-The Hindu Many State governments favour bringing down the age bar for juvenile offenders from 18 years to 16 to deal with growing cases of sexual assault. A meeting of State Directors-General of Police and Chief Secretaries held on Friday here, however, could not come to a consensus on awarding the death penalty to rape convicts. In the rape case of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student, one of the six people allegedly involved...

-The Indian Express The growing influence on policy issues of activists who call themselves “civil society” is a worrying trend and needs to be objectively analysed. Two recent policy pronouncements will illustrate how government seems to be yielding to their pressure. It is well established that absenteeism of teachers and poor quality of outcomes in government schools is the main factor behind the popularity of private schools with poor infrastructure that cater...

-The Times of India If you think that journalism is a glamorous profession, here's a reality check. Five Journalists were killed and 38 assaulted, harassed or threatened across the country in 2012, says the annual report on free speech violations by Free Speech Hub of the media watch website, Hoot.org. Journalist Chandrika Rai, his wife and their two teenage children were murdered at their residence in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria distict in February....

-The Indian Express The protests at Raisina Hill and Jantar Mantar against sexual violence and the way it is dealt with by the system, started off as a genuine and heartfelt mobilisation after the horrific rape of a 23-year-old in south Delhi. Young women and men came together to express their frustration at the way things are, speaking out for women’s freedoms, demanding answers. Yet, the solutions that have been on...

-The Hindu As I write this, there are protests going on all over Delhi, and in other parts of the country, against the gang-rape of a young woman on a moving bus a few days ago in the city. People are out there in large numbers — young, old, male, female, rich, poor — and they’re angry. They want the rapists to be caught, they want them to be taught a...