Rattled by swelling political and public anger at the preventive arrest of activist Anna Hazare, the UPA government backtracked late this evening and announced his release to a street sensed of victory against a shaken ruling establishment. But signs that the panicked U-turn will bring the beleaguered government little relief were immediately visible as Hazare refused to leave Tihar Jail, demanding that he be guaranteed permission to fast at central Delhi’s...

Why we are doing this story     * Tribal lands are under pressure across India. In Orissa, they have been holding out against big corporates like Vedanta and Posco. *** From afar, the fumes rising from factory chimneys in Gujarat’s industrial belt make them seem like skyscrapers on fire. It’s a grey rust-and-chemicals stretch that they call, without irony, the Golden Corridor. It extends all the way from the north of Ahmedabad, through...

The centre of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) scam has shifted from Suresh Kalmadi to Sheila Dikshit, the high-profile Delhi Chief Minister who brought the Congress electoral victory three times consecutively in the capital. And it’s not only because the BJP is demanding her head in return for offering BS Yeddyurappa’s in Karnataka. Two reports on the conduct (or misconduct) of the Commonwealth Games — one by VK Shunglu and another by the...

None of Mathew Peedikayil’s three children go to school. The Dahisar resident and his wife chose to home-school their children seven years ago, a decision under threat since the Right To Education (RTE) Act that came into force last year.   The Act, which came into force on April 1 2010, makes it mandatory for every child in the 6 to 14-year age group to be enrolled at a formal school. A petition...

The announcement last weekend by the prime minister that an independent National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Agency (NEAMA) would shortly be set up has been welcomed in the media. The PM indicates that it would be staffed by professionals, will set up a new process for environmental appraisal of projects, and monitor the observance of environmental management plans. It would be a recommendatory body, subject to final decision-making by the...