-The Hindu Kitne hi raaste hain mere dil mein jo Poonch ko jaate hai Mein jidhar se chalta hun Poonch pohonch jaata hun. Engraved on a granite plate under the bust of noted Urdu writer Krishan Chander at a public garden in Jammu & Kashmir's Poonch, these intense lines reflect the writer's love for this beautiful border district. But even as he penned these lines, little could he have known that the inspiring...

-The Economic Times If India is now debating opening the books and operations of political parties to the public, it's because of these six people who pulled strategic levers and applied relentless pressure. Soma Banerjee traces a four-year effort that converted intent to action Balwant Singh Khera, a politician from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, is not a name that will strike a chord in mainstream politics or social discourse today. It might in...

-Live Mint Unesco lauds government effort, political commitment in implementing Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan New Delhi: Bringing cheer to India's administrators, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) said the country has progressed the most in the world in sending children to schools by committed implementation of its right to education law and universal elementary education programme. "India has made the largest progress in absolute terms of any country in the world...

-PTI After the exit of Aruna Roy, government has reconstituted the National Advisory Council by inducting renowned sociologist Virginius Xaxa into the 12-member panel chaired by Sonia Gandhi. The term of the panel, which has been giving legislative and policy inputs to the government ranging from the seminal rural jobs scheme to the latest food security bill, has been made co-terminus with the term of the present government. Xaxa, the new member...

-The Hindu     Lawmakers are eager to appear resolute in the fight against crime, but seem to forget that certainty of punishment, not severity, is the real deterrent "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," said Mahatma Gandhi. The death penalty is unjust and inhuman. Its continued use is a stain on a society built on humanitarian values, and it should be abolished immediately. Many think that there could be nothing wrong...