-The Hindu The conviction rate for every kind of crime is in free fall, engendering a breakdown of law that no republic can survive Even criminals, back in 1953, seemed to be soaking in the warm, hope-filled glow that suffused the newly free India. From a peak of 654,019 in 1949, the number of crimes had declined year-on-year to 601,964. Murderers and dacoits; house-breakers and robbers — all were showing declining enthusiasm...

-The Indian Express An IIM-Ahmedabad analysis of education and employment amongst Muslims in the country has concluded that the minority community has a higher perception of “unfairness” and “discrimination” and that Muslims have, in fact, a stronger case for reservations than the Hindu OBCs. Incidentally, a Central government notification in December 2011 to effect 4.5 per cent minority quota in Central educational institutes was stayed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court earlier...

-The Indian Express Patna: When they are in uniform and on duty, they are constables of Bihar Police, responsible for protecting the life and liberty of people across caste and community divides in a state that had gained notoriety for its lawlessness. But when they return to their barracks, they are Yadavs, Bhumihars, Brahmins, Paswans, Rajputs, Muslims, SCs and STs. They live and sleep in areas segregated on the basis of...

-The Times of India  The political silence over yet another religious clash in Uttar Pradesh showcased the importance of Mulayam Singh Yadav in the current flux, with neither the right nor the Left wanting to annoy him. The killing of six Muslims in police firing following arson over desecration of the Quran wrecked the peace in industrial Ghaziabad. While the clash involved police and a violent mob, it was the sixth communal...

-The Hindu Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri mosque demands withdrawal of textbooks Even as the controversy over political cartoons in school textbooks is yet to subside, the Muslim community here has objected to two illustrations and the text of a chapter in the Class XI history book published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training under the National Curriculum Framework-2007. Shahi Imam of the Fatehpuri mosque Mohammad Mukarram Ahmed has written to...