The Maharashtra government’s decision to tag students of traditional madrasas as ‘out-of-school’ has put madrasa reforms back on the national discourse. The issue is important not just for the Muslim community but for the nation. Someone must push it through in national interest. And nobody seems more primed for the role than Prime Minister Narendra […]
On July 16, a group of around a dozen persons kidnapped 36-year-old school teacher and RTI activist, Babu Ram Chauhan, beat him brutally, shaved his head and forced him to drink urine before attempting to throw him in the Indira Gandhi canal. Chauhan is currently recuperating at a hospital in Gujarat. A report by Commonwealth […]
Of more than 110 million rural households without toilets across India in 2012, the government has been able to assist 11 million households in building toilets. That means, nearly 99 million households need toilets over the next four years, if the government is to meet the target set by the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India […]
Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid, the two men who moulded Rajasthan Royals (RR) into a champion side in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will surely be feeling cheated after the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha Committee handed out the team a two-year suspension. Three other RR stars Australians Shane Watson, Steven Smith and James […]
Seventy-five percent of rural households in India have a monthly income of less than Rs.5,000 ($79), 51 percent of households make a living from manual labour, 28 percent (over 50 million) of households do not have mobile phones or any form of communication. More than 70 million rural households face some form of exclusion, either from assets or […]
President Zail Singh could not get through to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi when he needed most to, when thousands upon thousands of Sikhs needed him to, urgently. It was after all a matter of life and death for them. “We tried all day,” Tarlochan Singh, press secretary to the president through those deathly days […]
Upon my return from a driving trip around Europe, the front page anchor of the Indian Express caught my eye. It showed Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in a warm handshake with the Communist Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar, at the inauguration of an Internet Gateway in Agartala. Even more striking was […]
Slight volatility on account of subdued factory output data and upcoming inflation numbers might impact the bourses in the coming week, even as the Indian markets recover after slipping on the Greek and Chinese crises. Apart from the upcoming macro numbers, investors will focus on domestic issues like the first quarter (Q1) results, the monsoon’s […]
All prominent religious places and shrines in Uttar Pradesh will begin getting uninterrupted electricity from August, an official said on Monday. The UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), which had initiated the process of creating separate feeders for these places following Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s instructions a few months back, was on the verge of completing […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated ace Indian tennis player Leander Paes and top Swiss player Martina Hingis on winning the Wimbledon mixed doubles title. Modi, who is in the Tajikistan capital, said in a message: “More good news from Wimbledon. Congrats again Martina Hingis. Leander your accomplishments are truly inspiring and they make […]