-Governance Now ‘They can’t convict Kalmadi, Vadra, Lalit Modi, Mallya; but will convict transparency advocates’ I am reminded of what my teacher had told me in school: “When a society wishes to blatantly show how unjust it can be, it will crucify the best.” On June 13 when I heard about the conviction of four of the nation’s transparency champions who have given their entire lives to promoting transparency and empowering the...

-TheWire.in The activists have accused the village sarpanch, who had filed the case, of framing them after they sought to expose his corruption. New Delhi: Well-known rights activist Nikhil Dey and four others were convicted of trespass and simple hurt under sections 323 and 451 of the IPC by a Kishangarh court in Ajmer on Tuesday, June 13. The case, filed 19 years ago on May 16, 1998, pertains to a dispute...

-NDTV This year, the Punjab government claims farmers are likely have a bumper cotton harvest, with cotton acreage doubling in the Malwa region to about 3.9 lakh acres -- against last year's 2.4 lakh acres -- and the government's awareness and action-against-whitefly campaigns in place Punjab: Baldev Sharma, 39, from Bathinda's Talwandi Sabo is a third generation cotton farmer. This year he sowed cotton on 12 acres of land compared to...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A group of retired bureaucrats have written an open letter ruing the "rising authoritarianism and majoritarianism" that is choking dissent, and urging public authorities to take "corrective action" to "reclaim and defend the spirit of the Constitution". "Argumentation and discussion about different perspectives - the lifeblood not only of institutions of learning but of democracy itself -are being throttled," the letter says. "Disagreement and dissent are considered seditious...

-The Telegraph Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today invited the leaders of the agitating farmers for talks tomorrow, while arson Attacks continued at many places in Madhya Pradesh and another death was reported from protest hub Mandsaur. Ghanashyam Dhakad, a 26-year-old farmer, was said to be on his way to a temple last night when some policemen allegedly thrashed him with sticks. He was declared dead this morning at...