When Munni arrived in this fertile, sugarcane-growing region of north India as a young bride years ago, little did she imagine she would be forced into having sex and bearing children with her husband's two brothers who had failed to find wives. "My husband and his parents said I had to share myself with his brothers," said the woman in her mid-40s, dressed in a yellow sari, sitting in a village...

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Orissa government asking it to submit a detailed report on the alleged "man-made" floods in the last in August-September.  The disaster had officially claimed over 80 lives and damaged houses and agricultural lands in 21 districts.  The NHRC's direction came following petition filed by Bhubaneswar-based India Media Centre, a voluntary organisation.  Water resources secretary, chief engineer of irrigation department and Hirakud...

-The Telegraph   The Maharashtra government said it would take “credible action” against the Lavasa township project after Bombay High Court today told it to “make its stand clear”. The state government has said it will take action in two weeks. Building work was stopped in November last year when the Union environment ministry showcaused Lavasa Corporation for starting construction without its clearance. On June 10 this year, the ministry imposed five conditions that...

It has been a long and difficult road to justice for the tribal residents of this village in Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri district The injustice done to the tribal people of India is a shameful chapter in our country's history. The tribals were called ‘rakshas' (demons), ‘asuras', and what not. They were slaughtered in large numbers, and the survivors and their descendants were degraded, humiliated, and all kinds of atrocities inflicted on...

-PTI   In the first case of action against a politician for 'paid news', the Election Commission on Thursday disqualified a woman MLA from Uttar Pradesh for three years for incorrect statement of election expenditure incurred on 'news items' in two Hindi dailies. The decision to disqualify Umlesh Yadav, an MLA belonging to Rashtriya Parivartan Dal, headed by D P Yadav, can have ramifications in other cases, including that of former Maharashtra CM...