After the brutal murder of Azad, is there any hope for well-meaning routine calls for “dialogue” and “peace talks”? What can the "civil society" do as a serious, real intervention? It is reported that the decades-old talks with Naga insurgent groups has made some progress recently (See “Differences ‘narrowed’,” Times of India, July 19, 2011). One reason why talks have a chance in these cases is that separatism comes in...

-The Hindustan Times   Uttar Pradesh has earned the dubious distinction of witnessing the highest number of fake encounters, with nearly 120 people being allegedly killed by police in such incidents in the past three years. In the first six months of this year, six persons were killed in the state in alleged encounters and their families have approached the National Human Rights Commission for justice. In 2010-11, NHRC received complaints that 40...

Nandkumar Naitam is relieved after a month of “torturous” anxiety. “I thought it over again and again,” the 20-year-old tribal youth says. “I thought that if I couldn’t get a rifle, I’d pick up my traditional weapon, the bow-and-arrow.” It was a desperation that Nandu, as he is fondly called, shared with his 5,000-odd fellow special police officers (SPOs), who till a month ago formed the Chhattisgarh government’s frontline against the Maoists...

-The Times of India   Taking note of frequent threats posed by certain government officials and those in power to RTI activists in Manipur, a group of the rights defenders has formed an ad hoc committee - Transparency Initiatives Manipur (TIR) - with the primary objective to fight the menace. TIR convener and prominent RTI activist Wahengbam Joykumar said the forum was formed recently after a meeting of RTI activists and other individuals,...

It’s been raining “rights” in Indian policy for the last few years — education, work, food, service, healthcare, and much else. This “Diet Coke” approach to poverty reduction — the sweetness without the calories — was always dangerous because of unknown side effects. Commenting in 1790 on the consequences of the French Revolution, Edmund Burke said: “They have found their punishment in their success. Laws overturned, tribunals subverted, industry without...