Four men have been arrested for allegedly beating up a Dalit RTI activist for seeking details of work done in his village in Rajasthan's Barmer district under the government's rural job guarantee scheme, an official said Wednesday. Mangal Ram from Bamgore village was allegedly thrashed by the sarpanch (village head) and his supporters March 3. He was hospitalised with his legs and hands fractured. 'We have arrested Jameel, Hamira, Jeela and Ali...

They move Supreme Court for implementation of reforms Lack of good governance violative of Article 21 (right to life and liberty) Form independent Civil Service Board both at Centre and in States In a rare instance, 83 former bureaucrats including retired Chief Election Commissioners, retired police officers, a former Governor, retired diplomats and retired Chief Secretaries have come together and moved the Supreme Court seeking implementation of the recommendations on administrative reforms. A Bench...

The Italian phrase "lascia il tempo que trova" (it leaves the air it finds) does a better job of describing Pranab Mukherjee's budget than India's corporate media would ever dare to do. To put it mildly, the budget this year, is yet again, an utter disappointment for the food and agriculture sectors. To begin with, flagship schemes like the midday meals and the Integrated Child Development Services did not, unlike in...

Bant Singh, a scarred survivor of class violence in rural India, has an indisputable claim to be a voice for India's impoverished and muted millions. The folk singer lost both arms and a leg in an attack five years ago after he dared to challenge high-caste landlords in his area of the northwestern state of Punjab who had raped his 17-year-old daughter. Set upon by a gang armed with iron bars, he...

As many as 806 farmers have committed suicide in the last two-and-a-half years in the State. Among the districts, Hassan has reported the highest number of suicides at 101, according to a written reply by Agriculture Minister Umesh Katti to the Legislative Assembly on Monday. Bidar stood second with 88 cases. However, there seems to be a decrease in the number of the farmers’ suicide cases in the last two years. Compared...