Whether it is in education, health or jobs, there are enormous differences in outcomes in modern India, so much so that it often seems like two countries exist within one. Economic opportunities have undoubtedly expanded for a section of India's population, but there are serious obstacles in the path of many. Nobel laureate and development economist Amartya Sen has written about the 'conversion handicap' which, quite separately from an 'earnings...

Policies aiming to combat malnutrition are ignoring an entire generation of women whose overall health has a direct bearing on children’s growth, say advocacy groups and researchers Cradling a frail son on her hip and with a plastic bag stuffed with clothes in one hand, Tara Jadam walked into the rehabilitation centre inside the district hospital here to spend the next two weeks. On a hot afternoon, she has walked several miles...

South Asia may boast a number of women leaders and be home to cultures that revere motherhood and worship female deities, but many women live with the threat of appalling violence and without many basic rights. From forced marriages in Afghanistan and "honor killings" in Pakistan to foeticide in India and trafficking in Nepal, South Asian women face a barrage of dangers, experts say, but add growing awareness, better laws and...

“Draft Lokpal Bill will be introduced in monsoon session of Parliament” Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday accused social activists Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev of trying to “dictate” terms to the Centre and “weakening” parliamentary democracy by threatening an indefinite fast to get their demands accepted. At a press conference here, Mr. Mukherjee also criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for backing the anti-graft movement in a bid “to capture...

-The Hindu   Golu is 12 years old and wants to go to school like all other children of his age. But for him, it is just a dream as he has to spend his entire day cleaning dirt and dishes at a roadside dhaba in south Delhi. Raju, a 10-year-old from Jharkhand, toils on the streets in the national capital selling flowers along with his younger brother. These are not just the...