-The Indian Express Once again, the debate on census population data on religion misses the point. With the release of the Census 2011 data on religion and misleading reports in the media, the growth of the Muslim population has become the focus of the debate once again. Almost 10 years ago, in 2004, a similar but sharper controversy had erupted when the government released the Census 2001 data on religion. There...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government has strongly favoured retention of the capital punishment with the two government-appointed nominees submitting their dissent notes on the Law Commission's recommendation on phased abolition of death penalty. The panel, in its 242-page report submitted to the government and the Supreme Court on Monday, recommended abolition of death penalty for all crimes other than terrorism-related offences and waging war against the country. Releasing...

-The Indian Express The BJP argued that the “competitive federalism” created by the move would put the onus of development on Congress-ruled states Even as the Congress claimed credit for the NDA government’s retreat on the land acquisition Bill, the BJP argued that the “competitive federalism” created by the move would put the onus of development on Congress-ruled states and would give BJP the political mileage in the states where it...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that the government will not renew the controversial land acquisition ordinance that lapses on Monday and declared its readiness to incorporate any suggestions in the bill pending before Parliament. "We had issued an ordinance which lapses tomorrow (August 31). I have decided, let it lapse. We will not renew it," Modi said in his 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast. "It...

-TheWire.in Sometimes, the more newspapers write on a subject, the more obscure it becomes, especially if it comes dressed in apocalyptic fervour. On August 26, most media reports on the just released Census 2011 data on ‘population by religious community’ could easily have been mistaken for a present-day stock market update: Hindus slide from 80.5 % to 79.8 %; Muslims climb from 13.4 % to 14.2 %, showing the highest surge...