-Outlook The state elections rolled out smoothly, but it's money power which ruled on the ground As we celebrate the smooth working of a massive electoral exercise-simplistically dubbed by many as the semi-final to the greatest show on earth, General Elections 2014-a realisation has dawned that the role of ‘money power' is reaching alarming proportions. Sure, elections are more fool-proof today than in the past, and most (rightly) salute the EC...

-The Hindu The Gujarat snooping incident should be used as an opportunity to ask how the government has assumed the power to order such invasive, unchecked surveillance. On November 15, a pair of investigative portals released a set of audio transcripts depicting an extraordinarily invasive and scrupulous surveillance of a young woman by the Gujarat Police. Its implications, limited as they may appear to those who consider privacy a besmirched value, in...

-The Hindu Unless a deeper, institutional change is ushered in to break the nexus between drug companies and the regulatory regime, Indians consuming drugs may be exposing themselves to serious risks Even before I walked into the Mayflower Hotel in the heart of Washington on a crisp autumn afternoon to meet Dinesh Thakur, whistle-blower and former director of India-based pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy, I had a hunch that this conversation would spark some...

-Economic and Political Weekly   Much work remains to be done if the new Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act has to mark a meaningful shift for India's adivasi communities. Chitrangada Choudhury (chitrangada@csds.in) Chitrangada Choudhury (chitrangada@csds.in) is a multimedia journalist and researcher, and currently with the Publics and Policies program at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. Among the worst excesses committed in India's six decade-old democracy, the forcible displacment...

-Outlook The Election Commission today cautioned all printing presses of legal action on failing to publish their details on political banners and hoardings printed by them, as a part of the Model Code of Conduct for the ensuing assembly elections. Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev said all printing presses should comply with section 127A of the Representation of the People Act and publish their names and addresses on the banners and hoardings...