Wajahat Habibullah’s new job as Jammu and Kashmir’s chief information commissioner has run into rough weather even before he has taken the oath of office. Jammu and Kashmir High Court has admitted a writ petition that challenges his appointment as the state’s first CIC. Wajahat recently quit as chief information commissioner (CIC) of India to take over the fresh assignment at chief minister Omar Abdullah’s request. State officials say Wajahat, an old...

An analysis of Wikipedia entries reveals the world’s knowledge deserts — which may provide a second wave of activity for the online encyclopedia  Are Wikipedia contributors running out of topics to write about? Recently, much has been made of the fact that the growth in the number of new Wikipedia articles has been gradually slowing and the number of volunteers apparently falling. But Wikipedia still has much to do, with...

Environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna on Sunday pitched for framing a sustainable Himalayan development policy to prevent receding of glaciers, a development, he said, is leading to climatic problems and triggering unrest among the people. Mr. Bahuguna, who led a delegation to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and other north-eastern states to create awareness on decreasing water level in rivers, said the Himalayan policy should keep in mind the native...

The widening chasm between India and Bharat is perhaps best reflected in the manner in which electricity is consumed. The neon-lights of Mumbai and Delhi beckon many with their glitter, but large swathes of territory across the country literally remain in the dark more than six decades after political independence. The government remains obsessed till today with building mega power projects — even our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had second...

The article presents the political and economic impacts of various kinds of natural and man-made disasters and associated displacement of populations, and argues for a wider and more inclusive definition of disasters in the interest of human rights, social justice and equity for the victims of disasters. Legislation, Disasters and People Numerous disasters at national and international levels have caused governments to recognise the need for rapid and effective response to provide...