Close to 150,000 Indian farmers committed suicide in nine years from 1997 to 2005, official data show. While farm suicides have occurred in many States, nearly two thirds of these deaths are concentrated in five States, writes P Sainath.

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have together seen 89,362 farmers' suicides between 1997 and 2005. On average, one farmer took his or her life every 53 minutes between 1997 and 2005 in just these states, writes P Sainath.

The broad trends of the past decade seem unshaken. Farmer suicides in the country since 1997 now total 182,936, but the real causes behind this devastation remain unaddressed, reports P Sainath.

Ask for expansion of the NREGS, universal access to the PDS, more spending on health and education - and there's no money. But there?s enough to give away to the corporate world in concessions, writes P Sainath.

The share of the 'suicide belt' - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh - remains very high; these states account for two-thirds of the total farm suicides in the country. P Sainath reports.

In 2006-08, Maharashtra saw 12, 493 farm suicides. That is 85 per cent higher than the 6,745 suicides it recorded during 1997-1999. And the worst three-year period for any State, any time. P Sainath reports.

The Commonwealth Games were no showcase, but a mirror of India 2010. If they presented anything, it was Indian crony, casino capitalism at its most vigorous, writes P Sainath.

Governments have been changing the rules of the RTI Act, trying all sorts of things to dilute its provisions. Most of these are done without consulting the public. Navya P K reports.

The oppression of the Dalit community, and especially its women, by upper caste society is still widely prevalent in Rasulpura village of Rajasthan’s Ajmer district. Shirish Khare visits the village to find that the agents of law are often equally discriminatory.

Reviewing recent High Court and Supreme Court rulings, Videh Upadhyay comments on judicial recipes for protecting urban water bodies

Suman Sahai discusses a public interest litigation that seeks to ensure that the rights granted to farmers on seeds as per India's 2001 plant varieties protection law are not taken away.

Pradeep K Baisakh traces the changes in the balance of power between our courts and lawmakers.

Jayaprakash Narayan criticizes Parliament's moves to limit diversity of opinion among lawmakers, and to appropriate all authority to a few powerful leaders.

A critique of the process and research used by the Justice Malimath Committee to recommend reforms to the Criminal Justice System. This is the first of a two part series.
Click here to read Part II

In the second and concluding part of the series on the Malimath Committee's report, Bikram Jeet Batra looks at the detailed recommendations in terms of implications for Human Rights.
Earlier: Part I

Geographical indications of Indian origin such as 'Basmati' rice and 'Darjeeling' tea continue to remain open to being wrongfully exploited internationally. Kasturi Das looks at the issue in depth.

The Central government proposes to shuffle the composition of the IMC and bring in more of its own appointees, reducing elected members to a minority. The government claims this will increase the IMC's accountability, but will it also turn it into an arm of the government? M R Madhavan and Ruchita Manghnani present a legislative brief.

The UPA Government is attempting to achieve consensus and amend the Office of Profit law to allow select legislators to hold additional public offices. This is merely the climax of a larger trend, says Madabhushi Sridhar, of an already thin separation of power between executive and legislature, and of earlier efforts to dilute the Constitution.

Fixated on eliminating the grounds for disqualification of legislators that arose from their holding of offices-of-profit in the Executive, Parliament has sent back the infamous Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill to the President, who is now constitution-bound to sign it. Madabhushi Sridhar points out why the legislation must be stopped.

New provisions in law would make sexual exploitation of trafficked persons punishable. While well-intended, the draft bill is vague; the term 'sexual exploitation' is not clearly defined. Without this, the bill's provisions could lead to greater harassment of prostitutes and their clients. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

The draft bill comes at a time when there are differing opinions on the cost efficacy of the MFO model for reaching credit to the poor. Moreover, the bill itself contains some perplexing ideas - such as the choice of NABARD, itself an MFO, as a regulator of others such organisations. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

The Domestic Worker's Bill, if passed, will be an important step toward securing the rights of a large chunk of the unorganised workforce. But as with all laws, the real test of this legislation will be in its implementation, writes Anuja Agrawal.

It is impermissible under the law to 'scandalise the courts'. But is this vague restraint contrary to the guarantees of liberty given to citizens in the Constitution? Kannan Kasturi examines the notion of 'contempt of court'.

A legislative brief from PRS Legislative Research about the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, which proposes to introduce a new regime for public service delivery.

As the Budget Session of Parliament nears its end, the House is expected to decide on at least two key pieces of legislation that propose major reforms in the areas of food security and the rights of the displaced; Sakshi Balani provides a quick round-up of the provisions and issues related to the two Bills.

Indian political parties have been notorious for their opacity, particularly when it comes to questions of their funding. A recent quasi-judicial order bringing six large national parties within the ambit of the RTI Act 2005 might change that. A quick summary of the latest developments:

Going beyond value judgments, T R Raghunandan presents an objective explanation of why the Supreme Court judgment upholding the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code lacks sound reasoning and could have been much better crafted.

Anger and frustration is on the rise over inordinate delays by the Central Information Commission in responding to or inquiring into complaints from RTI appellants. Revathi Siva Kumar looks at what ails the institution.

A quick summary of the recently passed Constitution (121st Amendment) Bill 2014 from PRS Legislative Research outlines the broad changes that it will bring about in the judicial structure of the country.

With only 14 functional State Security Commissions in the country, and those too with flawed compositions and diluted roles, the efforts towards minimising government interference in police functioning have naturally been lax. Navya PK cites critical findings of a CHRI Report that shows the present sad state of our SSCs.

It is commonplace to cite the number of cases pending in Indian courts as evidence of a judicial crisis and suggest reforms based on the same. Aparna Chandra highlights why the numbers themselves need to be questioned and understood better for effective reform.

On 18 March, at a discussion organised by Daksh India, Nick Robinson from the Harvard Law School explored in detail the phenomenon of judicial delays, sharing insights from his work in both India and the US. Pavan Kulkarni summarises the points raised.

Shalini Bhutani takes a close look at the law and ensuing policy on trade in India, and asks whether the regulatory framework on trade issues nurtures the idea of public consultation.

Tripura’s revocation of the AFSPA is certainly a positive move from a human rights perspective. But it leaves unaddressed the issue of justice for those whose lives were torn apart by the excesses under the Act, writes Anjuman Ara Begum.

The rule of law guides our legislative, executive and judiciary and all other institutions yet our country is in chaos. Harish Narasappa analyses the role of reason in making the rule of law stronger and effective to bring order in the country.

Frederick Noronha caught up with Tarun Tejpal to learn more about the launch of the Tehelka weekly paper.

K N Govindacharya, the pracharak-turned-politician who led the Bharatiya Janata Party into power in the 1999 elections, is today a staunch campaigner against the politics and economics of globalization. He now promotes swadeshi development and says he has renounced party politics. N P Chekkutty caught up with Govindacharya.

With the government clearing Telangana as India's 29th state, long-standing demands for separate states in other parts of the country have gained fresh momentum. This could be a foretelling of many more states to come, but would that necessarily augur ill for the unity of India? Noted historian Ramachandra Guha shares his thoughts.

Suzette Jordan was labelled a prostitute and an anti-government conspirator when she alleged rape in a moving car on the streets of Kolkata. Her frank conversation with Vinita A Shetty reveals why the atrocity of abuse is not the only thing that shatters the life of a rape victim.

The government continues to defy the Supreme Court's orders on establishing more free and better regulated broadcasting. At the same time, its sky-high license fees have driven profit out of the industry. Subramaniam Vincent notes the knots the Broadcasting Ministry has tied itself into.

Too many times in the last five days, the Anna Hazare-led movement against corruption was labeled 'apolitical', almost as if to call it political would taint it somehow. Subramaniam Vincent analyses the 'victory'.

As India votes in the midst of a rising campaign crescendo that pits one individual against the other, Subramaniam Vincent urges the electorate to prioritise a 'better parliament.'

Nityanand Jayaraman reports on the recent engagement of a delegation from Bhopal seeking justice in the United States.

Around 80,000 children in Madhya Pradesh are suffering from severe malnutrition. So stark is the situation that one evaluation report has said that even if the children were saved, they may go blind due to lack of vitamin A. Sachin Kumar Jain chronicles continuing negligence in government departments in M.P.

Why did police use force and evict tribal villagers in Ghateha, M.P. on 19 April, when it was clear by all accounts that their land claims had not yet been legally settled by the state government, one way or other? Aparna Pallavi investigates, even as villagers remain absconding for fear of persecution.

In ensuring that Delhi's roads and lanes are stiff with quality, citizens are facing stiffer resistance from the muncipality's officials, says Arvind Kejriwal

In the sixth incidence of recent violence against citizens exposing corruption, Santosh (20) was attacked murderously on 30 December 2004. The Delhi government is not pursuing the wrongdoers, and has instead projected the violence as an issue between an NGO and shop owners. Varupi Jain reports.

Monsoon reawakens Vasundhara Chauhan’s senses as she soaks in the smell and sound of rain, irresistible mangoes, pakodas, and what not.

Veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta talks to India Together on the phone from Delhi to share his views on what the nation is talking about - the spectacular debut performance of the Aam Aadmi Party in the recent state elections.

Debates on a paradigm shift in Indian politics have primarily seen arguments around the feasibility of change, even as they took its desirability as given. Shankar Jaganathan celebrates the developments which promise a triumph for idealism and show its potential of being translated into reality.