-The Indian Express West Bengal is not new to chit fund scams. What is unique to the Saradha Group scandal is how it targeted the poorest and the most marginalised, leaving them on the verge of devastation. From 17-year-old agents who raised money from depositors to 50-year-old widows who invested money, the Saradha Group didn't discriminate in roping them in. Since the house of cards started collapsing, two agents and two...

Bowing to pressure from women's activists, the government has made some crucial amendments to divorce laws, giving women half a share in the husband's residential property irrespective of whether it was acquired before or during the marriage. The amendment was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. The wife's share in other assets owned by her husband - movable and immoveable property - has been left to the discretion of the...

-The Economic Times Objections by the Opposition and even treasury benches to the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill - which seeks to make divorce easier - has forced the government to review the legislation. The government appears set to accept the demand for a cooling off period before divorce. It will now be left to the discretion of the judge to determine the time between the petition and granting of divorce. The government...

The Jaipur Literary Festival, a giddily chaotic celebration of the written word set on the grounds of a Rajasthan palace, ended in misery and embarrassment today, with the organizers bowing to pressure from local security forces and scotching plans for Salman Rushdie to “appear” at the festival, finally, by video link. Rushdie had already been forced to cancel plans to come to Jaipur after he had received intelligence reports—bogus intelligence,...