-The Indian Express Patna: When they are in uniform and on duty, they are constables of Bihar Police, responsible for protecting the life and liberty of people across caste and community divides in a state that had gained notoriety for its lawlessness. But when they return to their barracks, they are Yadavs, Bhumihars, Brahmins, Paswans, Rajputs, muslims, SCs and STs. They live and sleep in areas segregated on the basis of...

-Economic and Political weekly Drawing on the research on basic education in West Bengal, this essay argues the case for a much criticised public education system, which needs to be reconsidered as regards its potential as a provider of quality education, even while addressing its many failings. The essay follows an approach, both critical and constructive, that underlines the collective onus of the public in realising the value of the public...

-The Times of India  The political silence over yet another religious clash in Uttar Pradesh showcased the importance of Mulayam Singh Yadav in the current flux, with neither the right nor the Left wanting to annoy him. The killing of six muslims in police firing following arson over desecration of the Quran wrecked the peace in industrial Ghaziabad. While the clash involved police and a violent mob, it was the sixth communal...

-The Hindustan Times The fragile peace at Kudankulam lasted through Sunday, but elsewhere in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala, it was a day of protests and arrests. In Tuticorin, around 250 protesters on way to Kudankulam were arrested. They included Periyar Dravida Kazhagam leader Kolathur Mani and leaders of Naan Thamilar Iyakkam and Tamil Nadu muslim Munnetra Kazhagam. In Kerala's Parassala, police stopped a "solidarity march" by cultural leaders to Kudankulam. For Tamil...

-The Hindu Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri mosque demands withdrawal of textbooks Even as the controversy over political cartoons in school textbooks is yet to subside, the muslim community here has objected to two illustrations and the text of a chapter in the Class XI history book published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training under the National Curriculum Framework-2007. Shahi Imam of the Fatehpuri mosque Mohammad Mukarram Ahmed has written to...