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It must be said that the recent allegations of spot fixing by three cricketers in the lucrative Indian Premium League (IPL) is a consequence of the commercialised culture spawned by the cricket administrators themselves. In its rush to unleash the “animal spirits”, the Indian cricket board has engendered every vice so much so that the IPL is not quite cricket.

This article draws on archival material from the records of the University of Delhi to recount the last major change in its undergraduate programme in 1943 when the present three year BA course was introduced replacing the two year intermediate followed by a two year BA. That change took almost two decades of consultations and debate before they were accepted and implemented and provide an insightful comparison to the current proposals for changing the University’s undergraduate programme.

The roots of the rottenness of India's liberal-political democratic order are unearthed in the process of capitalist development since 1793. The latter has essentially been a conservative modernisation from above which has failed to complete the tasks of the "bourgeois-democratic revolution". Moreover, the caste system and discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, nationality and religion have inhibited any stable, long-lasting unity of the oppressed and the exploited aimed at progressive modernisation from below.

A reminder that the world must move towards alternative energy sources.

Not since the 1970 elections have the people of Pakistan turned out in such great numbers to vote. Two differences are notable, however. First, while in 1970 they voted the Pakistan Peoples Party to power, this time they came out in droves to boot it out. And second, while 1970 was a time of great hope and optimism, this year their cynicism was palpable even as they voted. This was understandable as all the main contesting parties appeared committed irrevocably to the same market liberalism that has characterised Pakistan's governments for the last three decades. In the end, people followed the only path open to them in most democracies: vote the incumbent out, even if the alternatives promise more of the same!

The finances of municipalities in India are in a highly unsatisfactory state, adversely affecting, on the one hand, the productivity of cities and towns and, on the other, the quality of life. Moreover, the fiscal implications of rapid urbanisation stare us in the face and failure to take appropriate action on this front will have adverse consequences for India's growth and development trajectory. The Finance Commission's grants-in-aid over the years have not been able to bridge the vertical fi scal gap of municipalities. How may the Fourteenth Finance Commission deal with the fi scal challenge?

With the debacle of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Karnataka 2013 assembly elections, the Congress takes over the reins of the state. Blatant corruption, aggressive Hindutva and factionalism have led to the demise of the saffron party in the southern state. An analysis of the election results shows that even though the gains of the Congress are not that dramatic, the voters have delivered a clear mandate against the politics represented by the BJP.