A river of bows and arrows slid through the urbane lanes of Raipur civil lines, coming to a startling stop outside the chief minister's gated and guarded residence in the autumn air of November 1st, the founding day of Chhattisgarh. As the police whisked them away, the tribal protestors told journalists they were asking for the most basic constitutional right: proportional reservation in government jobs. Eleven years ago, the sprawling state...

-The Indian Express   In an apparent attack on Team Anna, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said that corruption cannot be eradicated by mere slogans, and those creating a “hue and cry” should look within. Sonia was forced to cancel her scheduled rally at Gauchar Chamoli (Uttarakhand) because of “a viral fever” today and in her speech read out at the venue, she underlined that her government was committed to...

-The Hindu   Subject to a list of conditions that activists say are not strong enough After put on hold for a year, Lavasa's controversial township project on the hills near Pune has been given the green signal subject to a list of conditions that activists say are not strong enough. Ironically, it was last week's criminal complaint filed by the Maharashtra government against the Lavasa's promoters for violation of green norms that finally...

-The Hindustan Times   Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's attempt to amend the state Lokayukta bill in a bid to give more powers to the anti-graft watchdog in the state has failed to impress social activist Anna Hazare's team. Key Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the Bihar government's draft bill was a "copy of the much-criticised" Centre's Lokpal bill. "We sincerely wish that Nitish Kumar ji BRIngs a strong Lokayukta...

-Reuters On a hot afternoon, a BRIght orange bus drives into a slum area of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, parking amidst shelters made of tarpaulins and bits of wood. Barefoot children come running, eyes shining, and troop inside.  It's a school on wheels that BRIngs education to the doorstep of disadvantaged children such as these every day, halting for several hours at a time in different parts of...