The sentencing of Dr. Binayak Sen involves unverified charges, and unreasonable and unconstitutional findings. The constitutional validity of the charges of sedition and conspiracy that were used to implicate rights activists such as Binayak Sen merely for their anti-establishment political thoughts needs to be challenged. The action ridicules the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. The sections of the Indian Penal Code that deal with “conspiracy to wage war against the government”...

It's simple and doable, but it is deliberately being avoided: N. Ram N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, on Tuesday emphasised the need for an internal news ombudsman in the press and the news channels in the country. He was delivering a lecture on ‘Media ethics and police-media relations' organised here by the Mumbai police. “Unfortunately, no one else has taken this up [except The Hindu which has a readers' editor] because...

Two hundred families from 40 ‘Black Spot' villages, that were notorious for brewing hooch and selling in Dharmapuri District have been rehabilitated by the Prohibition and Enforcement Wing (PEW), thanks to the efforts of Additional Superintendent of Police P. Saravanan. R. Sudhakar, District Superintendent of Police told The Hindu that the district police identified these villages and conducted social awareness campaigns at regular intervals. As part of this initiative, the PEW wing...

Says the bank has also stopped refinancing farm loans Says no NABARD official has visited his office in a year Criticises Milma for deposits in a private bank Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran said here on Monday that the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) had not been taking the initiative to hold discussions on implementing the Vaidyanathan committee report on cooperative sector reforms and had stopped refinancing farm loans in the...

Thirty years ago, in an act I still feel guilty about, I woke up a very great Indian from his sleep. I was volunteering at a conference in New Delhi, and had been asked to fetch the Member of Parliament from Dhanbad, AK Roy, from his quarters in Vithalbhai Patel House. Roy, a labour leader legendary for his integrity and his wide range of reading, had been elected from the...