'Govt has role in aided minority institutes'
The Supreme Court also said minorities had a right to establish educational institutes, and if they were unaided the State could not regulate them.

Twelve BJP legislators ditch Mayawati
They have urged Governor Vishnukant Shastri to ask the chief minister to face a trial of strength.

Try linking major rivers by 2012, SC to govt
Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Soli Sorabjee said the Centre agrees with the concept, but a major constraint is the huge expenditure involved -- Rs 560,000 crore at current prices.

JKLF splits for the second time
Three founder members announced the parting of ways with the Javed Ahmed Mir-led JKLF.

Don't question J&K's accession: Sinha
'Why have a plebiscite only in Jammu and Kashmir? Why not in the whole subcontinent and ask if we want one nation as we were before?" the external affairs minister asked.
Sinha's remarks anger Pakistan

RIL gas-find bigger than Bombay High
The firm will have to invest more than Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) in extracting gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin.

Indian bags UNEP environment award
Ashok Khosla will receive the UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize for introducing low-cost eco-friendly technologies.

CRICKET
Windies surge checked in last hour
Three wickets fell in the last hour, after Wavell Hinds scored a century, on day 2 of the third Test against India.

Bangar included in one-day squad
The all-rounder replaces Zaheer Khan, who has been sidelined with injury, for the first three ODIs against the West Indies.

Aus top inaugural ICC one-day rankings
South Africa are second, as they are in the Test table, while India are fifth.

SPORTS
Bad day for India in Chess Olympiad
The men's and women's teams were respectively beaten by Lithuania and Georgia in the fifth round.

SLIDE SHOW
The Champions League
Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal and Liverpool vs Valencia

MORE REPORTS
Pakistan frees former Lashkar chief
Hafiz Mohammed Sayeed is the second terrorist to be released in the past two days.

Pakistani linked to terror to stay in Britain
Shafiq-ur-Rehman, 30, was told last week that deportation proceedings against him have been dropped even though the home office spent hundreds of thousands of pounds fighting the case.

World Ayurveda Congress in Kochi begins Friday
The four-day congress seeks to project ayurveda as an effective system of treatment for various diseases.

Houses still a dream for cyclone survivors
'I went from pillar to post seeking a shelter, but to no avail,' Dola Pradhan, whose husband died in the Orissa cyclone, told 'rediff.com'.

MONEY SPECIAL
Jalan's real message: don't ask for more
The banking system needs to get its act together instead of constantly expecting monetary mollifications, says R Jagannathan.

BUSINESS
IMF doubts if India can meet sell-off target
While the Fund voiced concern over India's revenue projections, it appreciated government's efforts in reining in the fiscal deficit.

C Rangarajan to head 12th Finance Commission
The Ministry of Finance has also cleared the names of outgoing cabinet secretary T R Prasad and economist D K Srivastav as members of the commission.

MARKET REPORT
Sensex gains 61 points; RIL gains 14%
Buying seen almost across-the-board. Tisco, Telco, Satyam, ACC gain. Bhel, HLL, NIIT lose.

DEAR REDIFF
'The award has been degraded'

MOVIES
How original is Bollywood?
The year 2002 has a landmark number of Hindi films inspired by Hollywood films.

Deepa's poised for a hit
Mixed reviews may not come in the way of 'Bollywood/Hollywood's' BO success.

CRICKET COLUMN
A case for compassion
If the players have played it hard on the field, says Daniel Laidlaw, then the selectors have certainly been no more merciful in their handling of retirements off it.