-The Indian Express With the Union cabinet having approved the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 (hereafter referred to as the GR bill), Parliament has an opportunity to enact a law that would give citizens a way in which to hold government functionaries accountable. An effective GR act has the potential to transform the relationship between an ordinary Indian...

-The Hindustan Times Enacted in 1958 to deal with the Naga uprising in the then composite state of Assam, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was reviewed by the Justice BP Jeevan Reddy Committee in 2005, which recommended that it be scrapped.   The Reddy report remains untabled in Parliament, despite the recent outcry, triggered by the Justice Verma Committee’s view that the Act needs to be reviewed (in the light...

-The Telegraph Imphal: A book on Irom Sharmila, Iron Irom: Two Journeys, was released by Bollywood actor Abhay Deol, at a function in Mumbai on Friday on International Women’s Day. The book, jointly authored by documentary filmmaker and writer Minnie Vaid and poet-activist Irom Sharmila, was released at Kitab Khana in Mumbai. Abhay, a supporter of the rights crusader, promised to continue his support of Sharmila and creating awareness about her among his...

-The Indian Express Osama Ibrahim arrived in Hyderabad a month ago with very specific requirements: he wanted to marry a girl below 20; he would pay Rs 1 lakh to her family as bride price; the marriage would last a month; and that he would leave the country after a divorce. The 44-year-old Sudanese engineer, who has a wife and two children back home, had no problem finding what he wanted. At...

-The Hindu In Nagaland, you will find women running commercial establishments, teaching in university, campaigning against alcohol abuse and toiling on terraced farms. You will even spot them sporting hard hats and shovelling gravel next to a road-roller repairing roads. The only place where you won’t find a woman is the State Assembly. Poignant reminder On International Women’s Day, it is a poignant reminder of how women are still struggling to gain a...