The Electronic Voting Machines have attracted a lot of attention in the media of late. Why is it that technologically advanced countries like the United States (Florida), Germany, Netherlands and Ireland have rejected the use of these machines? There are informed articles by experts like J Alex Halderman that suggest that these machines can be tampered with or hacked by experts to fudge the results. There is no way of recounting or double-checks. Why then has India alone placed such an oracular faith in the EVM? Do we have the technology that is different and superior to anything else in the world? Could this endanger democracy? Do we need a serious rethink? A. Surya Prakash carries out an in depth analysis.

The Polish President who perished on April 10, 2010 in the air crash along with the top hierarchy of that country was on his way to pay homage to 22000 Poles massacred in cold blood by the red Army of Stalin. Known as the Katyn massacre, it was a mass murder of Polish intelligentsia in 1940 approved by the entire Soviet Politburo including Joseph Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria. A memorial was, later erected, as homage to the victims of the massacre.