Natwar & Son Indicted, Implodes Under Pressure (August 08, 2006)
Justice Pathak Commission report to the Parliament clearly indicted Former Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and his son Jagat Singh for their role in recommending their family and friends in the oil-for-food scam first disclosed by Paul Volcker. <More>

Quota Plan in Shambles (August 07, 2006)
Reports suggest that serious differences over strategy, financial requirements, and concerns of Constitutional validity within the Government may delay the Bill for Other Backward Classes (OBC). <More>

Restrictive Child Labor Bill Passed (August 07, 2006)
Through the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986, the Government warned of prosecution and penal action for the employment of children but child labor activists criticize the legislation as inadequate that could drive children to worse situations. . <More>

Govt Withdraws Dismissal Move against Venugopal (July 28, 2006)
A highly embarrassed Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss withdrew the controversial order to dismiss All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr. P. Venugopal but counsel said that the Government would file fresh charges later.<More>

OoP Pitches Parliament against President, SC (July 27, 2006)
The Federal Government and its communist allies, usually at odds on many issues, joined ranks to assert that the Parliament is “supreme” and some even went to the extent of suggesting that the President has only rights to advice and not over-rule the Parliament. <More>

SC Says Women Cannot be charged with Rape (July 25, 2006)
Hearing the case of a woman whose crises of help was deliberately spurned by the wife of a man raping her, the Supreme Court (SC) surprisingly concluded that the wife and any woman cannot be accused or charged for rape or gang rape. <More>

BHC Asks Railways to Revamp Disaster Management (July 24, 2006)
The Bombay High Court (BHC) has directed the Central and Western Railways to upgrade their disaster management system and submit a comprehensive process for review by August 16. <More>

Sachar Commission Targets Judiciary (July 24, 2006)
The controversial Sachar Panel created by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and criticized by many for its divisive charter of counting the presence of Muslims in different arms of the Government, has apparently started targeting the Judiciary. <More>

Identification of a Creamy Layer within OBC (July 22, 2006)
In a refreshing twist to the Reservation debate, the Government issued a note specifying that children of Government functionaries, judiciary, media, tax paying citizens, and employees of bank, insurance, and universities will be considered to be “Creamy. <More>

SC Asks HC Not to Intervene on Policy (July 20, 2006)
The Supreme Court (SC) has directed all High Courts (HC) not to interfere with policy making or administrative action as the Constitution “does not permit” the court to be become the “appellate authority” to “direct or advise the Executive” on policy. <More>

Population Issues in China, India (July 17, 2006)
Beijing Student Federation announced that over two hundred students from over 20 universities in Beijing have volunteered to work in rural areas to advocate the message “a girl is as good as a boy” and work for respect for and protection of women's legal rights.<More>

Cabinet Wants Farm Loan Waiver (July 17, 2006)
A Cabinet Subcommittee has recommended that the Government waive loans of farmers and individuals who had borrowed money from the Punjab Backward Classes Finance Corporation and the Punjab Scheduled Castes Finance Corporation.<More>

Arjun Kills Education Bill, Moots Muslim Reservation (July 14, 2006)
Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh scuttled an important Right to Education Bill to make way for his reservation schemes that violate Constitutional norms for different pockets of population that is to now include “backward” Muslims.<More>

Rural Employment Scheme in Shambles (July 14, 2006)
The Government’s National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG)  seems to be in shambles with states either not implementing them or not reporting what they are doing with the money. <More>

Dictatorship at AIIMS (July 07, 2006)
In the most brazen transgression of Constitutional norms, Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss humiliated All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director and preeminent cardiologist Dr. Venugopal with a dismissal on fictitious charges.<More>

SC Rebukes Government (July 07, 2006)
Listening to a complaint from resident doctors, the Supreme Court (SC) rebuked the Federal Government for breaking its promise during the anti-reservation strike of not initiating “punitive” action against doctors if they stopped their strike.<More>

SC Refuses Religion & Blanket Quota (July 07, 2006)
The Supreme Court refused to stay a High Court verdict disallowing Andhra Pradesh (AP) to create a 5% quota for Muslims colleges and Government jobs and restrained Kerala from reserving seats in private unaided colleges and minority institutions.<More>

Naga Talks Breakthrough (July 05, 2006)
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Principal Interlocutor with the Nagas K. Padmanabiah announced that the Naga peace settlement will resemble a special Kashmir-type status within the Indian Union.<More>

SC Stops Banerjee Report (July 05, 2006)
In a rebuke to hasty politicization of sensitive issues, the Supreme Court (SC) refused to allow the Government to table the controversial Justice UC Banerjee Commission report  on the Godhra carnage  in Parliament supporting a restraining verdict by the Gujarat High Court.<More>

European secret services colluded in CIA terror transfers  (July 04, 2006)
Human Rights watchdog Council of Europe again accused intelligence agencies of several European nations to have colluded with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the illegal detention and transfer of terror suspects in or across the continent.<More>

Pak SC Orders Girl Trade Probe (July 04, 2006)
Pakistan Supreme Court ordered an inquiry into a decision by a council of elders, or jirga, in a village in southern Sindh province to give away five minor girls in marriage as compensation for a double murder case.<More>

Bihar Amends Child Labor Law (June 26, 2006)
Responding to Supreme Court ordering ban on all forms of child labor, Bihar has banned employment of children below the age of 14 in the State’s shops, establishments, and businesses by amending the Bihar Shops and Establishments Act.<More>  

Budget Quota for Minorities  (June 23, 2006)
The Government announced a 15 point program to focus action sharply on issues intimately linked with the social, educational and economic enhancement of the minorities including a quota of 15% of the budget for them in certain schemes. <More>

AP High Court Castigates Govt on Film Ban (June 22, 2006)
In a humiliating verdict, the Andhra Pradesh High Court severely castigated the State Government’s “irresponsible” decision to ban a controversial movie and said that the “Constitution does not allow private censor intrusion.”<More>

Wheat Import Gets Murkier  (June 21, 2006)
Whittling down the quarantine and quality norms in importing wheat, the latest tender of State Trading Corporation of India (STC) received eight global bids trying to sell 3 million tons while Indian requirements was for 2.2 million tons (mt) of wheat.<More>

US Promises to Respect Human Rights  (June 21, 2006)
With growing complaints from Europeans about US treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the draft of a final statement prepared for the EU-US summit contained a pledge from US President George Bush that he will respect human rights in the war on terror.<More>

Budgetary Quota Plan (June 15, 2006)
A sub-group of Ministers on financial controls have agreed to propose to the Federal Government is considering a proposal that will create a budgetary quota of 22.5% for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) welfare.<More>

GoM Stops Pvt Sector Quota Proposal (June 14, 2006)
A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar have ruled that the proposal to reserve employment in the private sector is not politically desirable, feasible, or legal and has asked that the proposal be shelved.<More>

More Vocal European Protests on Guantanamo (June 13, 2006)
The coordinated suicide deaths of the three suspected terrorists in Guantanamo have invited even the closest allies to criticize the US and question its methodology in fighting terror.< More>

Three Prisoners Commit Suicide in Guantanomo (June 12, 2006)
Three inmates at the US prison camp at Guantanomo Bay have reportedly committed suicide using bed sheets and personal clothing under mysterious circumstances that the US calls a "mystical" effort to free their peers.< More>

Minister Wants Quota in Private Sector (June 08, 2006)
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar struck an ominous note that businesses must create a reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the private sector voluntarily in the near future as "Time is running out.”<More>

PM Finally stands up to Commies (June 06, 2006)
In a very refreshing, albeit belated, twist, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seen to be standing up to the communist allies who support the Government from the outside but have only increased the level of pain of operation on several policy fronts.< More>

Govt Shrugs on OoP Return (June 01, 2006)
The Government seems to be shrugging off President Abdul Kalam’s action to return the “Office of Profit” bill asking it to apply more thought to the definition, process, and procedures of the bill.<More>

Doctors Call Off Strike (June 01, 2006)
Striking doctors called off their stir and returned to work following the Supreme Court’s (SC) firm warning that they should return to work or face contempt but the issue of Reservations and politics based on caste got murkier with many uncertainties.<More>

Kalam Returns OoP Bill (May 31, 2006)
President Abdul Kalam returned the controversial Office of Profit Bill that sought to exempt some 50 odd positions occupied by allies and Congressmen from disqualification and asked for clarifications from the Government before he could sign it.< More>

SC Intervenes on Quota, Demands Answers from Govt (May 30, 2006)
The Supreme Court (SC) admitted a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the ongoing quota issue and asked several inconvenient questions to the Government while appealing to the striking doctors to withdraw their strike.< More >

The Decreasing Relevance of Hurriyat (May 29, 2006)
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh defied terrorism and continued his roundtable discussions with various groups with Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and proposed setting up 5 groups to consider various issues but vowed to fight terrorism from Pakistan.< More >

Speaker Blasts Election Commission (May 25, 2006)
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee lambasted the Election Commission (EC) over s charge that he occupied an “Office of Profit” and accused it of “character assassination” and “trial by insinuation” without providing any proof.< More>

Speaker Trouble (May 24, 2006)
The Budget-session of the Parliament ended in a controversy about an admonishment motion on a former Lok Sabha Secretary-General for his disparaging remarks on the Speaker and the Opposition opposed the propriety of the motion and the motives for it.< More>

Pastor Accused of Raping Minor Girl (May 23, 2006)
In yet another shocking case of a “social worker” taking advantage of children, Mumbai police arrested a nun called Mother Anandi Joseph for conspiring with a pastor called John Alexander to rape a minor child and physically abusing them frequently.< More>

Anti-Quota Struggle Expands, Students Threaten Suicide (May 22, 2006)
Students and doctors protesting the quota-based reservation system expanded their protests to other cities and intensified them in New Delhi and Mumbai even as a group of students wrote to the President Abdul Kalam seeking permission to commit suicide.< More>

Development of Unorganized Sector  (May 18, 2006)
The Government is working on a positive draft that seeks to bring development benefits such as health care, sick benefits, maternity benefits, and life insurance to 362 million workers in the unorganized sector earning less than Rs. 6500 a month.< More>

Rape Victim's Testimony Enough for Conviction  (May 17, 2006)
In a landmark judgment that could have a large impact on male behavior in India, the Supreme Court said that just the testimony of a rape victim without supporting documents or evidence is enough to gain conviction.< More>

Indian Political Perceptions on Religion  (May 17, 2006)
Information & Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi said that he has asked the board that certifies films not to approve the Da Vinci Code movie before he gets a nod from the Catholic Church.< More>

Govt Softens & Threatens on Quota, Protests Spread  (May 16, 2006)
The Government seemed to soften its stand a bit inviting striking students and doctors for talks even as Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss vainly threatened to dismiss striking doctors even though there is a shortage of doctors in the country.< More>

Quota Reservation Protests Intensifies  (May 15, 2006)
Undeterred by widespread protests against his retrograde suggestions on quota-based reservations in premier institutions and private sector, Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh dismissed criticisms and refused to review his proposals.< More>

States Vote Leftists to Power  (May 12, 2006)
West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala returned a strong contingent of ultra leftists to power creating a large uncertainty for the Federal Government as it depends heavily on their support for survival. < More>

Bill to Skirt Office of Profit  (May 11, 2006)
The Government is planning on a Bill that will amend the Prevention of Disqualification of the MPs Act 1959—commonly known as the Office of Profit act, to enable many communist allies and Congress politicians to hold on to their offices of profit.< More>

National Knowledge Commission Proposes Reforms  (May 11, 2006)
The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) created by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to propose ways to scale to a knowledge-driven economy has recommended 10 steps that entail overhauling Government processes and creation of systems.< More> 

Change Quota-Reservation Policy (May 8, 2006)
The Supreme Court (SC) reversed its own verdict recognizing the complexity involved to provide mandatory allocation of the 10% reservation for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) in national level Post Graduate (PG) medical colleges.< More>