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...

Victims have not forgotten the following brutal tragedies in the life of independent India, even if the State and political parties may pretend to have. 1984—Delhi: On October 31, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in revenge for ‘Operation Bluestar’. For the next three days, as Doordarshan telecast the lying in state of her body, over 3000 Sikhs—men and boys—were burnt alive while policemen, politicians and...

Cells of children rapidly divide and hence are more sensitive to any radiation. The brain area exposed to radiation is also large If the World Health Organisation has classified mobile phones as “possibly carcinogenic” on May 31, the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly took a proactive step by adopting a resolution on May 27. The Council has recommended restrictions on the use of mobile phones and wireless Internet access in all schools...

Fifty-five days after three top executives of his company were sent to jail in the 2G spectrum scam, Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group ( ADAG), paid them a visit at the Tihar jail complex on Wednesday. The move comes on a day when Anil Ambani's role has come under fresh scrutiny, with the CBI informing that the joint Parliamentary Committee it is still examining ADAG's role in...

No one’s buying the government’s desperate arguments to keep the prime minister above Lokpal scrutiny Points Of Friction   Government and civil society representatives have sparred on the question of including the prime minister in the proposed Lokpal Bill on seven key grounds: Point: The Prime Minister is accountable only to Parliament, and to the people of India Counterpoint: Does this mean a PM can never face action for criminal liability, however serious the charge,...