As the Lokpal Bill gets mired in a tortuous birthing, the debate shifts to who exactly has the right to pass a law Why Politicians Hate Civil Society     * Unelected activists stealing Parliament’s right to make laws, undercutting role of parliamentarians     * Demands like an all-powerful Lokpal directly impact political-bureaucratic class and the status quo     * Rigid deadlines, fasts unto death to press home issues are akin to holding government...

Almost 65 years after Mahatma Gandhi used "satyagraha" or "truth force" to lead a movement against British rule in India, Gandhism is back, this time facing an enemy more pernicious than colonialism: corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen stashing stolen wealth abroad. The two foremost leaders of India’s anti-corruption movement, Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, are deploying satyagraha’s most potent weapon – fasting – with telling effect on the government. On Thursday, Hazare...

Swami Ramdev is a yoga instructor in saffron robes; he walks on wooden sandals and has an elastic body, an involuntary wink, flowing black hair and a full beard. He claims to have renounced worldly pleasures, but that excludes flying in private jets. He is at the helm of a thriving business in traditional treatments, herbal products, media and textiles that is worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars. Nebulous...

-The Business Standard   Swami Agnivesh with his Swami Vivekananda-style turban, Anna Hazare with his Gandhi cap, Baba Ramdev with his yogi’s beard...Who next? Time for a Maulvi? The voices from India’s civil society are getting curiouser and curiouser. Time was when gurus and yogis like these worried about the after life, or about the environment and vegetarianism. But today they have come to the centre-stage of Indian politics. Is it...

-The Indian Express   It may be too early to take stock of the repercussions and political costs of the midnight round-up of yoga guru Ramdev and his followers from the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi — though the Congress must surely be conscious of the momentum its missteps have acquired. The chaos engendered is obvious. The first thing that the Central government must now do is call a session of Parliament....