-The Hindu     While making grain available to all is important, it is equally essential to ensure that all food supplied for consumption remains unadulterated and uncontaminated. When India became independent, the Constitution declared it to be a socialist, secular, democratic Republic. The first fundamental right under the Constitution sets down that every citizen has a right to life. This has been interpreted by the highest court as every citizen's right to a...

-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 Hindustan Times The level of food insecurity in India remains stubbornly high for a country that has experienced more than a decade of strong growth, attained robust levels of agricultural production and is a net exporter of food. So the widening gap between the country's economic confidence and the hunger that besets so many of its citizenry is a matter of concern. In the book Feeding India: Livelihoods, entitlements and capabilities,...

-The Hindustan Times Last winter, two men were hanged to death in India's jails, indicted for crimes of terror. On August 8, another man, Maganlal Barela- a little-known tribal cultivator, charged with killing his five little daughters - was scheduled to hang in the Jabalpur Central Jail. Human rights lawyers chanced to read of his hanging in an online news item the evening before his execution was fixed, and rushed to meet...

-Down to Earth   This defies logic. Despite rapid economic growth, India has often been placed below sub-Saharan African countries that have very high number of malnourished children. But the government has no data to clarify its position. In the first week of September, Parliament’s Committee on Estimates criticised the government, saying: “The committee is surprised to note that in the modern era of Information and Technology, there is no recent official...