A senior member of the UPA dispensation, law minister Veerappa Moily, has demanded a white paper on black money, stoking the fire in the ongoing debate on the issue that has paralyzed the Congress-led government at the Centre for most of its second term in office.   A senior member of the UPA dispensation, law minister Veerappa Moily, has demanded a white paper on black money, stoking the fire in the ongoing...

-The Indian Express   The self-appointed representatives of civil society would like to remind us that the trouble with our politics is that you have absolutely no idea what sort of person might wind up being on top. Horrific and untidy, isn’t it? “Suppose tomorrow, a corrupt person like Madhu Koda or A. Raja or any of the Reddy Brothers became prime minister,” is a worry that runs through a letter...

-The New York Times   India has 1.2 billion people, among them bankers, gurus, rag pickers, billionaires, snake charmers, software engineers, lentil farmers, rickshaw drivers, Maoist rebels, Bollywood movie stars and Vedic scholars, to name a few. Humanity runneth over. Except in one profession: India is searching for a hangman. Usually, India would not need one, given the rarity of executions. The last was in 2004. But in May, India's president unexpectedly rejected...

South Asia may boast a number of women leaders and be home to cultures that revere motherhood and worship female deities, but many women live with the threat of appalling violence and without many basic rights. From forced marriages in Afghanistan and "honor killings" in Pakistan to foeticide in India and trafficking in Nepal, South Asian women face a barrage of dangers, experts say, but add growing awareness, better laws and...

-Deccan Herald   The Central Information Commission (CIC) has pulled up the Prime Minister’s Office for ''casually handling'' a plea filed under the RTI Act that demanded details of the foreign visits undertaken by Sonia Gandhi as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC). Chief Information Commissioner Satyanand Mishra expressed displeasure as the Prime Minister’s Office forwarded the RTI plea seeking information on the Congress president’s visits to foreign countries, first to the Ministry...