Nitish Kumar has pledged to create 10 million jobs in the next five years apart from offering voters many other sops.
A seven-year-old girl died in Palakkad, Kerala after falling from a scooter and being run over by a bus. The accident has sparked protests over poor road conditions.
Punjab Police on Wednesday caned protesting teachers and arrested three of them when they tried to meet Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during a function at Muktsar district in Chandigarh.
The Social and Educational Survey, known as 'caste census,' is underway in Karnataka, facing technical glitches and server issues. The survey, conducted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, aims to gather data on caste and social status across the state.
Police in Thane have arrested a school principal and staff member after allegations that girl students were forced to strip to check for menstruation. The incident sparked outrage among parents, leading to protests and a police investigation.
Ghanashyampur Primary School in Dhulian, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, reopened on Wednesday after a six-day closure due to violence in the area. The school had been shut since Friday noon after violence erupted on April 11 during a protest against the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Parliament. Several houses and properties were ransacked and set ablaze by a mob, leading to fear and disruption in the locality. While some guardians are still hesitant to send their children to school, teachers are optimistic that attendance will increase in the coming days.
A concrete slab holding up the main gate of a government senior secondary girls school in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district collapsed on Monday, instantly killing a six-year-old boy who was there to be accompanied home by his sister studying in the school, police said.
Estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will unite for the cause of the Marathi language, as their parties will stage a joint protest against the 'imposition' Hindi and the state government's three-language formula for Classes 1-5.
The Supreme Court on Thursday reiterated its appeal to the doctors protesting over the rape and killing of the medic to resume work and directed that no coercive action would be taken against them.
'I dreaded meeting him these days because every time he'd say: We have to fight this government, even if it means going to jail.' 'He'd been in jails run by the British, he'd also been in jails in independent India, now he was ready to go to jail under this government.'
On Saturday, some Hindu outfits protested against the school administration after which a probe was ordered into the matter.
A Dalit student at Delhi University's Shaheed Bhagat Singh College has filed a police complaint alleging that its principal hurled casteist slurs and assaulted him after he was falsely accused of sending obscene messages on the official WhatsApp group of his department. The student, a third-year BA Hindi Honours student, claimed the incident caused him mental trauma and defamation. He has also written to the University Vice-Chancellor and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, seeking action against those involved. The principal has denied the allegations, claiming the student was being manipulated by a faculty member against whom an inquiry is underway.
'Talking about boycotting polls is simply a move to galvanise party leaders, workers, and supporters for the big political fight.'
'Gandhi had given the call 'Do or Die'. And with all the leaders arrested, you had to be your own leader.'
In the wake of a massive protest at Badlapur in Maharashtra's Thane district over the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls, internet services in the town were suspended while most schools remained shut on Wednesday, officials said.
West Bengal is home to 43,000 Durga Pujas, and the business around it is a major economic driver.
'These Marathas are farmers and they only do farming. They have no other business other than farming. Now, they want reservations because farming is no longer a profitable business.'In this interview, veteran farmers' rights advocate and founding member of the Shetkari Sanghatna, Vijay Jawandhia, with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff unpacks the historical and structural roots of the agitation.
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
'Arundhati Roy is like a ballerina performing on a high wire, cool, supremely at ease but conscious of all the adoring eyes on her,' notes P Vijaya Kumar.
'Languages should be introduced when the brain is ready, not when it's most vulnerable.'
'Not only jobs are not being generated, but people are also losing jobs.'
'Maharashtrians are facing a dual battle -- numerical battle with North Indians and financial battle with Gujaratis and Marwaris.' 'This has created anxiety about survival and ownership over Mumbai and Maharashtra.'
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
'These efforts by Beijing can be weaponised one day with economic, security and political implications for India.'
A year after the RG Kar rape-murder Swarupa Dutt/Rediff look at the city where it happened, Kolkata -- its study in dichotomy, at once the self-proclaimed cultural capital of India as also a petri dish for a peculiar rage that breeds crimes against women.
Angered by the death of a school teacher, who was allegedly murdered by jawans, over 5,000 protesters torched an Army vehicle on Saturday. Relatives and protesters claimed that Abdul Rashid Mir, a school teacher hailing from Kupwara, had been killed by some soldiers on Friday. Reacting to the public protests, the Army said that it had arrested the soldier whose weapon had been used to kill the teacher. But the Army claimed that the weapon was discharged accidentally.
Businesses have resumed but it's not business as usual in the capital city of Bangladesh.
To 'protect national interest', US now require all F, M, and Jvisa applicants (students/exchange visitors) to make socialmedia profiles public for nationalsecurity vetting.
As an IAS officer in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar -- who the Congress described as Amit Shah's 'right hand man' -- had a good working equation with the state's Congress and Left leaders.
Amidst growing protests from students and other groups over the Telangana government's plan to develop 400 acres of land adjacent to the University of Hyderabad (UoH) for IT infrastructure, the Congress party has urged the state government to hold discussions with all stakeholders. The Congress leader, Meenakshi Natarajan, who is in charge of party affairs in Telangana, said the government should also consider the objections raised by students and others and await the Supreme Court's ruling on the land issue. The matter is currently being heard in both the Telangana High Court and Supreme Court.
A regular morning alive with the chatter of students assembling for prayers quickly turned into tragedy on Friday when a portion of their government school building collapsed, killing seven children and injuring 27, some of them critically.
Legislators of the opposition BJD in Odisha sprinkled 'Ganga Jal' in the state Assembly, alleging that the House had been "spiritually polluted" by the entry of policemen. The incident follows a protest by Congress members demanding a House Committee to probe crimes against women, which led to police intervention and the eviction of Congress MLAs from the Assembly. BJD members claim the police action was unprecedented and brought shame to Odisha. The Speaker denounced the act, while the Revenue and Disaster Management Minister asserted the House's inherent purity. The opposition also alleged that police prevented BJD MLAs from leaving the assembly premises on the following day.
After 10 teachers and a group of students were attacked on Monday in Patiala House court complex where Kanhaiya was produced on Monday, the teachers association decided to join the students in boycotting classes.
The minister clarified the government's position on Zumba dance, a high-energy fitness programme introduced in schools in Kerala by the General Education Department as part of its anti-drug campaign, facing opposition from certain Muslim groups who argue that it went against moral values.
'The TMC can't go on forever taking advantage of the people's fright of the BJP.'
Bajrang Dal office bearer Amit Kumar alleged that the party had been organised in the "Hindu religious city" as part of a conspiracy to bring outsiders to the college campus.
Nikhil Kumar, a class 10 student at a local inter-college on Phaphond Road in Achalda police station area, was allegedly thrashed by his social sciences teacher Ashwini Singh on September 7 for making mistakes in a test.
The enraged family members of the student staged a protest outside the school on Saturday.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
This Women's Day week, we honour Savitribai Phule, India's first female teacher, who fearlessly fought for women's education, equality and social justice, reshaping the future for generations of women.
