Idinthakarai: The agitation against the Koodankulam nuclear plant has lost its intensity and sense of direction following the withdrawal of an indefinite fast, a move forced on the protesters after the Tamil Nadu government withdrew its tacit support to them. The indefinite fast at Idinthakarai had seen mass participation but on Monday, when a relay hunger strike begins, it will involve only a few dozen people. The protesters are as frustrated...
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The public needs both gavel and pen-Siddharth Varadarajan
The Judiciary is the third branch of government. As with the Executive and Legislature, the public has a right to see and know and understand the functioning of this branch. That is why India, like every other democracy, has embraced the concept of open court proceedings and trials, except in those situations where, for security or other compelling reasons, in camera hearings are required. In the Mirajkar case ( Naresh Shridhar...
More »Kafkaesque ordeal?-TK Rajalakshmi
The arrest of Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi in connection with the bomb attack on an Israeli embassy car raises many questions. AN uneasy silence fills the streets of B.K. Dutt Colony near the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Named after the revolutionary freedom fighter Batukeshwar Dutt, who, along with Bhagat Singh, threw bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929, the nondescript colony has been...
More »The mothering effect-KumKum Dasgupta
-The Hindustan Times Rambai, a lean and sprightly 34-year-old, has never been the quiet sort. So when her neighbours at the Rokra hamlet were asked to choose a community health worker (CHW) — called Mitanin (friend) in Chhattisgarh — they knew that Rambai would be an ideal candidate. “We selected her because she could communicate well and interact with officials with ease, even though she has studied till Class 5,” said...
More »3 years of RTI in J&K-Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
Today is 20th March and it was this day in 2009 when the new form of Right to Information Act (RTI Act) was enacted in J&K by Omar Abdullah led Government soon after coming to power. Prior to 2009 we had an RTI law passed by PDP Congress coalition Government headed by Mufti Mohammad Syeed in 2004 (J&K RTI Act 2004). The 2004 version of RTI Act was much weaker...
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