-The Hindu   "Stopping rape" isn't possible unless we change the way we tackle and think about ordinary violence Some images stay branded on your mind. The brutality visited on three young girls, before their bodies were found in a well; the pain of a five-year-old whose rapist used candles and an oil bottle to violate her further; the anger of the Dalit rape survivor in Uttar Pradesh who was told by a...

-The Hindu Considering the knowledge of English as a mark of social advancement and that of the vernacular as backwardness disenfranchises significant sections of society In a village in Ghazipur district that borders Varanasi, there is a young man who teaches English and "personality development" to the sons and daughters of local shopkeepers, farmers and truck drivers. The classes are held from 6 to 8 in the morning and again in the...

-PTI Language papers will be of qualifying nature, marks won't be counted for ranking Following a nationwide controversy over the changes it had suggested in the civil services mains examination, the Union Public Service Commission on Thursday dropped the requirement of mandatory English language paper. The UPSC, whose move to give added weightage to English language, led to uproar within and outside Parliament and forced the government to keep it in abeyance, has...

-The Indian Express Setting up women-only banks overlooks the reasons for their exclusion The women-only bank mentioned in the finance minister's budget speech is like flowers and chocolates — a sweet thought but just as unsubstantial. Financial exclusion of women is a real problem. It deserves far greater effort than sops like a women-only bank. Such a bank also runs counter to the logic of mainstreaming, rather than ghettoising, gender issues. It is...

-PTI A printers' conference, which will begin in New Delhi later this week, has got into a controversy with several participants pulling out to protest participation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the Chief Guest. Scheduled to be held on March 2 in Delhi, the conference "Romancing Print 2013" is the third edition of an annual, professional conference of the printing industry. This year it has been organised by AIFMP (All...