Kanak Dixit: We have with us Aruna Roy, from Devdungri village in Rajasthan, who has, among other things, been able to take the Right to Information (RTI) from janasunuwais, or public hearings at the village level, all the way to national legislation that encompasses all of India. It is a movement that is truly global in scale. Aruna, a question that has been troubling me quite a bit in the context...
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Standing up to the state by Anupama Katakam and Lyla Bavadam
Police officers who have stood up for the truth are made to pay for it. IF there is anyone who can nail the perpetrators of the anti-Muslim riots of 2002 in Gujarat, it is the State's police officers. Witness to the worst communal violence seen in recent times, these officers have first-hand knowledge of the complicity of politicians in the riots and the degree of brutality and negligence of duty that...
More »What the Amicus really told the Supreme Court: Prosecute Modi! by Ashish Khetan
In the past week the media has been reporting that the SIT has filed a closure report that gives a “clean chit” to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on the grounds that there is no prosecutable evidence against him. However, Tehelka has now scooped amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran’s explosive confidential report that had told the Supreme Court that Modi should be chargesheeted and prosecuted for serious criminal offences like promoting religious...
More »Cave-ins under rights panel lens
-The Telegraph A routine road trip from Ranchi to Dhanbad was enough for an aghast senior functionary of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to pull up Jharkhand for illegal mining and exploitation of tribals at the hands of the coal mafia. A source told The Telegraph that NHRC secretary-general Rajiv Sharma had visited the state in January. “On a drive from Ranchi to Dhanbad, he saw tribal children pushing coal-laden cycles uphill. It...
More »‘Worst in Asia’ tag on bureaucracy
-The Telegraph Indian bureaucracy is the worst in Asia with a rating of 9.21 out of 10, according to a report by a Hong Kong-based consulting firm. Singapore was rated the best in the report by Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd released today. (See chart) But many bureaucrats The Telegraph spoke to raised questions about the report. “This is a Hong Kong-based firm. China has one of the most political bureaucracies in the...
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