-The Telegraph People who stop smoking before the age of 40 may on average gain an extra 10 years of life expectancy, according to a study that researchers say has relevance to India where people typically quit only after falling ill. A British study described as the world’s largest to assess the hazards of smoking and the benefits of quitting has shown that quitting before 40 can help avoid excess mortality observed...

-Kafila.org Almost a century ago, Katherine Mayo published a book titled ‘Mother India’ that criticized the Indian way of living, and Rudyard Kipling  spoke of the ‘White Man’s Burden’. These writings reflected the colonial perspective that what colonizers did was in the best interest of the colonized people. Consequently, most well-meaning citizens of colonial powers were alienated from the horrible plight of the colonized. Purpose well served – unopposed exploitation. Years later,...

-The Hindu Alarmed by reports of female foeticide, Rajasthan to adopt a new girl child policy Spurred by alarming reports of female foeticide continuing unabated across the State, the Rajasthan Government has initiated the process for adoption of a new girl child policy with emphasis on saving the female foetus as well as newborn girls. The policy will be the first of its kind anywhere in the country. Principal State Women & Chid...

“No response from CM to abetment complaints against BJP leader, minister” The controversy over the involvement of Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party president Prabhat Jha and Tribal Affairs Minister Harishankar Khatik in the marriage of a minor girl from Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh does not seem to be dying down. After writing to BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ajay...

How an image-fixated chief minister has bent the state’s media to his will If you haven’t heard of an income tax raid on the residential premises of Nitish Kumar’s close aide and treasurer of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Vinay Kumar Sinha, you are not alone. Thanks to the local media, it took a while even in Patna—where the house is located—for people to get to know. This, incidentally, is the...