AHMEDABAD: What was the need for amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran to put down these words in his final report before the Supreme Court which became public this week? "The cost for boarding and lodging for both the amicus curiae at BSF mess, Gandhinagar as well as the cost for local transportation by private taxi was arranged by the SIT...the cost of travel from Delhi to Ahmedabad and back (for both...

The same full page appeared twice in three years, the first time as news, the second time as an advertisement “Not a single person from the two villages has committed suicide.” Three and a half years ago, at a time when the controversy over the use of genetically modified seeds was raging across India, a newspaper story painted a heartening picture of the technology's success. “There are no suicides here and people...

The death of RTI activist Ravinder Balwani after a mysterious hit-and-run incident in the capital last month has sparked allegations of murder, with his family saying the 61-year-old was killed after repeated threats and that police were writing it off as an accident. Balwani, an aide of RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and a member of his NGO, Parivartan, was hit by a car on April 23 and died of head injuries...

The first-ever national policy for domestic workers is all set to go to the Cabinet for its approval, entitling them to minimum wages, defined work hours, paid annual and sick leave and maternity benefits. The thrust of the policy is to bring domestic workers under the purview of existing labour laws, which would help them avail all the rights and protection available to other workers. According to official estimates, India has...

Alarmed by its proactive role, the three ‘pillars’ of our democracy set out to weaken the fourth estate Fundamentalisms do not necessarily announce their arrival by banging a hammer on our heads. Freedoms are often lost in little steps. The process creeps in quietly but insidiously. The path is often complex and defies a simple narrative. But here’s a straightforward fact: a concerted attempt is being made to censor, control...