This month a group of Dalit (or Untouchables, as they were formerly labelled) students organised a Beef Festival in Osmania University of Hyderabad. It was the festival to assert their culinary rights in public and make a political statement of dietary habits of Dalits and Muslims – by cooking and eating beef Biryani on campus. About 2000 students participated and although it started out well, the festival was disrupted and students...

At least 75 complaints of corruption and misconduct against serving judges of the Supreme Court and high courts were forwarded in the last one year for “appropriate action” by the government to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and chief justices of concerned high courts.   The justice department of the law ministry, which forwards these complaints, has told HT that it “is unaware of any action taken on these complaints” by...

-The Hindustan Times Killing of women for dowry is no longer a rural phenomenon. The menace is fast catching up with the metropolitan elite - those who are considered educated, civil and well to do. Also, it is no more confined to the arranged marriages but afflicting matrimonial bonds that emerge out of years of courtship and love. The fact that 12 women are either killed or forced to die for dowry each...

-HealthIndia.com To improve the rural health scenario the government intends to introduce the Bachelor of Rural Healthcare course (BRHC), which will require all medical students to work in rural areas for a period of time. This will see a change in the Postgraduate Medical education guidelines, which will include a 50% reservation quota for medical officers in government service. Also as an added incentive, there will be a 10% increase in...

While freedom of speech and expression is an individual right, its actualisation often relies on a vast infrastructure of intermediaries. In the offline world, this includes newspapers, television channels, public auditoriums, etc. It is often assumed that the internet has created a more robust public sphere of speech by doing away with many structural barriers to free speech. But the fact of the matter is that even if the internet enables...