-Live Mint Dominant caste groups in the state have found their own ways to capture and preserve power Dravidian political parties, which came into existence with the objective of achieving social equality, have been in power for more than four decades in Tamil Nadu, yet caste-based discrimination against the Dalits has remained a fact of life in the southern state. That's in contrast with neighbouring Kerala, which has emerged as a...
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Succumbing to the bogey of fear -Anup Surendranath
-The Hindu In the Bhullar case, the Supreme Court has created a category of ‘terrorists' among those sentenced to death without providing a constitutional basis for it Writing on extra-judicial killings in the Economic and Political Weekly in March 1996, K.G. Kannabiran narrated a very interesting anecdote from his experience on the Civil Rights Committee appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan to investigate fake encounters orchestrated during the Emergency against naxalites. While interacting with...
More »Independent judiciary and interest groups -Shruti Rajagopalan
-The Hindu Business Line After the 1980s, special interest groups have preferred to knock on the doors of the judiciary. In India today, matters of public interest seem to get their due only when the Supreme Court has added its two cents. Interest groups, representing both general and special interests, petition the judiciary actively. In an era where virtually all institutions in India have been vulnerable to political capture, the judiciary seems like...
More »Panchayati raj: Key to good governance and inclusion-Anil Padmanabhan
-Live Mint It's obvious that Indian experience with local governance is not what it should have been, but a change is underway Later this week, the country will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the constitutional amendments that made it mandatory for the creation of panchayats-the village-level bodies that deliver self-governance. Most may not be aware that this could well have been the eve of its 25th anniversary, but for the three-vote defeat...
More »What the govt balance sheet shows-The words and deeds
-The Telegraph Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today flagged a four-member panel headed by a retired judge, a task force and an ordinance in her first comprehensive comments on the Saradha Group collapse that has triggered fears of a default contagion in Bengal. It was not clear if it was a stray remark or addressed at those seeking immediate relief for depositors but the chief minister also said that "ja gechhey ta...
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