The sea change that India’s national scheme for rural employment guarantee has accomplished is hard to fathom, its vastness touching the lives or more than 100 million people. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005 (NREGA, subsequently renamed after Mahatma Gandhi, or MGNREGA) was a landmark in Indian legislation. Under the act, as of April 2008, for the first time in India’s history, all rural citizens have a legal right...

With a huge amount of funds riding on various rural development programmes, the Manmohan Singh government has now turned its sights on reforming and strengthening the panchayati raj system. And the task is going to start at the level of the gram panchayats, which are the vehicle for the implementation of most of the rural development projects. The ministry of rural development and panchayati raj institutions is presently in the...

In 1960, when I was enrolled for my MA at the Delhi School of Economics, the shining star at the School was certainly K.N. Raj. The founder of the School, V.K.R.V. Rao, had left the institution, but came back every Founders’ Day to remind us of its glorious past and of the enduring values it embodied. Raj’s style was much lower key, but it soon became clear that his dedication...

Is it the Supreme Court of India, or the Supreme Court for Indians?  The law must be equally open to the humblest, simplest and little member of the community A decentralised system of judicature is a paramount property for democracy to have élan A Supreme Court of India, and a Supreme Court for all Indians: these two versions can be radically different in terms of principle and content. The Preamble to...

In a year of sparse rains and spiralling food prices, with hundreds of districts being officially declared as drought-hit, a rally by activists in the capital demands a Food Entitlements Act.  Perhaps the most vocal demands at the rally were those aimed at a complete revamp of the Public Distribution System (PDS), starting with universal — instead of targeted — coverage. Over 5,000 grassroots activists, agricultural workers, farmers, lawyers, doctors and...