Columns

Two generations of the state’s farmers have gone through immense hardships. The agrarian crisis has also changed the countryside, which is no longer green.

The enactment of the Bill led to the Opposition being up in arms over the legislative competence of the Union government to enact a law on water which is a state subject under the Seventh Schedule.

led to a lot of harsh criticism of the judicial system and judges in recent years. Social media provides all individuals with a platform for expressing their views to the world, and objective truth as a virtue is increasingly losing its value in such a marketplace.

On the sidelines of Constitution Day celebrations in Parliament on November 26, 2021, which the Opposition parties boycotted, the attention somehow turned to the role of the judiciary in the Indian polity. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, in his address during the opening ceremony of the Constitution Day function organised on the same day by the Supreme Court registry, stated that lakshman rekha drawn by the Constitution is sacrosanct. But there are times when courts are compelled to pay attention to unresolved grievances in the interest of justice.

A new type of legal action is increasingly being used by powerful people and governments to shut down criticism from activists, academics, whistleblowers, and journalists. This is officially known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP.

Chief Justice NV Ramana’s concern over attacks on the judiciary has led to questions about judges’ relationship with social media and the legal framework to rein in malicious users.

This long running divide in American politics has become a toxic stew of religion and women’s rights, amped up with conservative versus liberal ideology. Opponents of vaccine mandates and masking rules appear immune to the contradiction of opposing government intrusion into personal freedom with the desire to regulate what women can and cannot do with personal health issues.

The unwarranted rush in increasing the tenure to five years by resorting to the ordinance route has dismayed many as investigative agencies are often being used by governments to further their interests.

The framers of the Constitution made accountability an integral element with respect to the legislature and executive. However, they consciously decided to keep the judiciary on a different pedestal. They trusted the competence of the men and women who would adorn the Bench, in upholding the Constitution.” These words of Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana were delivered at the 71st Constitution Day meet at Vigyan Bhawan recently.

The system can lament, apportion blame, but it never interfered, never once tried to understand why a man would want to live among tribals and work for them, ignoring calls to comfort. Death was virtually delivered to Stan Swamy’s cell by the system.