Barely weeks after firefighting the controversy over a central minister trying to influence an HC judge, former chief justice of India K G Balakrishnan has come under the spotlight again. Demands have emerged from several quarters for a probe into the assets of Balakrishnan's son-in-law, P V Sreenijan, an advocate and a leader of the Youth Congress in Kerala. The move comes in the wake of reports claiming a "baffling increase"...

Thirty years ago, in an act I still feel guilty about, I woke up a very great Indian from his sleep. I was volunteering at a conference in New Delhi, and had been asked to fetch the Member of Parliament from Dhanbad, AK Roy, from his quarters in Vithalbhai Patel House. Roy, a labour leader legendary for his integrity and his wide range of reading, had been elected from the...

Paddy growing farmers in Bhandara are passing through a crucial phase. But there is a ray of hope in the form of Vainganga sugar factory. Instead of traditional paddy farming, the farmers are switching over to sugar cane cultivation. Paddy cultivators in Asagaon and Lakhandur have sown sugarcane in 400 hectares of land and till February next year, 1,000/1,200 hectares of land is likely to come under sugarcane cultivation. In...

IT WAS a windfall five years ago that taught Panchali Satyavva the power of a lie. It happened one Monday afternoon in Someshwar village of Nizamabad district in Andhra Pradesh. It was raining in sheets and she had just placed a bucket under the steady trickle of water from the roof of her hut. Two men were at her door, holding umbrellas and offering her an unsolicited Rs. 5,000. They...

In a 12 December interview, Director-General of the J&K Police (JKP) Kuldeep Khoda was questioned by Tribune journalist Jupinderjit Singh about complaints that the JKP was ignoring RTI applications.  At one point, Mr. Khoda stated that the Police  “will not entertain [RTI applications] on investigations of any case,” explaining this information “could help the accused due to which the department generally discouraged such applications.” The DGP’s stance is problematic.  On one...