-The Telegraph New Delhi: Some 55,000 women and girls trafficked from Bengal are working as maids in Delhi, many of them "sold as bonded labourers" to wealthy households where they slog for ungodly hours without pay and are often tortured or sexually abused. More than half these women are minors - many as young as 10 - who are duped with promises of a better life and brought to the capital by...

-The Hindu     Kushti is located at the intersection of sports, politics and culture and is deeply embedded in the agrarian economy. If farming tanks, so does Maharashtra's greatest spectator sport. You'd think it was the turnout for Sachin Tendulkar's final test. Anyone might - seeing close to two lakh people showing up five hours before start of play, despite a nagging drizzle. But this is "below normal" for Kundal town, which hosts...

-The Hindu As the country develops economically, its double burden of malnutrition and its health implications will increasingly affect women and those who are socio-economically weak India has one of the highest burdens of underweight women in the world, with rising obesity levels. Using the World Health Organisation classification based on body mass index, or BMI (the ratio of the weight of the body in kilograms to the square of its height...

-Women's Feature Service The ‘gola' or grain basket, built on elevated ground in Goyadham village in Sunderban's South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, is central to the food security of several households here. As Sofia Bibi, 45, says, "The grain is protected from the recurrent flooding and storms and we are ensured of a regular supply when there is no agricultural work during the months of September to November and March to...

-The Telegraph Patna: For eight years, Martha Dodarai has been walking 20km every day to reach a child for polio vaccination. Next month, her arduous journey will be recognised by the United Nations Foundation in New York. Dodarai, 43, who grew up in Latehar and works in Darbhanga, will represent frontline polio workers from around the world when she is feted at the Global Leadership Awards Dinner on November 6. A citation on the...