Anna Hazare's fast puts Jan Lokpal on the nation's agenda, but doubts remain whether it will help root out corruption. A FUTURE historian who browses the archives of Indian newspapers and news websites from April 5 to 10 will be confused over how to characterise the groundswell of public support across the country for the “fast unto death” undertaken at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi, by a social activist not...

Cash transfer as substitute for state service provision is a dangerous recipe for callously anti-poor and corrupt governance. THE staggering number of recent articles, papers and books on the virtues of giving cash in place of public services to the poor has created an impression that a sort of epidemic has broken out. Economists, policymakers, bureaucrats and newspaper commentators are all infected by it and are in turn infecting others. The central...

The last rites of Ajit Bhattacharjea, one of the towering figures of Indian media, were performed here on Tuesday after a large number of his friends and admirers paid rich tributes to him. Mr. Bhattacharjea, a leading figure of the right to information movement, died at his Panchsheel Enclave residence on Monday after prolonged illness. He was 87. The last rites were performed by his son at the Lodhi Crematorium. BJP leader L.K....

The Right to Information Bill tabled in Parliament raises expectations to new levels by proposing a dedicated Information Commission for enforcement. Except, the commission is crippled at conception, with no direct penalizing powers. Prakash Kardaley comments.   The Central Right to Information Act as tabled before the Parliament is flawed. The penalty clause as proposed by the Sonia Gandhi chaired National Advisory Council (NAC) has been mercilessly diluted. The provision to keep...

We come to know about gender discrimination only through the media. Our knowledge about latest global or local gender reports is also media-dependent. But what do we know about the media’s own record of allowing space for women’s voice? The good news is that the mass media is beginning to come under the scanner on this count but the bad news is that the media’s own record is quite dismal. A...