The Jaipur Literary Festival, a giddily chaotic celebration of the written word set on the grounds of a rajasthan palace, ended in misery and embarrassment today, with the organizers bowing to pressure from local security forces and scotching plans for Salman Rushdie to “appear” at the festival, finally, by video link. Rushdie had already been forced to cancel plans to come to Jaipur after he had received intelligence reports—bogus intelligence,...

-The Indian Express   The last time he was at the Jaipur Literature Festival, Salman Rushdie was barely noticed. He spent three days in the city in 2007, and faced no protests. Some of the protesters this time agree that few had known about that visit. The opposition began with the Darul Uloom Deoband in UP before being taken up in rajasthan, where the protests were spearheaded by Amin Pathan, chairperson for the...

-The Economic Times   The Supreme Court has refused to stay a recent Karnataka High Court verdict that has said the central government is liable to pay higher wages under the country's flagship rural employment programme in tandem with that of the state minimum wage rate. It has further asked the government to find a way to end the disparity between the wages paid under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA)...

-The Hindu   “The intent is clear. Keep the people drugged so they do not revolt against poverty” Press Council of India (PCI) Chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Sunday called upon journalists to play a seminal role in promoting scientific and rational ideas in society and raise the intellectual level of the masses by extricating them from the morass of superstition, casteism, bigotry, communalism and feudal tendencies. Delivering the Jhabarmal Sharma memorial lecture here,...

-The Hindu   For 11 Muslim youths exonerated in connection with 2008 Jaipur serial blasts; denied bail, they spent three years in prison   More than a month after a fast track court here acquitted 11 persons of the charge of involvement in the May 2008 Jaipur serial blasts, the Congress-led government in rajasthan is yet to respond to demands for compensation to the exonerated youths on the Andhra Pradesh pattern and action against...