RJD supremo Lalu Prasad todayflayed police lathicharge against the farmers during protestagainst inadequate land acquisition at Nabi Nagar in Bihar''sAurangabad district two weeks ago and equated the incidentwith ''Nandigram'' violence in West Bengal four years ago. Claiming one person was killed in police action atNabinagar, Prasad said "the Bihar government should put inplace a proper land acquisition policy to prevent places instate from becoming Nandigram". Official sources, however, had confirmed that 25farmers...

Despite its slackening industry, the common perception of West Bengal as a backward state has little substance when one looks at the facts. Most of us are conditioned to view economic development in terms of industrialisation. While industrialisation is essential for economic transformation, it is not as if economic growth is not possible without it. The sectoral structure of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and its slow transformation makes a good...

Over 500 people under the banner of All Adivasi Students' Association of Assam (Aasaa) staged a four-hour dharna in the Lastgate area of Dispur on Thursday seeking an immediate halt to illegal eviction in the Lungsung forest area of Kokrajhar district. Shouting slogans like "stop illegal eviction in Lungsung" and "give us justice", the protesters alleged that the Congress-led government in the state has deprived them of the basic needs....

Even though the Central Government agreed to link the wages paid under MG-NREGA to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPIAL), it shied away from paying statutory minimum wages in various states of India. Their logic for this: Lack of clarity on who will bear the extra financial burden—the Centre or the states? A letter from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to UPA and NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi dated 31...

The Centre is mulling summary dismissal of public servants chargesheeted for corruption. The move will ensure that government will not have to wait for long-drawn court battle to sack officials found guilty of corruption. But it is to be seen if such a provision will extend to politicians who are classified as "public servants" in the anti-graft law. A GoM on tackling corruption will take a call on the issue while hammering...