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...

A universal pension scheme for social protection must be part of a broader strategy of economic expansion different from the present neoliberal order. INDIA must be one of the worst countries in the world in terms of not providing even minimal social security for most of its people. This is not just a major failure of the development project in the country – it is also a significant cause of...

-IANS Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal Monday said that freedom of expression is "contextual". His statement came even as members in the Lok Sabha once again united in criticising cartoons in NCERT textbooks, stating that these allegedly denigrated political leaders, especially the ones on B.R. Ambedkar. Sibal promised the Lok Sabha that all objectionable material would be removed and the role of advisors of NCERT (National Council for Educational Research and...

'We think that the short, heated and not very well informed debate in the Parliament did not do justice to the responsibility that a democratic society has towards its future generations' May 11, 2012 Prof. Parvin Sinclair Director NCERT Subject: Resignation as Chief Advisers ( Pol Sc) Dear Professor Sinclair, We have followed the discussion in both Houses of the Parliament today regarding the cartoons published in the NCERT's Political Science Textbooks. We also heard the...

-PTI A group of persons on Saturday ransacked the office of Prof. Suhas Palshikar, who resigned as National Council Of Educational Research And Training (NCERT) adviser in the wake of the row over cartoon of B.R. Ambedkar in school text books. Police said the persons involved in the incident had been invited by Prof. Palshikar for discussion in his office after they raised objections on the cartoon. They later damaged furniture in his...