In the past week the media has been reporting that the SIT has filed a closure report that gives a “clean chit” to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on the grounds that there is no prosecutable evidence against him. However, Tehelka has now scooped amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran’s explosive confidential report that had told the Supreme Court that Modi should be chargesheeted and prosecuted for serious criminal offences like promoting religious...

Iqbal Masud, the civil servant and critic, supported the ban on The Satanic Verses in 1989. His reason was simple: if the book remained on sale in India, Muslims would march in protest, policemen would fire upon them, some of them would die, and no book, said Masud, was worth the life of a single protester. There were, he allowed, legitimate arguments to be made about incitement, about mobs marching against...

In the expansive corridors of the ministry of external affairs, there's an interesting 'section' that few citizens are aware of. It's the gift chest of the Indian government or the 'toshakhana', where ministers, bureaucrats and dignitaries are supposed to deposit all the gifts they receive on their trips abroad.  The toshakhana stores some amazing presents, from jewellery, silverware and paintings to wine and even couture (Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was, strangely...

Interview with Teesta Setalvad of Citizens for Justice and Peace. TEESTA SETALVAD, through her organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace, has been at the forefront of the fight for justice for the victims of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. She has also worked extensively on many other issues affecting minority communities in the State. In this interview to Frontline, she speaks about Chief Minister Narendra Modi's new tactics and the marginalisation...

Deadwood in the Indian bureaucracy will not be able to clog the government any longer. The Centre has notified a rule making it compulsory for IAS, IPS and officers from other all-India services to retire in "public interest" if they fail to clear a review after 15 years of service.  Officers adjudged as inefficient and non-performing will be shown the door and even those who make the cut will need to...