-IANS   South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) has condemned the arrest of social activist Anna Hazare and others before they launched their agitation for an effective Lokpal bill as "ultra vires" of the Indian constitution. SAHR chairperson Hina Jilani of Pakistan said in a statement that in a democracy all citizens have a right to protest peacefully and the government must uphold the citizens' fundamental right of speech and expression. "This act of...

The best thing about Indian politicians is that they make you feel you are a better person. Not surprisingly, Indians often derive their moral confidence not through the discomfort of examining their own actions, but from regarding themselves as decent folks looted by corrupt, villainous politicians. This is at the heart of a self-righteous middle-class uprising against political corruption, a television news drama that reached its inevitable climax in Delhi on...

By the time you read this, Anna Hazare would have started his fast and his well-fed handlers will be stationed in front of television cameras. Independence Day, grey and wet was a holiday with no breaking news, so after the Red Fort speech, all airtime was taken over by talking heads debating the Anna fast. The talks generate lots of heat: "Think about the future," or "Aren't we also members...

A prominent Right to Information activist and supporter of social activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign was shot dead outside her residence in Bhopal on Tuesday morning. Shehla Masood was shot dead by an unidentified assailant outside her house in the city's posh Koh-e-Fiza locality as she was on her way to an anti-corruption campaign being organised by her and other activists in support of Mr. Anna Hazare at the Bhopal Boat...

-The Times of India   Union minister of state for planning, science and technology and earth sciences Ashwini Kumar on Saturday expressed his dissatisfaction over the poor implementation of MGNREGA projects in Jharkhand alleging less than half of the households were provided with job cards. Kumar, on a two-day visit to the state, dwelt most part of his interaction with the media here trying to convince people about the "irrelevance" of the social...