A well-established nexus between coal smugglers, Maoists and a section of police has ensured illegal mining is a thriving trade in the coal belt and it was no different in Bokaro today, barely 24 hours after a cave-in led to the death of five women at Jhungurghuttu, just about 400 metre away from Chandrapura police station. According to an intelligence bureau report, coal mined illegally from areas in Chandankyari, Chandrapura and...

Dalit families in Kalanahundi Village, 5km from Chamarajanagar town, have threatened to convert to Buddhism, to protest against the alleged discrimination by upper-caste Hindus.  The District Federation of Dalit organizationshave planned a mass 'Buddha dhamma deeksha' programme in the village in the last week of February, when hundreds of dalits in the district, including Kalanahundi dalits, are anticipated toembrace Buddhism.  However, additional SP K H Chandrashekar said that the jathra that was...

The Madhya Pradesh government beefs up its saffron agenda with a “draconian” law. “IT is a contest between the two. The holy by-lanes of old Bhopal, which houses two of the largest mosques in Asia, the Taj-ul-Masjid and the Jama Masjid, were under attack from the holy cow,” said an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in a tone which he thought was in good humour, when asked about...

Interview with Teesta Setalvad of Citizens for Justice and Peace. TEESTA SETALVAD, through her organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace, has been at the forefront of the fight for justice for the victims of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. She has also worked extensively on many other issues affecting minority communities in the State. In this interview to Frontline, she speaks about Chief Minister Narendra Modi's new tactics and the marginalisation...

In Chhattisgarh, Hindutva manifests itself in the form of attacks on Christians; in Uttarakhand it does so in the form of promoting Sanskrit. IN Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, States ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindutva agenda may not be strident, but the Sangh Parivar orientation is unmistakable in various government policies and programmes. While in Uttarakhand the party places much emphasis on gau mata (bovine goddess) and the teaching of...