A fact-finding report on the recent demolition of a century-old rooftop mosque at Pur in Rajasthan has held “crony capitalism” and “mining greed” responsible for the incident. It demanded a judicial inquiry into the role of a corporate house, ruling Congress leaders and a section of the clergy in making the deal for sale of the place of worship. Jindal Saw Limited, owned by the O.P. Jindal Group, bought the mosque...

Relates to February 28, 2002 killing of duo, whose bodies were later thrown into a fire All the surviving 109 accused in the Umta rioting case, in which two persons were killed during the post-Godhra communal riots, have been granted conditional acquittals by the Visnagar court. Mohammad Abdul Sheikh, a retired teacher, and Abdul Mansuri, were killed and later their bodies thrown into a fire during communal violence in Umta village in...

High inflation and moderate economic growth seem to have taken away the "feel good" factor for many Indians. Gallup's Financial Wellbeing Index, released on Monday, showed that 31% of Indians rated their present and future lives as "suffering" compared to 24% in 2011. Similarly, only around 13% said that they are "thriving" compared to 21% a year ago. The biggest jump in the "suffering lot" is in the middle 20% population, where...

-The Hindu To say human being is untouchable is to deny God: Asra Garg The Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday appreciated Madurai Superintendent of Police Asra Garg (31) for efforts taken by him in putting an end to long pending hostility between Caste Hindus and Dalits of Villoor near here through talks. Justice D. Hariparanthaman recorded his appreciation for the SP and his team of policemen while closing a writ petition...

Arundhati has got it all wrong—the facts speak out against her romantic notions of the tribals’ fight Nirad C. Chaudhary wrote in The Continent of Circe that India’s tribals were mainly found in hill forests. This was because, he reasoned, they had been chased there by the invading Aryans, who displaced them from their river plains. In an essay published in this magazine (Capitalism: A Ghost Story, March 26), Arundhati Roy...