THE Modi government has decided to directly administer Jammu & Kashmir through governor’s rule.  This is the outcome of the BJP’s withdrawal from the coalition government headed by Mehbooba Mufti.Why has the BJP taken this step after more than three years of the coalition government?

THE policy announced of lateral entry into the civil service at the level of joint secretary has raised a number of questions.  The central government has advertised for ten posts of joint secretary to be recruited by a committee headed by the cabinet secretary. The applicants can be from either the public sector, universities, or, the private sector including those working in multinational companies.  The requirement is that they should have 15 years experience in the job. This is just a thin end of the wedge.  Lateral entry is being pushed by none other than the prime minister himself.

THE two months that have elapsed since the  Bharat bandh of April 2 against the dilution of the Prevention of Atrocities against SCs/STs (POA) by the Supreme Court judgment  have seen the most vicious and vindictive attacks on dalits in the BJP-ruled states of UP, MP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.They have displayed the deep anti-dalit bias of the BJP run state governments and the upper-caste chauvinism of the Hindutva forces.At least eight dalits were killed during the bandh, some of them by RSS goons but no one responsible for their killing has been arrested or punished.  Some of the familie

THE Cobrapost sting investigation has graphically exposed the deep rot which has afflicted major sections of the media, both print and television.The Cobrapost expose involves 25 media organisations, including major ones, such as the Times of India, Zee TV, India Today, Hindustan Times, ABP News, Jagran Group and others.  This was the second installment of the revelations. The sting operation involved a reporter of the Cobrapost posing as an `acharya’ belonging to a sangatan purportedly connected to the sangh.  The `acharya’ approached the media owners and executi

THE Karnataka election has resulted in a hung Assembly.  The BJP has emerged as the single largest party winning 104 seats but falling short of a majority by eight;   the Congress was defeated getting only 78 seats and the Janata Dal (Secular) got 37 seats and its ally BSP won 1.The Congress decided to support the JD(S) leader, H D Kumaraswamy, to form the government and together they have a majority of 116 MLAs.