Maoist movement in the country has suffered a massive blow with the killing of Mallojula Koteshwara Rao, popularly known as Kishenji, in West Bengal. The biggest credit for this 57-year-old Maoist leader is the building of Lalgarh movement in West Bengal, which is now billed as the second Naxalbari in India. One of the first generation founding leaders of erstwhile CPI-ML People's War (PW) in Andhra Pradesh, Kishenji left an indelible...

-Mainstream Weekly   We, the concerned citizens, feel deeply disturbed by the continued acrimony, tension and Violence in the Junglemahal area of West Bengal. After the change of government in the State it was hoped that a dialogue between the new government and the Maoists in the Junglemahal would commence which would address the real problems affecting the people of the area and lead to their solution. This would set an example...

The return of peace and normalcy in Kashmir is a reality. And to ensure a durable and lasting peace, a humane approach to handle the law and order situation may be required. In a vibrant, democratic country, authoritarian ways of suppressing people’s voices prove to be counterproductive. It may be recalled that the law and order situation in Kashmir worsened in the aftermath of unfair and rigged assembly elections of 1987,...

Most people in the world live in countries with some kind of "right-to-know" law that promises access to various categories of government information. What effect does this have in practice? Not much in many cases, according to a survey released today by the international news agency Associated Press. In an attempt at a global round-robin research exercise, its journalists submitted requests about terror arrests and convictions to 105 states that give citizens...

-IANS   An eerie silence welcomes me as I walk down the row of houses, not a soul in sight. I know that from every tiny window in these little brick-walled units, watchful, suspicious eyes follow my every move. They are assessing me, wondering if I am friend or foe. But then, in these thickly forested parts, the lines of distinction blurred many years ago. And their life could depend on the accuracy...