RTI activists and social workers are protesting the murder of a prominent RTI activist, Ram Vilas Singh, in Lakhisarai district last fortnight. They have demanded a high-level probe into the murder, which was very much apprehended, and arrest of the people who had been identified by Singh as threat to his life. "Singh was murdered in broad daylight on December 8 at his village Babhangawan even though he had informed the...

Indian citizens won’t be shielded from prying by government agencies if the Union home ministry gets its way with the proposed privacy law. The ministry is insisting that intelligence and law enforcement agencies be kept out of the purview of the proposed Act, and allowed to continue monitoring the activities and carry out electronic surveillance of citizens, officials familiar with the situation said. The department of personnel and training (DoPT), which is...

Kandhamal was not a spontaneous outburst of mass anger. And the victims still await justice. It was a terrifying Christmas in 2007 for tribal and dalit Christians who live in the second poorest, deeply forested district of Odisha, Kandhamal. Long-smouldering violence targeting them exploded, and was to continue to rage for another full year. During this time, 600 villages were ransacked, 5,600 houses were looted and burnt, 54,000 persons rendered homeless,...

The concept of integrating children from less privileged backgrounds with others in ‘elite schools’, as per the quota for children from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) may have invited debates in the city, but the execution of the idea in some of the schools has already started showing results. There are some students, admitted under the scheme, who have not only done well for themselves but also set benchmarks for others with...

-The Economic Times Nobel laureate and professor of economics at Harvard University, Amartya Sen believes developed world policies are worsening the global crisis and leaving emerging economies exposed. During an interaction with the press, he also said the recent rupee depreciation needs to be viewed holistically and is not necessarily a 'train crash'. Excerpts: What is your assessment of the current global situation? I think the global situation is pretty bad...