-The Hindu The Justice Verma Committee report acts as a blueprint for the radical transformation of gender relations within the framework of constitutional guarantees and gender equality. However, the adoption of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 by Parliament on March 19, 2013, does not go beyond legal change. Prof. Hasan argues that if political parties are serious about the rights of women, the Women's Representation Bill must be passed...

-The Indian Express Yavatmal: Works worth Rs 36 crore were completed in less than four months, supposedly a manual effort under the central employment scheme MNREGS, according to the Maharashtra's forest department. An inquiry ordered by the district collector has found it was made possible by a collusion between forest officials and contractors, who allegedly used machines. Works worth Rs 32 crore were done in only nine of 56 gram panchayats in...

-The Indian Express Kolkata: West Bengal's notification for the panchayat elections marks a flash point in an ongoing tussle between the Mamata Banerjee government and the state election commission. The government notification, issued last week independently of the election authorities, has declared polls in two phases, on April 26 and 30. The election commission, headed by Meera Pandey, has been insisting on three phases. On Monday, the commission wrote to the government...

-Reuters India approved on Thursday a tougher new law to punish sex crimes, including death for repeat rape offenders, after the fatal gang rape of a student in December sparked unprecedented protests over the treatment of women in the country. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 or "anti-rape law" puts in place a slew of new provisions and tougher punishments, which include criminalising voyeurism and stalking and making acid attacks and human...

-The Hindu Over the years Indian politics has come to be defined by a peculiar characteristic: it has become more inclusive and representative in terms of caste and class but regressed on issues relating to women. This uncomfortable truth was brought home in the aftermath of the widely condemned Delhi gang rape. Politicians claimed to be revulsed by the violence which extinguished a young life. Yet in their speeches, they borrowed...