As a country grappling with political and infrastructural problems, there are very few issues that do not evoke extreme, often diametrically opposite, reactions in India. Population control Bills, vaccination policy, farmer income initiatives, river water sharing mechanisms or surrogacy laws—there is no dearth of topics that have triggered controversy, and …
To stage dharna outside Jharkhand Bhavan on June 20 Expresses concern over protection of those conducting surveys, social audits NEW DELHI: Several members of the Central Employment Guarantee Council who had demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation enquiry into the murder of social activist Lalit Mehta at Palamau in Jharkhand …
NEW DELHI: More than 100 eminent people from different walks of life have come together to condemn violence on social activists in Jharkhand and demand a CBI probe into the killing of Lalit Mehta and the widespread corruption in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme. They have …
Despite substantial decentralisation of power through panchayati raj institutions in West Bengal, the presence of an entrenched centralised party in power in the state has meant the use of such institutions as instruments of patronage. Violent battles have invariably taken place during panchayat elections, as these are seen as necessary …
As the alarm over soaring oil prices and losses on Wall Street sent markets tumbling across Asia today - the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex tanked over 500 points, at one stage dipping even below 15,000 points before ending the day at 15,066
It is true that any hike in oil prices will have a cascading effect through enhanced transport costs. But planned price increases are better managed and more equitable than inflation The Supreme Court view that the creamy layer concept can only be abandoned when and if more than 50 per …
Decentralisation of power and the institution of the panchayati raj system in West Bengal have been expected to aid the disappearance of subalternity (or a state of powerlessness) by way of caste, class and gender. On the contrary, an ethnographic investigation in a village panchayat reveals that divisions between the …
P. Sainath The farmers contesting the Jadcherla seat helped to defeat the sitting MLA. The Jadcherla 13, of whom eight are seen in the picture, succeeded in lowering the votes of the main parties. They made history by standing as 13 independent candidates fighting the same Assembly seat but contesting …
This report compares the performance of urban water bureaucracies in 21 major cities in India with 18 major cities across Southeast Asia using survey data and political economy analyses. It finds that water bureaucracies in Southeast Asia are substantially more effective and efficient compared with those in India. For instance, …
In the face of skyrocketing petrol prices, the New Zealand government has said that it would delay the introduction of a new petrol rates under the emissions trading scheme (ets) for two years. The proposed hike in petrol prices was part of a government plan to cap greenhouse gases emitted …
A survey by a scientific advocacy group has revealed that the George W Bush administration has frequently meddled with scientists at the us Environmental Protection Agency (epa). The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that nearly two-thirds of the 1,586 epa scientists, who responded to a questionnaire, complained of recent political …
the common wisdom of electoral democracy might call for politicians, specialising in arithmetic, who can identify the biggest number. But the post-modern understanding of electoral politics may demand integrating a small number of voters whose limit to power is tending towards infinity! Let us look at how a few road …
P.S. Suryanarayana India's economic engagement with Myanmar cannot be equated with the Western political game plan of fishing in the cyclone-stirred turbulent waters. Jairam Ramesh
Cyclone relief hit by politics IT is a matter of great relief that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has succeeded in persuading the military junta to allow foreign aid workers to provide relief to the desperate survivors of the cyclone Nargis. At least, 1.33 lakh people are feared killed or missing …
In a system with a centuries-long tradition of austere leaders laying down the law from behind their palace walls, China's response to the worst natural disaster in 30 years revealed a nation in the throes of political change. The China that emerged from the wreckage of the 7.9 magnitude earthquake …
While it had opposed tooth and nail the much talked about Bus Rapid Transit corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Delhi Gate that was earlier called the High Capacity Bus System, the Bharatiya Janata Party has now pledged itself to facilitating a similar "high capacity bus' system in the Delhi Cantonment …
The cyclone in Myanmar has killed 37,000 people. Another 1.5 million have been rendered homeless. The people badly need help but the rulers, a military junta, have been refusing it. Instead they have gone ahead with a referendum held to legitimise permanent military rule. Already, the military has been in …
India joined other nations in urging Myanmar to accept international relief for its cyclone-affected people while continuing to send assistance by military aircraft and naval ships. Myanmar's military government acceded to the appeal during a telephonic conversation between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his counterpart Nyan Win. "Mr. Mukherjee …
In a bid to woo the electorate, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday promised to increase the upper limit of income for below poverty line families from the present Rs. 11,800 to Rs. 60,000 a year if it is voted to power in the State. The BJP, which released its …
