Focus: And The New Telangana State Chief Minister Is....?

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

After the declaration of Telangana formation draft bill submission to cabinet, the political circles in Hyderabad heated with the aspirants of new Telangana state chief minister post. Many seniors plunged into fray, many unknown leaders, many hidden nayaks started their internal campaigning for the posts. Major Telangana centric political parties already made their mind to push their leaders into fray as the bill induction process is being developed.

Hoping that the new state of Telangana will come into being by January, over a dozen Congress leaders from the region are said to be lobbying hard with the party high command for the Chief Minister’s post.

Bigg Boss-7 Contestants: 'Pay Money, We'll Do Everything'

By Ritika Chauhan | Lonavla

The housemates inside the glass walled house are drawing fat pay cheques every week. From withstanding electric shocks to living on limited food to getting scolded by host Salman Khan on national television to abusing the heck out of each other, Bigg Boss-7 housemates have faced and done it all. But if you think that the housemates put up with all this and more just for some fame, then you are completely wrong. So what is it that makes them do all this, you ask? The answer is moolah.

If a recent report in a leading daily is anything to go by then, in the last 10 weeks Tanishaa Mukherji and Gauahar Khan have made more price money than the actual cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh.

Analysis: Why India Inc.’s 'Secrecy' Demand For 'Political Donations' Is Outrageous? Any Logical Answers?

By Lakshmi Chaudhry | Delhi

India Inc is throwing a little hissy fit. The cause of the tantrum is the revised Companies Act whose Section 182 (3) states: “Every company shall disclose in its profits and loss account any amount…contributed by it to any political party…giving particulars of the total amount contributed and the name of the party…” Companies in other democracies, at least of the advanced kind, have long been fessing up to which party they bankroll, but their bharatiya counterparts insist they should not be so unduly burdened. 

Special Report: The Dark Side Of Naveen Patnaik's Regime

By Partho Ghosh | Bhubaneshwar

Anyone who dares to dissent against the Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha faces the risk of being branded a naxal or seditionist. The list of those jailed on trumped charges includes legions of protesting tribals, public-spirited lawyers and human rights activists. In a month long investigation Gulail lays bare a systematic subversion of civil liberties and extra-judicial killings by a government that has till now been by and large successful in avoiding media scrutiny.

Jharkhand: Villagers Framed As Naxals Rot In State Jails

By Fauz Raheel | Ranchi

While on the one hand the Jharkhand government has been initiating measures and plans to make sure Naxals surrender and are given handsome rehabilitation packages, the police have been framing innocent villagers as Naxalites and putting them in jails in the hundreds.

Across the jails in the districts of Ranchi, Khunti, Saraikela, Chaibasa and some others there are many villagers who are desperately hoping to be free one day. Even after being freed, however, hardly anyone is able to lead a normal life. Naxal groups spot such people and motivate them to join their ranks to get back at the police and the administration. In many cases innocent men and women framed as Naxals end up joining the Naxal groups to save themselves from further harassment by the police.

Opinion: Today's Youth Not Meant For 'Arranged Marriage'

By Sunetra Chaudhury (Guest Writer)

I think it was the picture of the young woman and her young man that really firmed up my position on this subject. It sounds really cliched but she looked like the girl next door, she looked like she could have been my friend telling me how her family doesn’t like her boyfriend. The girl with a PLU name, Nidhi Barak, didn’t live next door but she did live right next to Delhi, in Rohtak. 

As much as we could identify with Nidhi’s life story — girl meets boy, they fall in love, their families disapprove of it — her death took us back to another age, and maybe to some Taliban-dominated country. The fine arts student was lynched and cremated in public by her family and her boyfriend was beheaded. For falling in love.

Sometime, A Love Story Becomes Stranger Than Fiction!

By Dr. Kavit Arya (Guest Writer)

We have hundreds of stories of lovers sacrificing everything for their love but none parallel that of Madai Dubey or Madai Dom. Madai was a Brahmin who willingly gave up his caste and converted himself into a Dom for his ladylove Sugmona. In the stratified Hindu caste structure, where everyone aspires to go up the ladder, their tale is unique.

Madai Dubey was born in Salempur, a small village in Bhojpur district of Bihar, in a rich, orthodox Brahmin family.

Commentary: Taking The Stigma Out Of 'Hot Sex Crimes'

By Vaishna Roy (Guest Writer)

Rape has always been seen as a stigma that only the woman victim has to bear. It is vital to change this perspective.

As is inevitable, when a prominent case of rape or sexual assault dominates the mindscape of a society, a slew of collateral issues also comes to the fore. One that has raised its head this time has been the question of privacy. As with most news in today’s age, the Tarun Tejpal incident too was first broken by social media, and relentlessly pursued by it as well. 

Without in any way condoning social media for its notorious lack of proportion and good sense, and the fact that it allows an all-too-easy platform for trolls, fanatics and idiots, it must be acknowledged that it plays an incomparable role when an incident or announcement of importance needs to be disseminated quickly and effectively.