Child welfare continues to be accorded the least priority in planning and implementation of public services or amenities. Other than those institutions, public and private, directly charged with the protection of children, almost all others exhibit a low level of sensitivity to children and low levels of preparedness for child protection, a new study has shown. Conducted by Childline 1098 — a helpline service for children in distress — the study...

If you are a resident of Madhya Pradesh, Muslim and poor, nowhere close to the class of nawabs who can pay for murg musallam or mutton raan, watch your pot! The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has just armed itself with a big danda ostensibly to protect the holy cow and its progeny. But, make no mistake, it’s a stick to beat you with. To save your...

The Jharkhand government has appealed to Maoist rebels to make a fresh beginning in the New Year by surrendering to the rule of law, as it responded to feelers from a section of cadres, but did not promise any let-up in ongoing anti-rebel operations. The government gave a month’s time to active members of CPI(Maoist) to return to the mainstream, through an advertisement in local dailies on December 31. In the public...

-The Hindu   Has addressed issues of sex selection, infant-maternal mortality, child health A Dalit woman sarpanch elected to an unreserved seat in Bikaner district of Rajasthan has successfully brought gender issues to the mainstream development discourse with the help of a Jaipur-based advocacy group. She has addressed the crucial subjects of sex selection, infant and maternal mortality and reproductive and child health by focusing on gender fostering. Tara Devi, elected as Sarpanch of...

-The Times of India The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body set up to promote and defend child rights in the country, has sent a notice to the state government asking it to reply within 15 days on complaints of admission to private Schools before the end of the present academic year thus violating Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. The notice...