-The Hindu Forced dietary restriction has no place here. In the current battle for Bihar, caste has emerged as a more potent weapon than religion. There may be some churning among urban youth on caste-based quotas, their stated views depending not just on whether they have benefited from the present system but also on how they wish to be perceived — as pragmatic or forward-looking?. But cutting across the urban-rural divide, slicing through...
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In Bihar’s rice belt, the ‘smoke signal’ of a farm crisis -Subhash Pathak
-Hindustan Times Bikramganj/Nokha (Rohtas): On both sides of the highway that cuts through eastern Bihar, yellow patches have started appearing amidst acres and acres of lush green farmland, signalling the ripening of the crop. But in the state’s rice bowl, straddling at least 16 assembly constituencies, nature’s visible bounty hides the harsh reality – about failing crops due to erratic weather earlier and a paddy procurement scam which has seen the government...
More »States recommend new cesses to fund Swachh Bharat initiatives
-Hindustan Times For a Clean India, be prepared for higher fuel and phone bills. A group of chief ministers has recommended a cess on petroleum products, telecom services and waste generated by mineral-based industries as well as Swachh Bharat bonds to fund the ambitious campaign. In a report submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog sub-group headed by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu...
More »How Bihar has fared under Nitish Kumar -Manas Chakravarty
-Livemint.com Bihar’s development record under the Nitish Kumar government has been commendable Elections are decided by many factors. But the Bihar elections are being portrayed as a choice between voting for development or caste. We take a look at Bihar’s development record under Nitish Kumar. Chart 1: It has often been said that Bihar’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is high in percentage terms because of its low base. It’s better, therefore,...
More »Politics of meat ban creating polarisation -Smita Gupta
-The Hindu The murder of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri should come as no surprise to those who have been closely following the ground level politics in western Uttar Pradesh. The murder of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri, on the edge of the national capital, by a violent Hindu mob on Wednesday should come as no surprise to those who have been closely following the ground level politics in western Uttar Pradesh and the...
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