A small farmer in Maharashtra, whose high-yielding rice variety is popular in five States, is denied the benefits of his research. TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, Dadaji Khobragade of Nanded Fakir village in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra noticed yellow seeds in three spikes of a paddy stalk in his field. Intrigued by the freak harvest, he preserved the grains. He subsequently planted them in a six-foot square plot, which he covered with thorny...

The CBI's record in the Jain hawala case was disappointing. But there are powerful elements in favour of unravelling the truth in the 2G scam. On December 16, 2010, the Supreme Court (Justices G.S. Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly, ) ordered a comprehensive and thorough investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate into what has become notorious as “the 2G scam.” The investigation, into spectrum allocation from...

Swami Aseemanand is the latest big name in the "Hindutva" terror web blamed for a series of blasts; starting with Samjhauta Express in 2007 to the ones at shrines in Hyderabad, Ajmer and Malegaon. The 58-year-old, whose real name is Jatin Chatterjee, is best known for reconverting tribals in the remote Dangs area of Gujarat from Christianity to Hinduism. But as the anti-terrorist squad and then the National Investigation Agency...

“I am scared because my parents are under immense pressure … I just want to get rid of everything,” says Right to Information activist Arun Mane of Pune. Mr. Mane, who registered a police complaint after he was attacked by an unknown assailant on Sunday, withdrew his complaint on Tuesday. In the affidavit given to the Maval taluk tahsildar, Mr. Mane said two of his complaints — about being threatened and attacked...

S S Sidhu claims immunity under Article 361 of Indian Constitution Governor S S Sidhu who had been directed to appear in person before the Goa State Information Commission on Tuesday over an RTI case said the governor’s office enjoyed the privilege of constitutional immunity and he was therefore not answerable to the courts in matters related to the execution of his duties. “The governor has chosen to exercise his rights under...