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Essential HuffPost
Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has been tweeting to politicians Arvind Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi and the PMO, trying to set up appointments with all of them because he had some questions for them. Reportedly, this is supposed to be a publicity campaign for his upcoming movie Madaari, a socio-political flick that tries to show the importance of questioning the status quo.
A team of experts has determined that various illustrations and chapters in school textbooks in Rajasthan 'reinforce male dominance', with stories of courage and bravery revolving around male characters, while relegating women to the 'domestic sphere'. Now, a report prepared by academics based in Delhi and Jaipur says women are introduced in reference to men in the state's school textbooks. Earlier this year the BJP was accused of 'saffronising' school curriculum.
India's culture ministry has decided to rate artistes and writers across the country under a pilot project in three categories — O (outstanding), P (promising), W (waiting). The ministry issued a notice saying only applicants placed in the 'Outstanding' and 'Promising' categories would be selected for participation in festivals.
Main News
Five Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) jawans were killed, and five were injured in an encounter between security forces and Maoists in the jungles of Sondaha on Monday evening. The five wounded officers succumbed to their injuries due to absence of medical aid.
Today, supporters of over 40 political parties and extremist religious groups are staging a march from Lahore to Islamabad to show solidarity over the growing unrest in India's Kashmir. The rally will pledge support to the 'liberation of Kashmir' in India.
A 17-year-old Afghan was shot dead in Germany after he attacked passengers on a train with an axe, seriously injuring three people. The incident took place near Wuerzburg and the police shot the teenager down when he tried to flee the incident.
Off The Front Page
Legendary singer Mubarak Begum passed away on Monday at her residence in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. The singer, who was 80 years old, was known for her songs such as 'Mujhko apne gale laga lo' and 'Kabhi tanhaiyon mein hamari yaad ayegi', among others.
To improve sex ratio in Gujarat, an a Ahmedabad-based hospital is offering to waive charges after the birth of a girl child. After observing the prayers and cheers after the birth of a baby boy, and sad acceptance after the birth of a baby girl, the hospital has even announced to throw a small party after a baby girl is born. Over 150 couples have already registered for delivery which otherwise carries a price tag of ₹7,000 for normal birth and ₹20,000 for a C-section.
Salman Khan's recently-released film Sultan has raked in over ₹500 lakh withing 12 days of its release. Starring Anushka Sharma and Randeep Hooda in key roles, the film had come under controversy due to Khan's remarks about 'feeling like a raped woman' after the gruelling workout schedule of the film.
Opinion
It is a matter of immense relief for students and education administrators that the Supreme Court decided not to stay the Centre's ordinance granting a one-year exemption to State government institutions from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical courses, says an editorial in The Hindu. "With lakhs of students preparing to sit for NEET-2 on July 24, it obviously did not want to cause chaos. The court found the ordinance disturbing and lacking in taste, and hinted that its legality was open to doubt. However, it is difficult to blame the Centre for resorting to the ordinance, which is aimed at resolving practical difficulties faced by many State governments in changing their admission policy at short notice," it says.
Every hour of prime time TV news aggression pushes Kashmir a mile westward from India. There is an urgent need for India to reclaim 'national interest' from its national media, writes Shah Faesal in The Indian Express. "In the last few years, a section of the national media has been misrepresenting the idea of India in Kashmir, as part of a business strategy. It has also been projecting lies about Kashmir to rest of the country. It happened in 2008, in 2010, and in 2014. So there is nothing surprising about the tilt and the timing of this debate," he says.
The Inter-state Council (ISC) can be the core component of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of cooperative federalism, says an editorial in Mint. "Based on the Sarkaria Commission's recommendations, the ISC was constituted under Article 263 of the Constitution in 1990. It proved to be crucial in the implementation of many of the commission's 247 other recommendations, such as altering the states' share of central taxes. Just as importantly, the council helped bridge the trust deficit between the centre and the states. If not always a problem solver, it at least acted as a safety valve," it says.
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