Ten years after the killings in Gujarat, Narendra Modi has neither expressed regret nor has he been held accountable for those mass deaths. Where do we go from here? Anand Teltumbde (tanandraj@gmail.com) is a writer and civil rights activist with the Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights, Mumbai.   Just thinking of it, a shiver runs down my spine. I had my own brush with how the Hindutva gangs carried out the...

A tectonic shift in the global climate negotiations got underway with the African group of countries siding with India in demanding that equity and 'common but differentiated responsibilities' be embedded in the talks for a future climate regime. The re-alignments became evident with several key groups of nations submitting their views on how countries should increase their ambition levels for cutting emissions in the coming years. The submissions from Association of Small...

A visually challenged woman who cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) with distinction in 2008 but was denied Posting got justice after a four-year battle and the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Purnima Jain, with about 75% visual disability, has been offered an Indian Railway Personnel Services (IRPS) Posting under Group B of Class I. Although Purnima is willing to take up the new job, she isn't satisfied with...

Right to Information (RTI) activist Sanjay Bhaklika has alleged that the Adharwadi prison authorities demanded Rs 1.29 lakh from him for 12,500 pages of information on the jail. Bhaklika, 40, a resident of Sai Chowk, Kadakpada in Kalyan, said, “I was in jail for 43 days on a false forgery case. During my time inside the prison, I saw many irregularities. So, after getting released on bail, I decided to expose...

In India, agriculture and allied sector is the source of income for over 60% of rural population and its contribution to GDP has been consistently coming down and currently stands at 14.3%.  For the Indian economy to grow at the rate of 8-9%, the growth rate of agriculture sector has to be more than 4%. The critical role of agriculture in the economy highlights the need for a larger investment in...