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Born in the Mali caste, Nakshatra Malakar was described as ‘a notorious communist,’ ‘dacoit’ and ‘Robin Hood’ in the official records of the British government and the native rulers. Before Independence, he fought bloody battles with the British and the oppressive feudal. Moreover, he had to spend 14 years in jail in Independent India, writes Arun Narayan

Professor Jairam Prasad, the closest associate of Martyr Jagdev Prasad, died on 13 January after battling cancer of the kidneys. He had been invited to chair the Jagdev Mela, scheduled for 2-3 February 2017, and the Forward Press team touring the country was planning to meet him during the event. It wasn’t to be

He introduced some controversial policies – removed English as a compulsory subject in the matriculation examinations when he was the deputy chief minister and education minister of Bihar. He gave priority to unemployed engineers in jobs in the government contracts during his first term as the chief minister. He introduced reservation for the OBCs in the government jobs and educational institutions in the state during his second term as the chief minister of Bihar, and advocated arming the landless Dalits and the poor during the later stages of his political career.

Kaushal Ganesh Azad, who was a key participant in the movement, insists that they have not given up the battle in spite of the failures and the setbacks. He says that despite his limited resources, he is working among the Mushars