I have been asked by my many friends to give my views on the recent ongoing movement against the corruption and Jan Lokpal Bill. Here in this article, I would like to present a young Dalit’s view to this bill and this recent movement. I may disappoint many of you especially those who think that bringing Lokpal Bill will solve the problem of corruption from India (yes, we rank very...

Garhwali villagers resist new central farming plans, stick by age-old ways attuned to nature Jardhargaon is a sprawling cluster of villages tucked away in the Himalayan folds in Tehri district of Garhwal. A panoramic view of pine- and sal-covered mountains, green and freshly showered, surrounds us, as little streams spout out of boulders at every turn of the winding hill roads and clouds hang like a dark cover overhead. But...

-The Hindu   As the public support for Anna Hazare's fast swells by the day, the United Progressive Alliance government's reaction is a bewildering mix of dithering, denial, moral confusion, and fear. On the face of it, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that there was a “lot of scope for give-and-take,” and the opening of backroom channels to talk to Mr. Hazare, may suggest flexibility and conciliation. But if the back-of-the-mind calculation...

At a time when protest against corruption is making headlines across the country, crusaders for people’s rights are at the receiving end in Bihar. An RTI activist from Rohtas, Ashok Paswan (49), has allegedly received a threat to his life for seeking information on alleged financial irregularities in disbursement of loans to farmers by a nationalised bank in the district. “I received a call on my mobile around 5.30pm on Friday. The...

Shehla Masood’s assassin was obviously someone from among those she was never afraid to target as an RTI activist. Shehla’s life was on fast track — always in a hurry to set right wrongs being done by those entrusted with powers under the Constitution. It was brutally cut short by a killer last Tuesday. Conceding Union minister Jairam Ramesh’s demand to immediately arrest the killers, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh...