In May, a train sabotage blamed on Maoist rebels killed more than 70 people. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee came under criticism after the Gyaneshwari Express was attacked.

With a 63,327-kilometre network, the railways play an important role in connecting vast stretches of the country and are seen as an affordable means of travel for India’s burgeoning middle class.

Overcrowding results in daily fatalities as people crammed on the roof tops of trains are often electrocuted by overhead wires.

Poor wages, overworked and an insufficient staff lead to human errors.

Do frequent accidents indicate a crumbling infrastructure? What steps does the government need to take to ensure safe and secure travel of passengers and minimise human errors?

Michael Jackson, youth icon and arguably the greatest pop star that ever lived, was found unconscious at his Los Angeles residence. Attempts to revive him proved unsuccessful.

It was my routine night shift, regular copies of global recession and politics scrolled across the Reuters screen, when the dullness of the night was broken by hysterical breaking news alerts on the end of Michael.

As journalists, we are trained to maintain objectivity and professional detachment to news that otherwise shake us as humans.

I wasn’t even born when Elvis Presley died and had only read about the fan hysteria that followed in yellowing newsprint.

I grew up listening to Michael’s songs and like million others counted myself amongst his greatest fans. Writing about Michael’s death wasn’t easy.

In the year that has passed since his death, the popularity of Michael has only increased. The once-struggling pop star looking to revive a career mired by ugly molestation charges and heavy debt posthumously went on to amass millions of dollars in ticket sales and chart-topping albums.

Even after death controversy followed the star known as much for the numerous surgical changes to his face, as for his legendary ‘Moonwalk’.

Jackson’s personal physician Conrad Murray faces trial on a criminal charge of causing his death by giving him the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid.

In a rapidly changing world, where natural disasters, inflation and economic woes jostle for attention to an average person, for me Michael’s legacy – his songs that left msillions of fans spellbound – will linger on.

How do you remember the King of Pop? Where were you when he died? Do you feel someone someday will take Michael’s place?

A united opposition demanded a joint parliamentary committee to look into these allegations, ruled out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is in Bhutan attending a summit of South Asian leaders.

Last week, a magazine report said mobile phone conversations of senior politicians were tapped, sparking allegations intelligence agencies were being used to spy on political rivals.

The ethics of phone tapping, its need in internal surveillance and its scope and limitations are widely debated and this is not the first time a government has come under fire for “political eavesdropping”.

Tamil Nadu Social Welfare Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna tendered her resignation in May 2008 after transcripts of her conversation with a state vigilance officer surfaced in the media.

Similarly Ramakrishna Hegde was forced to resign as Chief Minister of Karnataka in 1988 after allegations that the phones of prominent leaders in his state were tapped.

In a landmark judgement in 1997, India’s apex court ruled that an individual’s right to a telephonic conservation in the privacy of his/her home or office is part of the Right to Life and Liberty as stated in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

It went on to elaborate the scope and limitations of the section of the Indian Telegraph Act that allows the state to intercept messages on occurrence of emergency or in interest of public safety and gave certain necessary directives for the tapping of phones.

Legal experts say there may be some merit in opposition demands of scrapping the “outdated” Indian Telegraph Act of 1885 that struggles to cover communication breaches in an era of advanced telecommunication technology.

Advancement in science and technology and the growing need to protect its sovereignty against external attack has meant that the government now has access to hi-tech equipment that can tap phones without the involvement of service providers.

The easy access of evolved, unobtrusive wiretap must also mean that in the wrong hands it can expose an entire nation to danger, apart from  playing havoc with the individual right to privacy.

The government has denied all allegations of phone-tapping, but the fact remains that stringent laws are needed that will clearly define cause and authorisation of wiretap by surveillance agencies if it falls outside the purview of terror threats and law and order issues.

Kevin is the latest fictional character to have come out of the closet in a world where good always triumphs over evil.

As more and more cartoonists and comic writers embrace the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) theme, usually kept out of the purview of young audiences, readers weigh the merits of an all-inclusive world against traditional morality.

The outing of Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series, caused an explosion of interest on the internet in 2007.

Most fans who loved the eccentric headmaster from the day he started the school feast with the words “Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak!” till the day he died, did not seem to care if Dumbledore was straight or gay.

It prompted author J.K. Rowling to comment “I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy”.

As Herge’s immortal reporter Tintin celebrated his 80th birthday, former politician and writer Matthew Parris in a tongue-in-cheek article raised a lively debate over the cartoon character’s sexuality.

“Tintin is a callow, androgynous blonde-quiffed youth in funny trousers and a scarf. And his moving into the country mansion of his best friend, a middle-aged sailor? …And you’re telling me Tintin isn’t gay?” Parris writes.

For all the interest generated by Kevin Keller and his admitting to Jughead to being gay, LGBT characters are not new to comics.

The Japanese manga comics have had the ‘yuri’ theme depicting love between women since the 70s.

Underground and alternative comics, often published by small presses, have been around since the 60s and fan fiction is read by millions on the internet.

Garry Trudeau’s ‘Doonesbury’ comic strip had a gay character die of AIDS in the early 90s — believed to be the first comic character claimed by the disease.

Commentators however remain divided over keeping content meant for children free of sexual overtones.

Warner Todd Huston wrote in Chicago Now “we’re about to lose yet another safe haven for kid’s entertainment. Introducing a gay character may be ‘realistic’ but does Archie have to be realistic?”

He questions the wisdom of “presenting harsh realities or controversy” to children.

Marc Harshbarger who writes a blog ‘Deep Dish’ counters Huston’s argument by saying kids today are already exposed to Ellen (DeGeneres) — who is now on American Idol which millions of young people watch. DeGeneres is an openly gay TV anchor.

Harshbarger says gay kids will be happy to see someone they can identify with in a comic book they read.

With channels of communication opening up and increased social acceptance of LGBT people, comic book publishers are quick to realise a potential target audience that they can no longer ignore.

A gay character in comics is…customer surveys

Cricket has always attracted controversy because of the large amount of money and sponsorships it involves unlike any other game.

As the game changed its format over the years, the scale and proportion of the scandals grew accordingly.

If conservatives shook their heads in 2000 after match-fixing allegations plagued cricketer Hansie Cronje, they are stunned into disbelieving silence after accusations of money laundering hounded stakeholders of the Indian Premier League (IPL) a decade later.

It seems that the sport that united a frenzied nation into a single cheering, nail-biting entity has taken a backseat amid political power play and corruption.

The Twenty20 version of the game appealed to a newer set of jet-setting fans for its sheer glamour and entertainment value without compromising on quality.

However, as income tax officials probe financial improprieties in the IPL, voices in the Indian opposition are increasingly demanding democratisation of the game to bring in transparency and accountability.

The government’s assurance that it will probe all aspects of the IPL — including source of the funds and how they have been invested and team ownership structures — notwithstanding, dissenters are now demanding that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), India’s private apex cricketing body be nationalised and IPL disbanded.

As early as July 2008, the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the International Cricket Council (ICC) warned that the multi-million dollar Indian Premier League was susceptible to match-fixing.

“We are concerned. Let’s face it, the IPL is the first domestic competition which has attracted such huge interest and when it does it’s going to inevitably going to attract the interest of match-fixers and people like that,” ICC General Manager (Cricket) Dave Richardson had said.

He had asked the BCCI to make sure they had very strict measures in place to ensure corruption doesn’t take a foothold in the IPL or any other domestic competition.

With questions being raised about conflict of interest in cricket board members owning a team franchise, cricket lovers say this is the perfect opportunity to clean up the game.

As nostalgic exponents of the longer version of the game say “Let’s get back to Tests matches, the way cricket used to be”, it is a possibility that when the dust settles  “cricketainment” will have taken as big a blow as the league stakeholders.

Cricket has always attracted controversy because of the large amount of money and sponsorships it involves unlike any other game.

As the game changed its format over the years, the scale and proportion of the scandals grew accordingly.

If conservatives shook their heads in 2000 after match-fixing allegations plagued cricketer Hansie Cronje, they are stunned into disbelieving silence after accusations of money laundering hounded stakeholders of the Indian Premier League (IPL) a decade later.

It seems that the sport that united a frenzied nation into a single cheering, nail-biting entity has taken a backseat amid political power play and corruption.

The Twenty20 version of the game appealed to a newer set of jet-setting fans for its sheer glamour and entertainment value without compromising on quality.

However, as income tax officials probe financial improprieties in the IPL, voices in the Indian opposition are increasingly demanding democratisation of the game to bring in transparency and accountability.

The government’s assurance that it will probe all aspects of the IPL – including source of the funds and how they have been invested and team ownership structures — notwithstanding, dissenters are now demanding that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), India’s private apex cricketing body be nationalised and IPL disbanded.

As early as July 2008, the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the International Cricket Council (ICC) warned that the multi-million dollar Indian Premier League was susceptible to match-fixing.

“We are concerned. Let’s face it, the IPL is the first domestic competition which has attracted such huge interest and when it does it’s going to inevitably going to attract the interest of match-fixers and people like that,” ICC General Manager (Cricket) Dave Richardson had said.

He had asked the BCCI to make sure they had strict measures in place to ensure corruption doesn’t take a foothold in the IPL or any other domestic competition.

With questions being raised about conflict of interest in cricket board members owning a team franchise, cricket lovers say this is the perfect opportunity to clean up the game.

As nostalgic exponents of the longer version of the game say “Let’s get back to Tests matches, the way cricket used to be”, it is a possibility that when the dust settles  “cricketainment” will have taken as big a blow as the league stakeholders.

The nature of the attack, the detailed planning that went into it and the government’s reaction thereafter has raised the question that is being debated for some time now.

Is it time to involve the better equipped and better trained armed forces in ongoing anti-insurgency operations?

Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told a television news channel the central forces are on track in reclaiming thousands of acres of land under Maoist control and the decision to get the army into fighting Maoist insurgency is essentially a political one.

The April 6 attack, one of the deadliest in recent times, is seen by experts as retaliation to the government’s ongoing operation to root out insurgency in Maoist-hit states.

Indian newspapers reacted in rage and indignation the morning after with most dailies calling the massacre a “War” on the Indian state. Some of them expressed the need for calling in the army to counter such violence.

“As the one-sided battle in Chhattisgarh has shown all too glaringly, a military solution in tandem with state forces cannot be shelved,” the Hindustan Times newspaper said in an editorial.

The rebels have intermittently blown up power stations, railway tracks and called for shutdowns in their strongholds — mostly West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. They have, in the past, killed police informers and intercepted police patrols.

However the stepped-up offensive in recent months, aided by a tacit understanding with a section of locals who believe the rebels to be championing the cause of the poor and landless, indicates that the state and central governments must rethink their anti-insurgency strategies if they ever hope to win the war against the Maoists.

The security forces that patrol Maoist-affected areas are often ill-equipped to fight rebels armed with latest weaponry.

Frequently outnumbered, victims of poor information gathering and poorly paid — the foot-soldiers in the fight against rising Maoist violence need to be bolstered if the government hopes to take on the rebels on their own turf.

Voices across the country are calling for better information gathering, involvement of the armed forces, filling long-pending vacancies in stretched police forces tackling insurgencies, and most importantly — addressing the deeply-rooted grievances of locals, traditionally exploited by the rebels to fight the state.

The government recently declined the offer of talks from senior Maoist leadership saying the rebels must abjure violence before they come to the negotiating table.

Experts see the effectiveness of a multi-pronged strategy — that of continuing the crackdown in rebel strongholds and rounding up of senior leaders, combined with long-term, sustainable development in some of the poorest areas to lure the youth away from insurgency.

The road ahead will not be easy.

The rebels have proved that they are prepared for the long siege. The time for a concerted effort on behalf of the security forces must coincide with strong political will — often a quagmire in a nation battling multiple interests in its multi-party democracy.

She was an Asian and national tennis champion before she made it to the Indian

Police Service in 1972. Bedi has worked in traffic and narcotics control, prison management and has also been an adviser for United Nations peacekeeping operations.

As head of Delhi’s Tihar jail, one of Asia’s largest, she introduced yoga, meditation and literacy classes for prisoners as part of a reform programme that drew global notice. Bedi broke the mould in a country where many women, particularly in the countryside, continue to be discriminated against and harassed. Her life was also partially adapted to create a TV series that became popular on national television.

Reuters interviewed her ahead of International Women’s Day.

Q: What influenced your decision early in life to join the police force?

A: “My resolve to grow up to make the difference and be the difference. My upbringing, my education based on personal discipline with sensitivity to gender injustices set the foundation of the choice. The rest is destiny.”

Q: As a pioneer in your chosen field, was the going hard for you?

A: “Yes, I was tough on myself. It was uncompromising hard work. Huge multi-tasking. But with an abundance of family support and inner security nothing was hard enough.”

Q: In those days, how difficult or easy was it to be the first woman in the Indian Police Service?

A: “Well, it was as tough as one could think, but as an Asian and National Tennis Champion coming into the demanding service it was a continuity of training in taking on the challenges.”

Q: Did you face discrimination vis-a-vis your male colleagues?

A: “Yes I did. I was always doubted. My past credentials were never enough for the men in position of power. They wanted trusted men. I could not be trusted for blind unlawful unjust orders.”

Q: You have taken some bold initiatives in prison reform. Looking back, what was the one thing you feel needed to be followed up in jails after you left and was never done?

A: “Total education for all (10,000 plus) as a part of the prison day schedule with educated teachers as prisoners. The basis of all reform was mandatory education classes from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. overseen by all the seniors themselves. All inmates classified according to their education need levels, with books and stationery.”

Q: If there was one thing you could change about India what would it be?

A: “Visibility and accountability of all in responsibility. I would make it compulsory for all in position to walk their work daily for two hours of the day. Be it any time any where by surprise.”

Q: How can India best defend itself in terms of security on a local and global level?

A: “By effective governance. Based on integrity and total accountability.”

Q: What kind of threats do women face in India?

A: “All forms of dependence and insecurity.”

Q: Do you feel India is doing enough to sensitize its people about domestic violence?

A: “Yes but not enough as is needed.”

Q: If you were prime minister for a day, what is the first thing you would do to change perceptions about the country?

A: “Show the people the faces of who is responsible for what, and how to hold them accountable thereafter.”

Q: What steps would you suggest so that more women could join the police/armed forces?

A: “Special recruitment of women in sports, NCC (National Cadet Corps), and other leadership activities. As also from tribal areas to be made more inclusive.”

Q: What would be your solution to issues like workplace harassment?

A: “Regularily do one-on-ones. As also open access to all, respond immediately to any complaint of harassment by an independent team and sack anyone indulging in it. That is to raise the risk (level).”

Reuters will host a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. Please tune in.-

The bomb, left in a backpack at the popular German Bakery in the city of Pune on Saturday, wounded 60 and appeared to target Indian and foreign tourists.

Senior internal security sources, who declined to be named, said the focus had fallen on Pakistan-based separatist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which has been blamed for the Mumbai attacks, and a local militant group called Indian Mujahideen (IM) because both had been behind bombings in India in the past.

“As of now our line of investigation is toward the possible involvement of LeT … a sleeper module of the Indian Mujahideen could also be involved,” a senior interior security official overseeing the investigation told Reuters.

Both groups are fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region.

“Nothing is ruled out, nothing is ruled in. The investigation is in progress,” Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.

On Friday, India and Pakistan agreed to high-level talks in New Delhi on February 25, suspended after Pakistani militants killed 166 people during a three-day rampage through the financial capital of Mumbai in November 2008.

Any sign of Pakistani involvement in the Pune attack would worsen relations between the two nuclear rivals and further destabilize a region overshadowed by war in Afghanistan.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said India must “seriously reconsider” going ahead with the talks, but a government official said the talks were on track.

“The talks are going to go on schedule. We realize there are complexities in engaging Pakistan, but we have to see things in their entirety. And at this moment, there is no reason for the talks to not go on,” the official said.

SOFT TARGET

Police in Pune, about 160 km (100 miles) south of Mumbai, had been alerted to the possibility of attacks on Osho ashram and Chabad House, which had also been targeted during the Mumbai attacks, Chidambaram said.

The German Bakery restaurant, located close to a Jewish center and a religious retreat frequented by foreigners, was a soft target in an area that had been on the radar of intelligence officials, Chidambaram said, denying there was an intelligence failure.

The Pune ashram was one of the sites surveyed by David Headley, arrested in the United States last year and charged with scouting targets for the Mumbai attacks.

The Pune blast also appears similar to a wave of bombs that hit Indian cities in the year before the Mumbai attacks, killing more than 100 people. Police blamed most of those attacks on home-grown Muslim militants like the IM, but Hindu militants were also accused of masterminding some of the bombs.

“The bomb appears to have been not a sophisticated one that could have required any special training. The expertise involved could have been locally acquired,” said B. Raman, director of the Chennai-based Institute For Topical Studies.

An Italian woman and an Iranian man were among those killed. The 12 foreigners injured included Iranians, Yemenis, Sudanese, Nepalis, a Taiwanese and a German, Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh told reporters.

“We are awaiting forensic and intelligence reports. It is too early to say anything now,” Singh said.

Authorities have warned of renewed threats of attacks on Indian soil and stepped up security in recent months.

Airports and railway stations across the country have been put on high alert after the blast and extra security given to the South African and Indian cricket teams in India.

(Additional reporting by Bappa Majumdar and Krittivas Mukherjee; Writing by Rina Chandran; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

The bomb that also wounded 57 in the city of Pune was the country’s first big attack since the 2008 Mumbai massacre and appeared to target Indian and foreign tourists. At least one foreigner whose identity had not yet been established was killed.

German Bakery, located close to a Jewish center and a religious retreat frequented by foreigners, was a soft target in an area that had been on the radar of intelligence officials, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.

“Nothing is ruled out, nothing is ruled in. The investigation is in progress,” Chidambaram told reporters.

“There is no intelligence failure. This particular area has been on the radar for quite some time. But this was not an overt attack by a gunman, but an insidious attack with a bomb planted in a soft target.”

Indian authorities put airports and railway stations on high alert after the blast and extra security was given to South African and Indian cricket teams playing in the country.

The explosion came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to high-level talks in New Delhi on February 25, suspended after Pakistani militants killed 166 people during a three-day rampage through the financial capital of Mumbai in November 2008.

Any sign of Pakistani involvement in the Pune attack would worsen relations between the two nuclear rivals and further destabilize a region overshadowed by war in Afghanistan.

Pune police had been alerted to the possibility of attacks on Osho ashram and Chabad House, which had also been targeted during the Mumbai attacks, Chidambaram said. But there had been no intelligence input on German Bakery, he said.

Chidambaram said the Pune ashram was one site surveyed by David Headley, arrested in the United States last year and charged with scouting targets for the Mumbai rampage.

India suspects he has links to Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba that is blamed for the Mumbai attacks.

HOME GROWN ATTACK?

The attack also appear similar to a wave of bombs that hit Indian cities in the year before the Mumbai attacks, killing more than 100 people.

Police blamed most of those attacks on home-grown Muslim militants, and a little-known group called the “Indian Mujahideen” claimed responsibility for some attacks. But Hindu militants were also accused of masterminding some bombs.

“The bomb appears to have been not a sophisticated one that could have required any special training,” said B. Raman, director of the Chennai-based Institute For Topical Studies.

“The expertise involved could have been locally acquired. One must control the reflex to point an accusing finger at Pakistan.”

Among the injured were Iranians, Sudanese, a Taiwanese and a German.

“I don’t think any particular nationality was targeted. They targeted a place where young people, both foreigners and Indians, congregated,” Chidambaram said.

In response to a question on whether the proposed talks between India and Pakistan would now be suspended, Chidambaram said that was a diplomatic process that would be determined in Delhi after he returned there.

Authorities have warned of renewed threats of attacks on Indian soil and stepped up security in recent months.

(Writing by Rina Chandran; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sugita Katyal)