Do we, the Indian middle class, see the corruption within us? I was too busy being corrupt to join Anna Hazare’s camp last week. For four days, I heard nothing but stories of our Tahrir Square-like revolution against the corrupt unfurling right under our noses in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. But it was school admission time and I had some serious palm-greasing, document-fudging, string-pulling, weight-throwing and tout-chasing to do. I had...

There can be little question that the news media, print as well as television, have contributed significantly to bringing the issue of corruption to political India's centre stage. The focus on the corruption of elections through ‘cash for votes' comes in tandem with the proactive intervention by the Election Commission of India during the April-May elections to State Assemblies. There can also be little doubt that the U.S. Embassy Cables,...

For the first time in five decades, Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a decline in the decadal growth rate of its population. According to the data released by the Directorate of Census Operations in Lucknow on Tuesday, the state has registered a decrease of 5.76 per cent, with its population growth coming down from 25.85 per cent in 1991-2001 to 20.09 per cent in 2001-11. However, Uttar Pradesh with its population...

After gaining 12 healthy points since the 2001 Census, the literacy rate of Uttar Pradesh moved closer to the national average of 74.04%. The state registered a literacy rate of 69.72% in the 2011 Census. Top performers in the state, which helped in increasing the percentage by several points are Ghaziabad (85%), Gautam Budh Nagar (82.20%) and capital Lucknow (79.33%). Female literacy rates in the state have also registered a remarkable jump...

Anna Hazare's followers have made it clear that political leaders are not welcomed to join the anti-corruption campaign launched by the veteran social activist and Gandhian. Hazare's supporters stopped two political leaders - Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala - from entering the dharna venue at New Delhi's Janatar Mantar on Wednesday. Both Uma Bharti and Chautala, who had come to meet Hazare, were heckled and forced to leave the area.   Hazare,...