Without equality, democracy and social justice, which are three interrelated factors, secularism cannot exist as a positive value in society. I HAVE known Prof. Romila Thapar for about 45 years, most of it as a colleague at the Centre for Historical Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Romila, as she is called by almost everybody – from her eight-year-old grandnephew to all of us present here – had helped to...

BJP chief minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has said he wants the Bhagvad Gita taught in schools across Karnataka, reviving a touchy subject. Prodded by the BJP government, several schools run by Hindu organisations have been holding Gita classes since January 2011 in parts of the state, which has seen attacks on CHRIstians and churches by Hindutva groups in the past three years. The latest statement, coming from the chief minister himself and...

If you are a resident of Madhya Pradesh, Muslim and poor, nowhere close to the class of nawabs who can pay for murg musallam or mutton raan, watch your pot! The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has just armed itself with a big danda ostensibly to protect the holy cow and its progeny. But, make no mistake, it’s a stick to beat you with. To save your...

-The Hindu They will go to temples where it is practised including Kukke Subrahmanya Speakers at a seminar on made snana here on Sunday demanded that the Government abolish the practice across the State, failing which protests against the ritual would be “intensified”. The Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (Ambedkarvada), the Democratic Youth Federation of India, and the Sahamatha Vedike, which organised a seminar, resolved to intensify their protest by going to all temples where...

-PTI   In yet another blow to 21 social networking sites including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Youtube, a Delhi court on Friday issued summons to them for facing trial for allegedly webcasting objectionable contents. Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Sudesh Kumar took cognizance on a private criminal complaint and has directed the Centre for taking "immediate appropriate steps" and also file a report in the court by January 13. The court's order came three days...