Lalgarh issue has taken a serious turn in West Bengal as the government has asked Maoists to lay down arms or face action. Lalgarh and adjoining areas came under siege by Maoists and armed tribals five days ago and they are prepared to fight the security forces by forming three layers of defence. The tribals under the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities blocked passage to Lalgarh by felling trees and digging up roads and blowing up a bridge at Binpur, 12 km from Lalgarh.

Union home minister P Chidambaram has asked Maoists to lay down arms and come for talks supporting an appeal made by West Bengal Chief Minister Bhuddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Should the West Bengal government ban the leftist extremist outfit, Communist Party of India-Maoist as suggested by Chidambaram?

Do you think Lalgarh issue is the result of colonial system of governance that continues to thrive in West Bengal?

Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu, and pig flu) is an infection of a host animal by any one of several specific types of microscopic organisms called "swine influenza virus". In 2009 the media labeled as "swine flu" flu caused by 2009's new strain of swine-origin A/H1N1 pandemic virus just as it had earlier dubbed as "avian flu" flu caused by the recent Asian-linage HPAI (High Pathogenic Avian Influenza) H5N1 strain that is still endemic in many wild bird species in several countries.



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If the ruling party is so keen to uplift downtrodden women, it should first think of the likes of Sukka Pagadaalu (picture below), who at 64 is the same age as Meira Kumar. For those of you who came in late, she’s a tribal woman and was an MLA of the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh in the late 1970s. But now she is a daily wage labourer earning Rs 60 per day. Her husband is employed along with her as a construction labourer in the remote Srikakulam district. She gets an MLA’s pension but to make both ends meet she has to do a labourer’s job in her village, far away from what is called “civilization”.

UPA government has adopted an ambitious target of making India slum-free in five years with President Pratibha Patil announcing the launch of a special housing scheme for urban poor and slum-dwellers. The President has claimed that her government's effort will be to create a slum free India in five years through the Rajiv Awas Yojana. Sources say if 10,000 people live in a 100-acre slum or illegal colony, around 50 acres will be used to relocate them to new houses. The rest of the land is likely to be used for commercial or even high-end residential development. The government may use this access to cheap land as an incentive to get private players on board as partners. Housing units under this scheme should cost between Rs 5 to 7 lakh, and will boast a minimum carpet area of 250 square feet.

If the Manmohan Singh government's ambitious plan for a "slum free" India, becomes a reality some 62 million-plus people living in the country's urban shanties will have a home of their own.

Do you appreciate govt's plan? How it can work?

Giving homes to people residing in the slum areas is not the permanent solution of the problem. Do you agree?

The growing number of attacks on Indian students in Australia has become a big cause for concern. There are at least six alleged racial attacks on Indian Students in last few weeks in Australia, which once was considered as the safest destination for Indians. Even as Australia is getting ready to bring in 'hate laws' to deal with racial harassment and discrimination against minorities, the number of attacks suffered by Indian student community specially in Oz is on rise. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has apologised for the racial attacks and had promised strict action against the culprits.

Indian students in Australia make a massive contribution to the Australian economy. It is estimated that one lakh Indian students are studying in Australia. Most of them pay hefty fees for the courses. Assuming that each student spends around Rs 20 lakh for a two-year course, including tuition, travel, stay and food as a conservative estimate the total comes to Rs 20,000 crore.

Would you term Australian society as racist or is it too early to say?

Will the flow of Indian students to Australia get affected by recent incidents?

What is the solution to the resentment towards Indian students who can afford education abroad?