-The Hindu   The educational and economic development of Dalits is seen by the backward castes as a challenge to the social order, as recent incidents in Tamil Nadu show On the evening of November 7, 2012, a crowd numbering over 1000 people burst into three Dalit settlements in Dharmapuri, north-western Tamil Nadu, and laid them waste. Over a period of several hours, they looted, smashed and burned. Trees had been felled on...

-The Times of India GREATER NOIDA: Nearly 200 farmers , many of them partly clothed, courted arrest on Yamuna Expressway . The farmers planned to protest before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at theAsian Development Bank (ADB) summit in Greater Noida on Saturday . The agitators , who were on their way to the Expo Mart , were intercepted and taken to the police lines . The protesters alleged that the cops...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: In 2008, the Delhi government completed the construction of around 14,000 flats that were to be allotted to people belonging to the economically weaker sections. Five years later, the flats are empty and have fallen into disrepair. No allotment has been made till now, though government received thousands of applications over the years. The reason: The government is still working on the definition of EWS and, therefore, cannot...

-The Hindu Madurai: Tempers ran high at the Collectorate on Tuesday when a majority of the farmers, who participated at a public hearing, opposed acquisition of land for the proposed SIPCOT industrial estate at Sivarakottai near Tirumangalam in the district. Farmers from Sami Mallampatti, Sivarakottai and Karisalkalanpatti participated in the public hearing organised by the district administration. Collector Anshul Mishra said industries had to be established to provide jobs to the unemployed youth...

-The Indian Express Why we need to revisit the 74th Amendment The National Panchayati Raj Day to mark the enactment of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment was observed on April 24 with due ceremony but little hype. Whatever the reasons for the celebration, even those are not available for the 74th Amendment dealing with municipalities. The Government of India's first line of defence on this issue is that these are state subjects. Nevertheless, the...