-Scroll.in Their families and friends are now scared of speaking to journalists. Uttar Pradesh police have arrested more than 700 people over the last week for protesting against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. Most of the arrests have taken place in working-class Muslim neighbourhoods where residents allege the police turned violent, fired bullets without warning and ransacked homes. However, in Varanasi, even social activists among the educated middle class have not Been spared....

  Against the backdrop of National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), which is expected to be conducted nationwide, there are media reports about detention centres being constructed in various parts of the country. Although media reports indicate the Government denying any connection between NRIC and National Population Register, a reply to unstarred question no 4380 (to be answered on 21st April 2015 in the Lok Sabha) by the Minister of State...

-The Hindu Uneven inflation and sluggish growth present serious dilemmas for policymakers Policymakers face a tricky dilemma as prices in the economy continue to rise even as economic growth has plummeted to well under 5%. Food inflation, now in double-digits, has caused significant pain. The International Monetary Fund on December 23 called for “urgent” policy measures to reverse the current slowdown that has weighed down global economic growth. The warning is timely...

-The Hindu Delays in local body polls can be avoided with sterner fixing of accountability It’s Been more than two decades since the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were passed by Parliament, which accorded constitutional status to local administration bodies across India. Yet, the Tamil Nadu government delayed holding rural local body elections, due in 2016, by three years. This unconstitutional delay started when the Madras High Court cancelled the notification put...

-The Hindu These instructions were sent to “restrict the movements of foreign nationals staying illegally so that they are physically available at all times for expeditious repatriation,” according to govt response in Lok Sabha The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has Been instructing the State governments since 2009 to set up detention centres to “restrict the movements of foreign nationals staying illegally so that they are physically available at all times for...