The Assembly elections are turning into a mini-referendum on national perception towards the Congress-dominated United Progressive Alliance at the Centre, with the party heading for defeat in four out of the five States where polling ended today, according to indications in the exit polls. Indeed, the television channels and survey … Read More
Not a single problem resulting from the deadly methyl isocyanate (MiC) gas leak at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984 has been resolved despite the lapse of 29 years since the tragedy that caused 4000 immediate deaths occurred. Though victims … Read More
On Wednesday, December 4, the Supreme Court will decide the much sought return of the sacred Nataraj temple at Chidambaram to its traditional custodians, the Podu Dikshitars. The Chidambaram temple, where Shiva eternally dances the dance of creation that maintains the stability of the worlds, is a major landmark of … Read More
In the rape controversy involving former editor Tarun Tejpal, Tehelka ignored the Vishaka guidelines under which the victim asked managing editor Shoma Chaudhary to set up an internal probe. When no action was taken in the November 7 and 8 episodes and the matter regarded as settled with Tejpal’s six … Read More
In a derisive, yet combative mood, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi simultaneously challenged the Congress-led UPA coalition in Delhi and the Sheila Dixit Government in the city on multiple counts of bad governance, corruption, mismanagement of the economy, and of Modi-baiting as a ruse to dodge public accountability and distract … Read More
As information about the business ventures and associations of former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal surface in the public domain over the past week, the question legitimately arises if he was merely a fast-track entrepreneur dedicated to making a fortune with journalism his chosen vehicle of upward mobility, and whether the … Read More
Nine years after a sinister political conspiracy led to the Diwali-day arrest of Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati in November 2004 (Bal Perivaar Vijayendra Saraswati was arrested on January 10, 2005), the case collapsed into nothingness this morning as Puducherry Principal District Sessions Court Judge CS Murugan acquitted both seers and … Read More
The aggressive support some fellow travellers have extended to former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal after he was accused of the heinous crime of rape, on grounds of his supposedly fearless journalism, raises pertinent questions about the nature of India’s dissent industry. Nationalists have long suspected the bona fides of vociferous … Read More
The Election Commission’s holding Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s khooni panja remark as “injurious to the cause of decorous political discourse” raises fundamental issues regarding the measure of freedom available for political campaigning in India, and specifically whether the content of political speeches should be vetted by the Commission in … Read More
By promptly constituting a panel of three judges to probe allegations of misconduct levelled by a young legal intern against a recently retired judge of the august court, the Supreme Court has upheld the spirit of its Vishaka guidelines regarding cases of sexual harassment at the workplace. The allegations that … Read More
