-The Hindu   Polit Bureau discusses reports of West Bengal, Kerala State Committees on Assembly elections The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday reiterated its commitment to inclusion of the Prime Minister in the purview of the proposed institution of Lokpal. Addressing journalists after the Polit Bureau meeting, MP Sitaram Yechury recalled that a law on Lokpal was something that the party was pursuing for 30 years since the Bofors issue...

Swami Ramdev is a yoga instructor in saffron robes; he walks on wooden sandals and has an elastic body, an involuntary wink, flowing black hair and a full beard. He claims to have renounced worldly pleasures, but that excludes flying in private jets. He is at the helm of a thriving business in traditional treatments, herbal products, media and textiles that is worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars. Nebulous...

Women speak out fears of resisting deep-seated taboos associated with menstruation, viewed even today as polluting in much of India The status of women in India, despite all the brave talk, remains as precarious as ever. This is, after all, a culture which not just condones, but actively encourages the termination of foetuses determined to be female. Other crimes of violence against women are routine. Can things ever change? We took...

-PTI   Yoga guru Ramdev, who is on an indefinite hunger strike against Black Money and corruption, today made public details of his business empire worth over Rs 1,100 crore, claiming everything was in order. On his sixth day of fast, Ramdev addressed a press conference here during which his close aide Balakrishna said that the capital involving the four trusts run by him totalled Rs 426.19 crore while the expenditure incurred...

-The Times of India   The high drama over Baba Ramdev's midnight eviction and action against the peaceful gathering has shifted the focus away from the central is sue raised by the Baba – Black Money overseas – to the right to protest in a democracy. This being the case, there is danger of an uninformed debate on Black Money taking over, guided more by emotions and populist talk rather than...