-Kafila.org The village of Majure, in Chitradurga district, Karnataka, is once again in the news. It made the national headlines in 1998 when dalits in the village lodged a police complaint against members of the dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat castes for an attack on their hamlet. As a consequence, several people were put behind bars. This time round, however, no formal complaint was lodged. Not that things have improved (rather, one could...

-The Times of India PUNE: Every morning, four-year-old Fatima Makandar dons a neatly ironed yellow and blue uniform, ties her hair with a red ribbon, wears polished black shoes with clean white socks and steps out of her cramped tenement in Upper Indira Nagar in Bibwewadi for View Valley School in Kondhwa. Fatima, a ragpicker's daughter, has crossed a social barrier and is getting good schooling, thanks to the waste picker's...

-The Hindu There is little doubt that US universities have a long way to go in terms of making women safe on campus In the wake of the high-profile gang rape incident in New Delhi on December 16, media and public comments have significantly centred on anti-woman attitudes in Indian society, particularly among young men. This line of introspection is indeed warranted, for there can be little doubt that these values have fuelled...

-The Indian Express Increasing frequency and intensity of protests reflect a deeper crisis in Indian democracy: the failure of civil society In the last five years, citizens have poured out in large numbers at Jantar Mantar and India Gate (and in many other parts of the country) to ask the state to hear their demands. In 2006, marches and sit-ins forced the state to re-examine the Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo cases....

-The Indian Express Experts are divided over the stand taken by the State Education department to exempt the unaided minority schools from the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 while releasing the admission schedule for the academic year 2013-14. While some experts have termed the decision in contrary to the enabling provisions of the Act, others are describing it as in conformity with the Act. In chapter...