-The Hindu A petition submitted to Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairperson, NCERT Textbooks Review Committee, by leading Dalit and non-Dalit writers, scholars and activists. When NCERT's Class XI Political Science textbook, Indian Constitution at Work , came to the attention of some Dalit activists, they objected to the manner in which the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, had been depicted riding a snail representing the Constitution, with...

Highlighting the lack of empathy among the intellectuals towards the “Dalit viewpoint”, prominent Dalit and non-Dalit writers on Thursday submitted a petition to the NCERT textbook review committee to reconsider the “insensitive” cartoon of B R Ambedkar and make necessary changes in the text as well to ensure that the Dalit icon finds his due place. Stressing that textbooks can’t be treated as “above criticism” and cartoons as “sacrosanct”, they urged...

Schools scrambled to get minority status after the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was framed, say education officials. Records show that after the RTE was implemented in 2009, around 930 schools across the state got minority status from January 2009 to June 4, 2012. Under the Act, all schools except minority unaided schools will have to admit 25% students belonging to economically weaker sections of society. Experts said schools...

-The Hindu Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decency and politics of reconciliation have been his undoing Last fortnight I had cloistered myself away in the hills for a spot of reflection and writing. I had chosen to deprive myself of blessings like newspapers, the television and internet; telephone connectivity was at best erratic and in any case it was turned off most of the time. During one occasional moment of connectedness I got...

Andhra HC judgment redefines the complex relationship between religion, caste and reservations The recent judgment of the Andhra Pradesh high court that sets aside a sub-quota of 4.5 per cent for “socially and educationally backward classes of citizens belonging to Minorities” within the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs reminds us of the contested notion of backwardness in the Indian context. Highlighting serious concerns regarding the ways in which social backwardness...