The movement around Anna Hazare's fast highlights a worrying trend. No, it's not corruption. That we know. The worry is: Is Indian democracy in a state of decay? Democracy in this largest of all democratic nations seems to be working fine at first glance. We vote regularly and throw out parties in power when a majority wants change. We have a free press. We have an independent judiciary. But there's...

-The Hindustan Times   Dalits, backward castes and minorities  came together against Team Anna’s Jan Lokpal Bill on Wednesday. They held a rally from India Gate that grid-locked peak hour traffic, proposing a Bahujan Lokpal Bill. “We will draft the Bahujan Lokpal Bill within two to three days and submit it to the Parliamentary standing committee,” Udit Raj, chairman of the All-India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations, said. “We want our representative in the...

There are two broad governance issues that concern every citizen in this country today: corruption at different levels in the government, and grievances arising from the government’s poor functioning. The last few months have seen an outpouring of emotions related to these issues. It is amply clear that the people of India want no one to be above the law; everyone, irrespective of the position they hold, should be accountable. ...

-The Hindu   Following is the text of letter written by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to social activist Anna Hazare over his indefinite fast against corruption at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. "Over the last few days, I have watched with increasing concern the state of your health. Despite the differences between the Government and your team, I do not think that anybody is or should be in any doubt about the deep...

While the rest of the world is saluting the birth of a miracle - the manifestation of the best of the human spirit in a peaceful movement that is uniting millions of people across religions, geographies and social and economic groups - Arundhati Roy has seized the opportunity to be intellectually irreverent. Sadly, her vituperative dismissal of this powerful human revolution in her piece, ‘I would rather not be Anna' published...