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...

-BBC   An Indian activist who went on a hunger strike in February to protest against illegal mining has died in a hospital in northern Uttarakhand state. Swami Nigamanand, 36, slipped into a coma in May, days after being hospitalised. Officials said the government had banned mining in the Kumbh region as demanded by the activist. But federal Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blamed the state government for "ignoring" the activist's pleas. A founder-member of...

In his lifetime, Nigamanand, an ascetic fighting a lonely battle against quarrying activities in Uttarakhand, tried to draw the attention of the national media to an environmental disaster waiting to happen in the state. In his death, the 36-year-old Sadhu, who went into a coma and died on Wednesday following his four-month-long fast in the same hospital at Dehra Dun where Ramdev was admitted, has forced civil society, politicians and the...

Civil society” has dominated popular discussion for the last few months. It may be hard to recall how rare the use of the term was only some years back. In 2002, when I published a book analysing the role of civil society in preventing, dampening or inciting communal riots, I was asked in a television interview whether I was overstating the power of civil society vis-à-vis the state. And in...

-PTI   Amid a war of words between government and civil society members over Lok Pal Bill, both sides will meet here tomorrow for its drafting even as Anna Hazare today reminded the ministers that differences could be resolved through dialogue and not through confrontation. As the government and Congress continued its attack on the civil society members, Hazare said he cannot force anyone not to level allegations like he was a...