The Planning Commission's Approach Paper to the Twelfth Plan sticks with the neoliberal agenda despite claims of inclusive growth. INCLUSIVE was one word that came up time and again in the early announcements of the Planning Commission on the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. “Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth” was the slogan coined for the Plan and there was the promise of widespread consultations as never before as part of the processes...

The changing stances of the Planning Commission reflect the influence of the political climate. THE short note on the history of the Planning Commission on its website concludes thus: “For the first eight Plans the emphasis was on a growing public sector with massive investments in basic and heavy industries, but since the launch of the Ninth Plan in 1997, the emphasis on the public sector has become less pronounced and...

Despite a tortuous route marked by twists and turns, allegations and counter-allegations, amid public protests and fears of further violence in neighbouring Haryana, the Rohini sessions court which pronounced the judgment in the Mirchpur caste violence incident convicting 15 people and acquitting 82 others has set a record of sorts by completing the trial in just over nine months. On April 21, 2010, 70-year-old Tara Chand and his physically-challenged daughter, Suman,...

The police action against Dalits in Paramakudi leaves indelible scars on the psyche of the oppressed people all over Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu Police, in its modern avatar, reflects a glorious tradition of over a century and a half. It was the only force to embark on State-sponsored modernisation in the early 1990s which was pioneered by me during my first tenure as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996....

-The Hindu   His party will raise issue with NHRC, Scheduled Castes panel The Paramakudi police firing was State-sponsored, brutal murder of six Dalits and an attempt to suppress and oppress the democratic form of Dalit assertion in the State, said John Pandian, founder president, Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), here on Wednesday. Tension prevailed at Government Rajaji Hospital during his visit to meet those injured in the firing and rioting at Paramakudi and...