MPs join hands to attack ‘derogatory’ cartoon on Ambedkar Two eminent scholars have resigned their positions as advisers to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) after a furore in Parliament led Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal to withdraw a book on the Constitution because it contained a cartoon some legislators said was offensive. Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar, both eminent political scientists, resigned hours after the cartoon provoked...

-The Hindustan Times A cartoon on BR Ambedkar in a government schoolbook rocked Parliament on Friday, forcing HRD minister Kapil Sibal to apologise to the nation and order the removal of the “objectionable” caricature. The row over the cartoon — more than 60 years old — sidetracked the ongoing controversy over  the Aircel-Maxis deal, which the BJP and other Opposition parties have been using to target home minister P Chidambaram. Instead, members cutting across...

-Down to Earth Biometric-based unique identity or Aadhaar is leading to huge problems for people working for the rural employment guarantee scheme and for others receiving welfare benefits. Not only have enrolments been done shoddily but the experience of the pilot projects shows that it is almost impossible to authenticate the work-hardened fingerprints of the poor, find Latha Jishnu and Jyotika Sood. Besides, there is the overwhelming issue of deficient online...

The Left Front has started mobilising the support of non-NDA and non-UPA parties to garner support against the Congress-led UPA government's move to push its economic reforms agenda with three much-delayed financial sector legislations. The Left Front will reach out to regional parties, including AIADMK, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (Secular), Biju Janata Dal and Asom Gana Parishad, to gather numbers against the legislations. Despite reservations expressed by UPA ally Trinamool Congress,...

-The Economic Times   What's common between foggy movements of two army battalions, the government auditor's assessments of large notional losses to the exchequer and a letter from the army chief to the PM on his unit's preparedness for war?  The information in each of these instances in the past six months was marked 'secret' in official files, but screamed its way to the public, forcing the government into damage-control mode.  Information leaks in...