-The Hindu In carrying out Afzal Guru’s death sentence, the government deliberately ignored the view of the Supreme Court and courts across the world that hanging a person after holding him in custody for years is inhuman The execution of Afzal Guru on February 9, 2013 was an inhumane act by the Government of India. Afzal Guru was hanged seven years after the Supreme Court’s pronouncement of the death sentence on him...

-The Telegraph The world lauds us as the largest democracy. Yet, how much of a democracy are we and where must we improve? Elections and their consequences: We have regular elections. They are supervised with increasing effectiveness as far as booth capturing, bogus voters and violence are concerned. The influence of money has not waned; if anything, it has increased. It is not as it used to be, for paying voters only....

-The Hindu Lack of directives on implementation of several clauses of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, has annoyed school managements in Mumbai, while education rights activists blame the lack of monitoring for chaos in admissions. In a city where admission fees in private institutions are sky-high, the demand for enrolment in ‘famous’ and convent schools is also increasing. According to sources in the Sarva Shiksha...

-The Times of India The government has diluted its stand on requiring consent from tribals before handing over their forestlands for projects in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on the Vedanta case. The changed policy cited in the affidavit of the government, contrary to existing regulations, could now make it easy for hundreds of other projects as well which require formal consent from tribals who have rights over forestlands under...

-The Hindu Jaipur: On Thursday, several people in Jaipur celebrated the Valentine’s Day in a way it has never been done before, as they gathered in the heart of the city to pledge an end to violence against women under the global “One Billion Rising” campaign. “I too, as a woman, have come to lend my voice and express solidarity to end violence against women from the face of the earth,” Rajasthan...