-The Times of India The Union government has stepped up its efforts to stop what it perceives an online campaign of misinformation and rumour-mongering in the wake of Assam riots and has blocked several Twitter accounts, including two belonging to journalists, considered sympathetic to far Right in India. The blocked accounts include those maintained by Kanchan Gupta, who until a few months ago was with the Pioneer newspaper, and Shiv Aroor, a...

-The Independent Drought is good for business, says Glencore chief The United Nations, aid agencies and the British Government have lined up to attack the world's largest commodities trading company, Glencore, after it described the current global food crisis and soaring world prices as a "good" business opportunity. With the US experiencing a rerun of the drought "Dust Bowl" days of the 1930s and Russia suffering a similar food crisis that could see...

-The Indian Express The exodus to the Northeast, perhaps the biggest mass displacement in peacetime, reads like the dark side of the Arab Spring or the reverse of a flash mob. The social and SMS media, which accumulate forces for positive change, were leveraged to spread rumours and disperse minorities by the fictitious threat of violence. And the response is totally inadequate. Social media shifted the balance of power from governments and...

-The Indian Express A high profile institute-cum-think tank in the heart of New Delhi’s diplomatic area in Chanakyapuri, set up on land allotted by the then Narasimha Rao government, a clutch of former intelligence officials running the place, and a group of well-known RSS swayamsewaks — they are the silent force behind the recent anti-corruption movements in the country, especially the one led by Baba Ramdev. In fact, it was at the...

-Economic and Political Weekly The anti-corruption movement’s antics have weakened other movements for accountability. The recent fast-unto-death by members of “Team Anna” (a self-proclaimed name which has always sounded pompous even if loved by a media looking for a catchy t­itle) thankfully ended without any calamity on the advice of a group of “eminent” citizens and with a promise to carry on the “movement” in the political sphere. Many commentators have, rightly,...