-The Hindustan Times With security forces under pressure to ensure that civilians do not get caught in cross-fire in the Red Corridor, Maoists have started deploying members of the Jan Militia in plains clothes as human shields during attacks on the forces. Home Ministry officials said forces fighting naxals were being advised to account for this strategy in its operations. The naxal change in strategy comes after the June 28 encounter between...

-The Hindu The response to my article by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, and his colleagues is a welcome move towards a public debate which we have suggested, time and again, should be held in every State with all people’s organisations. I would like to briefly reply to some points in the Minister’s response: His argument that land is finite cannot be used to justify forcible acquisition. The Bill...

-The Hindu Centre mulling alternative crops The Union Government is looking at the possibility of replacing rice crop in Punjab and Haryana with alternative crops such as pulses, fodder and oilseeds that help in nitrogen fixation. The water-intensive rice cultivation over the years has become unsustainable in these two States and the water table has fallen to precarious levels. Giving this information to members of Parliament’s Consultative Committee for his Ministry, Agriculture Minister...

-Deccan Herald Rights activists led by Aruna Roy on Monday demanded that the proposed Whistleblowers Protection Bill and the Grievance Redressal Bill be made more stringent. At a public debate involving intellectuals and MPs, the activists suggested that both the Bills, pending in Parliament, should be amended. The Whistleblowers Bill has been passed by Lok Sabha and is awaiting Rajya Sabha nod, while the Grievance Redressal Bill is still in Lok Sabha. National Campaign...

-The Hindu “The child of the poor who goes missing is just a number in the police record, it is only when a rich man’s child goes missing that the media, the police and the politicians really bother,’’ says Raj Kumar, who along with his wife continue to wait for the return of their eight-year-old daughter Kajol who went missing in April 2010 from in front of her house in Nangloi...