Of late, a childhood friend's 80-year-old mother has taken to writing. Emboldened by her single-mindedness, memories dulled by a lifetime of contingencies now respond readily to the daily rustle of pen on paper. One memory stands out in Surjit Kaur's mind. In 1957, as a fresh eyed schoolteacher from Delhi she went on an educational tour to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. It was 10 years after Independence...

-The Telegraph The Centre will next week send nine Maoist-affected states a list of dos and don’ts in a hostage situation as part of consultations for a uniform hostage policy. “I have asked officials to raise the matter with state governments,” P. Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha today. The home minister was replying to a question by BJP’s Prakash Javadekar on Maoist abductions and how the government planned to negotiate with them. A...

BHUBANESWAR/KORAPUT: The Odisha government on Thursday indicated possible release of abducted BJD legislator Jhina Hikaka by the Maoists soon. "We hope to get some positive response from them (Maoists) soon," state home secretary Upendra Behera told reporters in Bhubaneswar. The government's hope reportedly stemmed from reports reaching Bhubaneswar that the Maoists began their "praja court" (people's court) to decide whether or not to release Hikaka. Sources said the court was held...

—PTI Hours before the deadline set by Naxals for releasing their jailed members in exchange for an abducted MLA, a retired Army officer approached the Supreme Court on Wednesday to restrain the Odisha government from meeting the Maoists' demands. Major-General (retd.) Gangurdep Bakshi pleaded that the government be restrained from releasing the Naxals as they had been captured by security forces while putting their lives at stake. Maj.-Gen. Bakshi, an expert in counter-terrorism...

Officials may pocket the wage increases, but the wage level in MGNREGA seems just enough to induce workers to turn up. This year marks the sixth anniversary of the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), India's landmark right-to-work programme. The Act guarantees 100 days of paid employment to every rural household in India (up to 850 million people), regardless of eligibility criteria, and establishes the government's...