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...

The Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka appears to be readying itself for a big fight, and this time it is over the Bhagavad Gita. A statement by Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, in which he said that the government was considering introducing the Gita in primary and secondary standards in school has drawn appreciation as well as flak in the state. Vicky Nanjappa reports. The issue had come up...

The Election Commission has decided to slap a show-cause notice on law minister Salman Khurshid for announcing 9% quota for minorities in UP in the event of Congress assuming power in the state. The Commission has prima facie found that he had violated the model code of conduct by issuing an appeal to voters along communal lines.  Even though Congress manifesto is set to formally promise 9% quota for minorities in...

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...

-IANS   Breaking the stereotypes associated with madrassas, a 50-year-old Islamic seminary here teaches subjects like personality development and home science, runs an elaborate teacher training programme, has a higher girl enrolment ratio and has students who are no less active on social networking websites than their counterparts in the metros. Welcome to Jamiatul Falah, a madrassa in Bilariyaganj town of Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh's district that has kept pace with modern education. The...