-DalitWeb.org She was young and carefree, exploring life and trying to live it to the fullest. As a young girl she wanted to look beautiful, study well and become an independent and confident woman. She used to enjoy her time with her friends and looked forward to go out and watch a movie with her male friend. Late one evening, the thrill and the excitement of the movie ended in the brutal...

-The Times of India PUNE: Every morning, four-year-old Fatima Makandar dons a neatly ironed yellow and blue uniform, ties her hair with a red ribbon, wears polished black shoes with clean white socks and steps out of her cramped tenement in Upper Indira Nagar in Bibwewadi for View Valley School in Kondhwa. Fatima, a ragpicker's daughter, has crossed a social barrier and is getting good schooling, thanks to the waste picker's...

-Poynter.org It’s not often that two stories about rape — one in India and one here in the U.S. — get so much attention at the same time. What’s striking about the simultaneous stories is how differently journalists are covering them. The case in New Delhi involves a young woman who was raped so brutally that she died. The five men suspected of the rape now face charges of kidnapping, rape and...

-Economic and Political Weekly The vigorous public discourse following the recent brutal gang rape and mutilation of the 23-year-old in Delhi is a positive sign but hopefully the demand for quick solutions will not ignore the complexities involved in dealing with all forms of violence against women. There are also other connected issues that require urgent attention including the description of a rape as a "state worse than death", making out...

-The Times of India While the cost of private education has always been prohibitive, education in government-run institutions has also increased sharply in the last one month with the HRD ministry taking the decision to hike under-graduate fees in IITs by 80%. Earlier, the fees for Kendriya Vidyalaya students increased three-fold from Rs 4,500 to Rs 12,000 annually. The KV fee hike impacts 11 lakh students in 1,090 schools. The last fee...