November last when a young journalist was allegedly sexually assaulted by the editor of Tehelka, a magazine where she worked, an important report on gender bias of Indian laws was launched by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Titled 'The Law and Son Preference in India: A Reality Check' the report claims that most Indian laws -- be it prevention of dowry law, anti sexual assault law or inheritance law--...

-The Hindu     To be able to deliver appropriate legal services to the rural and tribal communities, we need an alternative delivery system with a different model of legal service providers Delivery of legal services to the rich and the corporate class is organised not through individual lawyers but through a series of networked law firms. These firms employ hundreds of lawyers and domain experts all over the country to provide highly specialised...

-The Hindu Landed communities in Haryana thwarting women's rights to inheritance Jhajjar (Haryana): Hawa Singh is an 80-year-old, rheumy patriarch with a failing voice that one has to strain to hear. But mention his two daughters and their two year old legal battle with him to claim their share of the ancestral property and fire flashes inhis eyes and the voice acquires strength. "There is no question of giving ancestral land to...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: In an attempt to cleanse their image, especially after their opposition to marriages in the name of traditions, the Khap Panchayats have decided to support inter-caste marriages in Haryana. However, a section of social activists have termed it as a gimmick in view of the continuing honour killings, saying, "The khaps incite villagers in the name of so-called traditions." Apart from same-gotra and same-village marriages, khaps have...

-Kafila.org This fact-finding exercise was coordinated by the CENTRE FOR POLICY ANALYSIS. Team members were the human rights activist and former civil servant Harsh Mander; former Director-General of the Border Security Force, E N Rammohan; Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy of Jawaharlal Nehru University; National Integration Council member John Dayal; senior journalist Sukumar Muralidharan and CPA Director and senior editor Seema Mustafa. Introduction and Overview The first impression of the Muzaffarnagar countryside, now green...