Kandhamal was not a spontaneous outburst of mass anger. And the victims still await justice. It was a terrifying Christmas in 2007 for tribal and dalit Christians who live in the second poorest, deeply forested district of Odisha, Kandhamal. Long-smouldering violence targeting them exploded, and was to continue to rage for another full year. During this time, 600 villages were ransacked, 5,600 houses were looted and burnt, 54,000 persons rendered homeless,...

-The Times of India   The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday registered a case of murder against 20 policemen in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case in Gujarat, adding to the pile of legal troubles of Narendra Modi government. The fresh FIR was registered by the probe agency after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) gave its complaint to the CBI on December 15, saying that the encounter was staged. The cops named...

THE MERE suggestion of any amendment to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, sends civil society into a tizzy. Perhaps this level of anxiety is necessary to protect the common man’s most important tool to hold the government accountable. But what if the RTI is dying, not because of government intervention but negligence? The pendency of complaints and appeals in several states is on the rise, while the number of...

-Associated Press   Bootleg liquor containing toxic methanol killed 143 people and sickened dozens more who drank the cheap, illicit brew bought at small shops in West Bengal, officials said Thursday. Police arrested 10 suspected bootleggers. Emergency medical teams rushed to the village outside Kolkata, and thousands of relatives, many of them wailing in grief, gathered outside the packed hospital. Inside, dead bodies lay on the floor covered in quilts, while the ill...

"Even after 64 years of freedom, voters haven't really known what democracy is all about. Their vote is nothing but an illusion," said RTI activist Bharatsinh Jhala, who flagged off a state-wide campaign 'Jago Yatra' for voters in the state. On Monday morning, Jhala accompanied by a few other activists, kicked off the mission to awaken voters of Gujarat. He said, "Today, voters don't have faith trust in any political party...