-The Times of India   The CBI has refused to make public information about disproportionate asset cases against government servants, including bureaucrats and ministers, after last week's exemption under RTI Act given by the government. The Centre, through a notification issued on June 9, placed the agency in the organisations listed in the second schedule of Section 24 of the RTI Act which also comprises intelligence and security agencies. "The government...

This paper was presented at the Regional Workshop on War on Terror and Asian Democracy 17 May 2011, Kim Dae-Jung Convention Centre, South Korea organised by Solidarity for Democratization Movement in Asia (SDMA) Introduction In the discourse on terrorism and counter terrorism, September 11 stands as a watershed because of the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001. Government of India (GoI) also took full advantage of the ‘War on Terror’...

-BBC   An Indian activist who went on a hunger strike in February to protest against illegal mining has died in a hospital in northern Uttarakhand state. Swami Nigamanand, 36, slipped into a coma in May, days after being hospitalised. Officials said the government had banned mining in the Kumbh region as demanded by the activist. But federal Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blamed the state government for "ignoring" the activist's pleas. A founder-member of...

“Draft Lokpal Bill will be introduced in monsoon session of Parliament” Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday accused social activists Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev of trying to “dictate” terms to the Centre and “weakening” parliamentary democracy by threatening an indefinite fast to get their demands accepted. At a press conference here, Mr. Mukherjee also criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for backing the anti-Graft movement in a bid “to capture...

-The Times of India   Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Sunday created a flutter by endorsing civil society's demand to bring the prime minister and the higher judiciary under the ambit of Lokpal, taking the government and his party colleagues by surprise. "My view is that the prime minister, judiciary, NGOs and industrial houses should also be brought under the ambit of Lokpal. But there should be a system to ensure...