Truth vs Hype

This week, the standoff between the Education Ministry and the IIT's on the IIT entrance exam came to an end. On the surface it may seem like yet another turf war between Kapil Sibal and India's elite educational institutions, but at a deeper level, it has opened up a Pandora's Box of questions. Is the IIT entrance test, as Mr Sibal claims, damaging the school system? Are children falling prey to coaching factories? Are the IITs to blame for setting one of the toughest exams in the world? Or is the real problem a malfunctioning school system and a mindset amongst parents that want to push their kids, regardless of their level of ability, into becoming 'geniuses'? Parents, children, teachers, coaches and IIT faculty from across the country open up with rare candour on the risks and rewards that come in the quest for academic brilliance.

If the headlines of the past few weeks are to be believed, the nightlife of India's most cosmopolitan city has been killed by a mid level police officer. For those who missed it, a series of raids were carried out by ACP Laxman Dhoble, on the city's clubs, bars and restaurants which he claimed were guilty of legal and moral violations. But now that the furore has started to level out, more fundamental questions have surfaced - what triggered the police crusade? Is this about a rogue officer, or a set of archaic laws that govern the nightlife in big cities? Why are these laws still in place - for reasons of public morality, or to allow for political discretion and police corruption?

A Raja's first public appearance after a year in jail saw roaring crowds in a series of public meetings across his constituency in Nilgiri Hills. Was this - as Raja and the DMK claimed - a spontaneous event, or was it a carefully stage managed one?

This week, the CBI moved in to investigate allegations of corruption in coal allocation by the UPA Government. And the Government's critics have escalated their attack, targeting even the PM. But is coal allocation a scam bigger than 2 G? Involving the highest office of the land? Or is it well-intentioned policy that badly misfired? In the first of a 2-part Truth vs Hype on Coal-gate, we sift through reams of official documents, track down key players, and cut through the political rhetoric to try and make sense of the latest storm to rock the Government.

The rise in petrol prices has seen usual protests, from the Opposition and even UPA allies. The government defended to move citing rise in global crude oil prices and falling rupee. But was such a large hike inevitable? And is the Opposition justified in taking to the streets? On Truth vs Hype, we decode the complex maze of fuel pricing.

As the BJP top brass gather in Bombay for their national executive, in a no holds barred interview to Truth vs Hype in Bangalore, BS Yeddyurappa took aim at the party's national leadership and outlined to us his exit strategy. But will his supporters join him if he takes the extreme step of quitting the party? Can he shake off the mounting charges of corruption? This week, inside the world of BSY, as he reaches the brink with the BJP.

As the burning summer in Vidarbha brings drought and a fresh spurt of suicides, the government has gone into damage control. They claim that the water shortage is because of poor rainfall, and that they have fast-tracked long pending irrigation projects. This week, we set out to investigate the entirely man-made causes of Vidarbha's water crisis - from apathy and corruption to the diversion of river waters and a mammoth slew of power projects across the region, projects which reflect a collusion of political and business interests.

The search is narrowing for the next President of India, a constitutional authority meant to be a neutral referee of Indian politics. But over time, has the office of the President been deeply politicised? Has the executive curbed the powers of the President, even irrevocably compromised it? This week on Truth vs Hype, the inside story of the biggest controversies to shake Rashtrapathi Bhavan; new details on the signing of the Emergency proclamation, to a coup hatched inside Rashtrapathi Bhawan, to what really happened on the flight from West Bengal carrying Rajiv Gandhi in 1984, a journey which has implications even today.

Season III of Truth vs Hype begins with an exclusive investigation into the kidnapping of Jhina Hikaka, the tribal MLA from Odisha's backward and Naxal - affected Koraput district. Was Hikaka abducted so that the Naxals could free their colleagues, or did a secret deal go wrong between Odisha's ruling party and a group described as a Maoist front organisation? From his mountain hideout, one of Odisha's most wanted outlaw's confirms the explosive truth behind the

shaming of an elected MLA.