Manish Kunjam , a former MLA and president of All India Adivasi Mahasabha, the tribal front of the CPI, is the only politician in Bastar who continues to organise Adivasis peacefully for their constitutional rights. Jyoti Punwani spoke to Kunjam about doing politics while facing police repression and Naxal violence: After a long gap, Chhattisgarh recently witnessed two massiveAdivasirallies.What were your demands? The Chhattisgarh government is running under the writ...

Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel peace prize for his pursuit of freedom through peaceful and non-violent means. India was among the many nations that defied China's call for a boycott of the Nobel ceremony. New Delhi didn't quite welcome the choice. The decision to attend the ceremony may have had more to do with the need to adopt a public posture that India refuses to be arm-twisted by China. And,...

In the first reported incident of its kind since the lion poaching incidents of May 2007, a gang of suspected poachers comprising about 25 tribals from Karnataka, was busted in Kodinar, Gir (west), late on Monday night. The tribals were caught with five bags full of different lion body parts, Rs60,000 in cash and some sharp weapons. No carcass of lion has been discovered yet, but foresters believe these tribals to...

OVER 2.5 crore job card holders registered under Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) could be affected by the rural development ministry’s decision to introduce biometrics to the scheme. The job cards of beneficiaries in 200 districts across India are set to expire in 2011. The process of job card renewal under the biometric system would take six months to two years. This would deny the registered people 100 days...

While the lay public may have been shocked by the revelation of an often cosy relationship between public relations (PR) professionals and the media, brought out by the Niira Radia telephone tapes, few in the media or in business would have been surprised. Few editors and reporters today can say they have not been approached for “friendly stories” or threatened with ad blackouts or block access for failure to publish...