A temple dedicated to 'Goddess English' coming up in nondescript Banka village of Lakhimpur Kheri district is facing trouble with the builders of the structure alleging that the police has asked them to stop its construction. "Local police led by Uchauliya police station in-charge today asked our workers to stop construction work by citing a Supreme court ruling that no place of worship can be installed without prior permission of the...

The United Nations independent expert on the right to education today outlined his priorities, promising to pay attention to gender equality in education, look into quality with a special focus on improving conditions for teachers, and explore innovative education financing mechanisms. Kishore Singh, who was appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education by the UN Human Rights Council in June, said he would also look into ways of...

Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan proposed amendment of various provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 on Monday. The society submitted its objection to the drafted rules to the commissioner of Rajasthan Parambhik Shiksha Parishad at Shiksha Sankul. It said Private Schools should not be given additional responsibility for providing free text books to the children of reserved category. The society also opposed Part...

In 1957, the Communist Party of Kerala became the first democratically elected communist government in Asia. While many in the West feared that this election would help communism spread across South Asia and make Kerala the "Yan'an of India", the Keralite communists' actions were checked by Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress party's control of the federal coffers. Instead, from within the political bounds of India's divided government, Kerala initiated what has...

The Commonwealth Games were no showcase, but a mirror of India 2010. If they presented anything, it was this — Indian crony, casino capitalism at its most vigorous. The Commonwealth Games over, we can now return to those of everyday Indian life. For all the protests, though, there was nothing in the corruption that marked the Games that does not permeate every town and city, all the time. Just that, in...