Decoding the 'mystery' behind Maoists, the Centre has for the first time brought out in open many facts that have hitherto remained in official papers and urged aam aadmis to expose true colours of Red rebels in whatever ways they can, including use of social media like Facebook and twitter. In a document, brought out in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) last week, the Union home ministry has classified...

If India is an aspiring society, education is perhaps the quickest vehicle of social mobility. Right to Education (RTE) is a supplyside intervention by the government that will make education cheaper and, in the process, every child will get a chance to be educated. But an approach that focuses on availability of schools, getting children to the classroom and getting them taught by reasonably well-trained teachers is not enough. Retention...

The Maoists in Orissa may have given a call to boycott the panchayat polls, but in Narayanpatna block of Koraput district they have reportedly got their “own” candidates elected unopposed. Narayanpatna had almost come under siege in 2009 when the rebels propped up the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) to take on the state. Sarpanch and panchayat samiti candidates ‘backed’ by the CMAS have won unopposed in Tentulipadar, Balipeta, Padapadar, Talagumandi,...

The mask is off. Team Anna and his lieutenants are batting for the BJP On 30 October last year, when MoHAn Bhagwat claimed that Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement was actually supported by the RSS, the remark conveyed palpable nervousness and attracted criticism from Team Anna. Three months later, as Team Anna launches its voters’ awareness campaign in UP, there is not even an attempt to keep its secular mask intact. The mask,...

-The Times of India After inhaling kitchen smoke for over four decades, Shirin Kapasi, 62, can now breathe easy. Over the past four months, she has stopped cooking for the family. Instead, she has started making imitation jewellery at home and added to the earnings of her husband, an autorickshaw driver.  Kapasi and hundreds of women like her from the Dawoodi Bohra community have been unshackled from the hearth thanks to the...