-The Business Standard   Hurling charges against political opponents is par for the course in democratic politics. No one can object too much to political name calling, such as, “so and so is a fascist” or “so and so is communal”, and such like. Politicians routinely hurl such invective at each other. Less excusable is innuendo, but there is a lot of that too in politics around the world. However, what technology...

-The Times of India   Civil society activist Anna Hazare left Tihar jail after three days to be received by cheering crowds, many of who had been waiting for days. Just past the gates he addressed the crowd, raising his hand to the air and shouting "Victory to Mother India" before slowly winding his way in a truck decorated with flags through massive crowds. Anna, who is on day four of his hunger strike,...

Bringing an aggressive outlook to the ministry of rural development, Jairam Ramesh, who took charge of the portfolio in July, has attempted to address and fast-track contentious issues such as the proposed land acquisition legislation and the census for identifying households below the poverty line (BPL). Ramesh spoke in an interview about his blueprint for the ministry and revisiting controversial elements, including identifying the poor and poverty caps imposed by...

Anna Hazare's so-called "second Freedom struggle" raises questions, one, about how long the protests can be sustained, and, two, on the merits of the protesters' demands and methods. But before that, Team Anna should be given credit for reviving long-somnolent mass politics in this country, something beyond the Opposition that has been reduced to activism on the idiot box. It shows how much anti-government political space had been abandoned by the...

-The Hindu   Strongly condemning the arrest of social activist Anna Hazare in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in West Bengal said the Centre's action smacked of “dictatorial tendencies,” trying as it did to throttle the people's right to speak out against any issue. Demanding a “strong Jan Lokpal Bill” that would have the office of Prime Minister within its ambit, the party also insisted on instituting a...