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Reclaiming Ashoka: How a Mauryan Emperor Was Erased from India's Memory

By Dr. Devaraju Maharaju,   Prominent Telugu poet, short story writer, and retired Biology professor from Osmania University. Renowned for his humanist, rationalist, and scientific writings, he has authored over 50 books in contemporary Telugu literature. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar writes somewhere that the entire history of India is nothing but the conflict between Brahminism and Buddhism — and that seems to be true. We keep talking about how many injustices, frauds, and conspiracies the Vedic religionists committed in destroying Buddhism. Going further into detail: the last Mauryan king, Brihadratha, was treacherously murdered by his own commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra Shunga, who then declared himself king. He renamed the city they were in — Saket — calling it "Ayodhya." Some say "Ayodhya" means he wiped out the Mauryan warriors so none remained; others say it means he conquered the Mauryan empire without even having to fight a war. He also declared himself the slayer of...
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Education in Telangana: Not a Right, but an Organized Exploitation

  T.Chiranjeevulu  IAS (Ret), Founder President BCIF (BC Intellectuals Forum) Telangana is not merely a geographical region. It is a historic aspiration realized through the sacrifices of countless martyrs and the hopes, dreams, and self-respect of millions of people. During the Telangana movement, promises were made to build a “Social Telangana” that would provide education, employment, and a dignified life to every poor family. The slogan “Free Education from KG to PG” generated immense hope among the people. However, twelve years after the formation of Telangana, the reality tells a different story. Instead of a socially inclusive Telangana, what has emerged is a Telangana increasingly driven by privatization. Particularly in the education sector, the government's responsibility has gradually diminished while the dominance of private institutions has expanded. As a result, education has ceased to be a right and has become a commodity that must be purchased. Accordi...

The Sangh and the Statute Book

  Chuppala Nagesh Bhushan A Karnataka minister wants India's most influential volunteer organisation to show its accounts. The law is on the RSS's side. The argument is not. ASK AN ORGANISATION with 60,000-odd branches, a uniformed marching wing and a claim on the soul of the ruling party to produce its accounts, and you can expect a fight. That is roughly what Priyank Kharge, the home minister of the southern state of Karnataka, did on June 13th, when he wrote to Mohan Bhagwat, head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), asking how an outfit of such reach gets away without registering as a society, a trust or a company. He wants to see its office-bearers, its funding and its tax filings. He has since taken to television to make the point more pungently, accusing the Sangh's defenders of acting as conscripts sent to do an argument the organisation will not have in its own name. The episode is a useful specimen of a recurring Indian argument: what obligations should...

The Business of Education in Telangana: Fee Exploitation, Government Neglect, and the Right to Education

  The Business of Education in Telangana: Fee Exploitation, Government Neglect, and the Right to Education Transcript by T. Chiranjeevulu, Retired IAS Officer and Chairman, BC Intellectuals Program, Hyderabad Hello everyone, this is T. Chiranjeevulu, retired IAS officer and Chairman of the BC Intellectuals Program, Hyderabad. Today let's discuss the business that education has become in Telangana — the exploitation through fees, the negligence of the government, and the right to education. When the state of Telangana was being formed, people were told that a "Golden Telangana" would emerge, where education from KG to PG would be free for everyone. The rulers held out that promise. But after Telangana was formed, education became even more of a business. The Shift from Government to Private Schools According to UDISE data, in 2014–15 Telangana had: Total schools: 43,839 Government schools: 28,822 (about 65.74%) Private schools: 14,438 (about 32.93%) ...

Demographic Assessment of Weaver Communities across Telangana: A Regional Socio-Economic Analysis

Assessment Overview and Methodological Scope The weaver communities of Telangana are not merely artisans; they represent a cornerstone of the state’s socio-economic architecture and cultural legacy. For the Senior Policy Consultant, these populations represent a specialized workforce whose geographic clustering dictates the efficacy of sectoral interventions. Understanding the spatial distribution and demographic weighting of these communities is a strategic imperative for optimizing resource allocation, establishing industrial infrastructure, and ensuring the sectoral resilience of the handloom and powerloom industries. This assessment provides a granular demographic mapping across all 33 districts of Telangana, encompassing eleven distinct sub-castes. The objective is to convert raw census-style data into an actionable demographic map for policy planners and government stakeholders. By identifying both high-density priority zones and specialized micro-clusters, this document faci...