The return of peace and normalcy in Kashmir is a reality. And to ensure a durable and lasting peace, a humane approach to handle the law and order situation may be required. In a vibrant, democratic country, authoritarian ways of suppressing people’s voices prove to be counterproductive. It may be recalled that the law and order situation in Kashmir worsened in the aftermath of unfair and rigged assembly elections of 1987,...

In this Idea Exchange moderated by Senior Editor Archna Shukla, I&B minister Ambika Soni speaks about self-regulation by the media, empowering the Press Council of India and the Congress party’s stand on corruption Archna Shukla: There is a growing perception that the government is unhappy with media criticism. The editor of a leading English daily publicly claimed that government advertisements have been stopped to his publication. Is the government being vindictive? I have...

Many people including members of Team Anna have expressed reservations about the way in which their campaign has been developing, and some have even resigned. This raises questions about the real aim of the leadership around Anna. Is it really what it is proclaimed to be? Is the aim to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed by parliament? Team Anna has repeatedly stated that they have just a one-point agenda: to get...

-The Telegraph   The Supreme Court today described as “disturbing” a claim that 162 of the 543 Lok Sabha members face criminal cases, and issued notices to the central and state governments on a petition seeking to have these cases fast-tracked. The public interest litigation wants speedy trials of all accused lawmakers — MPs and state legislators — so that they “can clear their name (or) face the consequences of past criminal acts”. “Your...

-The Hindu   The report on paid news — listing specific allegations and naming the accused — written by a sub-committee of the Press Council of India (PCI) last year could finally see official publication on the Council's website. While the Council had tried suppressing the report last year — voting 12-9 against submitting it to the government or making it public — the Central Information Commission (CIC) has now directed its publication...