Like many board games that were developed in India, of which chess is perhaps the most important and famous, the game of “snakes and ladders” too emerged in this country a long time ago. With its balancing of snakes that pull you down and ladders that take you up, this game has been used again and again as a metaphor for life, telling us about our fortunes and misfortunes, and...

At a time when the outrage over the video showing Andaman’s Jarawa tribals being made to dance in front of tourists is yet to die down, the Orissa SC/ST department is parading people from aborigine tribes for visitors at a state-organised tribal fair that kicked off here on January 26. About 250 tribals, many of them from aborigine communities from across the state, have been brought as “live models” to the...

One of the most comprehensive survey of learning achievement of class V students by NCERT shows that mean achievement of children of Uttar Pradesh in language and mathematics is highest in the country.  In environmental studies, UP students are a close second after Tamil Nadu (72.30%), with a mean score of 67.15%. In all respects - performance of girls, rural children and percentage of children getting more than 80% - UP...

-Hardnews Bureau Delhi The announcement of the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry for Ankit Garg, the SP of Dantewada is a reflection of the sad state of the Indian Republic as it celebrates its 63rd Republic Day. It is indeed shocking to see that a police officer who was accused of brutalising and torturing the young Adivasi teacher, Soni Sori, is being lauded by the State even after reports of perversity...

In a move aimed to protect victims of sexual abuse from further mental trauma, a high powered government committee has recommended abolishing the "two finger test" for determining rape or sexual assault. Rape survivors are routinely subjected to forensic examination that include the "finger" test. Social activists have for long been demanding a ban on the "archaic and outdated" practice. They termed the test "unscientific and degrading". In a bid to protect...