-The Hindu Madurai: Even as a campaign is on in Tamil Nadu that inter-caste marriages were mainly the result of dalits “luring” girls from other castes, here is a case in which a Vanniyar boy married a girl belonging to the Kongu Vellalar caste being separated on the basis of caste hierarchy. Unfortunately, the girl, who was pregnant, was forcibly made to undergo abortion by her parents, who lodged a complaint that...

Eight journalists from Hindi and English media from six states have been selected for the 2013 Inclusive Media Fellowships of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). In the best tradition of investigative and meaningful journalism, the fellows will spend time with rural communities to bring out their issues and anxieties for public and policy intervention. The fellowship Jury comprising Mr Krishna Prasad, Editor-in-Chief, Outlook, Mr Arvind Mohan,...

-The Telegraph Jaipur, Jan. 27: An FIR against social scientist Ashis Nandy for alleged defamatory remarks on Dalits and tribals has brought to the fore a growing trend of “thought terrorism” that treats nuanced opinion as heresy liable to be crushed with a heavy hand. The remarks by Nandy, a widely respected sociologist known for his nuanced positions and reluctance to play to the gallery just to be part of “acceptable voices”,...

-Deccan Herald Bangalore: The Right to Education (RTE) task force has received 30 complaints from parents so far since admissions under the Act started on January 5, on schools denying admission to children under the RTE provision. The parents have alleged that the schools they approached to admit their children gave lame excuses and denied admissions. A resident of Banaswadi said she wanted to admit her four-year-old son to a prestigious school...

-The Economic Times Pharmaceutical multinationals have begun using the Right to Information law to launch pre-emptive legal action against local generic players to protect the market of patented drugs and delay the entry of low cost generic medicines in the 60,000-crore domestic drug market. MNCs are using such information to sue generic firms even at a stage when their marketing approval is still pending or during the few months' window between the...