-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today raised more questions on the appointment of contract or ad hoc teachers by some states, saying "a populist measure cannot destroy the fabric of education". It asked the Gujarat government to furnish by Monday a "long chart" explaining the rules, eligibility and qualifications prescribed for such appointments. "A populist measure cannot destroy the fabric of education. Unless you give us (details of) the selection process adopted, we...

-Frontline The Central government's proposal to hand over the supply of supplementary nutrition to NGOs in the name of "community participation" is surely an invitation for private profiteering on the back of this supposedly public scheme. ENSURING safe and healthy conditions for the reproduction of the population is obviously the most fundamental requirement of any society. So the progress of a society can be determined (and indeed is routinely judged) by the...

-The Hindu Every hour 25 women fall victim to crimes; 11 suffer cruelty by husbands and other relatives; three are raped; and there is one dowry death. Horrific crimes against women have, in fact, continued unabated. What is worse is that there has been an acceleration of such crimes in recent years, with the annual rate rising from 5.9 per cent in 2006 to 7.8 per cent during 2006-2011. Cases of domestic...

-Live Mint Cherry-picked indicators of progress cannot convey the complexities of development in India's diverse states Which Indian states have fared better than their peers and which ones have done relatively worse is a perennial question for discussion. There is more at stake than mere grading of states here. Investment flows, central government funds and praises for being a good state are all linked to this seemingly straightforward question. It seems to...

-The Hindu Kozhikode: Given a choice between pursuing his dream of becoming an officer in the Indian Police Service and the Chola Naikkar's traditional hunter-gatherer way of life, 18-year-old Vinod C. says he would have chosen to follow the footsteps of his forefathers. But he cannot. Over the years, the hunters have become the hunted. "Trees are cut, wild animals attack our tribes and there is scarcity of food. We feel cornered. So...