School texts that teach young minds that politics is a contentious and critical but reasonable activity, that it is not merely a set of demands and commands, and that politicians have to be responsive and accountable are naturally disliked by the political class. This is the tone of all the Political Science textbooks of Standards IX-XI brought out after 2006. The nurturing of a culture of critical public opinion seems...

Why has there been such a silence from dalit leaders over the Bathani Tola judgment acquitting all those accused of killing 21 dalits? At the same time, what explains their loud protests over the Ambedkar cartoons in the textbooks? Has the elevation of Ambedkar as an icon relegated the dalit leadership to a politics of empty symbolism? Is the issue of a lack of accountability in the judicial system towards...

-The Times of India The legislation to protect children below 18 years from sexual abuse became a reality on Tuesday with Lok Sabha passing the bill earlier cleared by Rajya Sabha. Parliament's nod came with the decision to keep the age of consent at 18 years despite opposition from child rights activists. The bill provides for special courts for speedy trial of cases and stringent punishment up to life term for the...

-The Telegraph Parliament has passed the country’s first comprehensive law on sexual crimes against children, removing several factors that may intimidate a minor while filing complaints. Under the new act — the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Bill — a child will no longer be treated on a par with an adult in case of sexual abuse. It empowers a child to file a complaint from his or her own room, give...

The Parliament of India, the highest citadel of its democracy, recently completed 60 years. This magnificent circular edifice was inaugurated on January 18, 1927, by the then governor-general, Lord Irwin, and legislative councils had conducted its sessions here. After Independence, the Central Hall accommodated the Constituent Assembly till it completed writing the Constitution. The first Lok Sabha was constituted on April 17, 1952, and the first Rajya Sabha on April...