-The Indian Express We have been numbed by a series of lies, myths and fictions about the project. India is at risk of becoming a surveillance state, with faint resistance from libertarians, intellectuals, political parties, the media, or the Supreme Court. Very soon, almost everyone will have an Aadhaar number, seeded in hundreds of databases. Most of these databases will be accessible to the government without invoking any special powers. Permanent surveillance...

-The Asian Age Amarjeet Sinha said it was a myth that people were losing work for not having Aadhaar cards. New Delhi: The central government extended the cut off date for 100 per cent Aadhaar coverage in the MGNREGA to September 30, instead of the earlier deadline of March 31. The move comes after the Centre faced widespread criticism from civil society activists over making Aadhaar compulsory for getting work under the...

-Frontline.in The British government, on the basis of an 1891 report on the subhuman living conditions of “Pariahs” by James H.A. Tremenheere, Acting Collector of Chengleput, assigned 12 lakh acres of land for distribution to the “depressed classes” of the Madras Presidency to empower them socially and economically. But more than 100 years later, much of this land is in the possession of non-Dalits, and the struggle to reclaim them has...

-The Times of India Going online was supposed to clean up and smoothen functioning of government schemes like the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGS. But experience from Jharkhand's tribal districts shows that besides the chronic lack of connectivity, a brand new system of corruption has emerged. And, instead of more transparency, villagers with no knowledge of the electronic way of life are running blindly from pillar to post. Too many flip-flops...

-Firstpost.com It was a replay of last year. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley read out his budget speech, paying special attention to agriculture and rural areas. He highlighted a few figures. The media caught on to his words and figures and declared the budget to be pro-farmer, pro-rural and pro-poor. We analysed the FM speech in our KisanSansad, held this year at Jantar Mantar, to coincide with the budget presentation. We were disappointed...