Arunima by K Balchand
She lost a limb after she was thrown out of a running train; Railway promises all help for her rehabilitation Distressed over the incident in which national volleyball player Arunima alias Sonu Sinha was thrown out of a running train causing her to lose a limb, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for a detailed report from the Railways. With Dr. Singh away in China attending the BRICS summit, the Prime Minister's...
More »Arrest-release boosts Akhil Gogoi’s movement by Syed Miraz Ahmed
The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity Assam’s (KMSSA) General Secretary Akhil Gogoi on Sunday was taken into custody by Pan Bazaar Police from outside the Guwahati Press Club premises for first instance violation of PR Act 126. Anti-corruption campaigner Akhil Gogoi along with some 40 members and supporters was at that time about to proceed to Dighali Pukhuri to lead a democratic sit in protest in support of Gandhian Anna Hazare’s demand...
More »The problem with the Jan Lokpal bill & Hunger Strikes by Sridhar Swaminathan
Anna Hazare and his supporters appear to have come to an agreement with the central government over forming a joint committee to draft the Lokpal bill. We can all agree that corruption in India is a cancer eating away at the very core of the nation. Amidst the frenzied coverage of the hunger strike, and the exclamations of support for Hazare on social networks, there has been scant discussion of...
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