Jharkhand embarked on its first panchayat polls in three decades on an encouraging note today, recording an impressive turnout in defiance of a few determined efforts by Maoist groups to disrupt the process at various places. Voters queued up from early morning, helping the state to notch up a poll percentage of 64.7 per cent with chief minister Arjun Munda’s home district of Seraikela-Kharsawan recording the highest turnout of 79 per...

After a long wait of 17 years, justice was delivered to dalits of Badanawalu village of Nanjangud taluk where three community members were killed by a mob following a row over puja at a village temple. Sixth additional sessions judge L Malvalli convicted Suresh and 19 others. The sentence will be pronounced on October 30 or November 2. Though the chargesheet was filed against 23, three died during the prolonged trial. The...

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which has revitalised the rural landscape across the country, stands diminished in the land of its birth, Rajasthan, hijacked and held to ransom by vested interests and stripped of its backbone of an open social audit. As the Andhra experience has shown, there is one ingredient that can bring back its vitality: institutionalising citizen audits. But, is the Rajasthan government up to...

It's the untold tale of a village in the grip of the feudal system, and a quiet revolt brewing. Budihalli village of Karnataka's Chitradurga district is a glaring example of caste discrimination and bondage, with a yawning gap between communities. Here, landlords hold sway. They allegedly rape and torture women of lower castes while the men work as bonded labourers, paying off debts accumulated over generations. Breaking the stranglehold, 25...

Caste war in UP seems to be assuming different dimensions, proves recent spate of mid-day meal boycott in UP government schools. The two major incidents at Sonbhadra and Kannauj which led to a lunch hour rebellion in more than a dozen schools over a month, were triggered off by a power-play between Dalits and backwards while the `savarnas\' -- in minuscule minority -- were relegated to the role of fringe...