Fifty-five civil society groups from the U.S., the U.K. and Canada have come together to demand the immediate release of jailed human rights activist Binayak Sen, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chhattisgarh court. They will observe the Martyrs' Day (January 30) as a ‘global day of protest against repression of human rights activists' in India. The coalition has demanded the repeal of draconian laws that give the state arbitrary...

A broad coalition of 55 civil society groups from the US, Britain and Canada are coming together to demand the immediate release of jailed Indian rights activist Binayak Sen, who was recently given a life sentence by a Chhattisgarh court. In a statement, the coalition on Thursday demanded the repeal of alleged 'draconian laws' giving arbitrary power to the State that infringe on the Fundamental Rights of free speech, and the...

The key to the United Progressive Alliance’s return to power in 2009 lay in its promise of “inclusive growth” centred on the aam aadmi. On top of the launching of the Mahatma Ga­ndhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), this gave the UPA immeasurably greater appeal and legitimacy than its rivals. But it also entailed obligations to implement other rights-based programmes, on food security, education and healthcare, am­ong others. The National...

With admission season underway, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to give early hearing to petitions challenging the validity of the provision of Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act which mandated 25 percent of reserved seats for economically backward sections in private unaided schools. A Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia agreed to give hearing on a bunch of petitions on a priority basis after taking note of...

Even though the Central Government agreed to link the wages paid under MG-NREGA to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPIAL), it shied away from paying statutory minimum wages in various states of India. Their logic for this: Lack of clarity on who will bear the extra financial burden—the Centre or the states? A letter from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to UPA and NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi dated 31...