The expression "Coalition Dharma", which was coined by the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has rapidly gained currency in political discourse. It is a convenient expression that can conjure illusions of sanctity to cloak the unprincipled compromises and accommodations willingly made by leaders of coalition governments desperate to hang on to power and its perquisites. No wonder that invocations to Coalition Dharma are being heard with great regularity in the context of the... Read More

The unending succession of scams and scandals, which underlined the rot in all the organs and extensions of the state and took centre stage in public discourse during the annus horribilis that 2010 turned out to be, forced the powers that be to spell out their strategy to tackle the problem of corruption. Breaking her long silence over the issue, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi delineated her prescription for combating corruption in her presidential address at the Congress Plenary Session at Burari (Del... Read More

APPOINTMENT OF CVC CHALLENGED   In the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark judgment in Vineet Narain's case, the Central Vigilance Commission was established as a statutory body to oversee the functioning of the vigilance machinery of the central government and exercise superintendence over the Central Bureau of Investigation. The Union Government has chosen to ignore the directions of the Supreme Court and the legislative intent behind the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2... Read More

Readers will recall that in our October-December 2008 issue, we had published a letter addressed by Common Cause in October 2007 to the Chairman, Telecom Commission and Secretary, Department of Telecommunication (DoT), urging him to allocate 2G spectrum through ascending auctions open to all applicants, so that the true economic value of this precious and finite national resource could be realized. The vigilance angle of the exercise being undertaken by DoT was also brought to the notice of the ... Read More

MEASURE ECONOMIC WELL-BEING *B P Mathur We have for over a century been dragged by the prosperous West behind its chariot, choked by the dust, deafened by the noise, humbled by our own helplessness, and overwhelmed by the speed. We agreed to acknowledge that this chariot-drive was progress, and the progress was civilization. If we ever ventured to ask, `progress towards what, and progress for whom', it was considered to be peculiarly and ridiculously oriental to entertain such ideas a... Read More

It has been the common experience of litigants, researchers and civil society activists that despite the recent efforts to place real time information on the progress of court cases in the public domain, useful statistical information regarding court cases is hard to come by. During his term as a nominated member of Rajya Sabha, Mr. Fali Nariman had tabled a Private Member's Bill on judicial statistics, which envisaged the establishment of a chain of judicial statistics authorities charged w... Read More

18th October 2010 The Director, Common Cause 5, Institutional Area, Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi -110 070 Dear Sir, I am a regular reader of your journal and have immensely benefitted by the articles contained in it. As a token of my appreciation I am sending you a cheque for Rs.75,000/- drawn on HDFC Bank, cheque no. 676232 dated 18th October 2010. Kindly acknowledge, Yours sincerely, B.G.Deshmukh October 21, 2010   Dear Mr. Deshmukh... Read More

Under the Rules & Regulations of COMMON CAUSE as amended by the Governing Council on March 8, 2007, The membership of the Society is open to individuals irrespective of caste, creed or community. Organisations, which were members of the Society as on March 8, 2007, shall henceforth be Honorary members without voting rights. The membership fee for new Individual members (with voting rights) is Rs.500/- for one year and Rs.2,500/- for life. New Ass... Read More

Wife: There's trouble with the car. It has water in the carburettor. Husband: Water in the carburetor? That's ridiculous. Wife: I tell you the car has water in the carburettor. Husband: You don't even know what a carburettor is. Where's the car? Wife: In the swimming pool. •••••••••• `How's the work going,' Grandfather asked. `Fine,' was the reply. `And the social life?' `I get lot... Read More