Religious and social groups have trampled on the freedom of expression of artists and scholars to serve their own agendas. “FOR all the big talk about India's great tradition of cultural and religious tolerance, many forces in the social life of our country and a number of established organisations, including the so-called non-political ones, have time and again resorted to blatant suppression of freedom of expression, pointing forcefully to the...

Differently-abled children can join any school Parliament passed the Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2012, with the Lok Sabha passing the measure on Wednesday, thereby providing for an integrated education process which would allow differently-abled children in the age group 6-14 the right of admission to any school. Replying to a discussion on the Bill, which the Rajya Sabha had passed earlier, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil...

Performance-enhancing drugs are no longer restricted to the high-stakes world of professional sports. Eleven participants at the 57th National School Games in Delhi-from Maharashtra, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, and aged between 14 and 19-tested positive for such substances earlier this year. Alarmed by the dangerous trend, the government's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) shot off a letter to various educational boards and universities across the country, asking them to ensure dope-free sports....

-The Times of India   The RTE Act is an opportunity to break gender, caste, class and community barriers that threaten to damage the social fabric of our democracy and create fissures that could be ruinous to the country, writes Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal. The Supreme Court judgment upholding the constitutional validity of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act has once again focused public attention on education....

-IANS West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said her government did not regard Karl Marx or Frederich Engels as "untouchables", in the backdrop of a recommendation made by a syllabus committee to trim the "over presence" of their political philosophy in history text books at the higher secondary level. "I have full regard for the left movement in the country. I salute both, the nationalist movement and the left movement in...