Although the number of cases of sedition has come down between 2014 and 2015, more arrests were made in 2015 vis-à-vis 2014, according to a new report from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The NCRB report entitled Crime in India 2015 Statistics reveals that the total number of sedition related cases that occurred in the country was 30 in 2015. The same document shows that the total number of persons...

-The Hindu The sense of impunity that drives discrimination against Dalits is at the heart of recent demands for the dilution, or even repeal, of the Act for prevention of atrocities against SCs and STs It is the sense of impunity nurtured by caste hierarchy that prepares the social ground for the “shockingly cruel and inhumane” crimes against Dalits called atrocities. It is this impunity that the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled...

-The Hindu Business Line Hyderabad: Millet Network of India (MINI), an umbrella organisation of Activists, scientists and non-governmental organisations, has demanded the Union government implement the National Food Security 2013 and include millets in public distribution system (PDS). MINI Convener PV Satheesh has said that the network has launched a national campaign this week to bring pressure on the government to achieve their demands. “The month-long campaign would highlight the importance of bringing...

-Hindustan Times Toronto: A culture of intolerance has taken root in India and grown “more menacing” since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister two years ago, according to a new report prepared jointly by a Canadian university and global writers group PEN International. India must overhaul its antiquated laws and cumbersome legal system, which are increasingly being misused to silence dissent, said the report titled “Fearful Silence: The Chill on India’s Public Sphere”. It...

-The Times of India RANCHI: Charo Oraon, 66 of Hurhuru village under Ratu block of Ranchi district has not been able to procure ration from the public distribution shop since June 2016-the reason-earlier he was not enrolled with the unique identification authority (Aadhar) and it was made mandatory by the state government to have Aadhar number for procuring ration. Off late he got his Aadhar registration by August but still is denied...