-The Hindu Supreme Court asks Chhattisgarh to pay doctor Rs. 5 lakh for mental agony The Supreme Court, coming down heavily on Chhattisgarh police officers for custodial torture of an Ayurvedic doctor in 1992, directed the State government to pay him Rs. 5 lakh as compensation for the mental agony and humiliation he suffered. It is to be recovered from the erring officers in equal proportion. Allowing an appeal from Mehmood Nayyar Azam,...

-The Hindu The insights in the NCERT cartoon report can help to make the curriculum and the classroom more inclusive While the NCERT textbooks report has generated much heat, it has also shed positive light on the issue. It is time to reflect on this side of the debate and deal with the questions it raises. The committee’s mandate was to identify educationally inappropriate materials in textbooks and suggest alternatives, if necessary. The...

-The Hindu The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices, returnable in four weeks, to the Jammu & Kashmir Chief Secretary and the Union Defence Secretary seeking a reply on media reports which claimed that Hilal Ahmad Dar (26) of Aloosa was killed by Army jawans. The security guard is said to have been killed in a fake encounter in Ashtingoo in Bandipora on the night of July 24. Locals allege...

-The Times of India A report released by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday said activists are threatened and attacked both by "Indian authorities and Maoist insurgents, who undermine basic freedoms and interfere with delivery of aid in embattled areas of central and eastern India".  In its 60-page report — Between Two Sets of Guns: Attacks on Civil Society Activists in India's Maoist Conflict — the rights body documented cases of...

QUEZON CITY (PIA) -- The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced today the six winners of the 2012 Ramon Magsaysay Award. The awardees were from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Taiwan. A press statement from RMAF said hen Shu-Chu, from Taiwan, is being recognized for “the pure altruism of her personal giving, which reflects a deep, consistent, quiet compassion and has transformed the lives of the numerous Taiwanese she has...