Administration

This paper analyses the ways in which informal mediation channels facilitate service delivery in the Citizen Service Bureaus at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and give rise to an interplay between formal and informal institutions. In particular, the personal backgrounds of brokers as informal mediators and how they ensure their acceptance amongst service seekers are explored. Further, the motivations of the service seekers to solicit help from these mediators as well as institutional responses from the municipal administration along with other relevant actors like the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi are examined.

The recent clashes between Assam and Mizoram have invited academic discussions on the issue of the border dispute between the two north-eastern states. The article tries to understand the root of the conflict and proceeds to point out the stands of respective governments on the border dispute. It also discusses on the probable mechanisms or the ways out for the settlement of the border dispute between these two states.

Traditional community/village level dispute resolution systems still coexist with formal processes of justice and administration. The `shalishi' is one such method of arbitration in West Bengal that has been used by NGOs to intervene effectively in settling domestic violence cases. Shalishi scores over the more formal legal avenues of dispute resolution because of its informal set up. But deriving its legitimacy as it does from the conventional norms and values of the community it works in favour of keeping the family intact, often compromising feminist notions of empowerment.

The follow-up report on the Hashimpura killings (1987) (‘Hashimpura Killings’ by Iqbal Ansari, EPW, December 30, 2000) reflects the apathy of our rulers towards the masses.