Fighting the insurgency will need careful planning and sustained innovation. But New Delhi seems to have only big sacks of cash and even bigger words. Eleven weeks after the annihilation of an entire company of the Central Reserve Police Force in a Maoist ambush in April 2010 near the village of Tarmetla — the largest single loss India has ever suffered in a counter-insurgency campaign — Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram...
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How to End a Million Mutinies by Revati Laul
IF YOU walked down the streets of Jantar Mantar in New Delhi between 3-5 August, you would see what TV cameras aren’t putting out on primetime news. Thousands of farmers from Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh to Rohtak in Haryana. On protest. Against the systematic grabbing of their land by various state governments across the political spectrum. On one side of the road, on large green carpets, are about 3,000 farmers,...
More »Jan Lokpal goes elitist by Dipankar Gupta
If the Lokpal Bill presented to Parliament is a dud, Anna Hazare and his team must accept their share of the blame. They took their eyes off citizens and concentrated almost exclusively on big people in important positions. What tempted them to take this stance? Is it because enemies in high places are better ego boosters than humble friends? For ordinary people it is of little consequence if the prime minister...
More »Bicycles getting crushed under India's rushing prosperity by Neeraj Kaushal
It is the 21st century version of the classic rabbit and tortoise story. Last weekend, a group of cyclists decided to race against Jet-BlueAirlines in Los Angeles when one of its busiest Highways was shut down for construction and renovation. To help people get across the town fast, JetBlue started a special flight service. A group of cyclists decided to challenge the airlines to a bikeversus-airlines race. It turned out...
More »RTI activist held, accused of Maoist link by Manoj Anand
RTI activist Akhil Gogoi, who was arrested from Guwahati Press Club, was remanded to three days’ police custody. He was arrested for criminal offences for damaging public property, interference in the working of government officials on duty, physically harming government officials, illegally organising meetings, engaging in public fight, accomplishing crime through accomplices, carrying weapons to destroy public property etc. during a protest march against eviction drive of the state government....
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