In a no-holds-barred conversation, Chandan Mitra, editor and managing director of The Pioneer, member of the Rajya Sabha and BJP supporter, tells Savera R Someshwar that the blame for the failure lies squarely at the party's door.

In the run-up to the Rajasthan state elections, public audits of electoral rolls are beginning to payoff remarkably, says Nikhil Dey.

Will a ‘NO’ from a woman remain ‘NO’? Asks Shoma A. Chatterji while reviewing the movie, Pink.

The fundamental reason for the lack of a substantive debate on important issues is that we, the public as well as the representatives, simply do now know what the real issues are. We have to fix that deficit in our democracy, says Rajesh Kasturirangan.

The Chawla Committee backs away from recent efforts to create a market for water rights. Still, it doesn't go far enough in recognising the importance of citizens' involvement. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

A recent conference organised by the AICCTU in Bangalore saw more than 5000 contract workers marching in protest against the prevailing work conditions, seeking regularisation of contracts as well as amendments in law. Here’s a list of the primary demands raised by the workers.

At best the central police and paramilitary can hold an area once it is taken back, but clearing it and handing it over to them can only be done by the Army, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

A discussion on the upward delegation of nuclear-related decision making is needed now. The defence sector cannot be reformed in isolation of its place in national security, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

With private car ownership in the large cities outpacing population growth, the central government is waking up to the need to introduce traffic restraint schemes in the metros, writes Darryl D'Monte.

The agrarian crisis in Vidarbha has spun almost out of control. Appeals for swift measures by many have fallen on deaf ears. The farm suicides are the tip of the huge crisis raging here, not its whole. They are, though, its most powerful symbol, writes P Sainath.

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.

From hectic lobbying with the Prime Minister to rising usage of Right to Information laws in three major states, 2004 has perhaps seen wider citizen enthusiasm and organizing than any other year recently. But will Parliament and the Central and State governments respond proportionally? Varupi Jain reports.

The Right to Information Bill tabled in Parliament raises expectations to new levels by proposing a dedicated Information Commission for enforcement. Except, the commission is crippled at conception, with no direct penalizing powers. Prakash Kardaley comments.

In the name of internal security, the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Bill would add to the government's already long list of rules applicable to voluntary organisations, even as it ignores the fact that they receive less than one per cent of the foreign funds flowing into the country. Priya Narayan Parker presents a legislative brief.

India has been witnessing a rising trend of judicial intervention and directives in cases involving a face-off between large institutional projects and the people they affect. Kanchi Kohli looks at two recent judgments as she tries to explore the real impact of such court rulings on the struggles at the grassroots.

The deficiencies in the prison system, especially from a human rights perspective, are many and grave, but the plight of non-native inmates calls for special focus, writes Ruchika Nigam.

The State Council for Educational Research and Training in Delhi has taken a surprisingly different approach in its preparation of text books for students in classes 6-8. Dipta Bhog was coordinator of the team for Civics books.

24/7 water for an Indian city? Unclear motives of the Delhi government in applying for a World Bank loan, possible hiccoughs in the supply anyway, and questions about the World Bank's role itself are irking a number of local NGOs and civic groups. As they increase pressure on the government to change course, Varupi Jain reports.

Acknowledgement of the declining utility of military force in a nuclear environment may hold a peace dividend that includes Kashmir says Firdaus Ahmed

The furore over the counting of minorities in the armed forces has taken attention away from what such a survey might reveal. Are the minorities adequately represented in the security services? This question too should concern secular-minded citizens, says Firdaus Ahmed.

Sectarian positioning with an eye upon votes fuelled the controversy over Amarnath land transfer issue. The two main opposition groups made no effort to counter the bogey of Hinduisation of Kashmir, writes Sant Kumar Sharma.

Abhijit Das expresses concerns on the United Progressive Alliance's misplaced stress on population control targeting, taking the case of Uttar Pradesh.

Graduates are difficult to influence with money and liquor, says one BJP campaigner flatly about the race for Bengaluru’s MLC seat. The Lok Satta candidate meanwhile is targeting precisely the reform seekers amongst the elite. Navya P K reports.

In Vidarbha, where an average one cotton farmer ends his life every six hours, Mangalabai and Kamalabai are mothers who singularly stand out. After the death of their husbands, they learned every thing and are raising their family with unnoticed resilience, reports Jaideep Hardikar.

TOI has come across a documentary evidence, which shows that the AIBA had started exploring the potential candidate to partner as new host city for the tournament in November 2019 itself, despite being in contract with the BFI for the prestigious event.

Deputy commissioner (Sonitpur) Manvendra Pratap Singh told TOI, "I have held a review meeting will all government officials and the preparations are complete.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has converted 315 coaches into 'Covid Care Centres' and are ready for placement at 20 nominated stations under its jurisdiction for use by the states concerned if they exhaust their facilities and need to augment capacities for isolation of both suspects and confirmed Covid cases.

Covid-19: Ghaziabad society bans entry of doctors, AIIMS RDA seeks intervention by Amit Shah

Railways readies 5200 coaches as Covid care centres

Indian economy has stopped, govt should de-centralise the system: Rahul Gandhi

Vizag gas leak: NGT issues notice to Centre, LG Polymers

Spike in Covid-19 cases worries Centre

COVID-19: Sensex plunges 3,935 points in biggest intraday fall as India goes into lockdown

Core industries' growth contracts 6.5% in March

While appreciating where we stand today thanks to the efforts of the government in We-Shall-Do-It-Alone mode, I now feel that time has come for Narendrabhai to invite the rest of the India to join hands...

Utho! meri dunya ke ghareebo ko jaga do/ kakh-e-umra ke dar-o-diwar hila do (Rise, wake the poor of my world from slumber/ Shake the walls and windows of the mansions of the prosperous) —Allama Iqbal...

Britain plans to introduce a 14-day mandatory quarantine for most international arrivals, reports said Saturday, despite growing pressure on the government to relax virus lockdown measures.

Seven persons were arrested in Noida’s Sector 105 for allegedly duping US citizens by informing them about non-existent violations on their social security number (SSN).

India’s Covid-19 count is nearing 60,000 mark with 59,662 cases after new cases topped 3,000 for the third consecutive day. The overall death toll too was just short of 2,000 at 1,981. Overall, 3,294 fresh cases were reported from states in past 24-hour. Stay here for all live updates

Officials of the district administration had to face the ire of DLF-2 residents on Friday as several of them defied lockdown orders and protested against the proposed takeover of two guest houses in the area for setting up Covid quarantine centres. The authorities were finally forced to shelve the plan.

Senior school students in 121 institutions were back in front of chalk boards and digital displays for the first time since their city -- the ground zero of the coronavirus pandemic -- shut down in January.

For Air India officials and passengers, a major cause of concern with the ongoing repatriation flights to and from different countries are the visa regulations and immigration policies of different lands. Late on Thursday night, Air India was informed by an official from an Indian ministry that US visa rules have changed to restrict passengers with student visa and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders from entering the US.

The World Health Organization has remained firm on its stand that there are no proof of any definite cure yet.