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How much exploitation is too much? How much profiteering is too much? How much taxation is too much? How much 'loot' should public suffer silently if it is justified by law and executive orders of the government? There are many more questions that demand answers before any hike in the prices of petroleum products.

There is an ancient adage - A ruler is a representative of God. This seems to be our Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's new mentality. If he succeeds, we would be paying charges to the government for using the gift of god, like water even if government does not supply it. To begin with he has planned to charge people for use of ground water, starting from the national capital state Delhi itself.

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2006 has finally been implemented in India from October 26. Thanks to the politics on issues relating to women, this act saw the light of day as against Women's Bill which has been scuttled for over a decade. Our politicians want support from women without making them strong enough to fence for themselves, and they are doing it well by giving them a little of the support they actually need.

The supremacy of the Parliament to legislate is under attack, and the supremacy of the Supreme Court is questioned on the ground of usurpation of the rights of the Executive and Legislature. This situation has come, and it was bound to surface when all the three constitutional bodies have been increasingly misused by unscrupulous elements from inside and outside these institutions. The crux of the matter is that all the three are suffering degradation.

There must be a plan that can take care of all the people living in a country, and all those who may come by virtue of their birth in the meantime. It is the general principle. It must reflect in any planning of our government for any period whatsoever. However, unfortunately, this is not the approach of our government on the eve of the Eleventh Plan period (2007 - 12).

Had the mothers of our country taken enough care to breastfeed their newly born babies, over 15 per cent of 24 lakh child deaths every year could have been averted, especially if optimal breastfeeding practices were scaled up to 90 per cent, says the State of the World Breastfeeding, India Report Card - 2006.

De-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, who constitute nearly 10 per cent of the country's population, are living in the worst of conditions, moving from pillar to post for sheer survival. The tribes number around 500; however, they are not enumerated separately in the Census.

The Public faith on Judiciary has increasingly been on the decline despite the activism through PIL (Public Interest Litigations) shown by the various High Courts and Supreme Court. Fingers are being raised from various quarters not only on the quality of judgments but also on the functioning of the courts resulting in a high level of pending cases and vacancies of judges in the various courts throughout India. Now a blame game has been started that should be put an end to for the larger interest of the nation.

Presidential Election in India has become controversial this time for wrong reasons. The very concept of democracy and justice is under threat on many counts, however, it is no one's concern. Can the people hope for the better?

There exists a strong correlation between per capita energy, specifically electricity, consumption, and levels of human development. We need a minimum consumption of 4,000 kWh/capita for a “decent” living, says a recent report of Asian Development Bank.