No country has grown without educating its people. India's shameful lag in primary and secondary education has persisted for several decades, and the crisis in higher education is now threatening a social and political calamity, says Ashoka Mody.
The main culprit in vitiating the inter community/caste/class relations has been the so called 'targeted' approach. This is nothing but discrimination on the basis of faith/caste/class. When an equally poor and deprived child is denied scholarship, despite equal merit, resentment begins to brew, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
'Most of the agitations are staged by the Opposition to disturb the peace of the state.'
'Cynics don't make it big in advertising.' 'Often, the medium calls for a rock-like commitment to puny, easily digestible ideas.' 'Here's a text that understands this facet of advertising and one that keeps its tone breezy and reporter-like; that's set across a wide canvas but one that never overstates its own importance,' says Sreehari Nair.
Ajit Balakrishnan on understanding the anti-cash chorus.
'Breaking out of the corner into which China has painted itself would be a feat.' 'Whether Xi is able to pull it off will be known in the coming days,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant and member of the Joint Intelligence Committee at the time of China's invasion of India.
During last week's Nuclear Security Summit, President Obama asked the media to leave and then screened videos depicting plausible scenarios pertaining to nuclear terrorism.
The elements are all aligned to make India a global powerhouse, says IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
The initiative would provide double the relief announced by the states of UP and Maharashtra, the Punjab CM said.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced the appointment of Nisha Agarwal, one of the leading advocates in the city for the immigrant communities, as commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs.
'The Congress shall have to take some brave-tough decisions to give a new social face to the party and its leadership composition,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
The Patels of Gujarat are seething and they have warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel of consequences if their demands for reservations are not met.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye's visit to India will enhance economic and military ties between the two countries and give the relationship a strategic dimension, says Jiye Kim.
It is rare for communal riots to spread to rural areas. The UP riot is the first time after the September 1969 Gujarat riots that a rural area have been affected. Electoral politics which divide society in majority/minority, going on since the early 1990s, is a major contributing factor to this heightened tension between communities, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale in the first of a two part series.
'The government must make clear once and for all that promotions in the Indian Army are not the right of individuals, but a privilege given in accordance with role and function.'
Months before 8/11, MP, Haryana probed note ban
The State is trying to curb the students movements, therefore, there are suspicions against some of the Subramanian report on education's recommendations, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Does it make any difference to you, that one of our doctors almost lost his vision, while you delayed in immediately getting the right care for your family member, as per his advice?'
'In Modi's moral majority, words like security become problematic and a moral majority can turn devastatingly inquisitorial. It turns history into a preferred flatland of the nation State challenging cultural diversity in the name of majoritarianism expressed as patriotism. Dissent almost immediately becomes seditious,' says Shiv Visvanathan.
It was also suggested that an all-party delegation should visit Kashmir to assess the situation but the government did not make commitments regarding any of their demands.
'Extravagant new promises can buy him time, but far from solving the problem, they compound the risk.' 'His main alternative is to stress not aspirations, but resentments.' 'He has already de-emphasised aspirational appeals: Nothing has been heard for over two years of the coming of achhe din,' points out James Manor.
Leading think tank discusses a likely Narendra Modi government and America's engagement with the man US once scorned. Aziz Haniffa reports
'With this amendment, permanent employees will cease to exist.' 'The government should give a human touch and human face to labour reforms.' 'Ideas like survival of the fittest, might is right, etc, are rules of the jungle.' 'They cannot give new terms like hire and fire to jungle law.'
'Muslims, like people of all other faiths, are quite comfortable with the idea of nationalism and democracy today. But are they following Islam in its spirit? That is a different question.'
'The BJP is not the party it was 10 years ago. It has changed. It is emerging like the Congress.' 'Sometimes, I feel the BJP has taken the Congress' space.' 'Its politics is also resembling the Congress.'
'The BJP has sent out a message that its allies are at its mercy.' 'The allies cannot pressurise or bargain with the BJP any more,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'The BJP has latched on to the idea of nationalism, but the nationalism they advocate is not nationalism as we have understood it since the time of the freedom movement.' 'This is not secular nationalism, it is Hindu nationalism.' 'It is a form of nationalism that is exclusionary and it tends to conflate national interest with the government.' 'So, if you disagree with the government, for example, on surgical strikes or demonetisation, you are anti-national or holder of black money.'
'The SP-BSP have almost come to an understanding that the BSP will take the larger share of parliamentary seats and take care of national politics.' 'The SP in future assembly elections will take larger seats and take care of state politics.'
'COPD causes an economic loss of Rs 35,000 crores.' 'We cannot afford to lose such a huge amount due to one disease.' 'COPD is a non-communicable disease and that's why it remained low in priority.' 'The time is right to shift the focus to COPD as HIV/AIDS and TB are under control. 'This badly neglected disease has become the second largest cause for deaths in India.' 'It is time for us to wake up and give due importance to this disease.'
'In the past the US has been reluctant to name Pakistan directly in an US-India joint statement.'
'I fight for anyone who is poor, marginalised or victimised.' 'If a Dalit factory owner is inflicting atrocities on his Brahmin worker, then I will fight for the poor Brahmin.'
Dr Behera speaks about how the nationwide positive reaction to the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir indicates that the very idea of India is changing. From a diverse, multicultural entity, could India be becoming a place where assimilation is more important than accommodation?
The reason for the windfall: the soaring value of their stock awards.
'Modi and his team have read the message from the ground.' 'People have started questioning what they have achieved by putting Modi in power.'
'Ensuring through diplomatic means and in conjunction with strategic partners that India will not be required to fight a simultaneous two-front war with China and Pakistan.' Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) lists what India must have in its national security strategy.
A DoT panel has backed net neutrality and made some recommendations to push the cause
The results are being seen as a ringing endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies and a reflection of his unmatched popularity.
'If you interpret Akhilesh's statement, he is clearly saying Shivpal wants to become chief minister.'
'The BJP said they want less government and more governance. But they are doing neither. It is shocking to see them so ineffective.'
Nothing, according to Deepak Lal. He argues that the contemporary attempts to control immigration in the US and UK are not nativist.
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