-The Telegraph   Governor M.K. Narayanan has given his assent to the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, 2011, which will pave the way for the Mamata Banerjee government to award plots to “unwilling” farmers. According to government sources, Raj Bhavan officials informed chief secretary Samar Ghosh today about the clearance to the bill, passed by the Assembly on June 14. The chief minister, away in Delhi on a three-day visit, has...

For decades, the victims of communal and targeted violence have been denied protections of law that the rest of us take for granted. It's time to end this injustice. In a vibrant and mature democracy, there would be no need to have special laws to prosecute the powerful or protect the weak. If a crime takes place, the law would simply take its course. In a country like ours, however, life...

-The Telegraph   Sonia Gandhi today sent a terse reply to Anna Hazare’s complaints about a “conspiracy” to defame him, the response setting the tone before a last-ditch bid to resolve differences on the Lokpal bill. The Congress chief’s reply to a letter from the Gandhian came a day ahead of a scheduled meeting of the joint committee of government representatives and social activists set up to draft the proposed anti-corruption law. Sonia’s...

From the Middle East to Madagascar, high prices are spawning land grabs and ousting dictators. Welcome to the 21st-century food wars. In the United States, when world wheat prices rise by 75 percent, as they have over the last year, it means the difference between a $2 loaf of bread and a loaf costing maybe $2.10. If, however, you live in New Delhi, those skyrocketing costs really matter: A doubling in...

The Posco project has turned into a political hot potato with the two main Opposition parties trying to extract as much out of it as possible, hoping the Rs 51000 crore project turns into another Singur. At a time when Naveen Patnaik government finds itself embroiled in a number of unsavoury controversies, including horse trading during the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress and the BJP are looking to deliver the coup...