-The Economist HOW should one judge the lot of women in India, a country that is in many ways progressive, modern, tolerant and yet by turns repressive and hostile? Women hold the highest political positions (the presidency, speaker of parliament, leader of the ruling party, leader of the opposition in parliament, several chief ministers of large states) and in theory they are protected by a variety laws promoting equality. Though development indicators...

A government panel has recommended the enactment of a “comprehensive, standalone law” on the so-called “honour killings”, handing equal punishment to the killers, plotters and the instigators at kangaroo courts. “The current provisions in the Indian Penal Code are inadequate in dealing with these acts of crime,” says the Planning Commission’s steering committee on women’s agency and child rights for the 12th Five-Year Plan. Its report, posted on the plan panel’s website...

Bench asks government to reach out to the women, think of an immediate alternative The Supreme Court on Wednesday set up a seven-member committee to look into the deplorable conditions of “widows/destitutes” living in Vrindavan and set an eight-week deadline to complete its report. The committee, headed by the chairman of the Mathura District Legal Services Authority, will prepare a list of the widows with their names, age and reasons for being...

-IANS Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Wednesday assured actor Aamir Khan, whose TV show " Satyamev Jayate" created a storm with its in-depth study of female feticide, that he would take up the issue of a fast track court with the state chief justice so that justice was expedited. Addressing a press conference with Aamir by his side, the chief minister said the show brought reality to the forefront. "I never heard...

Police investigation of Sanal Edamaraku for debunking a “miracle” at a church is a crime against the Constitution. Early in March, little drops of water began to drip from the feet of the statue of Jesus nailed to the cross on the church of Our Lady of Velankanni, down on to Mumbai's unlovely Irla Road. Hundreds began to flock to the church to collect the holy water in little plastic bottles,...