The Supreme Court has condemned the stripping and parading of a tribal woman by four upper-caste men 17 years ago, citing it as an example of how tribals are systemically ill-treated and “marginalised” in India. The accused had dismissed the evidence of the victim’s torn clothes claiming that she and other Bhils were poor and usually wore tattered clothes. “This itself shows the mentality of the accused who regard tribal people as...

There has been a gross simplification of the issues involved in the exposures in the Radia tapes on the lack of integrity among mediapersons. In order to understand how exactly journalists really function it is necessary to understand the overall context in which they operate and clarify some of the persistent myths about what the profession is all about. Four myths in particular need to be dissected: That it enjoins...

Over 200 families in this district of Madhya Pradesh continue to bear the brunt of caste discrimination.Vidisha, a thriving trade centre of ancient India, finds glorious mention variously for Emperor Ashoka's governorship, for featuring in Pali scriptures and Kalidasa's romantic epic Meghdoot, as a premier tourist destination in glossy brochures of Madhya Pradesh Tourism and as the parliamentary constituency of Sushma Swaraj, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok...

To ensure a free and fair trial, the Supreme Court has transferred a trial relating to mayhem of Dalits allegedly by Upper Caste Hindus in Haryana’s Hisar district in April to a special court in Rohini in Delhi. A Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly ordered the transfer on Wednesday “to ensure that the trial is free from any fear or pressure from any quarter”. The...

Media is business, journalism is not. With these stinging words, developmental journalist and Magsaysay Award winner for journalism P Sainath grabbed the attention of the 250 media students attending Mumbai's Sophia Polytechnic's annual lecture, 'Catalyst for Change', on Thursday. The topic was 'Paid News', on which there cannot be a more well-informed speaker than Sainath who has consistently highlighted the menace in his writings. Sainath said since 2008, some 3000 journalists...