Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati vetted the Centre’s plan to take the CBI out of the purview of the RTI Act on the ground that it was also involved in intelligence-gathering as well as safeguarding the country’s economic security. And the government cited this opinion to overrule senior functionaries, including some members of the Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, who had cautioned against such a move. Now,...

It was the writer and Activist Arundhati Roy who set foreign journalists in India busily chattering recently. In an interview with Stephen Moss in the Guardian, Ms Roy was discussing the Maoist and Adavasi “resistance” to encroachment on tribal lands. Mr Moss, asked her why, “we in the West don’t hear about these mini-wars?”. Ms Roy replied: “I have been told quite openly by several correspondents of international newspapers, that...

Orissa government is finding it difficult to acquired land for Posco's Rs 52,000 crore steel project as anti-displacement brigade gained strength from political parties and social Activists with Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patker on Monday visiting Dhinkia, the entry point to the proposed plant site on Monday and lending her support to protester. Last week social Activists Swami Agnibesh visited Dhinkia and warned the government of any violence...

Support for the agitation against forceful land acquisition for the proposed mega steel plant project of Posco in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa grew larger on Monday, forcing the administration to refrain from acquiring any land during the day. Many social Activists, including Medha Patkar, Banwari Lal Sharma of Azadi Bachao Andolan, and noted Gandhian Amarnath Bhai, visited the agitating villagers at Govindpur village and raised their voice against the involvement of...

Convention on Domestic Workers recognises rights of domestic workers as worker rights “People will throw us out, rather than give us all these rights”: a part-time domestic maid Trade union Activists and those working with the informal sector may be rejoicing over the historic Convention on Domestic Workers adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) last week recognising the rights of domestic workers as worker rights and specifies standards for regulation of...