-The Hindustan Times Far from the neatly trimmed lawns of India Gate that so often reverberate with cries for justice, far also from the corridors of power where ministries recently squabbled over the right age for consensual sex, lie 197 districts - yes 197, read the figure again - where children are regularly abused. In these districts -- all ridden by conflict -- words like illegal detention, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence, torture...

-The Business Standard States often misuse emergency powers to muzzle protests from owners A new land acquisition law was on the anvil for years. The latest avatar of the Bill, not yet laid on the table of Parliament, is still being re-looked and reworked with nearly 160 changes proposed. Issues are many, like the "public purpose" fig leaf, the consent clause, sharing the compensation payment, resettlement and rehabilitation of the displaced people...

-The Economist A steadily rising Muslim population continues to fall behind IT TELLS you something hopeful perhaps that, for all the horror unleashed when two bombs laid by presumed militant Islamists ripped through a crowd in Hyderabad on February 21st, India’s public response has been muted. The blasts killed 16 and injured 117. Both the method of the attack (bombs in metal tiffin boxes strapped to bicycles) and its location (near a...

-The Times of India KENDRAPADA: The state government has decided to facilitate the return of all 52 families, who were driven away from Dhinkia grampanchayat in Jagatsinghpur district about six years ago, for favouring the Posco project. "The district administration has chalked out plans to bring them back to their villages and has also decided to protect them. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also directed the administration recently to help...

-The Times of India The UPA government is likely to reintroduce the Land Acquisition Bill with a mammoth 157 amendments in the budget session of Parliament. Out of the 26 'substantive' measure the government plans to push through includes a provision that in case of acquisition for urbanization purposes, 20% of the developed land would be reserved and offered to the original owners at a price equal to the cost of acquisition...