West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told the people of the Maoist-hit areas of Purulia district on Friday that “you shall get whatever you ask for, provided you don't support the Maoists.” “You shall have colleges, schools, hospitals, stadia, sports academies and even a medical college. Whatever you ask for, we shall provide it. But you must make only one promise — you will not support the Maoists,” she said, addressing...

-Reuters On a hot afternoon, a bright orange bus drives into a slum area of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, parking amidst shelters made of tarpaulins and bits of wood. Barefoot children come running, eyes shining, and troop inside.  It's a school on wheels that brings education to the doorstep of disadvantaged children such as these every day, halting for several hours at a time in different parts of...

-The Hindu Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of India, argues that the media has a very important role to play in helping the country make the transition from an old feudal society to a modern industrial one quickly, and without much pain. The Role the Media should be playing in India by Justice Markandey Katju, (former Judge, Supreme Court of India), Chairman, Press Council of India To understand the role which...

Concerned over the large number of child deaths due to measles every year, the Centre has launched a massive anti-measles vaccination drive. More than 13 crore children are expected to be covered under the Measles Catch-up Campaign, irrespective of their previous measles vaccination status. The drive has been launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with support from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), for carrying out the...

It has to be but a means to development, not an end in itself Is India doing marvellously well, or is it failing terribly? Depending on whom you speak to, you could pick up either of those answers with some frequency. One story, very popular among a minority but a large enough group—of Indians who are doing very well (and among the media that cater largely to them)—runs something like...