Team Anna both galvanised people and captivated the news industry, in two closely related but distinct strategies. India is not yet a society where Big Brother is Watching You. However, the mass spectacle of people wearing “I am Anna” topis and T-shirts signals a new phase of politics. If we recall “Anna” means Big Brother, we may wonder if in this case Big Brother is You, Watching. In the second case too,...

-The Times of India   Farmers along the national highway 8 (NH-8) in the district are up in arms against the land acquisition for the expansion of the highway. The highway is being made into a six-lane highway and land has been acquired around it in the district. The farmers in the district who have been taking up land acquisition issues under the banner of the Ekta Gramin Praja Vichar Manch (EGPVM)...

-The Hindu   In a bid to tackle rampant corruption in procurement of items, the government on Tuesday announced that it would bring in a Bill to deal with the issue even as a Group of Ministers set up to tackle corruption adopted a report which recommended means to make the procedure more transparent. The comprehensive public procurement law to clearly demarcate powers and responsibilities of various authorities and ensure full transparency to...

The global 'farmland grab' in Ethiopia and the rest of Africa has become competitive, with companies from Asia, including India and China, joining it. AN extraordinary new process has been at work in the past few years: the aggressive entry of Indian corporations into the markets for agricultural land in Africa. At one level, this process is simply following the hoary old tradition in global capitalism of firms (often supported...

Interview with social activist and Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal. THE organisational abilities of Arvind Kejriwal exhibited during the recent Jan Lokpal Bill movement earned him the sobriquet “Field Marshal of a peaceful agitation”. The social activist and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner played a significant role in conceiving the slogans, the symbolism and the trajectory of the movement. He is credited with anticipating some of the moves of the government...