ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Karnataka in Election Mode

Karnataka is the only state in South India where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power. It is now battling anti-incumbency and the after-effects of its recent interventions with regard to reservations. It has moved the Muslims into the economically weaker sections and has recommended internal reservations among the Scheduled Castes. These strategies might add to confusion among the electorate.

W(h)ither Karnataka?

Of late Karnataka has been in the news for unhealthy reasons. Controversies relating to the wearing of hijab by students have left a scar on the social landscape. This was followed by protests against the revision of school textbooks. The government did not handle either with skill. The opposition (read the Congress) also has failed to present to the public a vision for the state’s development.

The Buck Stops Here

The principal implications of the 105th amendment to the Constitution are discussed, which is an issue bristling with explosive potential.

Selvie Das (1932–2021)

The peculiar qualities and work of the first woman vice chancellor of University of Mysore as she waded through the limitations posed by her gender and caste are narrated.

 

R P Misra (1930–2021)

The article is a tribute to R P Misra—the social scientist—who did seminal work in regional planning, tried to revamp the geography curriculum and brought in innovation in the academic institution he built, all of this in an alien environment.

 

Remembering A Vaidyanathan (1931–2020)

A Vaidyanathan was a stalwart among social scientists. He has made distinguished contributions to several branches of economics. These include agriculture and irrigation, water management, data analysis and development policy. He has contributed to policymaking as an academic and an interlocutor. Decentralisation and participatory governance were his principal interests. He also played an important role as a mentor who encouraged and promoted young talent.

Reservations: Seeking New Perspectives

Critics of reservation often look upon the policy as the arch villain responsible for the dilution of standards everywhere without taking cognisance of the changes in the economy and polity in recent times

Presidential (Im)propriety

This letter is written in the hope that it will provoke discussion on an important issue. Is the President of India not expected to project a secular and neutral image as far as public religious observance is concerned? The question is raised in a specific context.

Why the Census Should Not Count Caste

A response to the article "The Politics of Not Counting Caste" (EPW, 19 June 2010) and the editorial "Why We Must Count Caste" (22 May) on caste in the 2011 Census, contesting the main arguments therein on the need to enumerate all castes during the enumeration.

The Unveiled Statues of Bangalore and Chennai: What Do They Reveal?

After lying covered for nearly 20 years, the statues of the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar and the Kannada poet Sarvajna were unveiled in August in Bangalore and Chennai, respectively. Considering the strained relations between the two states over sharing the Cauvery waters, which has led to anti-Tamil violence in Bangalore on two occasions, and the militant stance of the pro-Kannadiga organisations in the Karnataka capital, how and why did the chief ministers of the two states, particularly B S Yeddyurappa of Karnataka, pilot this event successfully?

Bilingual Intellectuals in Karnataka

This is a brief response to Ramachandra Guha’s “The Rise and Fall of the Bilingual Intellectual” (EPW, 15 August 2009). Guha has written with that lucidity and felicitous tone which he has accustomed us to expect from him. But, I think, a couple of points in his paper invite comment.

Higher Education

Higher Education An Alternative Perspective V K NATRAJ There have been two interesting pieces in these columns relating to higher education (Rishikesh Krishna, April 23 and A M Shah, May 28 and also a letter, June 11, 2005). Shah

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