-The Hindustan Times A new study has put the number of people in modern slavery worldwide at an estimated 29.8 million. India tops the list for nation-wise figures, with almost 14 million people trapped in different forms of slavery. These shocking figures, released in a new Global Slavery Index report, measure debt bondage, forced marriage, sale or exploitation of children, human trafficking and forced labour across the world. The index, released by the...

-The Hindu Resolution points out various forms of violence against Dalits, especially women The European Parliament (EP) has recognised caste-based discrimination as a human rights violation and adopted a resolution condemning it and urging European Union institutions to address it. The EP consists of 28 member-countries of the EU. Acknowledging that caste-affected communities are still subjected to ‘untouchability practices' in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the October 10 resolution stressed the...

-The Hindu With the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act coming into effect in 1972, India conveyed a strong message that it cared for the health of pregnant women who wanted to safely terminate their pregnancies. Yet, even four decades later, many women are still unaware that abortion is legal. Even access to safe abortion centres is severely restricted, especially in rural areas. As a result, there is a great...

-The Hindu These families have a far better child sex ratio than the urban Indian average Newly released census data shows families living in slums have a far better child sex ratio than the urban Indian average. Over a third of India's slum dwellers live in unrecognised slums. Over 65 million people live in slums, up from 52 million in 2001, but slum populations have grown slower than the average urban population over...

-The Hindu In richer and poorer States, differing periods of danger for girl children: data Last year, 74,000 more girls under the age of 5 than boys died in India, numbers for which there is no biological explanation, researchers say. Moreover, while many richer States abort female foetuses at a higher rate than some poorer States, once the child is born, many poorer States have a worse record in ensuring her survival,...