-The Hindustan Times A civil society group on Friday demanded key changes in the bill to protect whistleblowers, including widening its scope to bring all categories of public servants and private sector employees under its purview. The National Campaign for People's Right to Information, after day-long consultations with the families of some of the whistleblowers, asked the government to make the definition of victimisation clear in the bill. The Whistleblowers Protection Bill was...

-The Hindustan Times The Delhi government on Wednesday told the Delhi high court that it would issue directions to schools in the Capital to ban sale of junk food and carbonated drinks after the Centre comes up with guidelines in three months. The Centre has told the court that all India guidelines in this regard will be in place by July 21. "The Lt Governor has the power to issue directions under the...

-The Hindu United Kingdom: Britain's Dalit immigrants on Wednesday suffered a setback in their long-standing campaign for an anti-caste legislation when the House of Commons rejected a motion to amend the Equality Act to ban discrimination on the basis of caste. Had the proposal gone through, it would have provided for discrimination on the basis of caste to be treated on par with racial discrimination. It was defeated by motion 307 to...

-The Hindustan Times Far from the neatly trimmed lawns of India Gate that so often reverberate with cries for justice, far also from the corridors of power where ministries recently squabbled over the right age for consensual sex, lie 197 districts - yes 197, read the figure again - where children are regularly abused. In these districts -- all ridden by conflict -- words like illegal detention, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence, torture...

-The Hindu     Action, not just offering flowers, will be the real tribute As the nation pays tribute to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on his 122 birth anniversary (April 14), one would realise that much more remains to be done to achieve his aim of social equality for the suppressed classes. A principal architect in drafting the Constitution, he made significant efforts at giving political rights and social freedom to Dalits. However, till date,...