The gruesome murder of NREGA activist Niyamat Ansari has shocked the progressive civil society and political groups in the country. According to reports (one, two), Niyamat Ansari had exposed a case of corruption in NREGA and an FIR was lodged against a former BDO and another Panchayat Sevak of Manika block, Latehar (Jharkhand). On 2nd March 2011, Niyamat Ansari was picked from his house and beaten to death. The reports...
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50% quota for women in local bodies in Maharashtra
In a move that would increase women's representation in Politics, the Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to increase women's reservation in local body polls from 33 to 50 per cent. Bill The decision comes a day after Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said a Bill proposing 50 per cent women's quota in local bodies would be introduced in the coming Budget session of the legislature on March 14. Between November 2011 and...
More »Bloggers call content regulation a gag on freedom by Srividya Iyer
A proposed government move to regulate content on blogs has ignited a firestorm of protest from the blogging community which is accusing the government of restricting free speech and acting like the guardians of a police state. At the heart of the issue is the Indian IT Act which was amended in 2008 to incorporate the much-needed changes to clarify the legal position of intermediaries or those who provide web-hosting...
More »Up for Sale: Agricultural land in Chhattisgarh by Vipin Thakur
Another name for Chhattisgarh is ' Dhan ka katora' or 'Rice Bowl'. There is an amazing variety of rice being grown across the region in Central India, largely dominated by tribal communities. This is a land blessed by the bounty of nature and has a combination of soil, water and temperature, which lends itself well to the cultivation of this all-important foodgrain. Yet all this amounts to very little today and...
More »“Media must do its bit to get people to vote” by Urvashi Sarkar
The need for the media to take voluntary, not paid, ownership of creating awareness for better participation of voters in the election process was recommended at a roundtable on the “Role of media in building voters' awareness” here on Friday. The recommendation was part of a national consultation on voters' participation organised by the Election Commission (EC). Other roundtables at the consultation pertained to fighting urban apathy, connecting with youth in...
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