The idea of social media as a force-multiplier in politics has gained virality in our minds, especially in last four years. According to Datareportal’s Digital 2019: India report, 1 out of total population of 1.361 billion, around 41% i.e. 560 million Indians are active users of internet and total no. of active social media users […]
Systemic corruption and sponsored criminalization have corroded the fundamental core of elective democracy and consequently, the constitutional governance. On one hand there is a free flow of unaccounted money at the disposal of political parties during elections and on the other hand, criminal elements have been playing a major role in the electoral process in […]
“The voter [in India] is subject to the law of the two ‘Ms’, money and muscle.” – Christophe Jaffrelot (2002) I sometimes wonder whether we can ever hope to realise the aspirations of our freedom fighters, who sacrificed so much to gain independence from colonial rule. Sadly, foreign domination has been replaced in some measure […]
Despite economic crunch, wealth of MPs, MLAs swells: ADR New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) The average wealth of an MLA in India has swollen more than ten times from USD 1.3 million in the year 2015 to a massive Rs 13.6 million in 2018, founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Prof Jagdeep […]
The Indian Constitution under Article 19 may have provided ‘Freedom of Speech’ to all Indian citizens but this right comes with certain restrictions. Article 19 is the core of the democratic values of our country but when this freedom is misused for hate propaganda for electoral gains, it is disrespectful for the democracy and the […]
The Centre’s disregard for procedure and recommendation when it comes to Justice A.A. Kureshi is mysterious and telling. Consider the following sequence of events: In 1983, a young man – let’s call him Y.M. – gets an LL.B. degree and starts practicing as an advocate in the high court of state ABC. In March […]
Question: Who is likely to be the most knowledgeable on what electoral reforms are needed? Options: (a) Those who have contested one or more elections in the past 10 years. (b) Leaders of registered and recognised political parties. (c) The Election Commission of India. (d) Election experts who discuss elections in TV debates. (e) […]
Sruthisagar Yamunan deserves to be complimented for his informative article that brings out a hidden dimension of the electoral bonds used to make anonymous donations to political parties in India. Headlined “controversial electoral bonds are not only opaque, they come at a cost to the Indian taxpayer, the article asserts that there’s an invisible […]
The passage of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by both houses of Parliament is a very significant event. It has implications for several critical areas of governance in the country. It can be interpreted in the following ways: It is (a) a struggle of power between the Executive and the Legislature, […]
[ जगदीप एस छोकर ]: सूचना अधिकार कानून यानी आरटीआइ में संशोधन का एक और प्रयास शुरू हो गया है। यह प्रयास पहले किए गए प्रयासों से कुछ हटकर है। अब तक किए गए प्रयासों में संशोधन प्रस्ताव का मसौदा बनाकर विभिन्न वर्गों और जनता के बीच चर्चा के लिए रखा जाता था। वर्तमान संशोधन प्रस्ताव […]