Furore only in the north

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

North Indian newspapers highlighted the reservation issue and papers like Dainik Bhaskar had it as the lead story on two consecutive days with pictures of the protesting students. Bhaskar even had a box detailing the anti-reservation stir in other parts of the country. Bhaskar had an editorial which criticised the proposal to include the creamy layer and said this was against the principles of natural justice. In the north, Punjab Kesri also led with the story as the protests gathered steam, as did the Dainik Jagran.

Though you'd expect huge protests in the home of the country's IT/ITeS sector, given how the knowledge industry will be the first to be hit, the Kannada papers did not focus on the reservation issue at all. One reason could be the fact reservations is more of an issue in north India.

In Chennai, Tamil daily Dinamalar carried a three column report along with a photograph on the anti-quota stir by students in Delhi on page two. It also carried a special four column feature on the quota bill on one of the inside pages. The previous day's edition carried a two column report on the cabinet's nod for the quota bill on page one.

The Marathi newspapers carried the story of the cabinet approving the quota bill on the front page but only as single column or double column stories. The only prominent newspaper which carried an editorial was Sakal, others like Maharashtra Times and Loksatta carried stories on the protest in Delhi but didn't play them up, understandably since quotas for OBCs in higher and technical education institutes have been in existence since the late 1960s.