When Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced the withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from certain areas areas in Jammu and Kashmir, it was a political move with many objectives. The government, however, had to put the plan on hold. Though the Home Ministry has been in favour of a withdrawal, the plan came under severe criticism from the Army, which argued that a withdrawal, even if partial, would hamper...

-PTI The Supreme Court Friday granted the Centre three weeks to spell out its stand on the extent of immunity enjoyed by Army personnel under the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and other laws for fake encounter killings. The bench passed the direction on CBI's application for vacating the stay granted by the apex court on the trial in a J&K court relating to the killing of six youth by...

Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai in his address to recruits at the National Police Academy sought to enlist them in his campaign. BAGEHOT'S classic explains why and how a genre of civil servants mushroomed in India latterly as executive power, authority and prestige declined. None of them had earlier revealed a particularly strong spine. T.N. Seshan bared his traits once he was appointed Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). Others need not...

Memories of the killer cyclone of 1999 continue to haunt Parvati Maiti every time the sky turns overcast. Today, it’s been exactly 12 years since the massive cyclone swept through the state, killing and leaving thousands homeless. However, the 52-year-old woman from Ambiki village, who lost her husband and elder son to the super cyclone, is yet to receive the compensation amount of Rs 3 lakh against the two casualties in her...

-The Times of India   With the government struggling to craft its stance on the contentious question of withdrawal of Armed Forces ( Special Powers) Act from some parts of J&K, the BJP joined the debate by warning the Centre against diluting the law. As the defence ministry insists that the views of the Army and the Unified Command need to be heeded on whether to withdraw AFSPA from certain areas in...