PADMA Shri laureate Barkha Dutt and Veer Sanghvi are names that have ruled the world of English journalism for decades, and are still going strong. But today, they are seen acting as the stewards of the government. Due to these two great journalists, a new dangerous and dirtier amalgam of journalism, bureaucracy and corporate world has come to forefront. The public of the nation is in a state of shock...
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Celebrating a revolution at the grassroots by Kaveri Gill
For two decades the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has taken the Right to Information Act to the grassroots. KAVERI GILL was witness to a mela that celebrated its 20th anniversary at Bhim, Rajasthan. The occasion was no political party rally, nor was there any promise of handouts by the state, dangling a carrot or wielding a stick to elicit attendance On Labour Day, a maidan in Bhim, District Rajsamand,...
More »Diet of mud and despair in Indian village by Chris Morris
"We live on a day-to-day basis," Suraj says, as the faint sound of hammering echoes across the village. "What we earn is what we spend on our families in a day." In Ganne, just off the main road about an hour south of the city of Allahabad, this is a simple fact of life. It is home to members of a poor tribal community, who live in small huts clustered around...
More »Make land losers beneficiaries of acquisition: Supreme Court by J Venkatesan
Revisit century-old Act, Bench asks Parliament, Law Commission Expressing concern over the plight of farmers and others whose rights are affected when their land is acquired for development, the Supreme Court has said there is need for Parliament and the Law Commission to revisit the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which is more than a century old. Acquisition affects the vital rights of farmers and gives rise to litigation and agitations, said...
More »Will counting caste help to reduce inequality? by Nandini Sundar
More thought needs to be given to the kind of data generated and its practical implications. Yesterday when the census enumerator visited, I asked him how he felt about the current debate on counting caste in the census: “Not comfortable at all”, he said, “I don't even like asking whether someone is SC/ST or Other, leave alone what their caste is.” But, he added, “caste is an inescapable reality of...
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