THOUGH the universities (both central and state), the highest institutions of learning, have been accorded autonomous status in our education system, it is no more hidden that universities’ financial position as well as functioning  are subject to decisions by the state and central government.Considered as one of volatile varsity campuses, for which aggressive student politics is being seen as a major reason by many of the people who are not connected to the university affairs, one wonders if they have ever pondered over why the universality campus has to be converted into a police cantonme

THE Delhi Union of Journalists and the Delhi Press Unity Centre in a joint statement issued on September 24, on the eve of the meeting of the Confederation of Newspaper and News Agencies Employees in Delhi today has demanded that the state and central labour commissioners act in unison to protect the wage board for working journalists as upheld by the Supreme Court.

AT the time of filing this report, when the Shiv Sena-BJP on the one hand, and the Congress-NCP on the other, are still continuing with their bitter fight for a greater number of state assembly seats and consequently for the chief ministership, CPI(M) candidates in many constituencies have started filing their nomination forms from September 20 with enthusiastic mass rallies of thousands of people.The CPI(M) is contesting 20 state assembly seats in this election as a part of the LDF which comprises the CPI, PWP, JD(S) and two Republican Party groups.

RICH tributes were paid to Comrade Benoy Konar in a memorial meeting organised by the CPI(M) West Bengal state committee on September 24 in Kolkata. Speakers at the meeting recollected his struggling life and his contribution to the development of the Party and peasants’ movement in Bengal.Speaking on the occasion, Nirupam Sen, Polit Bureau member of the Party, recalled the exemplary courage of Comrade Benoy Konar with which he faced the brutal attacks of landowners and police in sixties and seventies and developed powerful land movement in Burdwan. He was jailed under false cases.

IN a surprising move, the Kerala cabinet has decided to impose a huge hike in taxes, service charge and new rate of water charge. This hike is imposed in the pretext of overcoming the severe economic crisis the state faces. The new burden of Rs 3,000 crore will be put on the people through these new taxes. The burden may go up to Rs 4,000 crore as the additional taxes come. New taxes are in addition to Rs 5,614 crore tax imposed by the UDF government in the past three years.