-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...

-India Today Taking a leap of unconventionality, a non-profit trust in collaboration with a local puja club based in north Kolkata will worship the very first transgender Durga idol on Panchami. In the 300-year-old history of Durga Puja in Bengal, this will the first time where devotees will worship a transgender Durga idol that has been fashioned after the androgynous form of Shiva and Parvati, Ardhanarishvara. Organised by the non-profit trust, Pratyay Gender...

-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...

-Hindustan Times One of the closest electoral battles for Bihar, where PM Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar are playing out their old rivalry, begins with the first phase of polling in 49 of a total 243 seats on Monday. Strategies by alliances to bite off each other’s Caste pie and focus on issues such as beef, detached from ground realities, have arguably made Mandate 2015 the toughest ever with BJP desperate...

-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,...