-The Hindustan Times Free availability of porn movies, on internet and otherwise, as well as sale of illicit liquor have contributed to the recent rise in sexual crimes against women, says a survey by Delhi police. In the wake of the findings, instructions have been issued to all police stations in the city to put an immediate stop on the sale of porn movies and illicit liquor in their respective jurisdictions. They have...

-The Indian Express Kanpur: Vijai Kumari got bail in 1994. But it took two decades for her to leave Lucknow women's jail, as son Kanhaiya, born in prison, raised money for a lawyer and a bond Vijai Kumari named her son Kanhaiya, after Lord Krishna. It was on the suggestion of a doctor-like in the mythology about the Hindu god, he was born in jail. For the next two decades, as...

-The Indian Express Institutionalising a mandatory process of consultation and dialogue would democratise not just law-making, but the state itself The formal institutions of India's parliamentary democracy have provided little space for citizens' participation in the making of laws. This has not, however, prevented citizens and citizens' groups from making significant attempts to watch, critique and contribute to the process. In fact, in recent years, it is clear that the lack of...

-The Hindu Khunti (Jharkhand): On the night of April 30, worshippers in the Raja Rani temple in Naurhi village in Adki block near Ranchi were singing, chanting and celebrating the new temple in their village when a group of CPI (Maoists) entered the temple and shot Dilip Acharya, the oldest of the three brothers who built the temple, dead as he lay asleep on the floor. The men then addressed...

-Down to Earth The country's 76 million poor have been denied the right to claim subsidised foodgrain under public distribution system The government has denied 76 million people in the country eligible to access public distribution system (PDS) the benefits of the food security system. For the past 20 years, the government has not cared to refresh its data and has been distributing foodgrain according to the population figure of 1991. Worse, the...