-The Economic Times Even as noisy MPs continued to demand a ban on cartoons of politicians in NCERT textbooks in Lok Sabha, a lone voice struck a different chord. National Conference MP from Baramulla Sharifullah Shariq said politicians should introspect instead of criticising the cartoons. "Except in rare cases where a cartoon denigrates leader like Nehru or Ambedkar, why banish political cartoons altogether ?" Shariq said. The NC leader said Kashmiri leaders, including...

-The Economic Times The government is set to reintroduce the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha next Monday with two official amendments. The amendments include dropping the Lokayuktas chapter from the bill, resulting in change of its nomenclature to just 'Lokpal Bill', and simplifying the process for removal of chairperson and members of the Lokpal. The twin amendments to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha last December, were...

The IT (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, drafted to protect intermediaries, now appear to be a tool that can be used to harass them. EIGHT years ago, the chief executive officer of an auction portal was put behind bars because a user put an obscene MMS clip up for sale on the site. This sparked a demand from intermediaries, the entities that provide services enabling the delivery of online content to end-users,...

-The Times of India A day after Parliament worked up a lather over political cartoons in NCERT textbooks, MPs on Tuesday demanded a ban on indecent representation of women in advertisements. Demands ranged from calling an all-party meeting to setting up of a censor board for ads.  Responding to queries, I&B minister Ambika Soni said that the government was giving self-regulation a chance, but it was empowered and would take action if...

Recently, the Indian Council of Social Science Research, the highest body that funds and guides the social sciences in India, has initiated an in-house debate about the current state and the future prospects of such research. What is the quality of work that has come out of our universities and research institutes over the past 10-20 years? Which new areas of inquiry deserve more time, money and attention in the...