Anyone who came in contact with Professor R.S. Sharma — students, teachers, ordinary men and women from different walks of life as this reporter did — could not have remained untouched by him. Gentle and with a sparkle in his eyes, he came out as strong, determined and always principled. Moreover, as a historian he was never locked up in the ivory tower of academia and did not shy away from...

-The Telegraph   Anna Hazare’s team today demanded that Parliament enact the group’s version of the Lokpal bill by the end of this month, claiming an Emergency-era precedent when both Houses passed an amendment within a very short time. Senior advocate Shanti Bhushan said the government should withdraw the bill it had introduced in the Lok Sabha and table the Jan Lokpal bill when Parliament meets on Tuesday. Monday is a holiday. Bhushan, law...

-PTI   CHENNAI: The Government has increased the allocation for Health and Family Welfare Ministry by 20 per cent to Rs 26,760 crore in 2011-12, Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan said here today. "To address the overall healthcare requirements of the country, the allocation for Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been increased by 20 per cent from Rs 22,300 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 26,760 crore in 2011-12," he said,...

The protest leader Anna Hazare appeared to strike a deal with the police early Thursday morning that would enable him to leave a local jail and begin staging a hunger strike against corruption later in the day, according to a close aide and reports in the Indian news media. One of Mr. Hazare’s aides, Kiran Bedi, announced via Twitter that Mr. Hazare had accepted a police offer to limit any...

Rattled by swelling political and public anger at the preventive arrest of activist Anna Hazare, the UPA government backtracked late this evening and announced his release to a street sensed of victory against a shaken ruling establishment. But signs that the panicked U-turn will bring the beleaguered government little relief were immediately visible as Hazare refused to leave Tihar Jail, demanding that he be guaranteed permission to fast at central Delhi’s...