In what is seen as an apparent retaliation for India's vote against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka's energy minister has said they were threatened by the Kudankulam nuclear plant, in case of a Fukushima-like disaster.  Champika Ranawaka, Lanka energy minister, reportedly told journalists in Colombo that Sri Lanka would refer the matter to the IAEA at a meeting in September. The Lankan statement comes as the...

When universities start censoring speech and banning books, and permission is needed to hold conferences, we risk becoming a hollow, illiberal democracy. Do you need the administration's prior permission to hold a meeting, seminar, symposium or conference at a university? Most academics in liberal democracies would either be astounded by the question or feel compelled to answer it with an emphatic, if not vehement, no. The administration, they would argue, should...

The agitation against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant can be seen as a case of activism gone berserk. The high-octane drama against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu has wound down. The seven-month-long agitation led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) at Idinthakarai village in Tirunelveli district, demanding the closure of the ready-to-be commissioned project, ended on March 27 when S.P. Udayakumar, PMANE convener, called off...

Call it a conspiracy theory, but if the Centre is to be believed, there could be a link between the hike in foreign funding for NGOs and protests against the Kudankulam plant. Sources said foreign contribution to 12 NGOs in two districts — Tirunelveli, where the plant is based, and neighbouring Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu — has increased sharply over the last four years, ever since agitations against the plant started....

-PTI A day after home minister P Chidambram said there was "some ulterior motive" behind continued protest against Kudankulam nuclear plant despite government assurance, convener of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy SP Udayakumar said the protesters were "ready" for talks. "We are ready for talks. If we are considered people of this country and if our ahimsa protest is respected, government should talk to us. They should treat us like Indian...