-The Hindu Even while acting swiftly to ensure that minor married girls are not denied an opportunity to pursue education, officials see it as a contentious topic requiring a wider debate. The practice of giving girls in marriage at an early age, especially within the family, prevails among certain communities in rural pockets of Tamil Nadu. Speaking to The Hindu on Friday, Chief Educational Officer S. Nagaraja Murugan said that the issue of...

-The Hindu Chief Educational Officer takes note of The Hindu report and articles by expert The Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School at Melur near here, which had initially denied admission to two 17-year-old married girls in class XI, has finally agreed to admit them. “Yes, they will be admitted,” said Headmistress V.P. Nirmala. Her decision came following the intervention of Chief Educational Officer (CEO) S. Nagaraja Murugan, who took note of the news...

-The Hindu At Kottaguda village, residents are yet to come to terms with loss of lives A week after a late-night raid by the police and the CRPF led to the death of several tribal villagers in Bijapur district, the Chhattisgarh government announced a judicial inquiry to ascertain the chronology of the events, the reasons behind the firing and the identities of those killed. The inquiry will be headed by a judge of...

-The Telegraph Next time you take a 10-minute coffee break, spare a thought. By the time you come back refreshed, a mother would have died. India recorded 56,000 maternal deaths in 2010, according to a UN report, which makes it six every hour — or one every 10 minutes. The report, released in India on July 2, means that despite various schemes launched by the Centre and state governments, the number of deaths...

The railway ministry is helpless about the discomfort of railway passengers in reserved compartments who are outnumbered by passengers without tickets or with tickets meant for unreserved compartments   Last month, my friend’s daughter went on a trip to Corbett Park, which was organised by a Pune-based nature trail group. Although they had booked a Second Class (ordinary) reserved compartment, most of the 30-hour journey was spent in utter discomfort, with people...