RAJINDER SACHAR is one of India’s renowned civil rights activists. A former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Sachar has done pioneering work in enabling a legal framework to assist hundreds who stand accused by the police across India for waging war against the State, many of them with little or dubious evidence. Though 87 years old, Sachar continues to work tirelessly with one of India’s key rights groups,...
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A case of too little, too late or is there some cause for celebration? : The RTE Act 2009 by Dipa Sinha
India’s record in providing education to its children has been very poor. Low education levels have an impact on income, productivity, health status and standard of living. As per 2001 Census, the overall literacy rate of India is still only 65.4%, with many states having a literacy rate less than the national average. While the male literacy rate is around 76%, only about 54% females are literate1. What is important...
More »Basic Adversities Faced by Women in the World of Work by Sona Mitra
The global platform for action on gender equality and women’s empowerment was fixed in Beijing 15 years ago and international organizations like the ILO, women activists and researchers, policymakers, etc all over the world have advocated for gender equality in the world of work for even longer. Although women constitute almost 41 per cent of the global labour force, yet the productive potential of women workers still remains grossly undermined....
More »Gates pops caste question by Nalin Verma
If some are still wondering why the census cannot blank out caste, their answer came bobbing in a country boat today. Bill Gates, who usually crosses continents on his $45-million private jet, took the boat that shuddered in the swift waters of the Kosi to reach a remote Bihar village that had hardly ever seen a district official. One of his first questions was if caste divisions in the country’s backward hinterland...
More »Better baby care key to reducing deaths, reports UN health agency
Better care for babies during the first month after they are born is key to reducing child mortality rates in developing countries, the United Nations health agency said today, in an update on measures that are essential for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). An estimated 40 per cent of deaths of children under the age of five occur in the first month of life, most in the...
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