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A curious and somewhat critical scenario has emerged in Assam following publication of the second and final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Pleas of over 40 lakh people out of the over 2.30 crore applications for citizenship or regularisation of stay have...

Democracy reasserted its role in Pakistan through the Parliamentary elections, giving a rare chance for smooth transition of power in a country plagued by constant political upheavals, some of them terribly violent. The recent polls threw up a situation in which no one is a...

Mobs rule. And democratically elected governments, standing aside, watch the events as mute spectators. This ‘misrule’ is costing lives and paving the way for mass anarchy in India. Most recently in Alwar, Rajasthan, a mob lynched Rakbar Khan, alias Akbar, and left him for dead....

Last week, the Modi government had to bow to the opposition and defer the introduction of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018. The Bill sought to bring the Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioners under the central government's control. Its passage would have...

In Estonia, every year, nearly 1,000 young men (between the ages of 17 and 27) pay the state a total of 1,50,000 euros in fines and penalties only to avoid serving conscription when called up. Additionally, the state makes more money on misdemeanour fines, and...

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has submitted a list of recommendations pertaining to the protection of privacy of personal data to the Department of Telecommunications. It is encouraging that the regulator has taken up a matter of vital importance in a data-driven and...

Karnataka’s chief minister HD Kumaraswamy is evidently caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Having done some hard bargaining and appropriated the post to head a Congress-JD (Secular) government after the recent assembly elections, he has been balancing conflicting interests and doing a...

Nawaz Sharif has returned to Pakistan and into prison giving a fresh twist to politics in that country. His dramatic return, with less than a fortnight to go for general election in Pakistan, definitely has the potential to take wind out of the sails of...

The issue of homosexuality in society that has been debated for long is back in the Supreme Court. Hearing has begun by a Constitution Bench on a curative petition after legal fights in this matter have taken twists and turns since 2009. The case is...

A sharp division is evident as the Law Commission started eliciting opinions from political parties over the proposal for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. Unanimity of opinion is unlikely in the present circumstances, also as some major issues need to be thrashed...