The Central Government has ordered States to take all possible measures to combat a wave of child marriages which authorities fear will take place across the Hindu heartland on Tuesday, on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. In a letter to the States, the Women and Child Welfare Ministry has warned governments that child marriage is illegal under the Prohibition of Child Marriages Act, 2006. The Ministry has suggested that all district magistrates...

-NYDailyNews.com Recent deaths of battered baby girls in different parts of India have jolted the nation's conscience. The United Nations ranks India as the deadliest place for female children. A few days back, 3-month-old Afreen died of cardiac arrest in a southern Indian hospital. She bore signs of beatings and cigarette burns, allegedly abused by her father. The 25-year-old father was apparently upset at having a daughter instead of a son, his wife...

A government panel has recommended an income-linked cap on marriage expenses as part of amendments to curb dowry harassment. “Introduction of ceilings in terms of percentage of income on gifts and marriage expenditure needs to be considered. A limit should also be put on marriage expenditure in terms of food,” the high-powered Planning Commission panel on women empowerment has said. The panel, made up of senior officials of the women and child...

The Law Commission recommends making Section 498A, IPC, compoundable, and women's groups say that would affect women's interests. A REPORT of the Law Commission of India on “Compounding of (IPC) Offences” suggesting that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which prescribes punishment for a husband or his relatives for subjecting a woman to cruelty, be made compoundable with the permission of the court, is fraught with several implications. The report...

Over 200 families in this district of Madhya Pradesh continue to bear the brunt of caste discrimination.Vidisha, a thriving trade centre of ancient India, finds glorious mention variously for Emperor Ashoka's governorship, for featuring in Pali scriptures and Kalidasa's romantic epic Meghdoot, as a premier tourist destination in glossy brochures of Madhya Pradesh Tourism and as the parliamentary constituency of Sushma Swaraj, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok...