Prominent Indian activists have begun a 3000km (1864 miles) drive from Indian-administered Kashmir to north-eastern Manipur state to demand the withdrawal of a controversial anti-insurgent law. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) gives the security forces the powers of search and seizure. It also protects soldiers who may kill a civilian by mistake or in unavoidable circumstances during an operation. The law has been blamed for "fake killings" in Kashmir and Manipur. An...

AS THE UPA government struggled to hide its embarrassment over the finance ministry note on the 2G spectrum allocation, the RTI Act — through which the note was made public — has become the whipping boy. Senior Cabinet members such as Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily and Law Minister Salman Khurshid have hit out at the ‘misuse’ of the transparency law. Moily called for a national debate as he claimed RTI...

The parliamentary standing committee on law and justice is veering around to recommending exclusion of lower bureaucracy from the purview of the proposed Lokpal and facilitating setting up of powerful Lokayuktas in all states. While the panel is likely to endorse the government's bill on the basic structure of the Lokpal, including exclusion of lower bureaucracy, higher judiciary, citizen's charter and allowing PM with CERTain safeguards, it may also recommend that...

-The Hindu   Noted Jaipur-based economist V. S. Vyas has expressed concern over “progressive diminution” of cultivated holdings which he says has led to stagnation in the yield of major crops and rendered agricultural income insufficient for farmers to make ends meet. A sharp decline was also being witnessed in per capita food production, he said. Delivering the Tarlok Singh Memorial Lecture at the University of Hyderabad over the weekend, Professor Vyas said...

-The Indian Express   Amid a raging debate on RTI, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid has made it clear that there is no proposal for a "relook" at the Act but noted that not only the government but the judiciary too had experienced "difficulties" because of it. "We are proud of RTI. We are pleased that we gave RTI to this country. Even if it causes inconvenience to this country to an extent,...