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West Bengal, in 1951, was ranked second in the country, with a literacy level of 24.0 per cent, though far behind Kerala with a literacy level of 47.18 per cent. From the very beginning there was an elitist bias in educational planning, so that primary education was badly neglected, and so subsequently West Bengal began to slide in relation to states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram or Goa. Unfortunately, the elitist bias also persisted during the Left Front rule. As a result, by the time of Census 2011, the literacy level of West Bengal had slid down so far that it was barely above the national average. At the same time, the small state of Tripura, also ruled by a Left Front government, coming up from far behind had caught up with and then had overtaken West Bengal, and was only a little behind Kerala, the most literate state in India. Although this article is supposed to be an account of the state of education in West Bengal since independence it concentrates essentially on the primary school sector, because that is the foundation of all further education. It refers to the Bhabatosh Datta Commission on higher education whose recommendations still remain valid and unfortunately unimplemented.

ABSTRACTThis article critiques the liberal and state‐centred view of morality and governance as applied to immigrants. It argues that the alternative perspective provided by some moral philosophers and political theorists can be combined with analysis of the current global economic and political order to outline a framework for protecting the welfare and human rights of the immigrants. It also argues that this framework brings out the commonality of interests of workers in host countries and immigrants in re‐empowering the state to provide for the comprehensive social security that the neoliberal state has trashed.

At different stages of their history, leaders of China, India and Russia, the most prominent constituents of the Eurasian landmass and home to one-third of the human population of the world, have formulated the aim of breaking out of the 'backward' state of their respective countries as a major goal of their movements, their strategies and their policies. Almost in all cases, such a state of backwardness has been perceived in relation to the 'advanced' Western countries, and more specifically to the industrialised countries of Europe and North America. All three countries have been caught several times in recent centuries in the cunning passages of history. All of them now see light at the end of the labyrinthine tunnel. A recognition of their common destinies as homes of human beings with complicated histories and of the need for cooperation to protect themselves against the forces of evil, in the shape of market fundamentalism, religious fanaticism and super-hegemonic imperialism can help them to guard themselves against being caught again in Minotaur's lair.

The Self Help Group (SHG) is about inculcating the saving habit among the poor, mobilising their money and making micro entrepreneurship viable and sustainable. Unfortunately, there are indications that corporate houses use the potential of the SHG as a marketing channel to establish their brands. As a consequence, the already existing micro enterprises of the poor are jeopardised. This report depicts a case such as this in a village of Orissa.