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 …
the furore over Tata's proposed Rs 1,000 crore small car plant in Singur, Hooghly may be creating rifts among longtime Left partners, it's also helping bring old foes together. But the fear of being labelled anti-industry has the new allies still hedging their bets. The latest installment of this drama …
widespread resistance to a new uranium mine and processing plant in his long-time Pulivendula assembly constituency in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh has come as a shock to chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. People from his pocket borough have dug in against his pet project: a 26.79-million tonne uranium …
The National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP), launched in 2004, identified 50 backward districts, where employment guarantee scheme was to get started. The 150 districts were identified by the Planning Commission on the basis of three criteria, Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) population, agricultural productivity per worker, and agricultural wage rate …
• A British television channel has been criticised as "irresponsible' for making a drama in which US President George Bush is assassinated. Death of a President, on More4, uses actors and computer effects to portray the president being shot dead during an anti-war rally in Chicago in 2007. The makers …
blame it all on the "negative impact of political instability' in Nepal. This seems to be the ready excuse for any untoward incident in the country, even if it is related to wildlife. In the last week of July, the Chitawan National Park authorities found three rhinos dead in adjoining …
www.anfrel.org Working democracy The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) operates this site under review. Established in 1997, this network of civil society organisations aims to promote democratisation at national and grassroots levels in Asia. The organisation has been active in capacity building of member and non-member organisations on issues …
Railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu are the clowns of Indian politics. But think of the actions of the two in the past fortnight and you will begin seeing the difference. Sidhu led the protest for the Bharatiya Janata Party against the fuel price hike …
effluents spur boycott: Farmers from Kuppam village in Tamil Nadu's Karur district have declared a boycott of the assembly elections, scheduled for May 8-10, 2006. They allege that effluents from bleaching and dyeing units in Tirupur, upstream of the Noyyal, have seriously affected the village in the past few years. …
A journalist from the International Herald Tribune asked my opinion about what he called "modern forms of lobbying" that us multinationals operating in India engaged in. He was investigating how these companies were bringing their skills of influencing policy - from 'planting' stories in the media, to 'engaging' academics and …
Over the past few days, Jantar Mantar has been the venue of two protests - against two of worst tragedies Independent India has witnessed. On one side of the road were activists fighting for justice for the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy - the chemical disaster that killed, maimed …
Based on primary source material, this paper unravels the undermining of development of vital transport infrastructure in Orissa, namely, Paradeep port and a proposed railway line for exploiting the rich mineral resources of the state
at last, we have got the confirmation. We don't we see many discussions about poor peoples' issues because poor people cannot pay their elected representatives enough for questions to be raised on their issues in parliament. The debate over ethics of
the political discourse in Kerala today is dominated by how the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (ldf) decimated the Congress led United Democratic Front (udf) in the recent panchayat elections. However, the role played by grassroot level movements in shaping the electoral outcome in many places is …
in a verdict aimed at political cleansing, the Supreme Court (sc) issued a notice to attorney general Milon K Banerjee on January 24, 2005, to empower voters with the right to reject all candidates while casting votes in elections. The order was passed in response to a public interest litigation …
too demanding: The Uttar Pradesh government decided on December 14, 2004, to constitute an Irrigation Development and Flood Control Commission. The move is allegedly aimed at merely including Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) member of parliament Anuradha Chowdhary in the government. The state already has a Flood Control Board and some …
as haryana gears up for panchayat elections during January-February 2005, its model panchayat, Kausli in Rewari district, doesn't seem too enthusiastic. Kalpana Kumari Yadav, a resident, says with a touch of indignation: "I voted in the 14th Lok Sabha elections but my name is missing from the new electoral list …
Movie In the current us election season, Dickie Pilger's website seems quite a model. Here is a candidate extolling state funding of healthcare and stands for protecting the environment. But Pilger is different from other candidates: he is the lead character in a movie Silver City by director John Sayles. …
In Nagpur city, women gather outside a court. In broad daylight they lynch a local serial rapist. When four women are arrested, few hundred women own up to the crime. They say they killed Akku Yadav because the local police did little to stop his criminal reign of terror; they …
