In such view of the matter, a strong prima facie case has been made out by the petitioners as to the fixation of dates and time for the general election being mala fide on the part of the respondent no. 4 authorities. The balance of convenience and inconvenience in favour of granting such injunction, since if the election is held and a newly elected body assumes power, the writ petition would be infructuous; on the other hand, in the event the writ petition fails, another date can be fixed for such election, if necessary upon imposition of compensatory costs being awarded against the petitioners.

Although there is a notification of this Court requesting Judges not to take up matters for hearing in the absence of all the parties, since sufficient notice 3 has been given to the respondents and in view of the extreme urgency involved in the matter, the matter is taken up for hearing.

The dispute in this appeal relates to valuation under the Customs Act, 1962 of import of certain items made by the respondent Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) under two contracts, bearing nos. PUR/PC/MOD/08.01/Pt.II dated 31.10.1989 and PUR/PC/MOD/08.01/Pt-I dated 29th March 1990. These imports were made in connection with modernisation, expansion and modification 1 for their plant at Durgapur in West Bengal. For this purpose, SAIL had floated seven Global Tender Contract Packages. The two contracts were part of these Tender Contract Packages. They were registered with the customs authorities for the purpose of project import benefits in terms of the 1962 Act. The first contract involved in this appeal was with a consortium consisting of a German Company, Hoestemberghe & Kluisch, GMBH and H & K Rolling Mills Engineering Private Limited, an Indian Corporate entity. The second contract was also with a German Company, Siempelkamp Pressen Systeme and the Indian entity was Escon Consultants Private Ltd, with whom the consortium was formed. Both these contracts were in connection with modernisation of SAIL’s rolling mills at the aforesaid plant.

1. Most of the cases have a chequered history. Initially, petitioners have questioned four notifications ­ two notifications dated 21.12.2010 issued by Medical Council of India (for short, ‘the MCI’) and other two notifications dated 31.5.2012, issued by Dental Council of India (for short, ‘the DCI’). The MCI by virtue of Regulations on Graduate Medical Education (Amendment) 2010, (Part II) notified by the Government of India, amended the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997. Similarly, the other notification issued by MCI called “Post­Graduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulation, 2010 (Part­II)” to amend the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000. The regulations came into force on their publication in the Official Gazette. The other two notifications dated 31.5.2012 issued by DCI were relating to admission in the BDS and MDS courses.

These two appeals against the decision of the Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) rendered on 16th July, 2008 require adjudication on the question as to whether 1 “car matting” would come within Chapter 57 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 under the heading “Carpets and Other Textile Floor Coverings” or they would be classified under Chapter 87 thereof, which relates to “Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock and Parts and Accessories Thereof”. The appeals are against a common decision and we shall also deal with both these appeals together in this judgment. The respondent-assessee want their goods to be placed under Chapter heading 5703.90. We shall refer to the specific entries against this item later in the judgment. The respondent, at the material point of time were engaged in the business of manufacture of textile floor coverings and car matting. The subject-goods have been referred to interchangeably by the revenue also as car mattings and car carpets. The respondent, at the material time, were clearing the goods declaring them to be goods against Heading No.570390.90. Effective rate of excise duty on goods under that entry was 8% and education cess at the applicable rate for the subject period. We find this rate of duty, 2 inter-alia, from the order of the Commissioner dealing with the first and the second show-cause notices. The rate of basic excise duty would have been 16% apart from education cess if these goods were classified against goods specified in heading no.8708.99.00. Altogether three show-cause-notices were issued against the respondent over clearance of goods under the said heading. These notices required them to answer as to why they should not be charged the differential rate of duty and interest. We would like to point out here that in the show-cause notices, the respective chapter sub-headings have been referred to as 8708.99.00 and 570390.90 and in the order of the Tribunal also, the sub-headings have been referred to as such. But the authorities themselves in certain places described the sub-headings in shorter numerical forms, as 5703.90 and 8708.00. We find these minor variations in the paper-book. But this variation of the sub- headings represented in numerical form is not of any significance so far as adjudication of these appeals are concerned. The respondent were also to answer as to why penalty should not be 3 imposed upon them in terms of Section 38A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with Rule 25 of the Rules made thereunder. The first show-cause notice is dated 9th August, 2005 in regard to clearance of goods made during the period between 9 th July, 2004 and 31st March, 2005. They had cleared altogether 8,65,777 pieces of those items in different sizes in that period. The second show-cause notice was issued on 2 nd May, 2006 and related to clearance of 12,02,482 pieces of the same goods for the period between 1st April, 2005 and 31st January, 2006. The third show- cause notice is of 7th March, 2007 and the clearance involved 20,15,412 pieces from 1st February, 2006 to 31st January, 2007. For the period involved in the third show-cause notice, clearance was made by the respondent under Chapter sub-heading no.570500.19, which carried effective rate of duty @8%.

1. The present judgment will dispose of two appeals preferred under Section 125 of the Electricity Act, 2003. One appeal (CA 2969/2010) has been preferred by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (hereafter,"Gujarat Urja"or "GUVN”) ；the second (CA 2793/2010) has been preferred by CLP (India) Pvt. Ltd. (formerly, Gujarat Torrent Energy Corporation Ltd; later, Gujarat Paguthan Energy Corporation Ltd, a generating company, hereafter collectively "CLP”). Both appeals challenge a common order of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity（“APTEL” hereafter).

2. The erstwhile Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) (now “Gujarat Urja”) entered into a power purchase agreement (“PPA”）with CLP on 03.02.1994. In terms of the Signature Not Verified PPA, Gujarat Urja was under an obligation to purchase - and CLP was under Digitally signed by DEEPAK SINGH Date: 2020.05.06 16:03:10 IST Reason:

Let this matter be listed in the first week of June, 2020 on a date to be fixed by the Registry. On the next date so fixed, this matter will be taken up for its disposal.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

1. All the four writ petitions seek identical relief in the nature of a writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to permit the petitioners to avail input tax credit of the accumulated CENVAT credit as of 30th June, 2017 by filing declaration Form TRAN-1 beyond the period provided under the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (hereinafter, the "CGST Rules"). Additionally, petitioners also assail Rule 117 of the CGST Rules on the ground that it is arbitrary, unconstitutional and violative of Article 14 to the extent it imposes a time limit for carrying forward the CENVAT credit to the GST regime. However, all the petitioners have unanimously stated that if the Court were to give directions to the respondents to permit them to file the statutory Form TRAN-1 to avail the input tax credit, they would be satisfied and not press for the relief of challenging the vires of the provisions of the Act.

W.P.(C) 3062/2020

1. The present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been listed before this Bench by the Registry in view of the urgency expressed therein.

2. The writ petition has been heard by way of video conferencing.

3. Present public interest litigation has been filed seeking a direction to the respondents to a mandate that the travellers of Delhi Metro Rail should provide proof of their identities and addresses while purchasing Metro cards from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

W.P.(C) 3062/2020 Page 1 of 2

4. Petitioners, who appear in person, state that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation issues digital Metro cards or tokens (digital monies) to its customers, who in turn use it as travel coupons. They state that linking of Metro card and token with the address proof of the travellers would protect the right to property, in the event, the Metro card or token is lost. They further state that in the wake of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is of utmost importance that the respondents should be aware about the details of the passengers travelling by Delhi Metro as it would help in preventing a patient from travelling and would also help in tracing the affected travellers in case a patient had unwillingly travelled in Delhi Metro.

1. The present public interest litigation under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been listed before this Bench by the Registry in view of the urgency expressed therein.

2. The writ petition has been heard by way of video conferencing.

3. Present public interest litigation has been filed seeking a number of directions. The prayer clause is reproduced hereinbelow:-

W.P.(C) 3068/2020 Page 1 of 8

"a) the respondent no.1 (Union of India) be directed to stop respondent no.2 (Govt. of Haryana) from doing all these restriction activities in violation of their orders dated 15.04.2020;

CM(M) 769/2018 with CM APPL. 27219/2018

1. Petitioner impugns order dated 18.04.2018 whereby the Trial Court has rejected the preliminary objection raised by the Petitioner that the petition filed by the Respondent under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter called the Arbitration Act) impugning award dated 14.07.2016 was liable to be dismissed because Respondent had not deposited 75% of the awarded amount as stipulated in Section 19 of the Micro, Small and Medium CM(M) 769/2018 Page 1 of 16 Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the MSMED Act).

2. Respondents had issued a Tender Enquiry for procuring Cover Water Proof 9.1 M x 9.1 M. The bid of the Petitioner was accepted by the Respondents and contract dated 05.04.2005 was entered between the parties.

The petition is being filed by the petitioner and challenge is being made to the order dated 04.03.2020, whereby the petitioner is directed to retire on completion of 62 years of age. It is submitted that the petitioner is a Physical Instructor and is equivalent to Teacher as has been held by the Full Bench of this Court in the case of State of M.P. & Others Vs. Yugal Kishore Sharma, in W.A.No.613/2016. Petitioner has placed reliance upon the Clause F of Regulation 8 of Ministry of Human Resources and Development Department as under :-

"(f) Age of Superannuation :- (i) In order to meet the situation arising out of

shortage of teachers in universities and other teaching institutions and the consequent vacant positions therein, the age of superannuation for teacher in Central Education Institution has already 2 HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH WP.No.7385/2020 (Gopal Prasad Shivhare Vs. Union of India & Others) been enhanced to sixty five years, vide the Department of Higher Education letter No. F.No.1- 19/2006-U.II dated 23.03.2007, for those involved in class room teaching in order to attract eligible persons to the teaching career and to retain teachers in service for a longer period. Consequent on upward revision of the age of superannuation of teachers, the Central Government has already authorized the Central Universities, vide Department of Higher Education D.O. Letter No.F.1-24/2006-Desk(U) dated 30-03-2007 to enhance the age of superannuation of vice- Chancellors of Central Universities from 65 years to 70 years, subject to amendments in the respective statutes, with the approval of the competent authority (Visitor in the case of Central Universities).

The petitioner has already made representation against the impugned order dated 13.12.2019 (Annexure P-1) to the Vice Chancellor, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Gurugram. The worthy Vice Chancellor is directed to decide the representation within a period of two weeks from today, strictly as per the University Statues & Ordinance as well as on the basis of compromise arrived at between the petitioner and the 1 of 2 ::: Downloaded on - 09-05-2020 20:40:51 ::: CWP-7284-2020 -2- complainants.

Petition stands disposed of accordingly.

( RAJIV SHARMA ) JUDGE ( HARINDER SINGH SIDHU ) JUDGE May 08, 2020 ndj Whether speaking/reasoned Yes/No Whether reportable Yes/No 2 of 2 ::: Downloaded on - 09-05-2020 20:40:51 :::

The petitioner is permitted to make a representation to the General Manager, Food Corporation of India, Chandigarh within a period of one week from today. The General Manager shall decide the representation by passing a speaking/detailed order by referring to the terms and conditions incorporated in the tender document.

Petition stands disposed of accordingly.

( RAJIV SHARMA ) JUDGE ( HARINDER SINGH SIDHU ) JUDGE May 08, 2020 ndj Whether speaking/reasoned Yes/No Whether reportable Yes/No 1 of 1 ::: Downloaded on - 08-05-2020 20:39:14 :::

K Sivanesan, 47, and his colleague Rajkumar worked for a herbal medicine company and tested their treatment - a mix of nitric oxide and sodium nitrate - at a home in southern Chennai city.

1. Indian Railways, an establishment working under the control of the Central Government in terms of the Railways Act, 1989, has been constrained to come to this Tribunal by the present appeal under Section 111 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to assail the decision of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (hereinafter referred to as "TNERC" Appeal No. 188 of 2019 & IA No.980 of 2019 Page 2 of 9 or "State Commission") dated 25.03.2019 passed in Petition No. M.P. 4 of 2019, declining to entertain the request, inter-alia, for direction to the respondents - State Transmission and Distribution Companies - to process the application and grant non-discriminatory open access based on its claim of being a deemed licensee with certain other ancillary reliefs, the prime reason being that the State Commission was not satisfied with the "form" in which such petition had been presented.

1. The present appeal has been filed by Indian Captive Power Producers Association (ICPPA) (Appellant) against the daily order dated 01.02.2019 ("impugned order") passed by the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission ("Respondent Commission") in Petition No. 1672 of 2017, preferred by the Appellant. Vide the present appeal, the Appellant is seeking necessary directions for expediting the proceedings in Petition No. 1672 of 2017 preferred by the Appellant. Under the aforesaid Petition, the Appellant is seeking amendment of the provisions of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions of Intra-State Open Access) Regulations, 2011 ("GERC OA Regulations, 2011") as detailed therein. However, even after a lapse of more than 2 years, the Respondent Commission has failed to hear the Petition on merits, thereby leading to a delay in deciding the said case.

2. We have heard the learned Advocates appearing for parties and formulated following substantial questions of law on 26.02.2020, which reads:

"(i) Whether under Rule 5 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 prior to and from 01.04.2012 appellant would be entitled to seek refund without reference to the limitation? Or

(ii) Whether the time prescribed under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 would be applicable for claiming refund of CENVAT Credit?"

6

CEA No.35/2018 came to be admitted on 23.07.2019 to consider the substantial questions of law indicated thereunder.

Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured during a face-off along the boundary in north Sikkim, sources said.Four Indian soldiers and half a dozen of Chinese troops were injured during the confrontation on Saturday which took place at Naku La sector, ahead of Muguthang, a pass at a height of more than 5,000 metres, the sources added.In total, 150 soldiers were present when the confrontation took place, which was later resolved at the local level.The sources said that temporary and short duration face offs occur as boundaries are not resolved."Incidents of face off article took place. Aggressive behaviour and minor injuries took place from both sides. They were disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level," they added.Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols.This

Dubai, May 10 () The first batch of 88 nurses from India arrived in the UAE to help the country's stretched healthcare professionals amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 infections in the Gulf nation that has crossed 17,000, according to media reports.The Ministry of Health and Prevention said the UAE reported 624 new cases on Saturday, taking the total number of infections to 17,417.The number of fatalities reached 185 after 11 deaths were reported on the day.The nurses, who are from Aster DM Healthcare hospitals in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, will be put under quarantine for 14 days after which they will be assigned to various field hospitals as per requirement, the Khaleej Times reported.They arrived on a special flight at the Dubai airport on Saturday.India's Ambassador

Mumbai, May 10 () An Air India flight landed here from London at 1.30 am on Sunday carrying 239 Indians from the UK who were stranded there due to suspension of commercial passenger air services and the subsequent lockdown, an official statement said. In addition to this, two more repatriation flights -- one each from Singapore and Manila ( Philippines) -- are expected to arrive in Mumbai on Sunday, it said. While the flight from Singapore (AI 343) will be carrying 243 passengers, the Manila-Mumbai flight (AI 387) would bring back 241 Indian nationals from the South East Asian country, as per the statement. "1st flight 2 #Mumbai landed- crew interaction less with the passengers. Protective kit was given 2 all-along with snack n meal kept on the seat beforehand. Next #quarantine. Watch

(Dhiraj Singh Thakur) Judge Srinagar:

18.03.2020.

"Shameem H."

SHAMEEM HAMID MIR 2020.03.24 12:42 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

Around 224 Indians stranded in the US due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown are preparing to board the first repatriation flight from San Francisco to Mumbai and Hyderabad on Saturday. In the first phase of the US-India segment of the 'Operation Vande Bharat- A homecoming', flights have been planned from San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington DC to New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. As many as 1,961 Indians are likely to be repatriated through seven flights from the four cities in the first phase, officials said. More than 24,000 Indians stranded in the US have expressed their interest in travelling back home abroad the special Air India flights. The first of the series of special Air India flight carrying 224 Indian nationals is scheduled to fly from San Francisco on Saturday night. Over the next one week, as many as 1,961 Indians are likely to be repatriated through seven flights from four different cities. According to Indian Embassy ...

The first batch of 88 nurses from India arrived in the UAE to help the country's stretched healthcare professionals amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 infections in the Gulf nation that has crossed 17,000, according to media reports. The Ministry of Health and Prevention said the UAE reported 624 new cases on Saturday, taking the total number of infections to 17,417. The number of fatalities reached 185 after 11 deaths were reported on the day. The nurses, who are from Aster DM Healthcare hospitals in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, will be put under quarantine for 14 days after which they will be assigned to various field hospitals as per requirement, the Khaleej Times reported. They arrived on a special flight at the Dubai airport on Saturday. India's Ambassador to UAE Pavan Kapoor said that this would further strengthen the long-standing friendship between the two countries. "India and the UAE are showing how a strategic partnership translates into concrete ...

An Air India flight with 163 Indians landed at the Hyderabad international airport from Kuwait on Saturday night as part of the government's Vande Bharat Mission to bring home Indian nationals stranded abroad, airport sources said. The AI flight 988 landed at the airport shortly after 10 pm, the sources said. To facilitate the arriving passengers and aircraft crew, the Hyderabad International Airport has kept the international arrivals and the stretch right from the aerobridge to the arrivals ramp fully sanitized and fumigated, the sources said. It will be ensured that passengers follow social distancing norms, they said. The passengers would be screened by thermal cameras prior to immigration formalities, they said. Glass shields were provided at each manned immigration counter to avoid any personal contact between the passengers and immigration officers, they said. The passengers would be taken for mandatory quarantine at the designated locations in the city, the sources added.

Haji Mohammed Sajid could not control his emotion as he came out of the Lucknow airport on Saturday evening after an Air India flight arrived here from Sharjah with 182 Indians on board as part of the government's 'Vande Bharat Mission'. Kissing the floor of the airport, much to the surprise of the officials and mediapersons present there, a teary eyed Sajid said, "I was missing my parents and India very much." "I thank the government for helping me reunite with my family after being stranded abroad for the past couple of months," said the Ayodhya resident, who worked as garment designer in the United Arab Emirates. With just one coffee vending machine and a fruit cart, the airport wore a forlorn look, while the arrival board displayed the lone flight IX184 that arrived around 9.00 pm. CISF jawans maintained a strict watch on the activities of the visitors as passengers started coming out of the airport at 10.30 pm. They were screened and sent to quarantine. "This is the first flight

The first batch of 326 Indian nationals stranded in the UK due to the coronavirus-linked global travel restrictions arrived here from London early on Sunday morning. The special evacuation flight AI 130, a Boeing 777 plane which departed from London on Saturday, landed at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) at around 1.30 AM with 326 Indians, according to a source. "1st flight 2 #Mumbai landed- crew interaction less with the passengers. Protective kit was given 2 all-along with snack n meal kept on the seat beforehand. Next #quarantine. Watch the space," tweeted a passenger onboard the flight. "Reached Mumbai safely from UK. Thank you so much to @airindiain @HCI_London, @NISAU_UK, @MEAIndia," another person said in a tweet. The airport authorities, in a statement on Saturday, said that the arriving passengers with symptoms will be moved to isolation centres. Asymptomatic passengers residing in Mumbai will be moved to quarantine facilities like hotels, ..

INS Jalashwa carrying 698 repatriated Indian citizens from the Maldives arrived in Kochi harbour on Sunday morning, completing the Indian Navy's first massive evacuation exercise from foreign soil during the COVID-19 lockdown, official sources said. The passengers would disembark from the cruise terminal of Cochin Port Trust, they said. Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakhare said all arrangements are in place to facilitate the safe stay of those repatriated, comprising 440 Keralites and people from other parts of the country. Four passengers are from Lakshwadeep. Besides these, the other passengers are from Tamil Nadu (187), Telganana (9), Andhra Pradesh (8), Karnataka (8), Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan (3 each) and Goa (1), Assam (1). There are seven passengers each from Uttarakhand and West Bengal, Delhi (4), Puducherry (3), while there are two passengers each from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, the sources said.

Troops of India and China were involved in a fierce face-off and many of them sustained minor injuries in the clash near Naku La in the Sikkim sector along the Sino-Indo border on Saturday, official sources said. The troops disengaged after dialogue at the local level, they said. "Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols. Such an incident occurred after a long time," said a source.

India's fuel consumption fell almost 46 per cent in April as all petroleum products, except LPG, saw massive demand erosion following the nationwide lockdown that halted economic activity and travel. The demand, which showed signs of pick up in the last 10 days of April after the government allowed resumption of economic activity beyond the urban municipal limit, is likely to rebound in second half of May as more areas are opened. India's fuel consumption fell 45.8 per cent to 9.929 million tonnes in April, down from 18.32 million tonnes fuel consumed in the same month a year back, according to official data released by the petroleum ministry. Fuel consumption during March, when travel restrictions began to be imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus, stood at 16.08 million tonnes. Petrol sales were down 60.43 per cent to 9,73,000 tonnes in April. The demand for the fuel had fallen 64 per cent in first half of the month, but there was some pick up in sales after reopening of some ...

An Air India flight landed here from London at 1.30 am on Sunday carrying 239 Indians from the UK who were stranded there due to suspension of commercial passenger air services and the subsequent lockdown, an official statement said. In addition to this, two more repatriation flights -- one each from Singapore and Manila ( Philippines) -- are expected to arrive in Mumbai on Sunday, it said. While the flight from Singapore (AI 343) will be carrying 243 passengers, the Manila-Mumbai flight (AI 387) would bring back 241 Indian nationals from the South East Asian country, as per the statement. "1st flight 2 #Mumbai landed- crew interaction less with the passengers. Protective kit was given 2 all-along with snack n meal kept on the seat beforehand. Next #quarantine. Watch the space," tweeted a passenger on the flight. "Reached Mumbai safely from UK. Thank you so much to @airindiain @HCI_London, @NISAU_UK, @MEAIndia," another passenger tweeted. The Mumbai airport authorities, in a statement

The dimensions of the open, continuous and unchecked textbooks publishing rackets have recently come to light following the defeat of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in the general election held last year. Srinidhi Raghavendra reports.

To mark its fifth anniversary, EducationWorld asked several educationists and industry leaders with proven commitment to improving the education system to write prescriptions for a renaissance of Indian education. Dilip Thakore threads the responses together.

Women domestic workers and children narrated horrific stories of violence and abuse at a recent public hearing in New Delhi, co-organized by the National Commission for Women (NCW). Organizers aimed to raise public awareness. Teresa Barat reports.

Possibly, but perhaps not alone. There are plenty of obstacles within our unjust and deeply hierarchical civil society outside of the media. Still, an important connection exists between journalism and the strengthening of civil society: citizenship. The India Together editorial.

A quiet but steady revolution seems to be underway as both government and private individuals and organizations increasingly explore ways to make more data available to the people and in various innovative ways to facilitate application. Shamala Kittane reports.

If charitable giving in India is to rise to the next level, the social sector needs to take more serious note of donors' preference for active involvement in the use of donations, explains Shankar Jaganathan.

What's in a name? Apparently a lot in a country like ours, where even today regressive practices like identifying a person's caste by his or her surname or identifying a woman by her husband's name continue unabated, writes Navya P K.

At a time when the position of women in India and their struggles in society are at the centre of public attention, it seems apt to invoke the legacy of one who was truly the pioneer of women's studies and activism in the country. Shoma A Chatterji pays tribute to Vina Mazumdar.

Widows in India have lived on the margins of society for decades but the intervention of NGO Sulabh International, led by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, has brought new hope and colour in their lives. Ramesh Menon reports on one of the first celebrations in their new-found lives.

Political differences notwithstanding, given the shared socio-cultural fabric, it makes sense for India to collaborate with her South Asian neighbours and look to them for solutions to common problems, writes Sakuntala Narasimhan.

Decades of struggle and innumerable sacrifices are involved in the long history of women's movement in India. Deepti Priya Mehrotra speaks to some of the exemplary leaders who recall the history of women’s movement and their role in it.

Shivani Chaudhry

Popular ideas of development and management of common resources should be revisited in light of this year's Economics Nobel Prize, given to Prof. Elinor Ostrom, writes Prakash Kashwan.

The inability of India to adequately provide for its own population no longer reflects a failure of implementation, but rather of a failure of innovation, writes Aditya Dev Sood.

Tribal societies and groups belonging to the Scheduled Tribes in India are traditionally known to have been relatively gender-unbiased, but recent reports and statistics point to a deteriorating child sex ratio in these communities, too. Shambhu Ghatak analyses the findings.

Contrary to many predictions a unified and democratic India still survives. Why? Ramachandra Guha continues his rememberance of the great patriots.

The Annual Status of Education Report, 2009 points out yet again that what stands between rural girls and a good education is often basic facilities like transport and proper toilets, writes Kalpana Sharma.

A multitude of grassroots movements are emerging across the country in resistance to the mainstream economy and polity. These initiatives are exploring sustainable, equitable and  just paths to human well-being. Ashish Kothari and Pallav Das offer an insight into the need for such movements.

Is freedom of speech and expression deeply accepted in Indian society? Or is it merely a European cultural import that made its way along with the English language and appeared in the Constitution because of the founding fathers' genius? Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya reviews Freedom Song, a film and connects the dots.

Shoma Chatterji talks about caste and the portrayal of Dalit in Hindi cinema beginning with Bombay Talkies Achhut Kannya (1936) to Bimal Roy’s Sujata (1959) followed by many mainstream films, and the small-budget, low-key ones which have focused on this significant social issue in the past so many years.