The police action against Dalits in Paramakudi leaves indelible scars on the psyche of the oppressed people all over Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu Police, in its modern avatar, reflects a glorious tradition of over a century and a half. It was the only force to embark on State-sponsored modernisation in the early 1990s which was pioneered by me during my first tenure as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996....

Five years after the government launched its flagship job creation programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is set to get a make-over. Sources tell NDTV that government is mulling private sector participation. Under a new draft the government will continue to pay 100 days of wages, and companies will only have to pick up a wage bill for the remaining 265 days. Cottage, small scale and medium sized...

In an attempt to bolster its aam aadmi image, the government is setting up the Aajeevika Development and Financial Corporation, a financial institution to ensure easily available funding for self-help groups under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. Problems in accessing credit for families below poverty line have been a major hurdle for the livelihood mission. The rural development ministry is in the process of inter-ministerial consultations on the proposed financial...

It’s been raining “rights” in Indian policy for the last few years — education, work, food, service, healthcare, and much else. This “Diet Coke” approach to poverty reduction — the sweetness without the calories — was always dangerous because of unknown side effects. Commenting in 1790 on the consequences of the French Revolution, Edmund Burke said: “They have found their punishment in their success. Laws overturned, tribunals subverted, industry without...

The Supreme Court criticises the Chhattisgarh and Central governments and orders the disbanding of Salwa Judum. THE case Nandini Sundar vs State of Chhattisgarh arose out of a writ petition (civil) filed in 2007 in the Supreme Court by Nandini Sundar, a Professor of sociology at the Delhi School of Economics; Ramachandra Guha, a historian; and E.A.S. Sarma, former Secretary to Government of India and former Commissioner, Tribal Welfare, Government...