Political parties in India pursue power without adequate transparency and accountability Recent events yet again highlight the need for electoral reforms. The campaign for the Delhi Assembly elections was filled with hate speeches. In Madhya Pradesh, the ruling Congress is battling defections.Last year, in November, in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Chief Minister early […]
Author: Prof. Trilochan Sastry
Freedom vs Independence
My mother told me she was at Queen Mary’s college in then Madras as a student on August 15, 1947. Her face was lighted up. I could only get a glimpse of the joy she felt. Three days of holidays, no tickets on buses. People pouring out on the streets, celebrating. Not only in Madras but […]
Democracy cannot be used to derive private benefit at public cost
The ensuing December 5 bypolls to 15 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka are the result of defections from the then ruling coalition. The government fell, the Supreme Court was approached, and now we have 165 candidates contesting these elections. The court upheld their disqualification (of the rebels), but said they were eligible to contest again. Engineering […]
The opacity around electoral bonds
The recent disclosures that the Election Commission (EC) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had expressed reservations about the Electoral Bonds scheme highlight the importance of this issue. In 2017, the then RBI Governor wrote to the then Finance Minister that “allowing any entity other than the central bank to issue bearer bonds, which […]
नख-दंत मजबूत करें चुनाव आयोग
पांच विधानसभाओं के चुनाव अंतिम दौर में हैं। आखिर, चुनाव आयोग ने अब जाकर धर्म-जाति के आधार पर भड़काऊ बयान देकर वोट मांगने वालों को चेतावनी है। क्या चुनाव आयोग का कर्तव्य चेतावनी के बाद समाप्त हो जाता है? या फिर, इसके अलावा वह और भी कुछ कर सकता है? पांच राज्यों में विधानसभा चुनावों […]
NGOs’ foreign funds and a trust deficit
There is no organised conspiracy against NGOs. It is in the nature of power to exercise greater control, and exempt itself from accountability. The recent changes in the rules governing foreign funding of NGOs under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) have been widely discussed. The last word on it will perhaps never be written. […]
Defying RTI, Undermining Democracy
Six national parties in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress (INC), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPM and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), have refused to comply with the Central Information Commission (CIC) order of 2013 declaring them as […]
Towards The De-Criminalization Of Politics
September 12, 2013, Talk at IIC, New Delhi Speaker: Trilochan Sastry, Professor IIM Bangalore, and Chairman, Association for Democratic Reforms Chair: Ramachandra Guha Discussant: N. Gopalaswami, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India Democracy disciplined and enlightened is the finest thing in the world. A democracy prejudiced, ignorant, superstitious, will land itself in chaos. – M.K. […]
सत्तारूढ़ दल बदला है, लोकसभा में बैठने वाले सांसद नहीं
जनप्रतिनिधियों में गंभीर अपराधों का सामना कर रहे कई नेता Prof. Trilochan Sastry Prof. Trilochan Sastry (Founder and Trustee, ADR) has a Bachelors in Technology from IIT, Delhi, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) USA. He taught for several years at […]
राजनीति में अपराधियों का दखल
राजनीति में अपराधिक छवि और पृष्ठभूमि के लोगों का दखल कोई नई बात नहीं है Prof. Trilochan Sastry Prof. Trilochan Sastry (Founder and Trustee, ADR) has a Bachelors in Technology from IIT, Delhi, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) USA. He […]