Conceding the long-pending demand of the Tamil Nadu government, the union government has finally approved the inclusion of the Narikuravar community, a semi-nomadic tribe, in the list of Scheduled Tribes. The community was so far listed among the Most Backward Classes. The decision is expected...
Amit Shah’s jibe on Rahul Gandhi’s dress and the row over him meeting a radical Catholic priest in Kanyakumari indicate how the BJP will try to counter the Bharat Jodo yatra. Rahul Gandhi’s choice of Kanyakumari as the starting point for his yatra is symbolic in several ways. Kashmir to...
For the first time in the history of Sri Lanka, the nation experimented with a ‘Peaceful Protest’ to oust a leader they came to hate. And they succeeded! Sri Lankans across the nation, crossing boundaries of ethnicity, religion and social class came together in what came to be known as the...
The Sri Lanka plantation or ‘hill country’ Tamils, have been living in the island nation for more than one and a half centuries, particularly in the plantations as workers. These are among the most deprived sections in the country in terms of economic, social and political rights. The ‘hill...
The Tamil Nadu Rules on Ward Committees and Area Sabha, to be set up to empower citizens under the Municipal Corporation Acts for Chennai and other cities, fall severely short on transparency and democratisation norms, reinforcing the criticism that State governments are unwilling to give real...
For a long time now, no steps were taken to find a long-term solution for the problem of freebies. It was not the top priority of policymakers, constitutional authorities, or statutory and autonomous bodies — neither the executive nor the judiciary has taken an interest to find an antidote to...
While there have been continuous protests against former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for more than three months, the initial demand from the Sinhala crowd was for him to step down from the presidency. But what really happened is he is out of the country. He is currently in Singapore...
In what looks like a game of one-upmanship, Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) has successfully leveraged the AIADMK General Council to strip rival party coordinator O. Panneerselvam (OPS) of the top party post and effectively cut him down to size In the on-going political chess game, EPS is...
Madurai Rajan was a journalist’s delight. A Dalit rights activist, he knew what reporters wanted and had the knowledge, sources, access and guts to take them to the story when Tamil Nadu was rocked by caste conflict in the mid-1990s. Rajan’s house was in a Pariar colony in Madurai. It had a...
The Sri Lankan situation has puzzled many and made others apprehensive regarding the future. Advocate Yasodharan who represented Vavuniya had a role in government when Varadaraja Perumal was the first and only Chief Minister of the North-Eastern Province (1988-1990). He shared his analysis of...
