Slum Dwellers’ Property Rights

The Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja, recently outlined what she says are the four key components of the Draft Model Property Rights to Slum Dwellers Act, 2011.

1. The Act states that every landless person living in a…

Lord Acton and Colonel Gaddafi

All this news over the last 24 hours about Libyan rebels and the overthrow of Gaddafi has me thinking a lot about power. In Libya, for nearly 42 years, Gaddafi’s power has been absolute. He has quashed all expression of political dissent, violently cracked down on any who…

Hazare and the Rule of Law

There has been a great tragedy in the events surrounding Anna Hazare over the past week, one that cuts to the core of what it means to live in a democratic society. Anna is rightly arguing that the rampant corruption at all levels, which is so pervasive in Indian politics…

Right to Services Acts

Amidst the furore caused by Anna’s protest and the government’s rethinking of their Lokpal bill, something exciting in the states seems almost to have been missed. It’s not particularly flashy and it doesn’t have any celebrity spokesman, but it hits on many of the issues of most concern…