THE Tamil Nadu government introduced with much fanfare the samathuva mayanam (common graveyard) concept during the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime with the proclaimed goal of ending all caste-based discrimination at burial-cum-Cremation grounds. An official announcement was made that panchayats which set up samathuva mayanams would get an “incentive grant” of Rs.1 lakh for promoting communal harmony. A few panchayats had received the incentive when the government appeared to beat a hasty...

The countrywide share of corporate retail in food distribution tripled in the past four years when retail food prices showed the greatest increase. THE dramatic increase in food inflation over the past two years has been associated with several surprises. One major surprise has been how the top economic policymakers in the country have responded to it. The initial response was one of apparent disbelief, followed very quickly by the...

Villagers of Netai in Lalgarh could not conceal their grievance against the state administration when district police superintendent Monoj Verma and district magistrate Surendra Gupta reached the village on Sunday morning to supervise arrangements before governor M K Narayanan's visit on Wednesday. Gupta and Verma arrived at the village, escorted by heavy security, around 11am. Gupta started visiting different portions of the village and found a tube well that was not...

Well-known Gandhian and Magsaysay Award winner L.C. Jain passed away on Sunday following prolonged illness. He was 85. An economist, organiser, commentator and activist, Mr. Jain spent more than six decades of his life as an impassioned crusader for what Mahatma Gandhi called India's second freedom struggle — the fight against socio-economic oppression. Known as a fierce opponent of overwhelming state control and an ardent advocate for social action, his efforts to keep...

It was an achievement that Uttar Pradesh’s Majhwara village cherished, calling it a victory of ballot over bullet. A day after the Cremation of her husband — revenue inspector Ram Kumar Yadav — Kamla Yadav won the election for the post of the pradhan of this village in Sultanpur district. Ram Kumar was kidnapped and murdered after the October 11 polling. He was targetted — allegedly by BSP legislator Chandrabhadra Singh alias...