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Professor Jagdish Bhagwati quipped TPP (Tans-Pacific Partnership) ‘a political response to China’s new aggressiveness, built in a spirit of confrontation and containment, not of cooperation’. TPP is viewed more of a political arrangement than economy. There were two aims of USA to engineer TPP. One, it is to bruise Chinese expansionism in Asia pacific region and two, to thwart Chinese grandiose One Belt One Road in 21Century through economic partnership.

The feudal mindset in Bihar is not restricted to the upper caste landed gentry. The neo rich people even belonging to the intermediate castes have been more ruthless in their approach and action. On Saturday Rocky Yadav, son of the Janata Dal-United Member of Legislative Council Manorama Devi shot dead the 20 year old Aditya Sachdeva, a class 12 student simply for the reason that he dared to overtake his vehicle near police line in Bihar's Gaya district.

BHOPAL: A book 'Gujarat Behind the Curtain', exposing the misdeeds of the administration and police during 2002 Gujarat violence was launched at a function held here. Bhopal was chosen for the launching programme because no other organisation gave consent to hold a programme to release the book.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran later this month has special significance in strengthening India’s west Asia policy in the wake of the withdrawal of the sanctions against Teheran by the western powers headed by USA. Iran is now an active regional player and in the emerging geo political scenario, Iran is seeking to play an increasingly important role in collaboration with China, Russia and also with India. Mr. Modi is set to make use of his visit to build a strategic relationship with Iran which will cover both energy collaboration and regional security.

Tamil Nadu's multi-party battle for power has risen to a crescendo, with just a week left for polling on May 16, as outcomes turn somewhat unpredictable amid the roar of corruption held out against both Dravidian majors and rousing calls for change to healthy governance.

The BJP’s khap panchayat-type outlook, which places communitarian fads and fetishes over individual rights, has received a blow with the Bombay high court ruling on the Maharashtra government’s beef ban.

The latest Supreme Court judgement on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for MBBS, BDS and their post-graduate courses is most welcome. It is good that private medical colleges and their associates will no longer be allowed to hold separate admission tests for these courses. Some of these institutes are often accused of being easy money making organisations, offering poor quality education. But, it remains still somewhat unclear as to how a common entrance test for medical and dental education will solve the problem of shortage of quality medical professionals across the country? The apex court judgement does not quite link it with a more important unresolved issue of ensuring a uniform educational curriculum, syllabus and right to quality education at the school level across the country.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A beleaguered Oommen Chandy Government, badly shaken by the fierce onslaught from the political left and right over its corruption, scams and various acts of omission and commission, has been further rattled by the Nirbhaya-type murder of a Dalit girl. The heinous murder of a law student in Prumbavur nine days ago, has sent the Government into a tizzy.

BHOPAL: The BJP government of Madhya Pradesh headed by Shivraj Singh Chauhan has landed itself in an administrative mess over the recent judgement of the MP High Court striking down reservations for scheduled castes and tribes in government job promotions. This order has its immediate impact on the future of about 30,000 officers in the state government. The state government has decided to challenge the order in the Supreme Court but its political implications have created jitters in the state BJP, already afflicted with lot of inner party problems.

Thursday, May 5, went almost unnoticed. It was the World Cartoonist Day. It is ironic that the cartoon itself finds endangered on this day. The first colour cartoon strip—The Yellow Kid—made its debut on this day in 1895. Celebrating its 121st birthday, the cartoon finds itself besieged by the malevolent forces of religious and ideological bigotry and intolerance.