-Outlook Starting with Kasab, now with Afzal Guru, the country is going to witness a spate of executions. We give a call to the nation to break this spiral of executions.' The tearing hurry with which Afzal Guru was hanged, accompanied by the flouting of all established norms by not giving his family their legal right to meet him before taking him to the gallows, clearly indicates that there were political...

-The Times of India A day after the Supreme Court questioned the government's wisdom over existing security cover to VIPs, the Centre on Friday said security to protected persons could be scaled down depending upon the threat perception. Even as a committee, comprising senior home ministry and Intelligence Bureau officials, has been working on rationalizing the list of protected persons, minister of state for home affairs R P N Singh said, "If...

-Frontline The 64th Republic Day was a special occasion for the Dalits of Kokkampatti in Karur district. It was poetic justice that on this historic day, the caste Hindu residents of the village signed an accord with them to end the centuries-old practices of un-touchability and dis-crimination against Dalits, in the presence of the local authorities. Through the agreement the caste Hindus have promised to live in harmony with members of...

-Outlook While great awareness has been raised about sexual violence against women in India, much less is known about the problem of sexual abuse of children' Summary The rape and murder of a student in New Delhi on December 16, 2012, followed by large public protests, has led to a great deal of soul searching about the problem of sexual violence in India. Politicians, lawyers, women’s rights activists, and an independent government...

-Outlook Lamenting that standard of teachers in not up to the mark and learning outcomes are below expectations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said "major concerns" in the field of education need to be addressed. Singh also noted that "drop-out rates in schools remain high after the elementary level. Some major concerns relating to equity also remain to be addressed." The Prime Minister's comments come a day after he regretted that none of...