The Lokpal Bill is in danger of skidding off the rails. As it is introduced in Parliament, eminent activist Aruna Roy tells Shoma Chaudhury why we should not rush into it. THE LOKPAL BILL is now being debated in Parliament, almost 40 years after the idea was first mooted. Unfortunately, parented on one side by decades of wilful government inertia and, on the other, by the panicked hustle of ‘Team...
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Dakan! Fighting violence against women by Kavita Srivastava
Important draft legislation was recently unveiled in Rajasthan that would impose serious punishment for ‘witch-hunting’. Getting legislators to sign off on the bill, however, will prove difficult. Over the years, the women’s movement in Rajasthan has had some success in making violence against women into an important political issue. Activists have forced political parties and governments to demonstrate that they are addressing this constituency, which the media has dubbed ‘Mahila Sangathan’....
More »Urban poor can’t sell flats for 15 yrs by Atul Mathur
Economically weaker urban sections, entitled to get flats under the Rajiv Ratan Awas Yojana, will now not be able to sell their houses for at least 15 years after the allotment. Senior Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) officials have said they have worked out a plan to ensure that slum-dwellers who get subsidised houses under the scheme live in them. The Rajiv Ratan Awas Yojana is the urban counterpart of the...
More »Thousands then, four now: Akhil power play on
-The Times of India Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) general secretary Akhil Gogoi is known for drawing huge crowds in his demonstration programmes. But on Monday, when the RTI activist launched an indefinite sit-in stir against the recent hike in electricity tariff, he had only three men and a woman by his side. Is people's support for his campaign on social issues on the decline? Akhil reacts instantly. "The government...
More »Munger massacre underscores changing face of Bihar's Naxal movement by Shoumojit Banerjee
At half past four on the morning of July 2, a gang of Naxals donning Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) uniforms swooped down on the jagged Raunakabad hills and surrounded the tribal village of Kareili in Bihar's Munger district. The band, numbering 60-odd, massed in front of the village mukhiya's house and began rounding up a score of indigent Koda tribals at gun-point. The captives were beaten with INSAS rifle-butts...
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