-Live Mint   In an unprecedented move, farmers in East Godavari and adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh declared a crop holiday last season, refusing to cultivate paddy in this fully irrigated region of the state. Farmers say the reason for this drastic step is that cultivating paddy has become unremunerative and they are left with no other choice. The agrarian crisis and its neglect by successive governments are responsible for the low...

The Gujarat government had sacked an employee in connection with the riot case that led to 31 life terms yesterday — not the three among the accused but one who became a key prosecution Witness. It was police constable Munsaf Khan, who had not only identified several key accused in the Sardarpura massacre of 33 Muslims but exposed the rioter-police collusion. Khan’s victimisation partly mirrors that of another whistleblower policeman, IPS officer...

Call records lend weight to Sanjiv Bhatt's claimed presence at meeting with Modi Telephone records accessed by The Hindu lend credence to a crucial affidavit filed by a journalist backing senior police officer Sanjiv Bhatt's claim to have attended the controversial 2002 meeting at Narendra Modi's residence where the Gujarat Chief Minister allegedly said Hindus should be allowed to vent their anger against Muslims in the wake of the Godhra carnage. The...

These lend weight to journalist's affidavit to Supreme Court on meeting with the police officer The call records of Gujarat IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and former BBC correspondent Shubhranshu Chaudhary show they spoke to each other in Ahmedabad thrice on the evening of February 27, 2002, just before Mr. Bhatt says he went off to attend a meeting at the Gujarat Chief Minister's residence in which Narendra Modi allegedly asked police...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The media does need to look at its nexus with business interests; injured innocence will not do. Recent remarks by the new chair of the Press Council of India, Justice (retired) M Katju, have sparked off some-thing of a debate in the media. Katju’s comments on the intellectual capabilities of journalists and his low opinion of their abilities have predictably led to indignant protestations by media bodies. But...