-The Tribune Right from the inception of parliamentary democracy in our country, every party has appointed a whip tasked with disciplining the elected representatives. But what about direct command from the voters? Why can’t the voters bypass the parties and instruct their representatives on how to conduct themselves in Parliament? THE Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s decision to issue a ‘voters’ whip’ is one more democratic innovation in these dark times when formal democratic...

-TheWire.in The Bill promotes a two-child policy, and says those in violation will be barred from contesting local body elections, applying to government jobs or receiving any government subsidy. New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Law Commission has released a draft population control Bill – but had it been a law, 50% of the Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs in the state would have been in violation. The Bill promotes a two-child policy, and says...

-Article-14.com Talks to restart the political process in Jammu and Kashmir did not include its forgotten people: a teenager who disappeared, a murdered shopkeeper and a detained politician, whose cases have been brought to New Delhi’s attention by the United Nations. We tracked down stories the government does not discuss. Srinagar: Mohammad Hussian Wani, 55, does not know that United Nations human-rights experts have mentioned the name of his son, Naseer Ahmad...

-Business Standard How support for left and right-leaning parties is changing in social composition Some decades back the typical voting pattern in many democracies used to be that the rich and upper middle classes used to vote in general for right-leaning parties, while the relatively poor voted for left-leaning parties. But in recent decades this pattern has been shifting: many of the professional or more educated voters in some of those countries...

-TwoCircles.net While the Constitution of India ensures the fundamental rights and dignity of every individual, in Assam thousands of people are fighting the legal battle for citizenship. To fight these legal cases and to communicate the Constitutional rights, Guwahati based human rights lawyer Aman Wadud has been leading the initiative called Samvidhan Kendra or Constitution Centres in various parts of Assam. A TCN Ground Report features the lawyer and his work. GUWAHATI...